21. The one where we changed our plans

Total distance travelled: 17,143km (+2,671km)

The Eighty Mile Beach begins just a short drive south of Broome, but is largely inaccessible for the most part, save for a handful of tourist-friendly ventures. We heeded the advice of countless reviews and chose Barn Hill Station Stay as our first stop - a working cattle farm that runs a caravan park on its coastal boundary.

For once our disfunctional air-conditioner paid dividends, forcing us away from the bustling powered sites and into the peaceful non-powered section, with countless beach-facing sites to choose from. After a few laps, we finally chose one and settled down for a quiet afternoon under our awning before venturing out to view the sunset - an evening ritual in this part of the world.

Little did we know, our experiences of WA's remote coastlines would be short lived with Carolyn receiving an 'SOS' call from Nhulunbuy Christian College - they were unexpectedly short of teaching staff for term 4, which was only 2 weeks away. It was a unique opportunity, and hard to ignore given our resident home-body Acacia's pleas to move back to Nhulunbuy since leaving it a month prior - a sign we'd previously & quietly agreed would be required before considering any changes to our plans. That being said, both Carolyn & I had work commitments waiting for us in Melbourne that would be affected if we

were to fulfill the rest of our 'lap' ambitions.

Ultimately we decided to take-up the Nhulunbuy offer, with the kids to be enrolled in the same school while I'd work-from-home remotely with the Geoclima team in Melbourne.

With our decision made and time short, we began the ~2,350km journey back to Nhulunbuy, knowing we may never make it back to this wonderful part of the world, with wet season road closures and COVID border closures an almost inevitable scenario.

Firstly, we stopped in Broome to restock essentials and buy school items. Next was an overnight stop at Mary Pool rest area, before arriving in Kununurra. We'd already spent far-more time than desired in that town, but it offered one last chance to get ready, including adding roof racks to our car. From there we drove to Katherine to put our van into storage and pack the car. After a night in the (air-conditioned!) Beagle Motor Inn, we then braved the track for a 3rd time this year - a 10-hour, but thankfully trouble-free journey.

Then, we hit "Pause" on our lap, and "Start" on our next adventure...