Alex & Jill Benham - Travelogue: Tuesday 11th June – Eighty Mile Beach to Port Smith

An early morning walk and then pack up and off. Karen and Mark had gone earlier to call into the Sandfire Roadhouse. It is run by the brother of a friend of theirs. We called in briefly and then it was on to Port Smith. On the GPS there was a fruit stall and market garden site marked next to the road just near the Port Smith turnoff. We overheard some people chatting on the GPS that in the past you could even buy pancakes there. Unfortunately it was all deserted today.

We had heard mixed reports about Port Smith. Some people thought it a delightful spot others would not return because of the sandflies. It is indeed a little oasis among shady trees but yes there were sandflies. Great bathrooms!!!

Tawny Frogmouth at Port Smith Caravan Park

Our neighbours told us about a few drives in the area and so after setting up we drove south to see the brolgas. And there were lots of them, one flock of about 100. They were a bit shy though and we couldn’t get very close to them before they flew off. We explored a few spots along the coast – Little and Enginedine (False Cape) Creeks where they flow into the ocean. On our return we drove down to the lagoon (about 1km from the caravan park) to photograph the sunset. Sandflies were getting a bit vicious at this stage so there was a need to get out the repellent. We were among the mangroves after all.