Wednesday, June 10.
So this will be interesting. It's 7.30am and we're due to drive out of Broome this morning for an overnight stop at Lawarra station between Fitzroy and Hall's Creek, and then into the Bungle Bungles the next day, after that El Questro, Home Valley and beyond. 

The spare tyres I ordered last Thursday after the blowout north of Carnarvon still haven't arrived yesterday, so I call Tyrepower here in Broome. Nah mate, the truck hasn't arrived yet. Oh really...so do you think it'd be a good idea to call the freight company in Perth to inquire about their status. Gee, what an excellent idea, we'll get back to you. Half an hour later: Er, they've been sitting on the freight company's loading dock since last Friday. They forgot to put them on the truck. 

Brilliant. So we're leaving for the Gibb River Rd this morning with only one spare. Tell you what, Tyrepower Man says brightly....I should be able to get them here by Friday, and put them on the Greyhound bus to Kununurra for you. Should be there by Monday. Which means we'll have to back-track from El Questro and (maybe!) get the tyres fitted before we travel too far down the Gibb.

And he wonders why I was sounding a tad grumpy. 

The adventure begins

If you don't love driving, the 2,400 km stretch from Perth to Broome would be a chore. Fortunately, I enjoy driving in inverse proportion to my loathing of flying (I do enough of that for work) and Michelle's happy to sit in the passenger seat.
This trip had been a long time in the planning. Three years ago we'd driven half way up the famous Gibb River Rd, as far as Mornington camp, before we'd run out of time and had to head back to Perth. We'd loved it, flooded creek crossings and all, so when our Melbourne friends Glenn and Jacqui McLean suggested we meet them half way through their round-Australia drive we jumped at the chance.

It would also coincide with Michelle's 50th birthday, so with that in mind we'd rented a large house overlooking Roebuck Bay and invited about 30 friends and family to fly up for the party.

We certainly had the appropriate vehicle for it, a 2012 Range

Rover diesel 4.4 V8. But all cars rely on tyres, and I'd fallen for the false economy of buying a set of half-used Cooper off-road tyres for the trip, one of which threw a tread somewhere north of Carnarvon after only about 10 hours on the road. Back in phone range somewhere near Karratha, we phoned ahead to Tyrepower in Broome and ordered a pair of brand new Cooper LTZs to be brought up from Perth, hopefully in time for us to head off into the Kimberley proper by the following Wednesday. In the meantime, we had about 30 friends and family flying into Broome that weekend to help celebrate Michelle's 50th birthday and enjoy the little luxuries afforded by renting one of the town's top private houses, Koolinda (owned by Karl and Donne Plunkett - thanks guys!) overlooking Roebuck Bay. Highly recommended - if you're part of a big group looking for accommodation in Broome, this one's hard to beat, check it out on Stayz here: http://www.stayz.com.au/accommodation/wa/the-kimberley/broome/100642)
By day 6 we we ready to collect the Camprite camper trailer from Kathy & Brett Campbell's Travelabout hire business in Broome and pack it ready for 2,000 kilometres of travel through the heart of the Kimberly. If only those tyres arrive in time!