We leave for Dubbo April 19th and return to Sydney around Sept 30
Here's a bit of a rough idea where we'll be. We'll update this regularly.
Dubbo 19th
Meadow Glen (60k west of Cobar) 20th
Broken Hill 21st for a few days
Port Augusta
Coober Pedy
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Olgas, Kings Canyon
Possibly the Painted Desert, flight over Lake Eyre
Alice Springs and surrounds and on to Darwin, Litchfield NP, Kakadu, back to Katherine and then on to Broome and down the west coast, Perth, Margaret River, Albany and across the Nullarbor - via Great Australian Bight back to Port Augusta and home via an undetermined route.
Dubbo, Meadow Glen, Broken Hill
The morning of 19th April finally dawned and we are ready to begin an amazing adventure touring around the centre and west of Australia. Our crew, Lorraine & Steve, Paul & Rangsima, Geoff and Heath. Up over the mountains, through the roadworks which in time will benefit us all and down the other side into Lithgow, past the familiar Wallerawang and Point Piper Power Stations on the Mudgee Road. The magnificent plateau mountains off to the right are a purple colour and always beautiful. Mudgee is a pretty little town with its grapevines aplenty but no time for stopping off today - off to Dubbo via Wellington to drop off a part for Geoff's cousin, Liz's caravan and a quick cuppa with Auntie Gwen then onto Dubbo Top Tourist Park for the night.
Tuesday 20th - Liz & Brian also join us this morning as we head out of Dubbo and to Nyngan for lunch, then Cobar for a quick look around before heading to Meadow Glen Rest Area a free camp site 60km west of Cobar for the night. The countryside flat and dotted with small trees and shrubs, the red dirt of the outback already around. Very little wildlife around, a few goats along the roadside. We set up in a corral and look forward to the stars to come out as it is a beautiful clear sky, dotted with clouds.Very pretty spot. Steve and Paul get a fire going and dinner and chat around the fire complete our day.
Wednesday 21st - woke to a very orange sunrise after a great night's sleep, thankfully very few trucks passing during the night - breakfast, pack up and on the road to Broken Hill early. Long flat roads make easy driving, many caravans travelling the same route, huge semi's and road trains pass us as if we are standing still. Countryside much the same, very flat as far as the eye can see, evidence of rain in area, green grass and shrubs and small pockets of water. Arrive in Wilcannia - so sad to see the demise of a town, all buildings have steel grates, very few shops, what is there is boarded up. A beautiful sandstone Anglican church stands grand on the main road, built around 1860's, sadly some windows broken and doors locked so we cannot have a look around. We fill up with petrol $1.60litre and continue our journey. Countryside changes to flat scrub, no trees for 100s of kms, few hills in distance, until we reach the outskirts of BH - mine shaft on edge of town then into a bustling big city. Our tom toms guide us to the Caravan Park on the other side of town and we join the queue to book in, lucky - we managed to get in, huge onslaught of vans of all types in town. Four of the group head into the Info centre to check out the 'what to do list', after dinner we sat around and planned the next day with lots of laughter trying to agree on what and when.
Thursday 22nd - lots to do today, first Whites Underground Mine - a replica of a mine built by an ex miner who worked in the mines for 26 years. Video made in the 1980's on the workings of the mines, fascinating trip down memory lane of the conditions and processing of the ore from start to finish. Kevin has built miniture replica mines to show how the mines were and how they operated and answered all questions relating to life here in the early years. Mines opened in 1883 and the video was made celebrating 100 years. Lots of mining tools and equipment also rock, ore containing lead, zinc. Absolutely fabulous visit, really interesting and informative, sadly no one is interested in taking over from him so much of this history will be lost when he is gone. He has also made lots of art using the ore, local buildings, mine equipment, men at work using equipment etc. great work but quite expensive. He also talked about the mines today where so much is done with computers, finding the line of lode, blasting, etc. only 400 employed by the mines now. Heyday - 30,000 people in BH, now 20,000.
Our next stopover - Absolams Gallery - Jack Absolam, a landscape artist, has an amazing gallery, a huge open room with his paintings adorning the walls, a magnificent glass cabinet in the centre containing all types of jewellery, opals and precious stones which he has collected. Whilst we were looking around and admiring his work, Jack walked into the gallery and chatted to us about his work and life as an artist in the area. We all loved his work and were thrilled that he stayed with us for sometime just chatting and then we had some photos taken with him before he left. We each made some purchases and chatted to his wife about where they had been and where we were going. Certainly a highlight visit.
Next to a restaurant on top of the mine overlooking the town for a coffee and relax, also a look at some old mine equipment.
Back to the caravan park for lunch then off again making the most of the day. The boys and Rangsima headed off to the camping shop and the Train Museum which was closed, whilst Lorraine, Liz and Heath headed off to Silver City Art Centre to see The Big Picture, the world's largest painting on canvas, 100 metres long and over 12 metres high covering a room 360 degrees by a local artist, Peter Anderson, depicting a number of landscape scenes around the area 300kms around BH. The Flinders Ranges, Mundi Mundi Plains, The Sculptures, a Dust storm, Menindee Lakes, The Pinnacles, the Barrier Ranges, White Cliffs, Mutawintji, Broken Hill and The Line of Lode. The room has been landscaped with shrubs and animals, aboriginal artefacts and rocks to depict the area and is an amazing exhibit. The centre timber area is designed to resemble a lookout and you actually feel like you are walking into the scene before you, very clever, creative and awesome to see.
Our last excursion for the day is to see The Living Desert & Sculptures 8kms out of town at sunset, we drive out and visit an environmental and nature walk then drive up a rocky outcrop to the top of a hill where before us an array of rock sculptures have been built - one sculpture has a round donut on the side and you can line up the hole with the setting sun to obtain an amazing photo. We all watch the sun go down until the glow of yellow and orange disappears and make our way back down the hill in the dark. Whilst at the sculptures we were amazed to meet up with a couple from our church at WPH, Marg & Don Mumford also touring around the area.
Dinner tonight at the Democrats club in town and then some very tired grey nomads head for caravans and bed.
Friday 23rd - easy start to today, left the caravan park at 10am to visit a 1950's soda shop on the other side of town to check it out. Remember the days of spiders (soda drinks with ice cream for those too young to know), milkshakes in silver containers that taste like milk shakes and filled to the brim, a range of sodas to choose from like lemon/lime, sarsaparilla, strawberry delight, ginger beer and the types of milkshakes, wow, like chocolate with white knight, or mars bars, so hard to choose. We were all thrilled with our choices and enjoyed our sodas and explored the shop which has a small museum attached, the young lass behind the counter flat out with the number of visitors this morning.
Next stop a drive out to Silverton, where silver was actually discovered. No silver was processed in BH mines. Silverton is 25kms out of Broken Hill and a bit of a tourist town now, the old buildings still in good condition, we visited the Pub, the school house which during its hey day had 200 children attending, 3000 people living in the town now 69, a couple of galleries and the gaol which houses a museum of yesteryear. Lots of the buildings were closed. There is also a mine which you can tour but all of us have visited mines before so we decided not the venture into this one, it is called Day Dream Mine. Then drove out 5kms to view the Mundi Mundi plains, an amazing sight, this huge flat plain stretches kms with colours of browns, reds, greens and yellows with a hilly backdrop, Mundi Mundi means no water. Fantastic sight and one which we had seen pictures of at Jack Absolams gallery and The Big Picture but fantastic to see it in the flesh. Continued on to the Reservoir called Umberumberka another 5 kms further out and we were thrilled to come upon this huge dam with plenty of water thanks to recent rains. Back to the caravan park with a last drive through Silverton.
Pack up tonight as he head out tomorrow south to Port Augusta. We also leave Liz and Brian tomorrow, they are staying on for another day and then heading to Wentworth and the Murray Valley before going to Port Augusta.
NB - found out why there are no trees around BH - the mines had the mulga all cut down to use the timber for the mines, that was a radius of 80 miles around BH, has to been seen to understand.
Broken Hill to Coober Pedy
Saturday 24th - early start this morning, we left the Caravan Park in BH at 8.15am and headed south crossing the South Australian border to be met with signs telling us of another Quarantine Station up ahead. We had to hand in all our fruit and some vegies before BH and now we have to surrender all the fresh fruit and vegies that we purchased in BH as well. We stopped at a couple of rest areas and ate as much fruit as we could but were not sure how many vegies they would take. As luck would have it the guy at the quarantine station took just about everything, much more than before BH, even onions! We sat next to the drop off area and ate an early lunch using up as much of our salad vegies as we could, then had to hand the rest in. Nice guy, awful job but he did it all with a sense of humour, trying to get our biscuits and beer at the same time. The scenery today is amazing, outskirts of BH to the border much the same, flat as and no trees, but as you cross the border the landscape changes often from hills to flat plains, to mountain ranges (Flinders Ranges), to areas with small trees, to some larger ones, then to flat wheat fields, prepared soils, the roads flat for long stretches, then winding and climbing over the mountains, this drive much more interesting. Lots of small towns until Peterborough where there were old trains. Not much open or active here today so we visited the Info centre and then moved on. We decided at the last minute to visit a town just south of Wilmington called Melrose, Lorraine had heard that it was very pretty and on the edge of the Flinders Ranges. Caravan Park very busy, Anzac Day long weekend and a BMX bike rally nearby but we managed to get an area in the unpowered site zone. Weather - dark clouds and rain in the air and as we collected wood for a fire light drizzle dampened the area. We had booked into the local pub for dinner so left our fire until we returned. The pub was packed and although it took some time to get our meal, it was worth the wait. Back to the park and got the fire going just before it started to pour so into our vans and an early night.
Sunday 25th - another early start this morning, calls from home, missing everyone this morning, breakfast, pack up and head out on the road to Port Augusta. Pretty drive along side the mountains, amazing scenery through the Flinders Ranges, on top of the mountain a magnificent view then winding down through Horrocks Pass to the flat plains, breathtaking view behind us of the mountain range and we stopped to take some photos. The Spencer Gulf before us and Port Augusta. We visited the Info centre, the Anzac Day service had started in the park so we visited the Rotary Park Tower to view the town and to look down over the Spencer Gulf, back into the city for some shopping then dropped into Desert Lands Botanical Gardens for a picnic lunch before joining the Stuart Highway and continuing our journey to Coober Pedy. The countryside still flat, the Ghan railway line running alongside the road until we reached some hills, where it diverted off the right, over the hills an amazing view of the Island Lagoons took our breath away, stretching out in the distance in this dry and parched area. Some great lookouts for photos along the road then we continued our journey to Pimba 400kms south of Coober Pedy. Found a free camp site next to a petrol station and restaurant with well serviced toilet facilities. Lots of other vans here as well so we found a spot that suited and set up camp. Quite a few semis coming in and out of the station and one pulled up alongside us, the driver dropped over the say Hi and reassure us that he wouldn't be leaving really early about 7am, thankfully we will be awake by then. He stayed to chat for a while telling us that he had driven today from the West Australian border, about 1100 kms - he had left there this morning at 4.45am and arrived here at 7pm and he had taken his rest stops as required. We had finished our dinner at our vans and we were thrilled to watch as the Ghan passed our camping area about 8.30pm, blowing his horn as we waved. We have a long day tomorrow, so we had our evening chat, star gaze, blog and bed.
Monday 26th - the town of Woomera is 6kms from where we are camped so we paid them an early visit, at 8.30am there is no one to be seen in town so we took a drive around and discovered an area where they had rockets and planes in a park near a museum which wasn't open and didn't open until 10am. We didn't have the time to hang around that long so took some photos and on our way back to the cars Lorraine got chatting to a garbo and got the low down on the town from him. It seems that business is as usual in Woomera, rocket testing etc still in business but very secret, Brits pulled out recently, Americans here in 80's, Japanese come and go and the Secret Squirrels (local name for those involved) still testing. Time to move on, long drive to Coober Pedy where we plan to spend the night.
The road to Coober Pedy is very flat, very straight, extremely long runs, the countryside varied, amazing really, lots of desert with very low shrub, no trees, then hilly with large open valleys beyond, we were thrilled to see some of the lakes with water in them, they have had lots of recent rain and lots of green to be seen. Island Lagoons sighted off to the left and then Lake Hart, an amazing expanse of water over the hill to the right. We stopped to take photos at various points, some good rest areas available. Still only small trees in some areas but mostly desert.
Arrived at Coober Pedy late afternoon and booked into Top Tourist park, set up and then took a drive through town to get petrol. Opal shops everywhere, (best put your wallet under guard Geoff) the underground hotel and other underground buildings look fascinating, although not what I expected so will be interesting tomorrow to check them out. It's raining in Coober Pedy so we put up Wendy's tarp, works fantastically. Wendy is our neighbour and she has sewn a rope into our tarp so that it slides onto the awning with ease, great work. It is also pretty windy but we are well protected. After dinner we were able to Skype Mel and Kez, so good to see them, except Holly and Jade, who were asleep. We are 1/2 hour behind EST on Central time. Josh has lost a front tooth on the top and the opposite bottom tooth is loose, he is pretty cool about it!
Time for shower and bed. We love to get your comments, to hear from you, positive comments please. Thanks Jeremy, love from all of us.
Tuesday 27th - what an amazing day - the town of Coober Pedy has so much to offer the tourist. First we woke to sunshine and no rain, great work! The town is red dirt and it would have been very muddy in the wet. First thing a walk into town and a visit to Umoona an underground Opal Mine and Museum where we were able to view the processes of opal mining and history of the town and its early settlers. Apart from the Aborigines, people have been living in Coober Pedy and looking for opal since 1915 when opal was first found. We were able to view some lovely jewelery as well with some good information from the girls behind the counter. We then moved on next door to the Desert Cave Hotel, also underground and an amazing tunnelling system which was filled with information, the underground dwellings are fascinating and also cool. The hotel has a cafe, a couple of shops which sell opal and other local artefacts, a restaurant and tunnels of history. Next a wander back through town, visited the Catholic church which is underground, then to the Information centre and lunch back at the caravan. We are booked on a mine tour at Tom's Working Opal Mine just out of town so we drove out there for a 2pm start. We are greeted by Jimmy and his wife who now own the mine and after introductions we don hard hats and head down the first tunnel into the mine. Jimmy is a Scot and a real character, he is a terrific guide, he has lived and worked in CP for 30 years and has owned this mine for the past 5 years. We were able to see machinery working, learnt how opal is formed and how it is found, we walked all over the mine each section showing a different part of the processes and it was fascinating, we worked the divining rods, rode the bosuns chair, saw the machine that cuts away the rock to make tunnels, watched the dust blower extract the mulloch (dirt,dust and rock that contains little of no opal, saw opal in the rock ceilings and walls and learnt what to look for. Ooed and ahhhhed at the samples of jewellery in the shop and thoroughly enjoyed our visit, we even managed a little bit of noodling once above ground, looking through the mulloch above the mine for bits of opal not picked up by the miners, we didn't find any! Next we drove to the Big Winch, on the lookout over the town, the Serbian Underground church which was beautiful, and Faye's underground home. Faye was a woman who came to CP when she was 29 looking for an outback experience. She got a job here, then opened her own cafe to cook for miners, she dug out by hand her own two roomed cottage which she later extended with a couple of girl friends to a three bedroom home with a kitchen, dining room and living room with a swimming pool, the first swimming pool in CP. She also dug her own mine which she worked and made quite a lot of money, she is now 77 and lives in Queensland and recently visited her old home and met the new owners. The family who own the cottage now open it to tourists during the day and they were very interesting and hospitable. Our day not quite complete yet! We head back to the cars and drove 30kms north to view the Breakaways at sunset, the Breakaways are a group of mountains that popped up during the movement of plates several millions of years ago when the sea receded from this area, the colours in this group of hills are amazing, ocre, white, reds and browns. The Aborigines use the colours and soil from this area in their traditional body decorating for tribal dances etc. The light changes constantly as the sun sets and we race from one lookout to another to get the variation of photos. We came home via a different route following the dog proof fence, previously known as the rabbit proof fence, this amazing fence runs from the Great Australian Bight through SA and up into Queensland and is designed to keep the dingos on the northern side and the sheep on the southern side, the road we travelled back to CP was all dirt road, what a great day, chat to Mel, Dave, Holly and Jade on Skype, late dinner, call from Kez, blog and bed. Moving on tomorrow to Cagney Homestead.
Wednesday 28th - Drove out of Coober Pedy this morning heading for Cadney Homestead which is at the turnoff to The Painted Desert, the road from CP is described as a moonscape because of all the little hills which are mulloch heaps from the thousands of mines which dot this area, they go on and on for kms. The scenery past the CP surrounds is pretty much the same as all over central Australia, changes from desert with very little shrubs to small trees, long flat roads, an occasional hill. Cadney Homestead is an oasis - a reasonably priced stopover for people who wish to visit the Painted Desert or travellers caught between two towns. Well set up with a restaurant, petrol and shop.
We set up our camp and transfer ourselves into Pauls 4WD for the long trek to the Painted Desert - 90kms towards Oonadatta. The road is rough with lots of dry creek beds and travel is slow, 2 hours of driving brought us to an area with mountains similar to the Breakaways, colours of ocre, white, brown, red and lots of small rocks, we drove up to the lookout on Mount Baddersley and looked down across acres of flat land ribboned by different colours, yellow, brown, orange, green stretching between the mountains and as far as the eye could see, a beautiful picture but for some of us a bit disappointing, not as spectactular as we expected. The geology was amazing, the variety of rocks around, most quite different to those we generally see. Lots of photos taken and then we piled back into the car and headed for Cadney again. 90kms on rough road is a long way and another 2 hours brings us back in twilight. A small group of kangaroos hop across our path, cattle turn to watch us and run off the sides of the track as we approach. No other wildlife around.
We arrive back at the campsite to discover the sewer has overflowed right alongside our vans, so we pack up and move to another spot, set up again and have dinner tonight in the restaurant. A near full moon lights the sky on a beautiful clear night.
Thursday 29th - Travel day today heading north to Marla then to the Northern Territory border where we stop for lunch. The border is marked by a large brown concrete structure with Welcome to the Northern Territory on one side and Welcome to South Australia on the other, there are tables and displays about Central Australia, clean facilities and it is a well cared for area which we really appreciate, there have been quite a few rest areas not clean or serviced. Lots of caravans stopped here today. We move on again and head for Erldunda at the junction of the Stuart and Lassiter Highways. The Lassiter Highway goes to Uluru and after purchasing petrol @ 1.80ltr we turn off the Stuart and start the drive towards this amazing area of Australia. 60kms up the road we pulled into a Mt Ebenezer roadhouse for the night - Uluru is still 200km away. Set up and spend the remainder of the day relaxing, planning our next couple of days, dinner and bed ready for an early start. Full moon tonight on another cool evening in the great outdoors.
Friday 30th - Happy Birthday Emily with love from all of us.
The scenery changes today to a much hillier landscape, lots of rocks throughout the desert, magnificent colours in the soil, reds, oranges in a variety of shades, absolutely amazing, then in the distance Mt Connor loomes on the horizon, the flat top and long neck of this mountain is awesome. The lookout gives us a really great view and lots of photo shots.
Still a long drive to Uluru so we continue on our way anxious to get to our destination. Uluru and The Olgas come into view and we are awestruck with their beauty. Although we have seen hundreds of photos of these rocks they do not do justice to them in the flesh. Wow, awesome, fantastic, beautiful colours, huge all come to mind. We arrive at Ayres Rock Resort and book into the caravan park. The resort is also huge with lots of different types of accommodation from hotels, to cabins, to caravan sites, to tent cities available. After setting up we decide to visit the Olgas this afternoon and we drive into the National Park and 53kms to these amazing rocks. The aboriginal name is Kata Tjuta and means 'many heads' and we drive first to the Valley of the Winds and take a walk around the paths, our group heads up to the first lookout, from there on it is rough and difficult so we do not go on, the Olgas are huge and although look like they a one huge rock, they are actually a number of rocks, 36 steep sided domes, some with valleys between. The Olgas are sacred sites to the aboriginal men and they lie 32kms west of Uluru, 50kms by road. Next to Walpa Gorge which is a valley you can walk through and a much easier walk.
We have really enjoyed our visit here today but the sun is starting to set and we want to get to Uluru and the Sunset viewing area to see the sun set on the rock. A great finish to the day, hundreds of people here tonight, bus loads of tourists and many cars and Britz vans everywhere. Magnificent sight. We are all exausted and the drive back to the caravan park in the dark is slow. Late dinner, showers and bed early as we want to get up before sunrise and head back to the rock.
Saturday 1st May - We leave the campsite at 6.15am for the 18km drive to Uluru, there are lots of cars on the road and as we drive around to the viewing area we are again greeted by bus loads of people. The viewing area is a wooden structure set back from the rock and is on 3 levels with plenty of space, also paths from the area allow people to move around freely to get the right vantage point. The mood of the group is friendly and happy and it is exciting to be here. As the sun comes up the colours of the rock change and the shadows move across the rock face leaving a glow of light, awesome!
We have decided to go back to the caravan park for breakfast, do some washing and sorting this morning and then come back to the rock a little later so we join the buses and cars on the drive back to the resort. Another beautiful day, cool mornings and evenings but hot during the day.
Approx 11am we head back into the National Park to spend some time exploring this amazing monolith. The beauty and diversity of Uluru is something you cannot see from pictures, each part of it is so different, great craters, long smooth drops, markings where water has created a black seam down the face, huge shavings of rock have come off at a few points and sit on top of huge boulders, huge cracks and holes in the face tell stories of Aboriginal legends. A visit to the Cultural centre gives us a lesson about the rock and its traditional guardians who have lived in this area for thousands of years. We are on Aboriginal land and they ask us to respect it by taking care of it. The cultural centre is well presented and we are glad we visited. Next to the Mala Walk, an area around the base of part of the rock, aboriginal art on the walls of caves and the area where you can climb Uluru if you wish. We watch people going up this climb and shudder at the steepness of the first part of the climb. There have been over 35 deaths on the rock climb and the Aboriginal people ask visitors not to climb it at all. The National Park trust still allow visitors to climb if they wish.
Next a drive around the base of the rock - walking trail is 10.4km loop around, we make our way to the Kuniya walk and the Mutitjulu Waterhole on the southern side of the rock and again walk around the paths to view various caves, aboriginal art on the walls and then walk into an amazing lush green area of trees and shrubs to the waterhole. The waterhole is the only one at Uluru and a viewing platform allows you to look over the clear water to a V in the rock, a magnificent spot, very peaceful and a wonderful spot for the Uluru animals to come for water. This was an amazing visit and a fantastic spot to end our journey around Uluru. Very hard to leave this place after such a wonderful visit but we say our farewells and drive back to the caravan park for a late lunch, a look around the resort, dinner, blog and bed.
Sunday 2nd May - left Ayers Rock Resort early this morning and joined the Lassiter Highway back as far as the Kings Canyon Road - it is 304kms from the resort to Kings Canyon and the scenery is spectactular. Uluru looms in the distance, the Olgas still visible, and as our journey continues Mt Connor is visible, then onto Kings Canyon Road and the scenery changes, dense shrubery, beautiful and green, so amazing to be able to enjoy the new growth after the rains. Then on the right the huge walls of the mountain range, sloping down into the valley below, escorting us into the Kings Canyon area. After days of desert, the canyon walls are magnificent and such different scenery. We arrive at the Resort and book into the caravan park and set up our vans with a view so breathtaking it is hard to describe. The mountain range is in the distance and looms over the valley below. After lunch we take a drive out to the Canyon and check out the Canyon Creek walk - it is only 2.6kms return and easy walking. As we walk along the trail there are lots of native bushs and flowers, insects and birds and we enjoy them all. A beautiful bush called a Holly Grevillea is everywhere and in flower - really pretty red flowers. We are loving the wild flowers all over the desert and they have come out early due to the rains, we have seen so many along the tracks and around Uluru and the Olgas. At the end of the track is a lookout which views the lovely gums and orange mountain range and looks up to the Rim Walk which some are attempting tomorrow. Behind us is a Billabong surrounded by rocks of all shapes, sizes and colours, many of them have come down from the mountain range, a magnificent scene, quiet and restful. We soak up the atmosphere before heading back down the track and back to the caravan park - all very tired.
Whilst having dinner we are visited by a couple of wild dingos that live near the caravan park, we were warned about them and told not to feed them orleave anything outside eg food or shoes as they will disappear.They are beautiful animals with light cream coats. After dinner we visit the Outback BBQ area for a show put on by a couple - Reuben and Petrea call themselves the Roadies and sing, play guitar, encourage audience participation and put together a pretty ordinary evenings entertainment. However we get involved and all participate in some way or another. Geoff attempting to play the didgeridoo, Lorraine & Heath singing Do a diddy with another 5 women all with funny wigs and pretend mikes, and Paul and Rangsima pretend they are on their honeymoon and are serenaded by Reuben. Too much for Steve who decided it was time for a shower! Still good fun. Early night tonight as we will move on again tomorrow and some will do the Rim walk 6.5kms and want an early start due to the heat. Geoff and I are considering a helicopter ride as the walk is not in my can do capabilities.
Monday 3rd May - Steve, Lorraine, Paul and Rangsima packed up early this morning and drove into Kings Canyon to do the rim walk around the top of the canyon before the day heated up, Geoff and I took our time to pack the van and then booked a helicopter ride to view the rim and the canyon from the air, we have never been in a helicopter and are so excited about this activity. the heliport is 5 mins down the road and our pilot Sean and another pilot, Joel are expecting us. It is 9.30 when we climb into our seats and take to the air after Geoff has asked Sean a thousand questions about how this and that work, Sean is patient and happy to answer all his questions and as we rise in the air a wonderful exhilarating feeling hits us both, wow, this is fantastic. The Kings Canyon range is named Ernest Giles Range after the brother in law and friend of George Gill, the man who discovered the canyon and range of mountains. Apparently Ernest Giles helped fund the original expedition.The helicopter climbs up as we go over the top of the desert and rises to 3500 ft, the range sits at 1000 ft and as we circle over the top Sean gives us a guided tour via our headsets pointing out the Garden of Eden, the bridge spanning a gorge, the edge of the canyon, Kings Creek and its path along the desert flat, we are amazed to see so much green up here and Sean explains that we are seeing a very rare sight due to the recent rains everything is so lush, even the steep sides of the gorge have new growth. We circle over the top twice then head to the north rim, rise a little so we can see Uluru, the Olgas and Mt Connor in the distance and then over the desert floor, circle over the caravan park and then back to the helipad. We have had a wonderful flight and thank Sean and Joel as we leave the helipad. Back at the caravan park we finish packing the van and head out to the canyon to meet the others when they come down from the walk. They too are full of excitement and info about the rim and its amazing features, the Garden of Eden which is in a gorge, goes down into a rock pool and some people were swimming in it, the climb up the rim was steep but not difficult and once on the top the path meanders up and down. They said they were waving at us but we couldn't see them, people looked like ants to us. We all have lots of photos to enjoy. Both wonderful experiences.
Our next stopover is only 50kms down the road at Kings Creek Station, a working cattle station with a caravan park on the side. We arrive and set up, have lunch and settle down for a relaxing afternoon. Lorraine, Steve, Paul and I went for a swim in the station pool, the water quite cold getting in but once we got moving it was sensational, Steve and Paul got chatting to a couple who have been on the road on and off for 3 years and a little later they come over to the caravans to say hello, Richard and Julie Oakden are old friends of ours from West Pennant Hills and are known as BCA nomads touring around the country helping out at BCA churches with odd jobs, also some station sitting, visiting family in Tassie and Sydney and having a ball. They are camped just across from us and we spend the afternoon catching up with them. After dinner, which was a take away at the shop, a Camel burger $12 and chips $4.80 a small bucket, they have the market and can charge whatever they wish, the boys get a fire going and Richard and Julie came over and joined us, oohh you should see the stars tonight, the milky way is explosive, millions of stars light up the night sky, a huge shooting star (space junk really) flies through the night sky. It is all so beautiful. It is so quiet here and peaceful. Another early start tomorrow as we head for the Finke River then Alice Springs.
Tuesday 4th May - up early, breakfast, said our farewells to Richard and Julie and drove back down to the Lassiter Highway enjoying the early morning scenery and the eagles that circle overhead and sit high in the tree branches, they are beautiful and majestic, we see both wedged tailed eagle and black kite. Back on the Stuart Highway we head north to the Finke River and cross the bridge and pull into the crowded rest area. There are quite a few caravans here but on checking we find they are only here for a lunch stop, the rest area is quite close to the road but we manage to find enough room on the lower side away from the road, another two caravans arrive, then another large van, as the afternoon progresses more vans arrive until the small rest area is packed with vans, all staying for the night. The boys collect fire wood and we went for a walk down to the river which was flowing, not very deep but the scenery is lovely, the tide mark on the small shrubs shows where the water level rose to when the river was peeked a month ago, dinner around the open fire, then the stars came out. This was even better than Kings Creek station, there are no lights anywhere and the stars are brilliant in a beautiful clear sky. We chatted to people from the other vans, a couple who had been everywhere and gave Lorraine lots of information, a young dutch couple in a small hire van touring OZ and a young guy who travels around with his dog, Chief or Boof as he is often called, Rod gets work in most towns, tiler by trade, travels by himself which he tells us he enjoys, boy can he talk, he chatted most of the afternoon, then cooked his meal on our fire, then joined us around the fire until we all went to bed. His whole life was in his truck, his swag for sleeping, food, tools, clothes, dog and all.
Wednesday 5th May - an early start again today, we wanted to get into Alice Springs at lunchtime. The scenery changes so much in the outback, today, mountains all around, the Macdonall Range sweeps down both sides of the road and is spectacular, we are so looking forward to exploring some of the gorges that make up this range.
Into Alice Springs, a busy city now, all the familiar business, Harvey Norman, SuperCheap, Repco, Maccas, Red Rooster, Hungry Jacks all line the road into the city, caravan parks sights and our Tom Toms guide us through. The first caravan park was nearly full and we couldn't get 3 sites together so we moved on to the next park just up the highway and pulled in to the Top Tourist park. Great - 3 sites together and on grass, wonderful. We set up camp, decided on Maccas for lunch and then food shopping, we are all a bit light on. Back at the caravans, food packed away, chat, dinner at local club, plan tomorrow and bed. Check on blog - great to hear from Chris, Jeremy and Loren also Robyn and Colin Gibb - glad you are enjoying our blog.
Thursday 6th May - the Macdonall range of mountains are extraordinary, they range from huge mountains to small hills and all are so different. Most of them are covered with rocks both large and small, a small range that runs beside the road out to the gorges has waves of rocks rising out of the ground just like the ocean waves, others have huge boulders, one range looks like a giant caterpillar or centipede with a long rounded top and legs coming out the side stretching down into the valley, they are mostly orange in colour with lots of greenery. Our trip this morning takes us to the West Macdonall Ranges, Simpson's Gap being our first gorge, a easy short walk to the gorge where a lovely small waterhole stretches into the gorge greets us,a really pretty spot. Our next gorge is Standley Chasm and we need to be there between 11am and 1pm to catch the sun shining through the gap in the massive cliffs that form this chasm. It is a bit of a walk 1.5kms of rough rocky terrain but with the help of my trusty walking sticks I am thrilled to get to the chasm and see the beauty of the narrow opening and the colours in the walls. Alongside the walk Angkerie Creek runs and it is filled with ghost gums making a really pretty scene. We had hoped the sun would hit the walls and set them ablaze with the fiery red that it is famous for but it is not at the right angle today but it is so impressive we are not disappointed. At the end of the chasm huge rocks climb towards the sky and the colours are orange and a creamy white, magnificent. We make our way slowly back down through the rocks and back to the carpark for lunch and to decide where to next. Group decision is to go to Glen Helen and Ormiston Gorges at the far end of this set, about 132kms from Alice and then work our way back towards Alice and see as many as possible. We are not disappointed, Glen Helen, then Ormiston, both have waterholes which are spectactular, we would love to swim but it is quite cold today and the water temperature in these waterholes is quite chilly. Our next stop is the Ocre Pits where the walls of the pits are ocre, red, white and are used by the local aborigine tribes as decorative paint, they are amazing and the colours fantastic. Continuing our journey our last visit is to Ellery Creek Big Hole, a very large waterhole tucked in below towering cliffs, this waterhole is very deep 14mtrs, the top 30cms is comfortable but below that the temperature drops and is extremely cold, on a hot day it is very popular with locals and visitors alike. The light has got us and the sun has set so time to make our way back to the caravan park in the dark and it is still a long way back 92kms to Alice.
Friday 7th May - slept in this morning, we all have washing to do so an easy morning. 10mins drive down the road is the Old Telegraph Station which was the birthplace of Alice Springs, wonderful restored buildings trace an early history from an operating Telegraph Station, the stolen generation and war years. The Telegraph line ran from Adelaide to Darwin and was the only line of communication to the rest of the world via Singapore by underwater cable. The buildings are of sandstone and house scenes of an era when the Station master and telegraph workers lived on site, after that it was used as a home and school for 1/2 caste (aboriginal/white) children to live. The buildings are in amazing condition and are an excellent tourist attraction giving the visitor a look into the past of this amazing town. The Alice Springs waterhole is also on site and is surrounded by rocks and sand and a very pretty spot.
Back to the caravan park for lunch then drove up to Anzac Hill which looks over the city and out to the mountains, beautiful sight then down to the RSL to have a quick look at the War Museum. Then a wander around town, looking at the malls and some food shopping before returning to the vans. Early night tonight as tomorrow we plan to do the East Macdonell Range with lots more gorges to see.
Saturday 8th May - woke this morning after a very cold night, down to 5 degrees in our caravan, headed out of town and down the Ross Highway to visit the East Macdonnell Ranges. Again the Macdonnell Ranges change - the huge mountain ranges still in the background but small teepee type hills dot the countryside. We have decided to visit three spots today, the Corroboree Rock first, then Jessie and Emily Gorges on the return journey. Each has its own special beauty and the culture and history of Eastern Arrernte Aboriginal people. Corroboree rock is amazing and multifaceted, as you follow the path around the rock it changes shape, glimpses of the blue sky can be seen through the rock at three different points by holes left as the rock formed, the landscape around full of soft and spikey grasses and desert shrubs, some grasses shaped like a pine tree but so soft and delicate and a soft purple in colour.
Next to Jessie Gorge, a very pretty ghost gum, dry, sandy creek bed runs through the gorge with a steep orange cliff on one side and orange and cream rocky hill on the other, small waterholes are around and an wonderful array of birdlife, tiny finches sweeping down into the water to drink and to wash, wild green budgies delight us with their sound and flying in and out of their nest in a beautiful white gum, small grey dove peck in the sand for delights of their choice, we stand and watch in awe and they are not phased by our presence. Back at the cars and two beautiful kites was flying low overhead, circling and sweeping down beside the mountains just over the trees, wow they are so graceful.
Our last stop is Emily Gorge and it is beautiful, to get into the gorge and to view the aboriginal drawings on the walls of the gorge we have to cross one creek and one waterhole, over the narrow creek to a lovely sandy beach area and then shoes off to walk through the chilly waterhole to the sand beyond and the gorge. Rock drawings in red depicting the caterpillars of the area are on the rock face and the area is fenced off to protect it but close enough for us to enjoy, It is so quiet and we decide to go back to the cars and bring our lunch down to the waterhole to enjoy the area a little longer, hard to leave an area like this, it is picturesque.
We headed back into town and decided to stop at a camel farm on our way back, well maybe not - it was closed! And we could not see any camels anywhere. We stopped on the way back to look at some beautiful Sturt Desert Pea growing just beside the road, they are such an amazing plant and so unusual. Great phone call and chat to my brother Peter who has been following and enjoying our blog. Wonderful day enjoyed by all.
NB Apologies to the English teachers and students reading this blog for my grammar, tenses, typing and spelling errors, I usually write this just before bed when I am tired, I try to read over and correct mistakes but miss some. Have done some editting. H.
Sunday 9th May - we had decided a few days ago that we would go to church this morning so we had a lazy morning, Mother's Day. Arrived at the Anglican church in Alice to find that the 10am service had been changed to 9am combining both the 8am and 10am services so we were too late, service nearly over. Morning tea at Maccas seemed like a good idea so off we set.
Maccas was packed and the service so slow, not enough staff on this morning to cope with the clients.
Next a visit to the Rivers Store where they were having a big clearance sale. Shoes seemed to be the popular purchase and Geoff, Lorraine and I all found some we liked at a good price.
Our next visit was to the Araluen Cultural Precinct - location for Central Australian Art and Culture. First the Art Centre where the focus is on Aboriginal art including the Albert Namatjira Gallery which displays a rotating selection of paintings by this famous artist, his descendants and contemporaries, a magnificent selection which we all enjoyed. Next to the Museum of Central Australia which took us through a journey through the evolution of Central Australia, to ancient rocks, animals and fauna, more familiar mammals, reptiles and insects. To giant crocodile and the largest bird that ever lived, Dromornis stirtoni, dated at eight million years. A fantastic array.
Red Rooster for lunch break and then back to the Central Australian Aviation Museum located in two aircraft hangers, one being the original Connellan Airways on the site of Alice Springs first air strip. The museum houses early flying doctor planes, a restored DC3 and other historical aircraft and aviation memorabilia. We also climbed into the DC3 to watch a film on the history of the Connellan Airways and the changes it brought to the Northern Territory and its people.
Another wonderful day in this amazing place of Alice Springs, we have so enjoyed our 5 days here.
Monday 10th May - had a few housekeeping jobs to do in town after which we hit the road north saying farewell to Alice Springs, the road climbs up over the MacDonnell Range and hits a plateau stretching way into the distance, a long flat road greets us as we continue our journey stopping briefly at a memorial (Warburton) an explorer who headed into WA to reach the coast, Tropic of Capricorn (in line with Longreach Qld), Aileron, Ti Tree, Barrow Creek and into a rest area at Taylor Creek, which was already packed with caravans, for the night. There were about 20 vans in this free camp spot and we found ourselves an area up one end where we could have a fire and rest for the night. The boys went in search of wood and came back with a dead tree and proceeded to cut it up and build our fire. A great night except for the moths and grasshoppers which invaded our lights and nearly drove Rangsima to distraction, squealing with fright everytime she was their target. It was quite a warm night and a good nights sleep was on our agenda.
Tuesday 11th - Geoff's birthday - packed the vans and hit the road again heading further north stopping in at Wycliffe Well, the UFO capital of Australia, we took some fun photos of the roadhouse where newspaper cuttings of sightings line the restaurant and shop walls, checked out the waterhole under the bridge and moved on. Through Wauchope until we reached the Devils Marbles. Wow, this amazing landform comes out of nowhere. The huge rocks spread out over acres of land are mind blowing and we set out exploring the area. The rocks piled on top of one another are the result of the break down of the granite around them over many millions of years and are fantastic to see. There is also a well set up camping area with toilet facilities and fireplaces and we imagine it would be a very popular place to stay. However it is to early for us and we head north again to Tennant Creek where we plan to stay the night. On both sides of this stretch of road the wattle trees are in flower and make a very pretty journey. Our book tells us of a dam on the northern side of town and we head there for lunch before returning to town and the caravan park. The Mary Ann Dam is a very pretty spot and would have been nice except for the wind which nearly blew us into the lake. We decided to stay at the Outback Caravan Park where we booked in, lots of friendly faces around us, people we have met as we have travelled are here too. Took a drive up to the Information Centre at the Battery Hill Gold Mine site and had a wander around. Very run down tourist attraction so we decided to drive into town for a coffee. Lots of local aborigine in town, no coffee shops open and we decide on the safety of the caravan park. Dinner at our caravans then a campfire with a local identity, Jimmy, telling yarns and bush poetry, lemongrass tea and damper available for $4 a head. Jimmy works at the caravan park, has been a miner, and has lived in Tennant Creek for many years. He can't read or write and has learnt his poems by memory, most of them made up by himself. A very interesting character. Back at the caravan we finish the evening with port and celebration cake for Geoff's birthday. We have all had calls from family tonight, making the most of network services in the towns.
Wednesday 12th May - pack our vans and head into town for a coffee at The Top of the Town coffee shop before heading north on a relatively short drive to Banka Banka Station, a working cattle station we have heard is a worthwhile stop. Our coffee is hot and enjoyable then back to the vans and on the road. 12kms north is another Telegraph Station, one of a trio open to the public to view and we call in there for a look around. There are no staff on site as with Alice Springs but the buildings are in good condition and we are able to access most of them. Life out here must have been so tough but what they achieved is amazing. The old telegraph lines are still here, the living quarters, the store for their food, the smokehouse, the telegraph rooms, various sheds for storing equipment, an old buggy in the shed which would have a story all of its own. The butcher shop with a cool room and the blacksmith shed are amazing to look through and we have found this a very interesting stop. Back on the road again and continue our journey to Banka Banka, we have heard it is a very popular stopover so we want to arrive early to get in. We have no problems and arrive early afternoon and set up on a grassy circle. Over the afternoon the station fills with vans of many different types and sizes, quite a few motorbikes also have joined us here. After lunch we walk up to the top of the hill which overlooks the station for a fantastic panorama. This station is huge and we were to learn more when we called in at the kiosk and got chatting to the managers. Banka Banka is one of a group of 3, Helen Springs, another one. Together they cover over 3 million acres, Banka Banka is 1 million acres. They care for 65000 head of cattle and send live steers to Darwin then to Indonesia. They have their own road trains, plane, 200 staff, 4000 kms of fencing to maintain and 2600 kms of roads on the properties. The properties have recently been sold to the Aboriginal Land Council who plan to extend and upgrade the Banka Banka site continuing to keep the caravan park in tack but upgrade facilities. Presently there is no powered sites at BB. We spend a fascinating time with them.
Thursday 13th May - an early start this morning as we wish to get to the historical pub at Daly Waters as early as possible. This is also a very popular stopover for tourists and we have been told to get in early. The drive not very interesting as there is little to see over the thick shrubs and small trees that fringe the long, straight stretches of road. The only highlight of the trip is a side road visit to the Drovers Memorial at Newcastle Waters. A magnificent bronze statue of a drover with saddle bags on either side stands tall on the hill just above the beautiful setting which is Newcastle Waters. Pelicans and other water birds cruise the winds overhead and float on a stretch of water with lovely islands of green grasses. Seems strange in this area, there are also some historical homes in this area. Back on the Stuart Highway we continue our journey and arrive at the turnoff to Daly Waters early afternoon. We book in and also book in for their well known Beef n Barra Dinner tonight. We set up camp and watch as many caravans arrive, they sure pack them in, then over to the pub for a look around at this historical area. The pub is filled with memorabilia of a variety of kinds, paper money, knickers both male and female, bras dangle from overhead beams, stubby holders and flags from all around the country and world, out back are chairs and tables ready for dinner and an assortment of old wares from yesteryear adorn the yard. We stop for a beer and end up staying until dinner at 6.30pm. The beef and barra are cooked to perfection and the assortment of salads and damper fill our plates and we eat and enjoy. Entertainment is by way of a guitarist/singer who has a fabulous assortment of 50,60,70s music for us to enjoy. A great nights entertainment only surpassed by the brilliance of the stars overhead.
Friday 14th May - no need to rush this morning so a leisurely pack up, we farewell Daly Waters and head back to the Stuart Highway heading for Mataranka just over 100kms north. The scenery the same as yesterday so nothing to report on that front however we drive through a town called Larrimah, Geoff and I in the lead car notice some signs re a free zoo but drive on, Paul and Rangsima in the next car decide to stop and have a quick look around, Steve and Lorraine do the same and call us on the CB, we let them know we have past the town and will wait up ahead for them. After a while Steve came back to the radio and tells us this little town is worth having a look at so we turn around and head back to Larrimah, driving our Tom Tom lady beserk! Larrimah is a historical town with a great pub, bird, snake, wallaby and crocodile santuary. The most beautiful birds in the Northern Territory are housed here and Barry the owner has a great love for and knowledge of each one of them. We wander around the cages, delighted with the magnificent colours of each parrot and finch. A small wallaby grazes nearby and a very young joey sits in a cooler bag hung on the fence. The snakes are housed in their own room and are well cared for, an amazing array. The one crocodile on site is a 7ft young male and he successfully hides beneath the water coming up occasionally to bask in the sun on the grass or check out who is around. We decide to buy some coffee and have our morning tea here and sit around chatting to the staff. We also notice that they make their own fresh pies here and the lady tells us that she is also baking homemade sausage rolls and if we wait they will be ready in 15 minutes. Too good an option so we decide to spend a bit more time here, one of the girls gets the joey out to give him his bottle and we watch as he holds the bottle in his paws, a beautiful sight. Amazing pies, filled to the brim with steak and mushroom or cheese and bacon make their way to our table then the sausage rolls, we have never seen sausage rolls this size stuffed with meat, cheese and bacon as well and by the end of lunch we are, well you know, stuffed! A real treat awaited us, Barry asked us if we would like to see the croc being fed, well as if! We followed him down to croc pond and we watched as this croc jumped out of the water to take the chicken wings off the string snapping his jaws at awesome speed and then sliding back into the pond to wait for the next morsel, we took some great photos, crocs are so fast and you cannot see them under water, you would never know they are there. A terrific visit, crocs do not need a lot of food and this feller only gets fed twice a week. Across the road and maintained by the same people is an historical museum - this town was a important area during WW11 and housed army personnel and nurses, a communication area, relay station, airfields were close by and a fantastic display is housed in this museum and sadly most people drive through and never stop to look. Steve, Paul and Geoff all had family who were involved in the war in Darwin and this brought home to them the importance of this area. Our 5 min stopover took 2 hours and a most worthwhile stopover it was. DON'T MISS IT ON YOUR JOURNEY UP THE STUART. Best be on our way so back to the cars and back on the Stuart and we are looking for an airfield further north to look at on our way through. We turn off onto a dirt road at Gorrie at a WW2 airfield sign and head into the bush, caravans and all, bit muddy and rough in here, numerous tracks, no more signs, forks in the road, which way, who knows, not this way, good grief, how do we turn around on a dirt track with trees on either side, Steve heads up ahead to see if he can find an airfield or a place to turn around but to no avail, Geoff backs around on a 10point turn after warning Paul not to come this way and Steve ends up having to do the same - needless to say, we did not find the airport in the scrub, must be there somewhere! Lots of laughs but we are glad to get out of there and back on bitumen. We arrive at Mataranka, fill up with petrol and head out to the caravan park with the Thermal pool onsite. Find our spot and set up, don swimmers and head down to the pool for a dip. A short walk through a lovely palm tree boardwalk brings us to a beautiful crystal clear pool and we don't waste time slipping in for a refreshing laze about in a magnificent setting. The water temperature is about 34c and is one of the natural springs in this area putting out 30.5 million litres of water a day. Mindblowing, it flows down through the creek at a fairly fast pace and sitting near the rock wall at the end of the pool you can feel the tug of the water as it flows over the wall and makes its way down the creek to the river at the bottom. We spend sometime here then make our way back to the vans to be greeted by small wallabies with joeys in pouches, beautiful peacocks, male and female, all residents of this magnificent caravan park.
Saturday 15th May - Breakfast early this morning, Rangsima and Lorraine get some washing done, we are eager to get back down to the pool for a swim, it's pretty hot here and we love the refreshing bask in the thermal water, we check out the boardwalk down to the river and the Rainbow Spring that puts out the water flow and spend an hour or so in the pool before heading back to the vans. After lunch we took a drive down to Territory Manor to watch the Barramundi feeding in the pond on site. Huge barra live in this pond covered with waterlilies and they come to the edge to be hand fed twice each day. Barramundi do not have teeth but suck in their fish with a loud clap that comes from their gills closing, small pieces of fish are held down under the water and each one would come up and take the fish from the guys fingers, one huge barra allowed himself to be picked up and held out of the water, 10lb of fish, huge, got some extra titbits for that. The handler was full of great information and allowed 3 guests to hand feed as well, amazing visit.
Not far away is another thermal pool known as Bitter Springs so we drove down there to enjoy another swim in another thermal pool. This pool is much deeper and the flow rapid, as you relax in the pool it carries you down the creek and the swim back is hard work but enjoyable. We make the most of our time here and then head back to the vans. On site here is also a replica of the Elsey Station Homestead, made famous by the book We of the Never Never, written by Jeannie Gunn in 1908 and we enjoy a visit wandering around the old home. Tonight there is dinner and entertainment at the caravan park with Tim Rickards, a singer/guitarist from Alice Springs and also an aboriginal band, The Black Cockatoos. Dinner is terrific, from fish and chips, egg and bacon rolls, to meat or barra burgers, enjoyed by all. Terrific entertainment.
Sunday 16th May - early start this morning as we want to attend a bush chapel church service in the park in Mataranka and arrive to find a few locals and a Salvation Army couple who are taking the service. We are made to feel very welcome and with 6 of us we swell the numbers too. The Salvation army couple have been serving in the NT and Northern WA for the past 7 years and touring around in their caravan taking services and helping where they could. The service is informal and we enjoy talking to the locals and getting some history of the area. This weekend has been a back to the Never Never Festival with all sorts of activities for locals and visitors to enjoy. A local market has been set up in the Territory Manor just a short walk up the road so we enjoy the country hospitality and wander around there sampling their Jonny Cakes and Billy Tea made by the Principal and high school students from Jilkmingan, a combined primary and secondary school 50kms out of town with a 90% aboriginal enrolment and sausage sandwiches made by the local primary school and their teacher. A local lady has written a childrens book about an aboriginal boy and we buy her book, which she signs for us, another grandchildren treasure.Time to move on as we are heading to Katherine, just over 100kms north. Quite a bit of traffic on this section of the road, road trains, buses, plenty of 4 wheel drives and other caravans. Katherine is at a crossroads with people heading to Darwin, across to Western Australia or into Queensland and although quite a small town it copes with lots of through traffic. There are quite a few caravan parks and we choose a Big 4 called the Low Level Caravan Park which has been recommended to us by numerous people. Big 4 parks are well set up and well cared for and this one is no exception. A large swimming pool is a welcome sight and a welcome relief from the heat once we are set up on our sites, it is very hot and muggy, overcast with rain expected. As we haven't had a chance to shop we decide to visit the onsite bistro for dinner, entertainment by Geoff Evans, a singer and keyboard player, menu - barra and chips or roast beef. Light rain falls as we eat which doesn't really bother us much as it is still pretty hot but as it gets a little harder we head back to the vans for tea and port. Nice meal, great entertainment. Lots of discussion about what to do over the next couple of days.
Monday 17th May - a lovely quiet day today, catch up with washing, it is still overcast, quite hot and muggy but no rain. Just up the road from where we are staying is a property called Springvale Homestead. It is the oldest homestead in the NT. Established in 1878 it was managed by Alfred Giles, ex Overland Telegraph linesman and it has been restored after changing hands many times. It is now a tourist site with a caravan park attached. It sits on a hill overlooking the river. We had a lovely time wandering over the property, only the original homestead and a store remain as some of the buildings were lost to fire some years ago. It must have been so tough for homesteaders to survive, so far away from civilisation. They drove 12000 head of sheep from Adelaide to here and how or why they settled on this area is beyond understanding. There are a couple of enormous Rain trees in the property grounds, planted back in 1879 they were brought from South America. A very interesting visit. Back to the van for lunch and then shopping is on the agenda this afternoon, after which we took a swim in the park pool, a lovely way to finish our day.Tuesday 18th May - Katherine Gorge is our destination today, a river cruise with Nitmiluk Tours - 100% indigenous owned and operated by the Jawoyn people, the tradional landowners of this area. We drove out to the National Park where the tours leave from 29kms from Katherine, we had selected the Nitnit Dreaming 2 Gorge Cultural Cruise. We boarded an open boat and headed up the Katherine River. Nitmiluk Gorge winds along 12km with sheer rockfaces more than 70m high. Made up of 13 separate gorges, Nitmuluk gorge is a maze of waterways sculpted from the sandstone over millions of years by the Katherine River. Freshwater crocs live in this river and we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one on our way to the first gorge, our tour guide, another grey nomad, has been working with this company for 15 years and knows the river well, he points out various features in the rock formations and plants and trees that grow along its banks. His offsider is a young Jawoyn man learning how to manouvre the boat through the rocks that appear throughout the river. The gorge is beautiful and has lots of bends and crevices in each section with trees and shrubs, lovely sandy banks and rocky outcrops. At the end of the first gorge we disembark and walk across a rocky path about 600mtrs to join the boat waiting for us in the second gorge. This gorge is also amazing and its feature is the Katherine gorge at the end, it is breathtaking. Our guide also shows us where the water rises to in the wet season and it is hard to imagine, lots of the trees along the banks are horizontal because of the force of the water when the river rises. On our way back we catch a glimpse of another croc, a very big one and our guide tells us stories of people who have been taken by crocs in this area and the silly things they have done. Crocs and their habitat require our respect or we pay the price. Before we know it, 2 hours have passed and we are back at the landing dock. A fascinating tour. As we eat our picnic lunch in the grounds we enjoy the company of some small birds with mossy green backs and fluroscent blue markings on their heads, small wallabies and bats asleep in the trees.
Back through town and out on the Stuart Highway we head north about 50kms to Edith Falls, another part of the National Park, lots of walks of different lengths will bring you to various parts of these falls, we take the short route and walk 150mtrs to a large waterhole where the falls tumble over rocks into this large expanse. There are a few people swimming and we enjoy watching for a while enjoying the scenery of the area. We decide not to swim here but head back into town and visit the Katherine Hot Springs which are on our way back to the van park. Katherine Hot Springs are similar to the other springs we have visited, palm trees along the waters edge, a fast current pulls you through the narrow creek into an open pool at the bottom, the water is crystal clear and we enjoy our swim before heading back to the vans. All too weary to cook dinner we opt for a meal at the bistro onsite. Another wonderful day in this amazing and scenic Northern Territory.
Wednesday 19th May - Our destination today is Litchfield National Park and Geoff and I are excited to be able to visit this place that we have heard about for ever, for those who don't know, our surname is Litchfield. But first: We have had a wonderful time in Katherine and pack up and visit the town for last minute shopping and a look at a camping and fishing shop that we have had our eye on for a couple of days. What an amazing shop, everything a fisherman could use or want and a comprehensive range of camping gear, it was quite difficult to get the boys to leave.
We headed north on the Stuart, the countryside quite different to the scenery we have encountered to date. First the salmon gums, we first came across these at the Nitmiluk Park, they are magnificent trees, the colour is beautiful, like a ghost gum with white trunks and branches but with orange (salmon) colouring patches all over them, hundreds of them dot the countryside as we travel until we reach the mountain ranges, lots of large mountains in the back ground and smaller hills and rocky outcrops alongside the highway, up and down, so different to the long stretches of straight roads we have travelled. We stopped for lunch at Adelaide River, an important town during WW2 and a rail link, the railway line runs alongside the highway right through the middle of town and continues alongside the highway to Darwin. We reach the turnoff to Batchelor, the town on the edge of Litchfield National Park and turn west stopping in Batchelor to check out the information centre and to find out what is open in the park. Not much help here as the guy at the shop gives us incorrect info we were to discover. Litchfield National Park was discovered by the Finness Expedition in 1864 who were looking for a place for a settlement. It is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield who was a surveyor with the expedition. The park is huge and was found not suitable as a settlement but is known for its waterfalls, waterholes and natural beauty. One road runs through the park named Litchfield Park Road and has smaller roads off all with the same name. As you journey north on the Stuart you notice the termite mounds getting bigger and bigger and in Litchfield they are huge. We stopped at an area where they are in abundance, one called the Cathedral mound as that is what it looks like. They are still active and are as hard as rock and are built facing north/south - something to do with the magnetic field. Some stand up to 2m high. As it is getting late we move on to find somewhere to stay. Check out Florence Falls camping area, no room for caravans we discover, we are getting good at 10 pt turns! Move onto Wangi Falls, not much better, difficult to get vans into designated areas and decide to move onto the Safari Camp further up the road. We have travelled 70kms from Batchelor. This park is basic but nice camping and caravans bays under trees and we set up and plan our day for tomorrow. We have had some rain coming through the park and it is a welcome relief from the heat here.
Thursday 20th May - our plan today is to go back to Florence Falls, the first falls in the park, some 26kms away and work our way back towards our van park. Florence Falls has a rock pool at the bottom of a huge cliff face and it is 135 steps down. As we descend we see a rock wallaby sitting between two boulders and a huge Olive Python lying under the steps, as we watch he uncoils and moves up through the rocks and grass, he must be about 15ft long and a soft green in colour, once at the bottom we cross over a small bridge and follow the path to the rock pool which is enormous. Two cascades of water plummet down the crevices in the opposite side of the pool and the noise is deafening. Lots of people down here sitting around the edge of the pool and swimming. It doesn't take us long to join them in the water and it is sensational. We try to swim out to the bottom of the falls but the current is too strong and holds us back. Sheer rock faces above us make this a very beautiful setting and we take our time enjoying relaxing in the water. So much to see today so we face the 135 steps climb back to the top - yes I made it and I am thrilled that I did! Geoff and I see 2 little rock wallabies on the way up - no snake, he has moved off to hide in the crevices.
Our next stop is Buley Rockholes just a few kms up the road, wow, could anything be so beautiful. A series of pools greet us as the water cascades down from further upstream, the first pool about 15ft deep with a waterfall at one end, tree roots attached to the rocks make a good handhold whilst you let the waterfall come crashing down over your head and massage your body, fantastic, next are a series of small areas where the water goes over the rocks at a very fast pace and you can sit on them and allow the water to rush over you or carry you down, bit hard on the backside! The next pool is much deeper, estimate 20 - 25ft and we watch some kids and their dad jumping off the rocks into the pool before they move on down, Paul, Steve and I think this is too much fun to miss out on so we also have a go and enjoy plunging into this pool, Steve hits the water a bit hard and has a very sore rib tonight. ouch! Really hard to leave this spot, we have been here a couple of hours. Our next stopover is at the Tabletop Swamp, an expanse of water covered with waterlilies and mosquitoes, pretty but a short visit is appropriate. Next onto Tolmer Falls Lookout, a 400mtr walk down to the lookout brings us to a very pretty waterfall cascading down a narrow crevice into the pool below, can't swim here, too dangerous. As it is already 2pm we decide to head back to our vans to have some lunch before visiting our last two stops. Sadly on the way back to the park a small wallaby darts across the road and under the wheels of Pauls car, they are so fast and there is no way you can stop in time. Thankfully he is dead and we all feel very sad, they are so cute and there are dozens of them in this area. Wangi Falls is only 4kms back up the road so after lunch we check it out. Also a closed area due to fast currents and also the possiblity of salties being in the creeks and pool here but another fantastic twin falls, a huge open area of water with two waterfalls tumbling down to the pool below, the water looks inviting but not with the possibility of swimming with crocs. A boardwalk takes us around to a great vantage point to get the best photo shots and we make the most of the opportunity. Our last stop is Walker Creek some 10kms up the road and we drive and drive and drive thinking we will never get there. Rain clouds overhead and the light dimming we finally arrive at a very secluded area with a creek running alongside the road. After some searching we found a spot where we could have a dip, the creek is narrow and the pools small so we all felt like we were in a spa, 6 of us together, however it was a really pleasant dip and a great way to finish our day of discovery in this beautiful park. Our drive back to the vans is slow as we are all aware it is dusk and the wallabies are out feeding on the edge of the road. Pack up tonight as we leave in the morning for another park just south of Darwin as we plan to visit the Wildlife Park tomorrow.
Friday 21st May - We say farewell to Litchfield National Park this morning after a great stay here, we have had a great time in an amazing park, short drive to Berry Springs and the Lakes Caravan Park, a very ordinary park, they have obviously had some rain here as everything is orange mud! No sites together so we fit in where we can, set up and have some lunch before heading off to the Territory Wildlife Park. This vast reserve offers many displays and gives people the opportunity to get a good look and feel of the Territory's amazing wildlife. The park offers a train that you can ride around on and get on and off as you get to an exhibit you wish to see or well sign posted paths take you from one spot to another. An amazing noctural habitat gives you a glimpse into the creatures of the night from tiny rodents to echidna, snakes, bandicoot, etc all in natural surroundings. An aquarium is wonderfully set up with fish as tiny as the rainbow fish to barramundi, so huge, then to Graeme, the massive saltwater croc, right up against the glass, this reptile fantastic to watch in this environment, its massive body, head with enormous jaws, the strength in its legs, the swish of his tail as he glides easily along, he could swallow you whole. No wonder there are so many signs on all the rivers and creeks around the top end. Then to the aviary, a wonderful walk through area giving you a glimpse into the habitat of a wonderful array of birds again in their natural surroundings and in divided areas as not all live comfortably with one another. A short wild bird feeding show allows us to view a huge wedge tailed eagle up close, a kite, a small bird of the falcon family, an osprey, trained to feed from the keepers but free to choose whether they would or not, amazing! Agile wallabies, rock wallabies and emu are also here. This is a worthwhile visit and we leave the park at closing time. Next door is a nature park with hot springs and we called in there for a quick dip, just making it out the gate before it closed. Out on the road is a sign advertising the Litchfield Pub some 10kms away and of course we have to check it out. It is out in the middle of the bush and is busy already, where do all these people come from, there is nothing to be seen out here of a town or homes, of course it is Friday night! We make our way into the bistro at the back to find it magnificently set up with beautiful polished natural timber tables and benches. The staff are friendly and the meals enjoyable, the barra delicious and the salads fresh and tasty. Of course Geoff seeks out some souvenirs. A delightful evening and a fun drive back to the van park trying to run over as many cane toads as possible, they are everywhere and ugly as!
Saturday 22nd May - not sorry to leave this park and glad we only have a short drive to Darwin. We are heading for Shady Glen the Top Tourist park 10kms out of Darwin and arrive there before 10am, we are a bit early so it takes a while to sort out our sites but are very happy to be on grass in a well kept park. Set up, some washing and a swim in the park pool before lunch. We all need to shop so off to Casuarina Square, the largest shopping mall in NT. Our tom toms have no problem getting us there and we have a wander around before food shopping in Woolworths. Pretty mundane stuff really but necessary.
We are booked in here for 5 days, lots to see in Darwin and we are looking forward to exploring this city that has seen so many changes.
Sunday 23rd May - today we are having a family day - Lorraine's niece, Elizabeth is living in Darwin and came over to take
them out for the day, first to Nightcliff Markets, a drive around the city and a visit to the War Museum, back to the caravan
park for a while then to Mindil Markets at Fannie Bay where everyone met up again.
Paul and Rangsima went with them to the markets, visited the Air Museum and then did their own thing for the rest of the day.
Geoff and I headed south to visit Geoff's sister, Alison and her partner, George at their home in Gunn, near Palmerston for
lunch. Alison and George work at Komilda, a boarding school in Darwin, Alison has set up a Home Economics Dept and George
has a varied position. We all had a lovely day and enjoyed spending time with our families.
Mindil Markets are held on Sunday and Thursday nights and are huge and very popular. An enormous selection of stalls selling
everything from aboriginal artwork, jewellery of all types, clothes, handcraft, spray painting artwork which was amazing,
food of all types and anything else you can imagine. Everyone meets down at the markets and sits on the beach eating their
dinner and watching the sunset, a magnificent sight. Hopefully some great photos. Oh no, not more sunsets!
Monday 24th May - today we visited the city, our first stop was at the WW2 Oil Tunnels down by the harbour, the tunnels were built in 1943 to replace the oil storage tanks that were destroyed on 19th February, 1942 by the Japanese attack on Darwin. As it turned out the tunnels were never used as they were not finished before the war ended but are amazing. They were built completely by hand, thick concrete walls, built underground, 5 tunnels were finished of the 8 tunnels that were planned. We could walk into the tunnels which vary in length, in the 2nd tunnel we visited the walls told the story of the war and the attack on Darwin. Darwin suffered much during the war and was bombed more times than Pearl Harbour with a loss of ships and buildings and of course many lives. We were told that there is an official total of lives lost but it is believed that there were many more that were not recorded. Many other cities in the Northern Territory were also bombed, Katherine being the most southern city, there is evidence all over the top end of military presence during that time and all very interesting. Sadly we were not taught at school about the war that came to Australia. A great visit. We all purchased a book related to this era.Next a visit to the town centre, all wandering around the shopping malls and city area, drove around the harbour and then this afternoon visited the Museum and Art Centre, a wonderful, imaginative and clever display of art, both aboriginal and non aboriginal works, animals, birds, fish, crocs, rocks, shells and boats all related to the Top End. A fascinating and enjoyable afternoon. Our drive home at peak hour in traffic showed us how much this area has grown.
Tuesday 25th May - to Darwin Harbour today and a sea cat cruise to Mandorah on the other side of Darwin Harbour, a relaxing trip across the bay brought us to an amazing wharf built of steel with landing points at various levels due to the huge changes in tides that Darwin Harbour experiences. Low tide upon arrival meant a climb up to the top of the wharf and the jetty that runs back to the beach. The colours in the rocks alongside the jetty are magic, yellows, purples and white rock blending together with a crystal clear water in greens and blues makes a very pretty picture. A short walk along the beach front brings you to a hotel where big fans cooled the air under cover and drinks and lunch can be purchased. Each group that arrived headed for the tables under the fans and we enjoyed a great lunch. Most of the area was fenced off so wandering along the waterfront was limited. There was no sign of any town but we presumed that there was one further away from the beach as many cars were parked at the wharf. On enquiry we heard that about 500 people live over here and commute to town to work. Mandorah can be reached by road, 150km drive around, 20min sea cat cruise! Back to the wharf after lunch we again joined the sea cat, the tide had risen quite a bit so not such a long climb down to board. After a very pleasant trip back to Darwin we pulled into the wharf, alongside the wharf is a lock which takes vessels into the marina and private moorings in front of some very luxurious homes. A very protected area from the big seas.
Next a visit to Charles Darwin National Park where there are a number of storage sheds made of corrigated iron and covered with soil to make them look like a hill. These storage sheds were used as munitions depots. Another informative display is housed in one of the bunkers depicting Darwins role in the war. (At each site we see some of the same info but always something that we haven't seen or read). All very hot, we decided to visit Casuarina Square where we all needed to pick up some shopping and cool off. Back at the vans, the boys decided on a dip in the pool, the girls opted for the air con in the vans.
Steve and Lorraine had invited Liz for dinner tonight so we joined them and sat around talking, a very enjoyable evening.
Wednesday 26th May - Paul, Rangsima, Geoff and I visited the Military Museum this morning. An amazing collection of historical memoribilia, guns, cannons, machinery of all types and sizes, information relating to the Japanese and Australian troops and the war on Darwin is contained in this amazing museum, videos of former army personnel telling their stories are on all the time and a film of Darwin under attack shows in a small theatrette. Out the back in a well kept garden are paths and stairs leading to a huge bunker underground with a massive cannon on top. For me, it was a walk back in time. When I was growing up we spent a lot of our childhood at Clovelly beach where my grandparents lived. Down on the headland was a huge cannon stored underground and my brothers, cousins and I used to climb down the iron ladder into pitch darkness where the cannon was, it was very creepy, small rooms ran off the circular area and this one was exactly the same, boy did it take me back, I could still feel the chill running up my spine, thankfully this one was well lit and was amazing to see. We have all enjoyed our time looking at the history of the war on Darwin, it has given us an appreciation of what happened here and a sadness that we were never told about this part of the war.
Lunch and a bit more shopping at Casuarina Square then back to the vans before visiting the Aquascene Fish feed. At high tide each day hundreds of fish come in from the sea to be fed, that is hand fed by visiting tourists, bread is put out in trays for visitors to hand feed the fish and they range from huge milk fish to tiny little ones of many varieties, some barramundi, parrot fish, white lipped mullet, catfish, stingrays to name a few and it is so much fun and so amazing. There is a ramp and steps down into the water and the fish mill around your feet and you can pat and feed them, a very pleasant experience. Paul and Rangsima headed back to the van whilst Geoff and I stayed on a little longer waiting for a phone call from some friends from Sydney who were flying into Darwin today. Tim, Jo and Amber Wilson are visiting Darwin for a couple of weeks holiday, visiting Kakadu, Litchfield National Park, Katherine and Darwin. We met up with them back at Casuarina for a drink and chat and then invited them to join us for dinner down at Stokes Hill Wharf where we were meeting up with the others. Stokes Hill Wharf is set out into the harbour and various food shops cater for the large crowds that come here each night. Also on the wharf is South Sea Pearl jewellery which sells the most beautiful array for pearl and opal jewellery, sadly I was not allowed to shop only look! A large number of tables are set up alongside the edge of the wharf and a huge number of large angel fish swim below and eat the titbits thrown down to them by the diners, wonderful to watch. A great selection of meals are available from Barra, Prawns, and other seafood, Steak, Thai, and Chinese polished off with a delightful range of icecreams cover all tastes. The harbour beautiful tonight, a relieving cool breeze, and a fun way to spend our last evening in Darwin. It was also wonderful to get some great cuddles from little Amber (6months), thanks Tim and Jo.
Thursday 27th May - farewell Darwin, we have had a great time here and have seen most of the things on our list, I don't think you ever do all you would like in any town but we do make the most of our time. Today to Kakadu or part way anyhow. We are booked on a Wetlands Tour with Corroboree Tours, a small company that works out of Corroboree Park Tavern and uses the Corroboree Billabong alongside a cattle property just off the Arnheim Highway. We set up our vans in the caravan park and meet the bus at 11.15am outside the Tavern to travel the few kilometres along a dirt road to the Billabong. Ian our driver and tour guide chats as we journey about the eco system, the plants and trees, the aboriginal culture here and the way they look after the land. On arrival at the billabong we board a boat and slide out into the water. As we motor along the waterways there is so much to see. The birdlife is fantastic, there are about 90 species of birds in the NT and so many live in this amazing area. Waterbirds of all kinds, we are delighted to see Jabiru, not always seen around at this time of the year yet we are lucky enough to see a number of them, about 6 we think, Egrett, large, medium and lesser, Kite, Jacarna, sitting on his nest, geese, whistling ducks, a large flock of them, waterbirds spread out throughout the waterlily ponds and flat wetland plains and trees, many of them with young and Ian knew them all. We also came across a medium size saltwater croc, resting in the mangroves, even though this is a freshwater billabong, salties find their way in and very rarely leave. The area is full of fish and is a favourite fishing spot for locals and visitors alike, Barra and tarpon the main fish to catch. Huge lotus waterlilies cover the billabong and along the narrow waterways, with beautiful vibrant pink flowers on long stems, then another type of waterlily with large flat leaves and also magnificent soft pink and white flowers growing out of the water. Ian picked one of these and after cutting off the flower, cut up the stem and we tasted a small piece, it tasted just like celery. Our tour included lunch so Ian nudged the boat into a area of waterlilies on the edge of a flood plain covered with birds and we enjoyed a great salad lunch individually packaged and some ice cold water or cordial. Whilst we were having lunch another croc was sighted up the river but too far away to identify. After lunch we went looking for him but he had disappeared. Our journey back to the landing dock was spent enjoying the birds and looking for crocs. No more sightings. Back to the bus after a terrific tour we headed back to the tavern and caravan park, a much needed swim in the pool was relief from the heat. Barra and salad for dinner, best we have had yet. Into our vans early tonight, the mossies are horrendous and hungry.
Friday 28th May - on our way into Corroboree Park yesterday we passed The Windows into the Wetlands Visitor Centre and we decided to go back to have a look at their display. On the way back we dropped into the Jumping Crocodile tour centre on the edge of the Adelaide River just to see what time the tours left and how much it cost. The Adelaide River is huge and the tide was very high, after a look around we continued our journey to Window into the Wetlands, just another 3kms down the road. The drive up to the visitor centre is narrow but the view from the top spectactular. The Visitor centre is well set up with a walk through display featuring the birds and wildlife around the wetlands and the season changes. On the upper level is a magnificent viewing area over the wetlands and the valley below, information boards show the visitor what they are looking at out each window, a small theatrette shows a video of the billabongs and birdlife and the changes that the seasons bring. This is an excellent centre and worth the drive back to view. Lorraine and Steve have been to Kakadu so are leaving the group to spend a couple of days exploring around the Daly River whilst Paul, Rangsima, Geoff and I explore Kakadu. Geoff and I decided we would like to go back and join the Jumping Crocs cruise so we say bye to Steve and Lorraine and make arrangements to meet Paul and Rangsima later and head back to the Adelaide River. The Jumping Crocs cruise is on a two storied boat and we climb to the upper deck to get a good view. As we cruise up the river the crocs start appearing at about 50metres apart. Crocs are so territorial that each one is well known to the cruise staff, they stay in their part of the river whilst there is food available. There are also a number of rogue crocs in the area, young males trying to find an area for themselves. Pieces of meat are secured with string and tied on the end of a rope on a long pole and hung out over the side of the boat, the meat is dipped in an out of the water and the croc checks it out before attempting to grab hold of it. The pole is lifted up forcing the croc to jump up out of the water to catch it, if they are not interested then they will not jump, one old croc refused to jump until Mark put two pieces of meat on the string, at one stage two crocs came close to each other, one from the back of the boat and one from the front, once the younger croc saw the older one, he turned so fast and swam around the back of the boat until his turn came, pecking order! On the way up the river a huge eagle watched our progress and Mark decided to offer him some meat, the bird came down, circled the boat and swooped down and took the meat off the string. Obviously well rehearsed, no doubt he has done this before. On the way back to the wharf Mark threw some meat to local kite eagles - 6 - 8 of them swooping off the side of the boat was quite spectacular, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience of todays cruise. There are 6-7000 crocs in the Adelaide River covering about 80kms, they vary in size but all salties, because the river is tidal, there is now too much salt water for freshwater crocs to survive. When we arrived back at the dock Paul and Rangsima were there to meet us and we decided to continue our journey into Kakadu stopping off at the Corroboree Tavern for lunch on the way. From there to Jabiru is still a long way, over 100kms, we want to check out the Bowali Visitor Centre and then check into the Aurora caravan park. The ranger at Bowali was very helpful and gave us lots of options for our time in Kakadu. Next the caravan park which was very well set up, a great pool and bar area and lovely green lawns to camp on. We set up and then went for a refreshing swim before dinner in our vans due to the mosquito population caused by the huge wet season here.
Saturday 29th May - last night we planned out our day and decided to visit Ubirr in the East Alligator region off the Arnheim Highway. This area has much to see and we set off on the 40km drive. The area has massive rock formations layer upon layer, a pretty swamp area covered with waterlilies and a couple of low causeways which had water flowing over the road. As we went over one causeway a couple who were fishing a caught a nice sized fish which none of us could identify. Our first area was the Bardedjilidji (Bar-de-jill-eed-gee) walk, our track took us down to the river and then went off further along the river bank, not well marked so we decided to return to the carpark and have a look at the boat ramp area. The Guluyambi cultural river cruise was just leaving with an aboriginal guide so we watched them depart and then walked over to the Cahills Crossing lookout overlooking the causeway that bridges NT, the other side Arnheim Land and restricted area. To cross you must have a permit, it is aboriginal territory. A couple of vans and cars were parked on either side of the causeway and a debate was in progress on the NT side between some aboriginals and police. The tide was high and getting higher and the causeway was closed to traffic .08m when we arrived, 1.1m when we left, rising incredibly fast. They have to wait until the tide goes down. A fascinating place however we wanted to see lots more so we moved on visiting the Border store where we had a picnic lunch, our next stop Ubirr and the walk around the aboriginal artwork painted thousands of years before on the rock caves and walls and the lookout, a moderately steep 250m climb takes you to the top of a rocky lookout that offers superb views over the Nadab floodplain. The artwork was fantastic, telling stories of the people, animals and fish that were part of aboriginal life so long ago, some of it layered as new generations added their stories to old as they lived or passed through the area. This area is a gold mine and well cared for by the National Park rangers. The view from the lookout superb, a panorama of various shades of green, the water covering the floodplains, the rock formations and vegetation spectactular. Back to the carpark, taking in more rock artwork on the way and then drove back to Jabiru for that much needed swim in the park pool, what an amazing day!
Sunday 30th May - leaving Jabiru today and travelling on the Kakadu Highway on our journey back to Katherine. We have more to see today in Kakadu and Nourlangie region. An easy drive brought us into this amazing area of rock formations and the massive Nourlangie rock. The lower part of this rock is known to the aboriginal people as Anbangbang,(arn-barng-barng) the upper part as Burrunggui (boor-oon-goy). The original people of this area have all passed away and the surrounding tribes have taken over the care of the area. It is not easy to imagine the size of this rock, it is not like Uluru which stands alone, but a multi-storied rectangle assortment of rock, overhangs, top hats, crevices and caves with a couple of lookouts that blow the mind. The low level path is paved with square paving stones that make it suitable for wheelchairs and/or people with limited walking ability. From the path various hand signs give you an indication as to the locality of rock art and lookouts. As you make your way to the first lookout the path climbs steadily, the view over the tops of the trees and into the mountains in the distance is amazing, continuing to climb up the path opens into a huge overhang rock and cave where aborigines have lived and sheltered during storms and lightning strikes which this area is known for. The rock art fantastic, creative, xray art of people and animals adorn the walls of the cave and as we continue our journey through the crevices more and more art is displayed on the rock walls, thankfully the path descends and we continue to enjoy the stories told through the art and we have a sense of the history of the area. Specialists in this field date some of this art back 20,000 years and as recent as 1000 years old. Again mind blowing, much of it preserved as it is in caves or overhangs protected from the weather. As we reach the last climb to the lookout at the top of the rock, Geoff continues alone, to a spectacular view similar to the one he saw yesterday of rock formations, sheer cliffs and vegetation. The colours in these rocks again are vibrant, often in layers, the path down is clearly marked. As we reach the carpark, tourist buses of all sizes are pulling in and unloading multitudes of people, students, grey nomads etc and we are glad we arrived early. After a morning tea break we continued our journey, next to Yellow Water region, most of this area is not accessible as it is under water but we wanted to visit the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre. As with each of these centres we have visited it is delightfully well set up, thoughtfully and tastefully presented with lots of artifacts and information to give the visitor a close look into the culture and lives of these tribes of aboriginal people and their belief that they must care for country and pass on the information and stories to generations to come. After lunch we continue our journey and pass over the mountain and down to the Mary River region. Tonight we are at the Mary River Roadhouse and the end of our Kakudu tour, tomorrow we will meet up with Lorraine and Steve in Katherine. It is very dark outside and the stars are magnificent in a clear blue sky, a couple of metres from our van is a low steel plated bbq, about 8.40pm I decided a loo visit was necessary and ventured out across the dirt making my way to the path down to the facilities, oops forgot about the bbq, straight over the edge of it I went in the elegant style of an elephant
dancing, scraping my left leg shin just above the ankle, on the bbq plate, ouch! and my right knee, yes that's right, my bad knee, hit the plate leaving a crease down the middle of the kneecap, somehow I managed, in this swan dive of a fall, to scratch and bruise my middle and then land on my right shoulder. Forget about imagining this fall, it was not a pleasant or delightful experience and I am glad no-one was looking. My scream brought Geoff out of the van and to my aid, he managed to get me back to the van, cleaned the dirt out of my leg, then icepacks and cold compresses and lots of TLC sorted me out and then the job of getting me to the loo and back!
Monday 31st May - Needless to say I did not have a very restful night, by morning the pain had eased somewhat, bandage applied to the knee for support, we packed up and left Mary River Roadhouse on our journey to Katherine.
On the way we called into Pine Creek for petrol, this historical town of yesteryear is very quiet, today full of caravans stopping over to have a short break and look around. There is a railway museum that Paul and Rangsima discovered and then Geoff and Paul explored for a while, the car seat seemed a better option for me. We arrived at Katherine Low Level Caravan Park to find Steve and Lorraine already there. They had arrived yesterday from Pine Creek where they had stayed overnight. They too had had a great time exploring Daly River and Douglas Springs and then Pine Creek. Overnight in Pine Creek, Steve had felt unwell, feeling nauseous and dizzy they left Pine Creek in the morning and headed to Katherine Hospital where they spent the next 3 hours. Steve was diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) a particular type of labringthitis, similar to what he had experienced 12 months ago. We all decided that a couple of days rest was a good idea, catching up with washing, tidying vans and a bit of shopping the only necessary things to do. We spent a great evening exchanging stories of our 3 day adventures.
Tuesday 1st June - a great rest day, Steve is feeling much better, my bruises are coming out, we did a bit of shopping, tidying, washing, reading, resting and late afternoon swim at Katherine Hot Springs before dinner at the caravan park bistro. Tomorrow we start moving west to Timber Creek. (This one's for Steve's mate, Alan!....)
Wednesday 2nd June - Today we begin our journey south west towards Western Australia. On the Victoria Highway we joined the convoy of caravans bouncing along a road that needs resurfacing, it is a little narrow for the amount of traffic it carries, the scenery is rocky with teepee type hills and large mountain escarpments. The road windy and hilly, small trees fill the landscape on either side of the road. Our morning tea break is around 10.30am and we pulled into a good sized rest area with lots of other vans for a cuppa and short break. Once back on the road it didn't take us long to reach the outskirts of the Victoria River, a huge crater type landscape with huge mountain ridges around greeted us as we drove down to the floor of the crater and before long across the bridge to the Victoria River Roadhouse. A lovely open caravan park, although a little undulating and difficult to find a flat area, we set up camp, had lunch and then set about sorting out the fishing gear. A narrow path seemed to be the way to the river and we set off only to be surrounded by tall bamboo type grass and at the end of it soft orange sand that acted like quick sand. We slipped and slid along the edge of the river until we reached a spot where Paul and Geoff could throw in a line. Lorraine decided to head back to the van and set off to find the track back. Some time later she reappeared saying the track had disappeared in the maze of bamboo grass and she couldn't find the way out. At this point we decided to move further up the river towards the bridge and an area of rocks where the boys could fish and all of us could watch without falling into the river which is known for freshwater crocs. Lorraine was able to clamber up the sandy bank near the bridge. Not even a bite, this river doesn't have fish, or maybe they were sleeping. The Victoria River is well known for barramundi but they weren't interested today. Giving up we headed up the rocks and sandy bank. Under the bridge, lodged into the understructure, was a massive root of a tree that had been washed down in the floods, about 6-7 metres off the water, the old bridge has been replaced by another bridge alongside, built much higher.
After dinner, the boys and Rangsima set off back to the bridge with their torches, croc spotting, no luck tonight but the stars magnificent. Tomorrow Timber Creek or maybe a free camp spot somewhere, who knows! We have to use up all our fruit and vegies before we visit the Quarantine station and cross at the border. The Western Australian quarantine rules are very strict with huge fines.
Thursday 3rd June - back on the road again this morning heading to Timber Creek where we stopped for morning tea and a visit to a cute little Croc Shop to have a look at souvenirs, after making a few purchases we moved on planning to stop at a free camp area at Saddle Creek. Some 25kms out of Timber Creek, smoke started pouring from Paul's caravan wheel, a passing motorist alerted him at the same time as Steve was calling him on the CB telling him to pull over as he had seen and smelt the smoke as well. Geoff and I were up ahead and heard the news on the CB and turned around and pulled off where the others were. The boys jacked the caravan up and pulled the wheel off, no problem with the tyre but a blown wheel bearing. Also the brake drum was cracked, the boys managed to get it off the axle. Realising there was no way of fixing the problem, Steve and Paul headed back into Timber Creek to phone the NRMA. The rest of us pulled out our chairs and prepared for a long wait. We had some lunch and sat in our van, walked up and down, waved to other vans as they passed, Paul and Steve arrived back after a couple of hours with the news that a tow truck was on the way from Katherine to collect the caravan and take it back to Katherine, it would take 4 hours for him to arrive. The boys decided to try to put the wheel back on the caravan so that they would be able to get it on the tow truck without damaging the undercarriage. Geoff found a new bearing and they were able to use part of it to act as a temporary repair and proceeded to secure the wheel in place. Pleased with their efforts, the only thing left to do was to wait. Right on time at 5.30pm the tow truck arrived, a very professional driver had the van on the truck within 1/2 hour and was back on the road again. Paul and Rangsima had transferred a lot of their belongings into the car and then they too headed back into Katherine. By now the sun was just about set so the four of us headed off to Saddle Creek for the night some 90kms away. The drive slow due to driving at night in an area where wildlife were likely to be near the road. The setting sun created an amazing sight as it filtered through the trees, looking at the magnificent boab trees that line the road in this area gave us a diversion.
The gigantic Pinkerton mountain range with its craggy rock faces are a sight to behold, we are surrounded by them, rise over them and down into the next valley to be greeted with more, even at night they are magnificent. At last we passed over Saddle Creek and up the mountain range and turned into Saddle Creek rest area. The area was packed with vans and we didn't know if we would fit in but thanks to a couple of other nomads with torches and directions, we managed to find a spot and set up camp. Dinner and bed the only agenda for the evening.
Friday 4th June - waking up this morning was sheer magic, the rest area is set on top of a hill with huge mountains forming a backdrop behind. Majestic orange rock faces with flat plateaus on top loomed over the area. We were told that aboriginals had told of a lake on top of the plateau and when it rains the water cascades over the tops creating waterfalls all along the face of the mountains, we are sure the photos will not do this area justice but one can only try, it is breathtaking. A slow start and we again headed off enjoying the scenery as we passed the wonderful boab configurations and magnificent mountains until we pulled into the rest area just before the Quarantine station at the Western Australia border. We each had some fruit to eat and a cuppa seemed like a good idea. Then through the Quarantine Station, a thorough check of our vans and cars, a couple of bananas that had to be quickly devoured by Steve and Lorraine, we were on our way again. We arrived in Kununarra before lunch. Geoff had discovered a warn tyre on our caravan so we set about finding a tyre place that could fix the problem. After visiting three such distributors with no success we were directed to Tyrepower a couple of blocks away. A friendly young man had us backed in and tyre changed, problem solved, in no time at all. Meanwhile Steve and Lorraine had gone to check out the caravan parks around the town. Our CB radios work wonderfully and keep us in touch with one another over a 9km range, we were directed to the Happy Valley caravan park and were pleased to discover they even offered a seniors discount. We booked in for a week as we will wait here for Paul and Rangsima to catch us up.
A phone call assured us they had arrived in Katherine safely and the caravan was able to be fixed and is booked in for next Tuesday. It will take them a couple of days after that to rejoin us.
There is so much to do here we will have no problem filling in the time and again we are camped under an amazing range of mountains. Lunch in town and restocking the larder the only program for today. An amazing sunset highlighted on the mountain backdrop, a sight to behold. the larder the only program for today. An amazing sunset highlighted on the
mountain backdrop, a sight to behold. Happy Birthday Edward.
Saturday 5th June - a day of discovery of Kununarra - a trip to town meant the discovery of the local markets in the town park, definitely a worth while stop - we wandered around looking at the stalls and made a few purchases, lots of people in town, mostly nomads as it is a long weekend here and locals have left town. Next to the Information Centre to check out more info on what to do, booked into an Ord River Cruise on Monday which takes us 55km up the Ord and back again. Next to Kellys Nob Lookout over the town, a huge assortment of rocks with a rocky path to the top and a wonderful view over the area, mountains in the distance with the flat surrounding area which is Kununarra. The river, the dam which holds the water for the Kununarra Lake and Lake Argyle, lots of green around, an assortment of crops growing and the town.
Back to the caravans for lunch, then a drive out to the Mount Romance Sandalwood factory. Sandalwood has been growing here for 14 years from seeds planted and has been doing very well. Alongside the sandalwood are host trees usually Casia which grow quickly. The sandalwood roots tap into the host tree roots and then take 15 years to mature. A huge variety of products are made using the Sandalwood oils - deodorants, body butter, oils, moisturisers, candle oils, mossie and skin repair products and a host of others. An interesting video takes you through the processes and friendly and helpful staff are available for questions. After making a few purchases we move on to the Hoochery Distillery a km down the road to check out the rum products we have heard about, especially the mango,rum cheesecake or chocolate cake. After trying a couple of shots of rum, and mango rum liqueur and looking at the prices, we decided although very nice, a bit too expensive. However we purchased some cheesecake and chocolate rum cake to take away, planning to go back to the Sandalwood coffee shop and have with our coffee. Coffee was great but we felt a bit rude to take in our own cake so left that for dessert tonight.Then out past the airport to the Diversion dam wall, we turned into the Lions Club park, past some magnificent boab trees and down to the river. The water spews out of the dam wall into an area of rocks and flows down the river very fast. It would be a great trip if you had a boat, the croc warnings are everywhere so we don't venture too near the edge except for a few quick snaps. Back up to the road and a quick drive thru the water ski area on the lake above the dam and then back to the vans for dinner. Sam Stosur playing tonight so we sat up in bed watching the match. Apart from the unforced errors, she played well and did Oz proud as runner up.
Sunday 6th June - church this morning at the Anglican Church in Kununurra at 9.30am. A good congregation of people this morning with quite a few young people. Gary the young minister in town tells us most of the locals are away due to the long weekend and welcomes a good number of nomads travelling around. After the service, morning tea and chatting to locals and nomads. A number of locals are involved in a short wave christian radio network that has a relay station here in Kununurra that broadcasts out to India, and Asia Pacific, they are a keen group of volunteers, some come to help for a few weeks or a few months from all over the State. A Uniting church pastor also worships here, he is with Uniting Frontiers and he and his wife travel around ministering to the aboriginal people all over the Kimberley area, setting up their tent each time they stop. Steve and Lorraine also chat to a young man, Andrew Hadfield, who is on the ministry team here, he knew Adam and Edward, his parents were missionaries with MAF in New Guinea.
We got chatting to a couple of nomads from Jervis Bay NSW and found they are camped across the road from us at Hidden Valley. Keith and Joyce are away for 3 months as they have been here before.
Back at the park for lunch then Steve, Lorraine and Geoff headed for the hills - Hidden Valley lookout to be precise. The mountains behind us have an awesome view of the area and the valley which is hidden in the middle of the range, hence the name. My legs not up to the walk, I stayed back to blog but could see them when they reached the top at the lookout. They
said the valley was amazing, you can also drive into the Mirima National Park which is Hidden Valley.
Monday 7th June - The rivers in this area are huge, the Victoria River that we saw in NT and now the Ord River here in the Kimberleys have huge amounts of water. The Victoria runs for some 800kms and the Ord now houses a dam at the end of Lake Argyle and a Diversion Dam at Kununurra Lake. We were collected from the Caravan Park at 11.30am by Triple J Tours bus and transported to the river to join a cruise boat for an afternoon tour of the Ord River. Our tour guide Drew has worked in this area for many years, spending his time driving cruise boats in the dry season, sometimes working in the diamond mine in the wet or finding other jobs to do. He has also driven the jet boats on Sydney Harbour.
Our Harrier boat today could hardly be called a cruise boat with 2 x 200hp outboard engines out the back - it flew over the water at 55kms per hour. Our tour takes us up the river towards Lake Argyle stopping every so often whilst Drew gives us a commentary about the river, the birds, the properties along the river, the crocs, (mostly freshwater crocs but a handful of salties too), he has a terrific knowledge, is interesting, is passionate about the area, funny and loves what he does. We visit a couple of creeks along the way, the Spillway and the Coolamon, small freshwater crocs are seen along the banks or on logs as we glide quietly along, the huge, magnificent Carr Boyd Range of mountains climb out of the valleys, the Carlton gorge formations colourful and majestic. It is 55kms to the Lake Argyle Dam and our journey takes 3 1/2 hours plus an amazing stopover for afternoon tea at the company picnic spot where tables and benches are set up, toilet facilities and a small waterfall sit cradled in the corner of the mountains. Pumpkin scones, cake, rockmelon and watermelon are laid out on tables with fresh coffee, tea or cold drinks to choose from. We all help ourselves and really enjoy this little pocket and the cuisine. Back on the boat we travel the short distance, through water eddys which occur due to the change in the water levels in the river then to the dam wall which is enormous. Built like a pyramid from rock sourced from this area, is 300ft thick, 90 metres high with 60 metres above water line, it holds back the water that is Lake Argyle. Lake Argyle holds at least 19 times the amount of water in Sydney Harbour and is fed from the Ord which runs from Halls Creek to Wyndham. After a short stopover here we head back down the river, the sun is getting lower and the air much cooler as we hurtle along the river we all don our jumpers or sweaters which we were advised to bring. No stops on the way back so the journey takes 1 hour, our last stop is at the Diversion Dam so that Drew can explain how the system works and how it supports the irrigation of the area. Just before the Diversion Dam is a croc trap which they use to catch the big salties that arrive in freshwater lakes, about 50mtrs away is an area which has a sign, swim area and waterski area. Drew tells us that the salties have to get their food from somewhere! He also tells us that no one has ever been attacked on this lake. He does not swim here.
We have had a wonderful afternoon and this company Triple J Tours sure do a great job, we highly recommend them. It is dark when we arrive back at the caravan park and decide to eat out tonight. The country club has been recommended so we arrive at the resort and are shown to table 8 by well trained staff, our menus delivered to our table and the prices blow us away. We thought the Country Club had a bistro, 1,2,3 let's get out of here, let's have Chinese tonight, more our price range. We are seated at an outside table and the area is noisily filled with aboriginal young people, kids 6 - 12 just hanging around, no adults to be seen anywhere. They wander back and forth past our table, some saying hello, they are not a problem but not a scene we are used to. The restaurant staff are not phased, it is obviously a regular occurence.
Tuesday 8th June - on the river tour yesterday, we passed a lovely area of manicured lawns and magnificent mango trees, Drew told us that it belonged to Zebra Rock Gallery and Cafe and we decided to check it out this morning. Zebra Rock make the most beautiful and creative rock jewellery, vases, and ornaments, I have talked about the colours in the rocks in the north of our country and this company have coined the market, some of the types of rocks used are only in the Kimberleys, no where else in the world. It is called Zebra rock because of the stripes and patterns. It is a long process to the finished product and we watch the men at various stages of their craft and drool over the pieces of jewellery that are on sale. Morning tea at the cafe and a fun time feeding the fish off the wharf, lots of catfish of all sizes from small to giant, and a couple of other varieties gather on the river and feed off the bread thrown to them.
Afterwards we made our way back to town, to the info centre to get a National Park Pass and book our special adventure which I will tell you about tomorrow. Some shopping at Retravision where Steve was able to get a Telstra prepaid phone as nothing else works in this area. A very lazy afternoon at the vans, except for Lorraine, covered in a garbage bag, dyed my hair, I am now back to a brown nomad not grey! An early night tonight as we have to be up early in the morning.
Wednesday 9th June - our morning adventure meant a drive to the airport where we had chartered a small plane to take us out over Lake Argyle and to the Bungle Bungles. We were greeted by Joy our female pilot who checked us all in, including a weigh in, you would think they would get scales that don't tell lies! Details recorded, we boarded a very small 6 seater, single engine aircraft, noting the safety information - like how to open the door in case of emergency - why would we want to open the door? She reassures us, there is not going to be an emergency. Good grief, there is not much room in here, thankfully there is only 5 of us, not 6 and I could spread out on the back seat. We taxied out to the runway, that wonderful exhilarating rev of the engine and we were off and before long up in the air, over the rows of mango trees, over the town and up the river with Joy giving us a running commentary. Before long we reached the edge of Lake Argyle, this lake is massive, 70kms in length with lots of islands, we could view the river below, remembering the sights from our trip on Monday, the dam wall looks so much smaller from up here. Joy gives us lots of information, too much to record here, if interested - Google Argyle Dam WA, you will be amazed. They only expect the dam to last 100 years due to the silt that is washed down the river in the wet. We all expect they will work out some way to make it last longer than that! Huge cattle properties are in this area and we fly over the Durack homestead. They arrived here with 3000 head of the 6000 they started out with from NSW back in 1890's and soon increased their stock to 25000 head. It would have been an extremely lonely life here then. We fly over another cattle property, Texas Downs, now vacant. The country is so rugged and it is so difficult to get access to the area. The Carr Boyd range is magnificent from the air as it is from the ground.
The Bungle Bungle range is in Purnululu National Park and as we approach we are blown away by the beauty before us. The Beehives as they are called rise out of the mountain range in spiral rock shapes layered in colour from orange to grey alternatively. Lots of crevices, creeks, waterfalls which only run in the wet although there are a couple still running a little, a few tracks can be seen, small rainforest areas, but mostly these amazing shapes covering a huge area. Some small clusters of beehives and then some huge areas make up the range. The range was discovered accidently by some surveyors (Forrest, I think),looking for grazing area for cattle in the late 1800's and mentioned them in his report. The rest is history. We circle around, Joy giving us the best view from both sides of the plane as she could, she has walked a lot of this area as well and her knowledge excellent. We continue our journey on towards the Diamond Mine, an enormous open cut and underground mine that is doing very well in the Kimberleys, diamonds of different colours are found in the area, including pink, champagne, and brown. They are different to the diamonds of South Africa. Joy has varied our flight path to take us over the Ragged Mountains, a curved and rugged range that looks crumpled and ragged as per its name. Over to the left, the Pilot Dam, a small dam providing irrigation for a Sandalwood Plantation.
Our two hour flight almost over as we circle over the town and the lower Ord River and Joy brings our plane down in a perfect landing. We were lucky to have taken an early flight as the wind is picking up and the turbulence over the mountains would have been much bumpier. An amazing and wonderful flight and well worth the cost.
Back to the caravan park for morning coffee, a doze and chat. Two young girls from Springwood church, Beth and Anna arrive to visit, Lorraine has been following their progress as they drove up the WA coast, they stay for a while and then Lorraine and Steve invite them back for dinner tonight. After lunch we drove into town to visit the Lovell Gallery. Nadeen Lovell is a local artist and her work is beautiful. As you walk into the Gallery, there is a large room on the right and the whole wall is covered with an amazing mural painted on 8 huge canvas blocks joined together. On the canvas is painted sections of the Bungle Bungles and it is brilliant. Around the walls other art work by Nadeen and other local artists, lots of paintings of Boab trees and various areas of the Kimberley adorn the walls, all different and all fascinating. An interesting and fabulous gallery to visit.On return to the van park, Steve made a damper in the skillet and we enjoyed it with our tea or coffee. Beth and Anna arrived for dinner and we spent a lovely evening with them chatting about their trip. They have travelled from Sydney, crossing the Nullarbor and around the coast of WA stopping mostly in free camping areas and are heading to Darwin to meet up with Anna's sister Kate. They are hoping to work in Darwin for a while before continuing their journey home by an undetermined route. Lorraine takes lots of notes of places where we might be able to free camp on our way through WA. e are hoping that Paul and Rangsima will arrive in Kununurra tomorrow, they were planning to free camp along the road from Katherine tonight.
Thursday 10th June - lazy day today, Paul and Rangsima arrived this morning and set up next to us, luckily the van occupying the site packed up and left early this morning. They had stayed overnight at Saddle Creek after leaving Katherine Wed morning. Their caravan all fixed with a new axle, new springs, new bearing and brake cylinder. After a good morning tea chat we took a drive out to Ivanhoe Crossing, where the water was running at a very rapid rate, the crossing was closed and lots of cars coming and going and checking out the area. It was a beautiful setting, the water running over the crossing creating a small waterfall across and moving down the river through the rocks and trees. A couple of guys were fishing along the river bank and we watched for a while, one caught a small fish whilst we were there. On the way back to the park we called into Coles to find the shelves bare of fresh anything! A regular occurrence in Kununurra. Signs informed us that the truck would be arriving this afternoon.
Late afternoon Steve, Paul and Rangsima decided to walk into Happy Valley behind the caravan park and enjoyed the challenge, Geoff decided to wash the car but returned soon after as the car wash wasn't working. We had decided to share a dinner of roast lamb tonight cooked on our hooded BBQ, Geoff prepared the lamb and put it on whilst we all prepared vegies also to share, roast potato, peas, carrots and beans for Geoff, who hates peas. Lorraine made gravy. She had also baked a cake in our oven this afternoon and we all enjoyed a piece for dessert.
Friday 11th June - Lake Argyle on our agenda today so we left Kununurra mid morning for the 70km drive back toward Katherine. 35kms along the highway and then 35kms in to the Lake. As mentioned before the Lake is huge and the only accessible area is the Lake Argyle township where there is a caravan park, a shop, Triple J Tours complex, (they run cruises on the Lake as well as the river), and the dam wall. We drove through town and across the top of the dam wall and into a lovely park area with tables and benches, they have created a lovely setting with the mountains that surround the river and the dam. The area is fenced off due to the crocs that roam the area. After morning tea the boys decided on some fishing down at the waters edge. Across the river, lying on the edge of a rock, soaking up the sun to warm his body, lay a 2-3metre freshwater croc. He was not bothered by all of the comings and goings of cars and humans on the other side of the river but happy in his own environment. Paul managed to catch a very small fish, returning him to the river to grow up soon afterward. It must of become to hot for the freshie as he slid into the water, cruised around amongst the trees and edge of the river then disappeared. We headed back to the picnic area as a cruise boat was due in, a bus arrived to collect the occupants and a huge dragon boat arrived in preparation of the weekend races. It was lunchtime anyway and we had brought a picnic lunch with us. After lunch we drove up to the lookouts on either side of the dam wall for great views of the river and the lake stretching far into the distance. Our next port of call was to the Durack Homestead just off the road on the way out. As mentioned before, the Durack family came to this area in the late 1890's and settled here, many generations have worked this land and the homestead has the history of the family. The house on this property has been moved to its present location as the original homestead is underwater in the dam. The house was demolished stone by stone and rebuilt as in its original form. It was fascinating reading of the history of an amazing pioneering family. The cemetary told the story of the hardship that they faced. Back into Kununurra, we all needed to shop, thankfully the Coles shelves were restocked with fresh fruit and vegies and fresh bread now available. Back at the caravan park, it is sort out and pack up time, we leave here in the morning and drive north to visit Wyndham for a couple of days.
Saturday 12th June - packed up early this morning, then Geoff and I drove into Mirima National Park so that I could see the Hidden Valley. It is so amazing - as you walk along the valley floor the track winds around through pockets of trees hidden behind massive rock formations - colours the same as the Bungle Bungles, orange and grey alternately layered, beautiful and so pretty, Hidden Valley is certainly a great name for the area, the lookout which the others had all visited was high above us but a bit of a climb for me. I was happy just to be able to see the valley. Back at the caravan park we attached the vans and drove into town for a wander around the Markets which are on each Saturday during the dry season. The drive to Wyndham is only about 100kms so we had plenty of time. Stopped off at the Diversion Dam for Paul and Rangsima to have a look and had morning tea there. The drive to Wyndham is spectacular, the huge mountains of the Kimberleys continue, the road winds around between them and the fantastic Boab trees that are all over this area continue to delight us, they take on so many different forms, sometimes two or three together, some with massive trunks, hundreds of years old, sometimes about 6 or so in a circle, they are fantastic and we are all enthralled with them. About 40km before Wyndham is The Grotto, we drove in over the hills on a windy road not knowing what to expect. Before us was a deep canyon, flat rocks of a variety of colours paved the way to the steps that wind down into an area where there was an amazing pool of water - 300ft deep. The water is cold and the area, with its sheer cliffs rising above the pool, so quiet and peaceful and beautiful. A wonderful stopover. Once back at the top we decided it was a nice place to have lunch before continuing our journey to Wyndham. There is only one caravan park in Wyndham and we managed to find three spots together and set up camp. The park is a bit uncared for and run down which is a bit sad, but the facilities are clean. We have been told to go to the lookout over the town to watch the sunset over the Cambridge Gulf, the area known as the head of 5 rivers, the Ord, Durack, Pentecost, Forrest and the King. A fantastic sight overlooking the gulf and the port where huge ships come in to collect the live cattle that are shipped out from here to Indonesia. The sunset magnificent, colours of yellow, orange, pink against the dazzling blue of the sky. Then the stars, wow. The Milky Way takes on a whole new meaning out here. At the caravan park there is a small portable takeaway that sells Barra and chips or a range of other burgers. It has come highly recommended by a number of travellers we have met and so we just had to check it out. We arrived and set up at one of the tables and the boys went over to order, after waiting a few minutes the cook informed us that he only takes one order at a time, cooks that and then takes the next order. Thankfully for us, there was only one person ahead of us but it still took over 1/2 hour to order and get our meals. Worth the wait, the Barra and meat burgers were scrumptious and the barra cocktails and chips enjoyable. Back at our vans we enjoyed watching the stars and looking for satelites and shooting stars. Lorraine and Steve were also able to chat to Jeremy and family in South Africa on Skype which was wonderful.
Sunday 13th June - down to The Port this morning, visited the jetty where a few aboriginal locals were fishing alongside the boat ramp. The jetty is a pontoon and the manager at the caravan park told us not to fish off the pontoon as there is a large croc who comes up the boat ramp and then you cannot get off the pontoon. Oh well, we guess they know what they are doing. Not far along is Anthon's Wharf, a wharf was supposed to be started in March and finished in December to accommodate visiting and local boats. There is no sign of work commenced so we guess it was one of the budget cuts. A few aboriginals are fishing here on the rocks whilst others were just sitting around under the trees. We drove on stopping to look at old engines and moving equipment which was part of the Meatworks. The company and processing of cattle was huge in its heyday and Wyndham would have been a bustling town then with 100 ships arriving each year. Onto the causeway which divides the tidal flats which look like salt flats as they are white. No access is allowed to the circular bridge where live cattle are loaded onto ships today, not much more to see down here, a croc farm further out but we have seen lots of crocs being fed so did not venture into this attraction. Stopped to look at the ruins of the Magistrates residence overlooking the wharf area, it was never occupied. Near the jetty area is a local museum and we paid it a visit, so much information to read, the Meatworks, local identities, about the town, croc attacks in the area, all very interesting. Lots of memorabilia.
Back to the park for lunch and then a drive out to the King River with the idea of a bit of fishing. The King River Road is dirt, we set off for the 22kms drive to discover the river is pretty much a creek at this time, we discover the tide marks and would love to see it in full flow, crossing over the causeway is fun, the boys trying to assess how deep it is, ok for Paul but our Suburu Outback is a lot lower, however we get across with no problems.
Around the corner is a sign to the Prison Boab Tree where aboriginals were chained to the tree, the tree is huge and hollow and the boys decided to climb into the hole to see how it felt, not pleasant at all, the treatment of aboriginals in the colony by early settlers was shocking. Back down the road we pull off into scrub to see if we can find access to the river but the banks are steep and muddy. Next a visit to the Dam which houses the town water supply, a huge area of water with a dam wall similar to the wall at Lake Argyle. The area is completely fenced off so we cannot do much exploring here. Back to the main road and a visit to the Big Croc and the Aboriginal Statues. We find to many people at the Big Croc to take photos so visit the Aboriginal statues, a huge male aborigine with a spear stands tall over a seated woman and child, sadly the area is littered with rubbish, the park uncared for and a sign tells us that the council is not responsible for the area. The cars are covered with dirt and dust so Paul and Geoff handwash the cars on our sites with buckets of water. The local Anglican church here has a service at 6pm so we decide to worship here tonight, we arrive at 5.55pm to find the service has already started and a young man outside tells us that it started at 5pm tonight, so again the advertised time has been changed and not altered on the notice board. We are quite disappointed and head back to the caravan park for dinner.
Monday 14th June - petrol stop and fresh bread purchases, a picture stop at the Big Croc in the park before leaving Wyndham and heading back to the Northern Highway which will eventually take us across to Broome. Tonight a planned stopover at Leycesters Rest, a free camping stop some 200kms from Wyndham. The Carr-Boyd Range of mountains loom on our left and we follow alongside, there are still mountains everywhere on this route, plus boab trees, the turnoff to the diamond mine and several large cattle properties are all we pass except for other caravans, road trains and cars. The soil colours are amazing, orange on one side of the road and purple on the other, we marvel at all the colours in the north. We arrived at Leycesters Rest, a large area where there are plenty of caravans already set up, the area is divided into two sections each with a toilet and we settle on the lower area and set up camp. The boys head out after lunch to collect wood for the fire and Lorraine decided to make scones for afternoon tea. Steve and Lorraine have a cob and Steve sets it up ready for scone baking. Two other caravans around us look on with envy as we get out the butter, jam and cream to have with our hot scones. Lorraine takes pity on them and takes a sample of them to enjoy. One van, an elderly couple and the other, two couples our age who are sharing the one van, sleeping at either end on pull down beds. All are friendly and we share stories and stopovers. Tonight dinner is cooked on our open fire and is delicious and then sitting around the fire and wow, those stars.
Tuesday 15th June - we are up early, the sun rises at 5.30am and lights up the vans, today we are all up before 6.30am, having breakfast and packing up. Another free camp tonight, but first a stopover in Halls Creek. The scenery has changed, the mountains far off in the distance on either side of the road, huge flat areas of scrub or low trees, some boabs still. We seem to be up in the high country of the Kimberleys and the road is good. Just before we arrive in Halls Creek we are greeted by an amazing group of rock formations called The China Wall, totally unexpected and quite different formations. We arrive in Halls Creek and there are lots of caravans here and many groups of aboriginals throughout town. Each town we drive through there are always small groups sitting on street corners, under trees, standing around the shops or sitting on fences. There is nothing for them to do. There are always children running around, many of them obviously not attending school. We fill up with petrol, pick up a few things at the supermarket and then head out of town towards Mary Pool, another freecamp site 108kms from Halls Creek. As we cross the causeway into Mary Pool Rest area, there are many caravans already set up. These areas are supposed to be 24 hour stopovers only but many people obviously stay longer. This is a really pretty spot, on the edge of a river, it is again huge and we find an area where we can set up our 3 vans. We have brought some wood with us but the boys go off to collect some more, Lorraine and I sit and chat and are joined by Geoff, an older man, on his own, we have met at a few stops, he loves to chat and we listen to his life story. He is a bit lonely we think but he doesn't know when it is time to leave. Finally the boys return and he takes his leave to continue his walk.
What a life, explore the area, build a fire, sit around chatting, make lunch and eventually dinner, marvel at the myriad of stars brilliant in the night sky, go to bed at 9 or 9.30pm or earlier some nights, how are we ever going to re-adjust when we get home, no need to worry about that now!
Wednesday 16th June - Happy Birthday Steve, Steve and Lorraine have been up since 6am and been for a walk around the area and are having breakfast when I finally drag myself out of bed at 6.45am. For those who know me well, know that I am not a morning person, thankfully we do go to bed at an early hour, although I am often up late typing the blog. Mary Pool is buzzing this morning, many vans have already left and some are packing up. Geoff, our lonely neighbour drops by to tell us his itinery and hangs around whilst we are trying to pack up. We head towards the causeway and have to shoo the resident cows out of the way, one standing defiantly in front of our car, not happy that we have interrupted her morning snack of grass. A beautiful grey water bird wanders around the rocks in the river but we cannot catch a glimpse of the resident croc that lives here. We cross over the Mary River on the highway where Lorraine and Steve saw a Jabiru on the sandy bank and down the highway towards Fitzroy Crossing. The scenery is flat as, only small trees and grasses on plains that stretch way into the distance. 80kms of long stretches of road, disappearing over the horizon in front of us until suddenly out of nowhere we reach a rocky area with a rest area sign. Ngumbar Cliff Rest Area road climbs off the highway up to a flat area where a few caravans are stopped, wow the cliffs look down over the flat plains below, the colours of yellow, orange and white leap out of the landscape and take your breath away. Extraordinary sight and a great place for an early morning tea stop. We continue our journey and follow the cliffs on either side of the road for some time, huge mountains have again appeared in the distance, unusual shapes, messa tops, a lone rock formation and then back to the flat plains again, then suddenly another outcrop of rocky mountains.
We arrive at Fitzroy Crossing Resort which is just before the bridge that is over the Fitzroy River and into town and join the queue booking in for a site. This place is huge and is already busy even though it is only the middle of the day. We settle in, have lunch and then head out to Geikie Gorge where we have been told to take the river cruise run by the Dept of Environment and Conservation. There are heaps of people here, bus loads, but we have been told there is no need to book in. We manage to get tickets and join the queue at the river bank and are loaded onto barges with seats, it takes 3 barges to fit us on, they are joined together and controlled by the rear boat, we reckon about 120 people in all, mostly grey nomads. The cliffs on either side of the river are magnificent, colours in layers of white at the waters edge, pink, caused by algae in the high tides, then orange on top. The river banks are dotted with small and medium fresh water crocs, never seen so many in one river sunning themselves and not caring about the passing traffic. Pandanas palms grow out of the rock walls and many shapes of rock formations, caves and crevices present themselves as we glide down the river, small birds fly all around one area and make their nests of mud on the underside of the rock caves, they only use the nests for one season of breeding then leave them and build new ones next year. It is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon, a 1 hour cruise on a beautiful waterway in the West Kimberley region with a lot of friendly people doing just what we are doing, enjoying the great outdoors. We wanted to check out the info centre on the way back but it was closed, there is no shopping centre in town just a supermarket from which we collected a few items and then to the Bistro at the caravan park for a birthday dinner. Cake and port at our caravans ended a very nice day.
Thursday 17th June - another pack up and back on the road, today we are heading for Derby on the King Sound. The drive today is extremely uneventful, the road long, long, long stretches of road towards the horizon and then over to hill to another long stretch of road towards the horizon and so it goes, small shrubs and grass, wide flat plains, one set of rocky outcrops. Thankfully only a couple of hundred kms. We arrived in Derby and drove around looking for the caravan park, and joined the queue to book in. Thankfully it is a huge park with plenty of sites available. General routine, set up, have lunch, go to Information Centre, then a drive around town. Down at the waterfront is a huge circular wharf, the original wharf was built in 1894 and then extended in a circular curve to the other side of the bay in 1964. We wandered out onto the wharf to watch a ship being loaded and walked out to the end of the wharf where some aboriginal ladies were fishing. One of the young women caught a small shark and they allowed Steve to take a photo. They were all one family, sisters, nieces, mother, Emma the speaker for the group introduced us all to her family, her son Angus, a boy of about 16 was also there watching, We introduced ourselves too and Emma talked about the river, the crocs, the tide which was coming in at an incredible rate. Derby has the highest tides in the southern hemisphere with variations to 11metres. She told us there was not many crocs around at high tide so the kids all jump in the water off the wharf, bit scary as there are sharks, swordfish and goodness knows what else in there, it is muddy water in the sound so you cannot see anything. We said our farewells and walked back to the main jetty to be told we were not allowed to be out on that part of the wharf, a guy had slid the gate across so we quickly made our way out. They seem to turn a blind eye to the aboriginals who fish there. We headed back to the cars and then drove onto the wharf and around the circular bit to the other side, stopping for a while to watch the incoming tide and watching a guy catch a large crab. We returned to the wharf at 5.15pm to watch the sunset, the tide was high and was already starting to recede, loading and unloaded ships in Derby is a time and tide related event, they must get the ship loaded and out into the channel before the tide changes or they are stuck. A magnificent sunset of gold, yellow, orange, pink, purple against the blue of the sky and water was incredible and we all took many photos. Dinner at The Point, on the edge of the wharf, Thursday night special, Buffet roast dinner, lamb, pork and beef with potatoes, pumpkin, cauli, broccoli, peas, carrots and gravy, sticky date pudding or icecream for dessert. The owner told us he tries to cater for the nomad caravaners.
Friday 18th June - Steve and Geoff drove down to the Info centre early this morning to see if we can get a flight to Cape Leveque and the Horizontal Falls, the flights were all booked out but they said they would see if they could find another plane that would take us. So the waiting game had began. Back again at 10am, no luck, they will call us. Needless to say we did not receive a call so very disappointed, we accepted that we will not be able to visit this amazing scenic area. We will just have to come back one day.
Next a visit to the Wharfinger Museum in town, an interesting display of the history of Derby. The house was built for the manager of the wharf and had numerous occupants.
After lunch we visited Frostys Pool which was originally built as a swimming pool in 1944 for the troops in WW11. It was named after Charles Frost who was a platoon member of 3rd general transport company. Officers had first call on the pool and then the troops were allowed to use it. Near Frosty's pool is a 122mtr cattle trough serviced by Myall's Bore which watered cattle as they were driven to the port of Derby for shipping overseas.
A km up the road was another Prison Boab Tree. The tree is believed to be about 1500 years old. It was used as a staging point for aboriginals who were taken as slaves and transported to work as divers in the pearl industry.
We then took a drive to the Wetlands of Derby to discover it was the sewerage treatment works.
Back at the caravan park plans needed to be discussed for a trip to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek tomorrow.
Saturday 19th June - we left Derby just after 7am and drove to the Gibb River Road, we were very pleasantly surprised to find that this end of the road is bitumen and apart for a few shorts runs on dirt, it was bitumen all the way to the Windjana Gorge National Park turnoff about 105kms away. Another 32kms of dirt brought us to Windjana Gorge and the massive orange and grey cliff faces that presented themselves before us. After a short walk into the gorge we were delighted with the beauty of this amazing place. A beautiful pool of water with sandy shores and along the shores freshwater crocs of varying sizes were in abundance. Approx 1 every metre sunning themselves beside the waters edge. Obviously aware of but not phased by humans walking close to them and photographing them did not disturb them. An egret wandered around a large croc, watching carefully for any movement. The gorge itself presented as sheer cliffs on either side of the pool and continued up into the valley beyond. A very pretty picture. After some time here we made our way back to the cars and headed for Tunnel Creek some 40kms further on.
The entrance to Tunnel Creek is another massive cliff face of limestone rock, at the point of entry are huge rocks that have fallen from above to partially block the entrance. Climbing over these rocks proved a challenge for some but all except me managed to find a way in. Beyond the rocks was a large limestone tunnel with a roof approx 4 metres high. There are pools from ankle to waist deep to walk through or rocks to walk around the sides in most places. The bottom of the pools were course sand and rocks. There are two tunnels and both are pitch black and you need torches to light the way. The first tunnel ends and a second tunnel starts about 10metres further on with a higher roof, bats and stalactites are in the second tunnel. The exit from the second tunnel was taller and more beautifully formed. There was a lovely clear creek flowing beyond the tunnels. The group returned in varied states of wetness, Steve and Lorraine were soaked. When I asked Geoff about it, the only info I received was 'it was fun' so another amazing adventure, thanks Lorraine, Rangsima, Steve, Geoff and Paul for your contribution to this segment.
Sunday 20th June - Happy 3rd Birthday to Holly, our granddaughter.
Left Derby this morning on our journey towards Broome, we are booked into Broome Caravan Park on Monday so we will freecamp tonight somewhere enroute. A morning tea stopover at Willare River Roadhouse and then a walk over the Willare River Bridge were the only activities until we reached the Nillibubbica Rest area.
We set up at the back of the area, the boys collected fire wood for our evening fire, had lunch and then noticed that the tyre on our car was flat, the next hour was spent changing the tyre etc.
Cooked our dinner over the open fire tonight, the rest area filled with caravans, had some visitors who came over the enjoy the fire with us, then made our billy tea and enjoyed the stars which were magnificent.
Broome
Monday 21st June - no rush this morning but we were up early anyway, breakfast of eggs and bacon over the open fire. Pack up ready to move on. A huge brahma bull wandered around the rest area this morning eating his breakfast of grass around the edges, then up on his hind legs and up over the 4 strands of barbed wire fence he went, better eating on the other side, would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. The fence was about 1.2metres high.
Back on the road again for the 100km drive into Broome. Again long stretches of flat road and not much scenery. Past the turnoff to Port Hedland, past the Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park, past the Cape Leveque turnoff and into the Broome Caravan Park which is on the edge of town. The most popular caravan park here is Cable Beach and it is booked out months in advance, some of the other parks nearby are the same, we are happy with our selection, a shady park with lots of palms, a fantastic pool with a lap pool on the side and good facilities. After setting up, doing a couple of loads of washing, and some van cleaning, we headed into town to visit the info centre to see what was on the agenda for this week.
Geoff and Steve went searching for tyre places, fridge and battery businesses with various outcomes, then came and picked us up. We drove down to Cable Beach to watch the sunset and enjoyed our first view of the Indian Ocean.
Tuesday 22nd June - Geoff and I had an early start this morning with a visit to the Kimberley Chiropractor at 8.15am. An excellent visit, both of us feeling much better afterwards. I even managed to fit in a haircut at the local shopping centre. We then continued our search for tyres and met up with the others later in the morning. After lunch we drove out to the Port and walked down to the water to cool our feet in the magnificent clear blue water, not many crocs seen in this part of the north so a real treat to wade in the sea. Next to Gantheaume Point not far from the Port of Broome. An amazing array of rocks reaching out into the sea, colours of orange and white make up this point, there are some dinosaur footprints under the water which can be seen at low tide but we are too late to view these, we will return!
Back at the caravan park the wonderful cool waters of the pool beckoned us and we eagerly donned swimmers and cooled off before preparing and cooking dinner.
Wednesday 23rd June - Steve, Lorraine, Geoff and I drove out of town this morning to visit the Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park. Paul and Rangsima had some business in town and then planned to join us later in the morning. We arrived at the park and paid our entry fee, thankfully almost every tourist attraction accepts Seniors Cards and we get a discount, the Ranger on duty tells us that a tour over the park will start soon and it is well worth taking. A huge salt water croc enclosure is opposite the entrance and we can see about 25 crocs of various sizes on the edge of or on top of the water. The pool actually holds 70 male saltwater crocs and some female crocs. Usually they are very territorial but this whole group have been together since they hatched and accept each others presence. If another croc was introduced into the pool, the group would attack and destroy it immediately. Some of these crocs are massive, the largest croc here is about 5ft 3in. Our tour ranger arrives with a python snake in hand and talks about his habitat, habits and general information, the snake is people friendly and is taken along the lines of people for us all to touch and feel. This is a desert snake and it travels over the sand in a loop type motion with only two points of its body touching the hot sand at any one time.
Next he brings out two small saltwater crocs with bands around their snouts. Each is about 1 metre long, one very active and the other quite docile. He tells us that they need to band their jaws shut as a bite from these would be like slamming your fingers in the car door, their jaws are so strong even when they are small. The crocs are handed along the rows of people, holding each one with two hands just under the front paws and behind the back paws, they are so soft and light to hold and cameras are going off everywhere, they are so cute for what will grow into a potential man eating monster. Our walking tour begins and we move past cages of beautiful birds, to Perenties (water monitors or lizards), to a pair of dingoes, to individual cages of huge salties. He gives us a lesson on how crocs catch their prey, their speed, their amazing agility in the water and uses a hard plastic ball on the end of a rope to demonstrate. We visited a number of these enclosures using each one to demonstrate. Also freshwater crocs and american alligator enclosures. The American alligators were discovered by customs at the airport, an American man arrived in Australia with baby alligators in the pockets of his clothes, he had travelled on the plane for 17+ hours and they were suspicious because he could not stand still. Malcolm got a permit to have then brought out to his wildlife park and they are now fully grown. Next to Cassawarys, these huge birds are only seen in the north of Qld and are quite dangerous, we watched them being fed tomatoes and they can jump quite high. They have a huge middle toe with which they strike their prey, beautiful birds but not friendly to humans. Red winged black cockatoos, hawk, barking owls, blue winged northern kookaburras with their funny laugh were at the end of our tour. Our guide directed visitors to other parts of the park where kangaroos, wallabies, baby dingoes and more birdlife are on view, we returned to the entrance and had another hold of the baby crocs before making our way back to the car. An excellent attraction and well worth the visit we all agreed. Back into town for a look around Chinatown which is the original town of Broome, we wandered into shops, browsed the pearl displays and drooled over magnificent creations. We visited the information centre to book our adventure for tomorrow and caught up with Paul and Rangsima who hadn't made it to the Wildlife Park. Back to the vans for dinner, the evenings now quite cold whereas the days are hot, temperatures up to 33 degrees during the day.
Thursday 24th June - Congratulations Julia and Tyron on the birth of your son this morning.
Rangsima and Paul headed off this morning to do the Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park tour whilst the rest of us did mundane jobs, washing etc. and had an early lunch.
At 12 noon Lorraine, steve, Geoff and I were collected in a taxi and taken to the airport. We have booked a flight over the Horizontal Waterfalls and Buccaneer Archipelago, a stopover in Cape Leveque and flight home via the coast.
King Leopold Air is the company we are flying with and our pilot, Souie met us as we pulled up. Before long we were up in the air and circling Broome, a magnificent view from the air, Cable Beach, Roebuck Bay, the long jetty and our caravan park.
Our journey took us over the Dampier Pensinsula and King Leopold mountain range, a vast uninhabital area of mountains and valleys until we reached the King Sound. This amazing expanse of water is huge, it is like flying over the sea it stretches so wide, with the sound narrowing to the town of Derby. The landscape on the other side of the sound so different with its flat plains stretching to the horizon. All around are the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago discovered by William Dampier in the 1600's, Dampier was a buccaneer hence the name and with a thousand small islands and bays below us, you could hide in any one of them. Then over the Horizontal Waterfalls, two sets of islands with huge rocks forming a narrow opening through which the water cascades to form a white water effect, on the incoming tide they flow one way and on outgoing tide, the other way. The two sets of islands are in line with one another. 500hp Jet boats take visitors on an exhilarating thrill ride through the two passageways, but sadly it is not on our itinerary today. We circle over the waterfalls so each of us can get a great view and take photos and then continue our journey over the Archipelago and marvel at the colours in the water, the formation of the islands and the number of boats that tour these waterways. Two of the islands Koolan and Cockatoo are iron ore mines and we flew over them marvelling at the huge open cut mine on Koolan. Coming down to land at Cape Leveque was amazing, there is no control tower here and the pilots chat to one another to make sure they come down one at a time, the runway is gravel and orange dirt but we land smoothly thanks to our pilot, Souie and our little Cessna 210. There are a couple of other planes here already and a few land whilst we are here. We make our way to the Wilderness Lodge for afternoon tea of coffee, tea, water, banana cake and fresh fruit and then walk down to the beach for a quick swim. There are a number of campers set up here in tents and camper trailers, caravans are not allowed and beach huts are available to hire but are very expensive, $250 a night for a on site tent so the beach huts would be very costly.
The tide is out so we have to clamber over rocks to get to the waters edge and there are rocks under the water that you cannot see due to the talcum powder type sand here that clouds the water, nothing like our beautiful east coast beaches. We are determined to have a swim in the Indian Ocean so we persist and fall into the water when it is deep enough. Getting out again is the same so we make our way carefully feeling the rocks with our feet and trying to steady ourselves when the waves hit behind us, not the most pleasant swim we have had. However it did cool us down for our journey home. Back at the lodge Souie was waiting for us and we headed for our plane, climbed aboard, taxied and took off, circling over the Lodge and bays for one last look. The flight down the west coast of the Dampier Pensinsula is spectacular with its unspoiled beaches, white sands against the orange soil and green shrubs, the water so clear you can see the bottom with its rises and falls. In a couple of places you can see long roads of orange soil that take 4 wheel drive vehicles to the coast and we spotted a couple of campers along the way in very remote areas. Cape Leveque is 201kms from Broome and there is only one road in, there are a few aboriginal communities that live in the area, one small township not far from the Cape and Willie Creek Pearl Farm. After a scenic return flight that takes approx 40mins, we were back in Broome and circling over the beaches and town before landing at Broome airport. Waiting for us was a complimentary photo for each couple to remember a very special day.
We arrived back at the caravan park and Rangsima and Paul had made a beef curry and rice dinner for us all, for which we were extremely grateful.
Friday 25th June - today we wanted to continue to explore Broome, to continue our visit to Chinatown, the Pearl Luggers shop where two timber pearl luggers are on show and where the history of the industry is on display, to visit Roebuck Bay where we will watch the Stairway to the Moon on Sunday evening and revisit Cable Beach for a swim. Cable Beach is a beautiful beach, at the northern end you can drive onto the beach, can swim or sunbake nude legally or take a camel ride in the afternoon and at sunset, we drove down onto the beach and along the hard sand for a few kms, the area is dotted with 4 wheel drives with their owners at various stages of dress, on our return the camel trains were just coming down onto the beach and created quite a sight for us to enjoy, each train about 10 camels long with bright colours on their seats. We returned to the main area and decided on a swim. At low tide the water is a long way out and the first 20 metres of flat surf is talcum powder sand, however today there are no rocks and the water is cool and refreshing.
The local RSL offers a bbq dinner on Friday nights, $10 for steak, chop and two sausages and salad, sounds great to us so that's dinner tonight, on arrival we find it is cook your own and the place is packed, however we found a table and enjoyed our meal.
Saturday 26th June - our journey today takes us out the Cape Leveque Road to the turnoff to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm. You can take various tours to this facility but we decided the cost of $50 a head not worth it. Instead we self drove and just had a look around the property. Willie Creek Pearl Farm is set in a beautiful secluded bay with mangroves, white sand and crystal clear blue green water. The pearls here are magnificent and the prices expensive. Broome is the pearl capital of Australia and no doubt the pearls are world renown and first class. Sadly out of our price range. They also sell freshwater pearls which are created and purchased in bulk from overseas. They are also really lovely and are priced for the average buyer. Mother of pearl products are also sold, the shells are sent to China for creative products to be made, eg jewellery, spoons, knives, pens, and polished shells to name a few. After our pearl farm visit we decided to explore the area via the dirt tracks hoping to find a way to get to the ocean beaches, Pauls 4 wheel drive able to go up over the sand dunes and our all wheel drive Suburu Outback did pretty well but not enough clearance to tackle the dunes. After some kms of dirt we came upon an area which had some campers set up at the end of another creek called Barred Creek, a really pretty spot also with mangroves, white sand and crystal clear water. A swim would have been magnificent but the croc warning signs put an end to that idea. Lunch above the creek was all we could manage, the creek sides were like quick sand and mud.
Back down the Cape Leveque Road, we decided to visit the 12 mile Cafe where we have heard they make really yummy mango smoothies, soulds good for afternoon tea. The journey took us a little further up the main road, past the Malcolm Douglas wilderness park until we reached the 12mile sign. The Cafe is set just off a side road and is naturally covered with Mango trees and other plants from which they make their wares. The Mango smoothies and mango thickies were delicious as we had heard and their fresh warm pikelets with rosella or mango jam or honey were tasty and were enjoyed by all.
Back to the caravan park to prepare dinner and hopefully enjoy a quiet evening, no chance of that, next door is the speedway and it is Saturday night at the Speedway. You never know, we might check it out!
No need to check it out, we could hear everything the announcer said and it sounded like the cars were coming into the caravan park. Conversation very difficult as we could not hear what anyone was saying. Memories of the days when we took the boys to Parramatta speedway.
Sunday 27th June - morning church at Broome Anglican Church today, Geoff phoned the Minister last night to check we had the right time, the church is tropical and lovely with side doors which can be opened to allow the breeze through, the parishioners friendly and also other travellers who make up the numbers each Sunday, a great service, a wonderful morning tea after the Service and a chance to chat.
After church we strolled around the Broome Markets, had wonderful Thai and Brazilian food for lunch and then returned to the vans before heading off to Roebuck Bay for the Staircase to the Moon phenonomon. We decided to get down to the bay early to secure a spot and checked out the Markets which had moved from town to Roebuck Bay for the festival. Thousands of people gather each month at this time of the year to view this amazing sight. A spectacular sight created when a full moon rises over the shoreline at low tide. The rising moon reflects in pools of water left by the receding tide, creating the illusion of a golden staircase to the moon. A fantastic sight, the moon red due to smoke haze from a distant fire and the golden glow refected in the water was brilliant. Back at the park we were all ready for bed.
Off to Barn Hill
Monday 28th June - pack up this morning, lots to do. Steve, Lorraine, Paul and Rangsima are heading out south to Barn Hill, a property some 138kms south whilst Geoff and I need to stay in Broome waiting for our Bushman fridge to be fixed, the part needed should arrive from Perth this morning and hopefully we will be on our way. As they say, the best made plans of mice and men! We waited and waited for a call, paid them a visit, still no part had arrived, nothing happens quickly in Broome. We managed to book into another caravan park for tonight and hopefully leave in the morning, one last visit to the refrigeration business to discover he was closed, and no-one was answering the phone, we will have to wait until morning. Thankfully the Vacation Caravan Park is not far away.
whilst travelling down the road into town, we heard Steve on the CB talking to Paul, not possible, they are 138kms away, but true, they were just turning into Barn Hill property, the only explanation is that Barn Hill is on the coast and we could communicate because there is only water between us, Broome is out on a peninsula. Amazing, we couldn't believe our ears. Great because we could tell them about the situation here.
Geoff and I then decided to go watch the sunset at Cable Beach and it was a magnificent sight tonight, orange, pink, purple, sky set off with grey clouds and the bluest water, sometimes you see photos or paintings and you think the colours have been enhanced but when you see it with your own eyes, it is fantastic and extremely beautiful. Enjoyed with tasty barramundi and salad.
Tuesday 29th June - just killing time this morning waiting on the fridge, visited Chinatown and Roebuck Bay. Sat on the pier watching the turtles swimming just off the point, gorgeous, their little heads popping out of the water, high tide and really pretty beach. Collected the fridge at 1.45pm, part had just arrived from Perth, by 2.00pm we were on the road to Barn Hill Cattle Station. Everything going well until about 15kms before Barn Hill, the caravan started fishtailing for no obvious reason, I was driving and just couldn't control or stop the van from swaying, everything you have been taught comes to mind but with the situation out of control it is hard to stop your instincts, I braked, the wrong thing to do, the van now jack knifed and sent the car off to the wrong side of the road and into the dirt, thankfully nothing was coming towards us, the van ended up facing the side of the car slamming into the rear door, after coming to a stop and realising we were ok, we were able to assess the damage and drive the car forward straightening out the van. The goose neck on the car was twisted and broken on three sides, thankfully the other edge held or the caravan would have rolled. Another caravan, a 4x4 and a car with a boat stopped to help and they managed to dislodge the caravan from the car. After taping up the car bits and pieces we found it to be ok to drive, the van suffered very little damage which is incredible but we couldn't tow it. The guy with the 4x4 was staying at Barn Hill and offered to tow the caravan into the property for us, we followed on behind, coping with the dirt road and the corrugations. We are so grateful to Peter and Glenys for their help and to God for looking after us. It was good to see our group again and they were relieved we were here and ok. We were both exhausted, still in shock and glad to go to bed early.
Back to Broome
Wednesday 30th June - woke early this morning after a restless night. After group discussion, we agreed the others should go on, we needed to return to Broome to get the car repaired and assess towing abilities. Paul agreed to tow the caravan to Broome for us whilst Steve and Lorraine waited with their caravan out on the highway. Our car ok for travelling. A phone call to Broome Caravan Park and explaining the situation, Graham told us to come and they would find somewhere to put us. Thankfully we had no problems on our journey, on arrival at Broome we set up and farewelled Paul and Rangsima with thanks. The remainder of the day was spent checking out smash repair places, talking to NRMA in Sydney, now we wait.
For those following Steve, Lorraine, Paul and Rangsima - their journey will have to be added later but their plan is: Eighty mile beach, De Grey River, Karijini National Park, Tom Price, Karratha, Cane River National Park, Exmouth, Coral Bay, Carnarvon, Denham and Monkey Mia, Geraldton, Pinnacles, New Norcia, Perth (30th July). Hopefully we will catch them up somewhere during this journey.
For those following us 'the Litchys' - the next few days will be pretty mundane but we will keep you informed.
Thursday 1st July - Monday 5th July - Geoff and I have spent most of our time following up on car and van repairs but with little success, we were hoping to hear from the repairers today but no news, we will follow up tomorrow. It has been raining in Broome for the past two days so not much chance of doing any more sightseeing. We revisited the markets on Saturday and Broome Anglican Church on Sunday morning and chatted to some locals after the service. It has been great weather to curl up with a good book whilst Geoff plays with a data base on the computer.
Geoff's cousin Liz and Brian arrived in Broome this morning and called in to see us this afternoon, it was good to catch up with them and for us to have some family support.
We received a phone call from Lorraine, Steve, Paul and Rangsima tonight who reported on their journey. They travelled down towards Port Hedland, Steve and Lorraine visited Eighty Mile Beach but didn't stay, pretty packed and the road in unsuitable for Paul and Rangsima's van. They all moved onto De Grey River which they told us was lovely, very busy but they were able to find a spot to camp, explore the area and have a fire.
Port Hedland was interesting and is a large and busy port with large ships at the wharves.
Next into Karijini National Park, amazing and different geology that they hadn't seen before and a magnificent park, roads into gorges and falls very rough and corrugated but a very special area.
They were able to travel across to Tom Price via sealed road which was great, a huge mining town with iron ore everywhere. They said it was very cold there and were in trackies and jumpers, thankfully not much rain.
As it is school holidays in WA the caravan parks are packed and camping areas are at a premium, they managed to find a spot in the camping area to stay, they plan to move tomorrow towards Karratha stopping overnight somewhere in a free camp area.
Tuesday 6th July - good news today, Geoff spoke to NRMA Assessor in Perth this afternoon, she understood our problems with repairs in Broome and has allowed us to continue our journey as long as we have the car checked out to ensure safety. Geoff had a mechanic look at the towing area with an all ok report which is wonderful. Tomorrow we will check back again with the smash repairer, purchase new goose neck and tow ball and prepare to leave Broome on Friday.
Spent the day with Liz and Brian visiting some of the magnificent sights of Broome and tonight we were entertained by some country and western singers who are camped next to us in the caravan park. Keith Jamieson, Alisha Smith, Jeff and Lynne Brown are travelling around Australia entertaining in van parks as they go. They were terrific and great Australian songwriters and singers. Thankfully no rain in Broome today, overcast tonight.
Wednesday 7th July - thankfully the sun is shining, so washing needs to be done, Geoff has new gooseneck and towball in place and car taped up to ensure nothing will fall off. Clouds are coming in and washing off the line, a drive down to Cable Beach with Liz and Brian to watch the sunset which was a bit ordinary due to the heavy clouds.
Calls from my Mum's village to report on a couple of falls and problems with blood pressure, ambulance called and taken to Ryde Hospital. My brother reported that she is ok and we are pleased with that news.
Someone had given Liz and Brian some spanish mackeral caught fresh on the Dampier Peninsula and we are sharing it for dinner tonight, absolutely beautiful, nothing like fresh fish.
Later in evening another call from my brother Eric to say that Mum had passed away. Devastating news and not expected at all. We are thankful to God for her and glad she is now pain free and with her Lord.
Many calls to home and from my brothers, little sleep.
The Frosts are in Karratha, staying in the overflow at the Golf Club carpark. Most of the coast is heavily booked and they are finding it difficult to get accommodation. Not sure how many places they will be able to get into, all due to school holidays. They will keep in touch.
Thursday 8th July - phone started early and after a series of calls we are booked on a direct flight to Sydney on Saturday afternoon. Also a call from the local Anglican Minister to see how we were going with the car problems. After hearing our news he came over to visit us for which we are most grateful. He has parishioners who would be willing to store our van for us whilst we are away, which will probably be a week. Lorraine phoned tonight to say hi, they had visited Dampier, a town close to the water and near Karratha. Dampier is on the north west shelf on the Burrup Peninsula and is surrounded by islands of the Dampier Archipelago. Tomorrow they plan to visit Cossack and Point Samson.
Friday 9th July - sorting out and packing up today, we will leave the caravan park in the morning and leave our car and van at 12 mile just out of Broome, we are grateful for Tim, a member of the local church, who has offered to store them for us.
We fly out at 2.20pm and arrive in Sydney at 8.35pm.
Tonight we are joining Liz and Brian for dinner near where they are staying.
Congratulation to Rebecca and Edward Frost on the birth of their son at 2220hours. Nathaniel Corbett Frost.
Mum's funeral is on Wednesday 14th at Macquarie Park Crematorium, North Ryde at 11.15am then at St Matts West Pennant Hills at 12.15pm for a Thanksgiving Service. There will be a light lunch afterwards in the church hall.
This past 10 days has been eventful and busy, emotional and exciting. Liz and Brian drove us to the airport then delivered our car back to Tim's at 12 mile. An eventful trip home, eg. our plane was delayed due to engine problems, meeting up with Paul and Marilyn Christensen at the airport, friends from Sydney who were flying home after a 12 day tour from Darwin, we were accommodated at The Sanctuary at Cable Beach overnight along with 30 others, dinner with Paul and Marilyn and a great catchup and then back to the airport at 5am to fly out at 6.15am on Sunday 11th. A wonderful flight home passing over The Olgas and Uluru and an emotional entry into Sydney, Lee picked us up and drove us home to be met by all our family, our grandchildren Josh and Holly, Mitch & Jade, so excited to see us. Meetings Monday with Funeral Director & David Hewetson re Mum's funeral, phone calls galore. Tuesday clean out her room at the Hostel with the help of my friend Dan and son Phil, also Geoff. Wednesday, a wonderful celebration of Mum's life with grandchildren involved. Thank you to so many of our friends who attended and supported us. Thursday, granddaughter, Jade's 1st birthday family gathering at home, Friday more sorting and to Mel's to stay overnight for Jade's family and friends party on Saturday, Sunday, great to be back with our St Matts family at 5pm, Monday pack, managed to fit in a hip cortisone injection and more time with the family and close friends.
Tuesday 20th - airport by train and flew out of Sydney at 10.20am spending time on the plane dozing and recovering from our whirlwind trip. Arrived at Broome airport, the temperature 29 degrees, taxi to 12mile to pick up our car and caravan, to Tropical Motors to see if they could check out the caravan brakes for us, success and after some adjustments we drove into Broome Caravan Park to settle in. Cable Beach tonight to watch sunset and enjoy barramundi and salad.
Have not heard from the Frosts for a few days, they visited Exmouth, snorkelled on Ningaloo Reef, visited Coral Bay and were in Carnarvon, sorry to those who are following their journey, we miss them and hope to catch up with them in Perth. Steve and Lorraine are flying home on August 1st to see their new grandson and we hope to be in Perth when they return.
Wednesday 21st - washing and shopping, tidying the van, defrosting the fridge and preparing to leave Broome tomorrow early to begin our journey south again. Great to hear from the Frosts tonight, they are in Geraldton, making good time as they head to Perth. They have been to Denham, Monkey Mia to see the dolphins, and Kalbarri. All is well, they reported that it is very cold in the south.
Thursday 22nd July - packed up and left Broome this morning calling into 12 mile to pick up our keys from Tim and Stacy and to drop off a couple of bottles of red wine to thank them for their help in storing our van.
Very windy day today but we travelled well - this is probably the most boring part of the trip so far, large expanses of flat plains stretching to the coast, no trees to be seen anywhere, then shrubs and low trees on either side of the road, a few cattle stations along the route, large road trains carrying hay, cattle, cars, or machinery, the usual 4 x 4's and caravans the only company on the road. We arrived at Sandfire Roadhouse, filled up with petrol and decided to stop overnight. Lots of peacocks on the property, a camel and a huge brahma bull occupy the yards at the back. At sunset the most magnificent sunset filled the sky, pink splashes of colour against some grey clouds and an array of orange, yellow and red lit the sky to the west, brilliant against the clouds.
Friday 23rd July - on the road early this morning driving south, scenery pretty much the same as yesterday until we reached Pardoo Roadhouse. Suddenly the iron ore ranges appear, lots of outcrops, undulating countryside, soil so orange highlighted by the white bitumen road, still long stretches of road, past Pardoo Mine, obviously a huge company. We arrived at De Grey River Rest area and were delighted with the beauty of this place, we have heard about it from lots of people, the Frosts stopped here overnight, there are lots of caravans here already setting up for an overnight stay, we took a walk around the area and down to the river where dozens of lovely paperbark trees line the river bank, what a magic spot. Too early for us, we want to continue our journey south to make up some time so back on the road to Port Hedland. As you journey on this stretch you are aware you are in mining country, huge roadtrains, 4 semis long pass empty after dropping the ore in Port Hedland, side roads into mines, blasting notices and huge mounds of rock dug out of a mine somewhere, hills around covered with short grasses but no trees. Port Hedland appears, a large industrial town, Liz and Brian are still here getting a part fixed on their car and we meet up with them before they head out to Karijini. Down at the harbour are enormous ships being loaded with ore, 4 of these huge carriers can be loaded in Port Hedland at a time and the loading takes place 24hours a day. The ships then travel all over the world especially Asia where the demand for steel is high. After a lunch break we decide to keep on the move south, not much else to see in PH. The road to Karratha is mine country, good road, we pass the Karijini turnoff and the temptation to visit is strong but we need to keep to the coast to make up lost time. As we get close to Roebourne we telephone ahead to try to find a caravan park but each phone call ends in 'no vacancies', just before the Roebourne bridge is what looks like a free camp called 'Harding River' so we turn in and find it is a caravan park and thankfully they have a vacancy for us. Point Samson, Karratha and Dampier are booked out. Lorraine, Steve, Paul and Rangsima are still in Geraldton and it is good to chat to them tonight. They visited the Sydney Memorial and said it was really interesting.
Saturday 24th July - a visit to Port Samson this morning, the road in is desolate, some rocky outcrops, mud flats, mine off in the distance. We passed the little town of Wickham and then up over the hill and into the oasis that is Port Samson, a very pretty village, houses built to withstand cyclones, a couple of caravan parks and a magnificent coastline, rugged, rocky bays, lots of wind so the ocean is whipped up making white caps on the waves, islands off the coast are part of the Dampier Archipeligo and three or four are in view, one with a lighthouse, this coast has lots of reefs and some of these are visible near the coastline. The Cape Lambert loading facility with the second longest wharf in Australia, stretches out past the reefs and has two ships alongside being loaded with ore. At 17.8mts it is the tallest wharf in the southern hemisphere. Trains bring the ore to the wharf from the mines. Near the protected boat harbour is the cutest little beach called Honeymoon Cove designed by nature in a semi circle and secluded, a lovely sandy beach welcomes visitors. Lunch at Point Samson at Mobys Restaurant, a wonderful selection of seafood on the menu, we chose Lemon and Pepper Squid with chips and salad and Snapper with chips and we shared each others. The best squid we have ever had, cooked to perfection and tasty snapper.
Back towards Roebourne is the turnoff to the historical town of Cossack. This area discovered and settled in the 1860's and was the first port in the North West, Cossack was first known as Tien Tsin, after the barque that carried the first settler, Walter Padbury and his party, this changed in 1871 and named after HMS Cossack. Not only was this area good pastoral land but also a significant pearling industry employing local aborigines and japanese divers. Stone buildings in the town have been restored and include the Court House, the Bond Store, Police Barracks and Lockup, School house, Post and Telegraph office, these all built from 1885 to 1895 when the population was about 400. The town is alongside a very pretty entrance into the Harding River with mangroves on the opposite banks. By the early 1950's the town was virtually abandoned after several attempts at industry. A fascinating and interesting visit.
Sunday 25th July - left Harding River this morning for the drive to Karratha and Dampier. Not much to see in Karratha so headed across the causeway with salt flats on either side of the road, wide areas of white salt make an incredible sight. As we approach Dampier the road rises and over the hill the road winds down to the Dampier harbour. A very pretty sight, small boats dot the harbour and out in the distance, enormous ore carriers are moored at huge jettys. The road runs along the harbour edge, then back up over the hill. The North West Gas Shelf sits out from the port like a huge spiderweb, off the coast are the gas platforms. Back down across the salt flats we stop to have a closer look, guess what, the white flats are salt, taste and texture - sea salt.
Back on the Coastal highway we head south through many mine areas with accommodation plants to house workers. The scenery flat with ranges in the backdrop, dust evidence of work in progress. The road rises and falls as we travel over hills and then long flat stretches of road with very little interesting scenery. To the east a couple of turnoffs to Tom Price and Karijini National Park but on we go toward Nanatarra Roadhouse. Unleaded petrol here at $1.77l and any food to be purchased at huge prices, thankfully we have food in the caravan. We decide to drive on to Barradale free camp area further down the highway. We pass over some very pretty river spots with very little water, amazing how quickly this area dries out. At Barradale rest area there are quite a few caravans already set up but we find a lovely area with some white gums offering leafy shade and set up camp. We are glad of the break and spend the afternoon reading and resting under the trees.
Monday 26th July - a pretty sunrise wakes us highlighting the white gums around us and we pack up and make our way back onto the road. Our destination today is Exmouth which is on a peninsula and is the second most westerly area of WA. The mountains against the horizon today are pink and the soil varies from bright orange/red to light sandy colours, the low shrubs are dotted over the landscape with some wildflowers of yellow and white along the edges of the road. We turnoff to Exmouth at Burkitt Road which runs 78km west and is a series of hills and valleys, pretty colours and occasional views of the gulf to the north. At the T intersection on the peninsula we turn north for the long drive into Exmouth stopping at the seafood co-op to buy some of the famous Exmouth prawns for lunch. At the information centre we check out the local must see activities and book places on a Ningaloo Reef glass bottomed boat, snorkel experience for Tuesday. Thankfully we are
booked in at the Lighthouse Caravan Park 17kms north of Exmouth, accommodation is in short supply here even with multiple caravan parks. The buildings in the area are of steel with low roofs, mostly made of corrugated iron to withstand the cyclones that invade the west coast of WA, up on the peninsula are high cyclone warning poles, high at the end of Cape Range a lighthouse stands guard over the coast. Set up, enjoy our lunch of fresh bread and tasty prawns, and head back into town for some shopping. On our trip back we stopped at the rock shelf where there is a wreck of a 1907 cattle ship SS Mildura, a reminder of a very rough and rugged coastline. After exploring the rock shelf we settled ourselves on the beach to watch the sunset with a couple of glasses of champagne. As the sun set the colours glowed over the reef and rock shelf making a very pretty sight. Out past the reef the gas flames on the platforms out of Dampier can be seen shining brightly in the night sky. A slow journey back to the caravan park aware of the little wallabies that cross the roads at this time of the day. One little fellow thankfully stayed beside the road as we passed, we have seen so much roadkill over the past few days, they do not stand a chance with the huge roadtrains and cars that drive through the night.
Tuesday 27th July - busy day today starting off with a visit to the Lighthouse on the hill to view the area. There is phone reception up here so we use it to book into Carnarvon for two nights. The view spectacular over the peninsula with its many bays and amazing Ningaloo Reef running down the coastline. Next to Tantabiddi Boat Ramp to join the Reefviewer, a glass bottomed boat which will take us out over the reef to view the coral and marine life. 25 of us on the tour with people from Scotland, Austria, Hong Kong and the rest, Aussies from Tassie and NSW. Our boat takes us out over the reef and Alek the owner gives us a running commentary of what we will see, it is not long before we reach the area designated for coral viewing and Alek knows it like the back of his hand. Lots of varieties of coral and schools of small brightly coloured fish can be seen through the glass, magnificent baracuda swim across the sandy bottom and we are delighted to see many other large and small fish. As many of us take to the water with snorkels, others wait on board and keep watch, the water is warm and clear to the bottom. After about 1/2 hour and back on board Alex takes us further out on the reef to view huge masses of coral called bommies some 700 - 1000 years old, these house a wonderful variety of fish, a large ray takes cover under a bommie with his long tail sticking out on the sand. On the way back in we are delighted with a mother and pup dolphin swimming around the boat and a turtle goes under the glass and out the other side. There are three types of turtles here on the reef, Green, Loggerhead and Hawkshill and they live on the reef all year. A very enjoyable tour.
Next to the Visitor Centre in the Cape Range National Park a little further down the coast. The centre houses information about the reef and the National Park also the Cape Range which runs up the centre of the Peninsula, there are few gorges in the range lots of walks for the fit and healthy. An interesting and informative video about the reef is being shown in the theatre and we sit and watch and enjoy. This area is also home to whale sharks, which are the largest fish in the ocean, they are gentle and allow snorkelers to view them up close.
Further down the coast is Torquoise Beach, a pretty sandy beach within the reef and a great swimming and snorkeling spot. About 2-3kms out the surf breaks over the edge of the reef with a mighty roar, the area is known for its fast currents and after lunch we walk down the beach, into the water and swim and float back up towards the sandbar with very little effort, then out of the water, back down the sand and back into the water to do it again. Lots of people here, most with snorkels to enjoy this beautiful stretch of water and reef, the colour really is turquoise and magnificent. Back towards the caravan park is the Turtle Discovery Centre, a well set out self guided area detailing the life cycle of turtles, there are quite a few turtle rookeries along this stretch of coast, lots of rock in the rookery area and it makes us wonder how any of these tiny turtles survive the trek into the sea. At the last area we sit and watch the sun set over the reef, a few clouds in the sky make a real difference to a sunset.
Wednesday 28th July - packed our caravan and back on the road stopping in Exmouth for a little shopping, as I crossed the carpark an emu approached and stopped to check me out then continued his walk, I said good morning to him and hoped he wasn't going to follow. We haven't seen many emu this trip so it was quite odd to meet one in the carpark. We then continued our journey down the Peninsula, we couldn't go past the Seafood Co-op and picked up some fresh prawns for lunch. Our destination for lunch is Coral Bay some 150kms down the coast. The beautiful blue of the Exmouth Gulf runs east of the road and is a lovely sight in the morning sun. Once past the Cape Range the scenery is pretty ordinary except for the colours in the soil and occasional wildflowers along the sides of the road. The road to Coral Bay is sealed but quite bumpy but once you reach this pretty little town the colours in the bay take your breath away. Like Torquoise Bay the water colour is amazing with multiple colours reflecting in the sun. The white rolls of waves over the reef quite clear in the distance and the protected part of the reef colourful and inviting. Reefviewing boats are moored on the sandbar ready to take visitors out to view this part of the Ningaloo Reef, lots of people are in the water snorkeling or swimming over the flat reef area close to the beach. That is what is amazing with this reef, it runs so close to the beach it is accessible to everyone and is so wide. Lunch of fresh rolls and prawns overlooking this beautiful beach lulls one into a serene state. The rest of the town is made up of caravan parks packed with tourists, there are no vacancies here unless you book way ahead. Back on the road again our journey takes us off the Peninsula and onto the main coastal highway with roadtrains and roadkill. 185kms + to Carnarvon for tonights stopover with no interesting scenery to report on. As you approach Carnarvon outskirts the agriculture for which they are famous is evident everywhere, plantations of fruit and vegetables on both sides of the road. We are booked into Big 4 park in town and arrive late afternoon and set up. Still time to get some washing done so we are free to look around the area tomorrow.
Thursday 29th July - today we planned to visit the Blowholes at Quodda Point 78kms north of Carnarvon and without the caravan it was an easy drive, the road sealed all the way, past the salt mine and salt flats, huge mounds of salt around these mines are quite a sight. At Quodda Point there are small shacks belonging to locals, a number of caravans have set up in an idyllic setting beside a beautiful beach, turquoise water and reefs near the shore, a little part of heaven. It is very windy and huge waves crash into the rugged coastline just north of the beach, a rock shelf juts out into the ocean and small holes in the flat area allow the water underneath to bubble up through the holes creating an awesome sight. Nearby a crevice in the rock has a huge hole in the centre and to the side smaller holes, as the sea pounds underneath the rock shelf it sends spurts of water through the smaller holes shooting up into the air some 20 ft sending spray over the nearby rocks and then water is sucked back down the big hole into the ocean beneath. There are signs around to warn visitors that this is a very dangerous area, we are told some crazy fishermen fish off the rock shelf and there are memorials to those who have lost their lives here. It is an awesome and amazing sight and we spent quite some time watching the blowholes at work. Back into town stopping at the fresh fruit and vegie plantation shops to pick up fresh supplies. Later in the afternoon we took a drive around the waterfront, a pretty protected area, fishing boats and small craft in the harbour make a lovely sight. Also took a drive along the tree lined avenue in memory of the lives lost on the Sydney II, each tree has a plaque with a sailors name engraved on it. Talked to Steve, Lorraine, Paul and Rangsima tonight, they are now in Perth and have had a wonderful journey down the coast visiting many amazing sights, as we continue our journey I will report on some of these as we see them too.
Friday 30th July - back on the road again heading south for Denham near Monkey Mia. The scenery again very ordinary, low shrubs and grasses, wide flat plains with occasional hills. At the Overlander Roadhouse we turn off and head west to Denham. The journey can be described as up and down as that is what the road is, small hills one after another, at least better than the long flat 'to the horizon' roads we have travelled on for some weeks. At various points on the journey we travel with the ocean gulf on our right and it is a lovely sight. Paul had commented about a beach called Shell Beach that we should look at and we stopped in there for a break. What an special place, the whole beach is covered with trillions of tiny shells, Hamelin Cockle shells, crunchy to walk on and packed tight, 5 - 10 metres deep for about 250 metres to the water then 100 metres the sand continues under a clear low tide until the water deepens and is blue. At the waters edge the shells are loose. The beach is kms long. The area is mined for shell grit and the info tells us that it will never run out, this phenomena will continue. The area is also home to bilbys and malleefowl and is protected to keep out feral animals. We continue our journey stopping at a couple of lookouts and note the Ocean Park Aquarium, until we reach Denham. We set up in the caravan park on the hill. After lunch we drove back up the road to visit the Aquarium and managed in get in on the last tour of the day. A series of round open tanks each holding different fish and sea creatures are set out around the Aquarium and our guide gives us a lesson on the different varieties. This Aquarium recycles its fish, returning them to the ocean and collecting others regularly. They vary from tiny reef fish to huge taylor, cod, barramundi, red emperor and many other varieties, small loggerhead turtles pop their heads out of the water to say hello, squid, wobbiegong shark, crab, a sea snake, a stone fish in his own individual tank, small lemon sharks and then the huge pool with larger sharks. We watch as our guide feeds some of the fish and sharks talks about their different habits. They are working all the time to improve this facility, a new huge tank is in the process of being built, time and funds a constant problem. We enjoyed our visit immensely and drove back into town to check out the Denham waterfront. This town is small, is set on hills overlooking the beach and Shark Bay Marine Park and a great stopover.
Saturday 31st July - 25kms to Monkey Mia, a wonderful short drive. Past Little Lagoon, a magnificent blue circular lagoon and a popular picnic spot for swimming, fishing, kite boarding and canoeing. We arrive at the Monkey Mia Dolphin Interaction facility, the Ranger tells us that the last feeding for the morning is about to start so make our way down to the beach before booking into the Resort Caravan Park. There are 3 feeding times each morning 7.45am, 9am and 10.45am but these are flexible, depends on the dolphins. A small group is gathered at the waters edge and a small pod of dolphins are swimming around the area, the Ranger talks about the dolphins, their names, their history, their habits (that they know about), and a couple swim in nestling against the legs of the rangers. The Ranger tells us that they do not touch the dolphins but that they like human contact. 3 girls bring down buckets of small fish, they spread out in front of the group on the waters edge and select people from the crowd to step into the water and feed the dolphin a fish. Geoff is lucky to be selected and his dolphins name is Piccolo, a female dolphin. (This one is for you Chris). This ritual has been going on for 40 years, generations of dolphins, a small number coming in each morning for food. They are bottlenose dolphins and vary in size and age. Once the bucket is empty the dolphins leave, swimming out into deeper water. After setting up in the caravan park, we walked back to the visitor centre and watched a wonderful video in the little theatre. It was called Wild Australia, the Southern Seas and featured Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay and areas on the southern coast of Australia and New Zealand and was fantastic, the photography superb, the narrative excellent, we will look for it in ABC shops etc when we get a chance. During the afternoon we wandered along the beach, with regular sightings of dolphins along this absolutely magnificent coastline. This is probably the most beautiful beach we have visited, it curves in and out along a sandy shoreline, the water still except for movement from a gentle breeze, it is so clear, small boats drift on the water. Late afternoon, a huge catamaran puts up his sail and leaves the wharf on a sunset cruise. We enjoy watching from the beach, sipping our champagne and are not disappointed as a pod of dolphins feed and frolic just off the beach as the sun goes down.
Sunday 1st August - up early this morning to see the Dolphin feeding again along the beach. The wind is whipped up this morning and is quite cold, there is no sign of the still calm water of last night, the waves are washing up on the shore. As we approach the dolphin feeding area a number of dolphins are already swimming around the edge of the beach. A much larger crowd this morning than yesterday and we all wait patiently off the sand until the Ranger tells us that it is feeding time and we can move down to the waters edge. Only two mums in this morning with their calves, Nicky and Puck are the mothers and are 35 and 34 respectively. They have been feeding here all of their lives with their mums being handfed before them. No sign of Piccolo this morning so the Rangers just go with Nicky and Puck. They certainly are cute, Nicky was rubbing her snout against the leg of the ranger whilst waiting for her feed. Back to the caravan park to continue our packing and back on the road again. The Little Lagoon is beautiful this morning as we pass, the familiar signs come and go as we head back to the highway. We stopped at the Roadhouse on the highway and chatted to a couple having morning tea. Meg Gibson and her husband had lived in West Pennant Hills and their girls were a little older than ours, it wasn't until after we left that I remembered her, small world! We have to remind ourselves as we continue our journey that this is desert and this is where desert meets the sea. We are seeing many more wildflowers as we travel and there are so many different types of wattle in this area. At Galea River rest area we stopped for lunch, a really pretty spot with water in the river, there are has so little water in rivers down the highway. We turned off at the Kalbarri turnoff and travelled over undulating countryside, like the road into Denham it is a bit like riding a rollercoaster. The Kalbarri National Park sign says Hawks Head and Ross Graham Lookouts and we drove in to have a look. Both amazing gorges looking down on part of the Murchison River valleys, rugged rocky outcrops along the sides of the gorges make this area pretty inaccessible, although there is a track down to the river at Ross Graham lookout. Back on the road until we climb the last hill into Kalbarri, a very pretty sight greets us as we travel down into the town. The Murchison River serene, the rugged coastline with waves crashing over the rocks a real contrast and the area an amazing tourist haven. The Anchorage Caravan Park overlooks the river and we are lucky enough to be allocated a site on the edge of the park. After setting up we took a drive around the town and coastline, a beautiful spot. The local Anglican church has a Service at 6pm, we are the only ones there but spend some quality time with Des, the minister. Like all of these churches in coastal towns their congregation is made up by nomads visiting and holidaymakers who spend a couple of months away from the cold south. Lorraine and Steve are flying home tonight to meet their new grandson, Nathaniel and to see their family and are very excited. Paul and Rangsima are hanging around in Perth waiting for us to catch up.
Monday 2nd August - we have had a great day today, we slept in, took a drive around the coast, sat and watched the waves crashing over the headland on the opposite side of the river, visited the info centre with no luck with a cruise we would have liked to have taken up the Murchison. visited the lookout, sat and watched the boats and generally had a wonderful relaxing day. It will be difficult to leave here tomorrow but we are booked in at Geraldton tomorrow night.
Tuesday 3rd August - our 36th Wedding Anniversary today - our journey continues. The coast is magnificent this morning as we drive around the cliffs and down Red Bluff Drive, the coast road south. The ocean sparkling, the white roll of the surf crashing over the rock shelves and beaches, the views from the lookouts amazing. Looking back on Kalbarri it is sad to leave, we recommend this beautiful holiday haven to anyone visiting the west coast of WA. The coast road is spectacular, there are so many places to enjoy, the scenery changes to various shades of green pastures, rolling hills, lots of sheep, so different to anything we have seen so far. As we come into the Port Gregory area the Pink Lake comes into view, wow, this lake is huge and pink and as we drive around the eastern edge there are lots of high shrubs so it is difficult to stop and take photos, the road circles around the lake and on the west side of the lake there are no shrubs and the scene is so magnificent it is unbelievable. It is so pretty, in the middle of the lake is an area that is blue surrounded by rocks, the contrast is stunning. There are some great spots for photos and we take heaps. The road runs into Port Gregory, a tiny port on the coast with a wide channel close to shore and a reef or rock shelf running the length of the port, an incredible sight. This coast is amazing. Just out of Port Gregory are some convict ruins, a couple of old buildings still standing amidst the ruins.We arrive at Northhampton, an old historical town, we stop for a look around and a coffee break. Onto Geraldton and our caravan park is on the northside and we are there before we know it. Set up, have lunch and then drive into Geraldton. We are keen to see the WA Museum here and the HMAS Sydney 11 Memorial. The Museum is on the harbour foreshore and is a modern building. There is so much early history on the west coast, the early Dutch explorers arrived here long before Cook, the shipwrecks are multiple and all down the rugged coastline. 1600's and 1700's history is well documented and there were so many lives lost, so many murders of innocent people, so many stories of survival against the odds. A film on the Batavia shipwreck, the rebuilding of a longboat from the ship and the retracing of its journey through huge seas, the history of the people aboard was fascinating. The Museum has a wonderful tribute to the HMAS Sydney 11, the story of its loss at the hands of the German ship The Kormoran and the loss of the Kormoran as well. The search for their final resting place and subsequent discovery of its location on 16th March 2008. We were both so engrossed in our journey of discovery we were the last out of the Museum at clog time. Up on the hill overlooking the town and the harbour is a huge dome and Memorial to the Sydney 11. The dome is made of steel and has 645 seagull shapes covering the dome, one for each sailor lost. Also a bow of the ship with a lookout at the top towers over the Memorial. Around the sides of the memorial are the names of each sailor engraved on huge granite slabs also detailing the story of the Sydney 11. At the front of the area is a bronze statue of a woman looking out to sea looking for her loved one, a very moving memorial and such a fitting tribute.
Wednesday 4th August - Happy Birthday to Melisa, our eldest daughter. Out of Geraldton on our last leg before Perth. Today to Cervantes, a small coastal town just off the Indian Coastal highway. Past Green Head with the islands off the coast which are breeding grounds for Sea Lion. Stopped in Leeman for morning tea, strong sulphur smells down this area, pretty beach, Jurien Bay, the largest of these holiday villages and then Cervantes. The Pinnacles Caravan Park is right on the beach with a little Cafe called Seashells Cafe. We are set up in no time at all and head off to the laundry for some washing. The day is magnificent, sunny and cool wind great for drying. The beach is pretty, a couple of long jetties, an island off the coast, huge boats in the lobster fishing company here. The Caravan Park is owned by the Country Club and our discount voucher for a lobster and seafood platter will be our Wedding Anniversary dinner tonight. Walk on the beach, coffee at the Cafe and chat with other travellers, 3 from Swan Hill in Victoria and a Perth couple who are really helpful with what to see and where to stay down the coast.
Our dinner is magnificent, lobster tossed in garlic butter, 2 large pieces of snapper, 4 prawn cutlets, 4 s & p squid, chips and salad. Yum!!! Forgot to take the camera, bummer! The Frosts also stayed here in Cervantes and enjoyed their platter as well.
Thursday 5th August - our first stop this morning is to Lake Thetis and the Stromatolites that live there. These are living organisms thousands of years old, produce oxygen and are an important park of the life of our planet. The Lake water salt content is 1.5times that of the ocean.There are two types Stromatolites and Stombolites, some in layers like little pillars and others round and flatter. A boardwalk circles the late to allow visitors to view this amazing area. Next we visited the Pinnacles Desert Discovery in Nambang National Park not far south of Cervantes. A unique and spectacular experience. Rising mysteriously from the dune sands are thousand of limestone pillars, a landscape in eerie contrast to the surrounding area. An extraordinary range of wildlife and habitats lie within the area. The Pinnacles are majestic, vary in size and shape, all weathered by the constant movement of sand, the desert sand is yellow but in the background the white sand and green shrubs on the coast against the blue of the Indian Ocean make the area amazing. There is a sandy stone lined roadway through the Pinnacles which takes the visitor on an amazing journey. The desert viewing platform in the centre gives a wonderful panorama of the shapes and sizes of these limestone rocks. Walking trails and view points are well situated. A visitor centre has information about the area and although many ships and explorers passed this area, the Pinnacles were not discovered until 1930's. Some believe they could have been covered with sand which has blown away to reveal them at that time. The area was made a National Park in 1968. The birds in the park are numerous, we saw kangaroos hopping their way between the pillars and into the scrub areas, snakes, lizards, spiders and other small animals make the desert their home. On our way back we visited Kangaroo Point and had our lunch sitting on the sand. Then a drive around the bays of Cervantes, Thirsty Point a picturesque bay with turquoise water, and then the jetties and beaches that surround the caravan park. Another wonderful day in the great outdoors.
Friday 6th August - Happy Birthday Paul Frost. Packed up and headed south to Perth, the countryside pretty with lots of farming land, cows and sheep. The road between Cervantes and the Brand Highway is a mixture of hills and deep valleys, once on the highway we are aware that we are getting close to Perth. More industry, towns are closer together and lots more traffic. Stopped at a pretty spot by a river for morning tea, no free camping allowed here due to a caravan park close by. As we reach the outskirts of the Swan Valley there are lots of wineries, tourist and information signs. There is also quite a lot of roadwork and we are amazed that the new work is single lane when the road carries so much traffic. Midland is on the northside of Perth and we arrive at the caravan park in the middle of the day. Paul and Rangsima are out for the day at Fremantle and Lorraine & Steve fly into Perth late tonight. After setting up and having some lunch we decided to explore some of the wineries and local trade. This included the Mondo Nougat Shop, The Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Henley Winery and Fish Tail Wines. There are a huge number of wineries in this area and a well set out wine and food trail. After some delightful samples we headed back to the caravan park via the local shopping centre. Paul and Rangsima called in to say hi when they returned from their outing and it was great to catch up with them.
Saturday 7th August - spent the morning catching up with The Frosts sharing our journeys, looking at photos of Nathaniel and sharing plans for next few days.
Geoff and I then spent the afternoon driving down to Fremantle, checking out the markets and the waterfront and taking in the sights around the area. Fremantle is a major sea port and huge ships lined the docks, import and export being major industry here. The area was packed with sightsee'ers, the footy was on at the oval so carparks were packed around the gaol which is a major tourist attraction.
Back to the caravan park for dinner with Steve and Lorraine and more catch up time.
Sunday 8th August - The Frosts left early this morning to do a tour of Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth. Drove to the city to catch the ferry at 8.45am.
Geoff and I spent the day with good friends, Andrew, his partner Michelle and Michelle's son, Jye who is nearly 6.
Andrew spent three years of his life as part of the Litchfield family when he was in Years 2,3 & 4 spending his after school hours at our home until his mum, Jeannette returned from work. They moved to Perth but we have kept in touch with them over the past 20 years. Andrew, Michelle and Jye took us on a drive around Perth visiting many magnificent areas, parks, places where they lived, lovely areas along the Swan River, then the beaches - Cottlesloe, City Beach, Scarborough, Hillaries for lunch, a lovely area of restaurants and a marina with boats to drool over, then a drive through Kings Park stopping at various lookouts including the war memorial and eternal flame, a spectacular view of Perth city and the Swan River. Then back through the city. This river is huge, wide in parts, it winds its way from the coast up to the Swan Valley near where we are staying in Midland. A very special day for us, Andrew has wanted us to come to Perth for many years and it was wonderful to spend the day with him and his family. His Mum, Jeannette now lives in Tassie and the day even included a phone call from her with lots of laughs.
Lorraine and Steve dropped by tonight after a long day. The ferry trip picturesque as they travelled down the Swan River to Fremantle then across the ocean to Rottnest about 40 minutes away. Walking tour around the Settlement and down to the Salt Lake, (Garden Lake). Then boarded a bus which took them around the island circumference stopping at coastal spots along the way, spectacular scenery with reefs around the island. The Quokka's for which the island is famous were everywhere around the island, they are semi nocturnal so they are active mostly late afternoon and early morning. They visited Vincent Street which is supposed to be the oldest street in Australia, the houses are an orange colour - Rottnest rust! The island houses an Anglican and Catholic church, a prison, a reformatory for young boys, a hotel but most of the buildings are now holiday accommodation. The ferry then left the island at 4pm for the return journey. A very interesting and fascinating day.
Saturday 7th August - spent the morning catching up with The Frosts sharing our journeys, looking at photos of Nathaniel and sharing plans for next few days.
Geoff and I then spent the afternoon driving down to Fremantle, checking out the markets and the waterfront and taking in the sights around the area. Fremantle is a major sea port and huge ships lined the docks, import and export being major industry here. The area was packed with sightsee'ers, the footy was on at the oval so carparks were packed around the gaol which is a major tourist attraction.
Back to the caravan park for dinner with Steve and Lorraine and more catch up time.
Sunday 8th August - The Frosts left early this morning to do a tour of Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth. Drove to the city to catch the ferry at 8.45am.
Geoff and I spent the day with good friends, Andrew, his partner Michelle and Michelle's son, Jye who is nearly 6.
Andrew spent three years of his life as part of the Litchfield family when he was in Years 2,3 & 4 spending his after school hours at our home until his mum, Jeannette returned from work. They moved to Perth but we have kept in touch with them over the past 20 years. Andrew, Michelle and Jye took us on a drive around Perth visiting many magnificent areas, parks, places where they lived, lovely areas along the Swan River, then the beaches - Cottlesloe, City Beach, Scarborough, Hillaries for lunch, a lovely area of restaurants and a marina with boats to drool over, then a drive through Kings Park stopping at various lookouts including the war memorial and eternal flame, a spectacular view of Perth city and the Swan River. Then back through the city. This river is huge, wide in parts, it winds its way from the coast up to the Swan Valley near where we are staying in Midland. A very special day for us, Andrew has wanted us to come to Perth for many years and it was wonderful to spend the day with him and his family. His Mum, Jeannette now lives in Tassie and the day even included a phone call from her with lots of laughs.
Lorraine and Steve dropped by tonight after a long day. The ferry trip picturesque as they travelled down the Swan River to Fremantle then across the ocean to Rottnest about 40 minutes away. Walking tour around the Settlement and down to the Salt Lake, (Garden Lake). Then boarded a bus which took them around the island circumference stopping at coastal spots along the way, spectacular scenery with reefs around the island. The Quokka's for which the island is famous were everywhere around the island, they are semi nocturnal so they are active mostly late afternoon and early morning. They visited Vincent Street which is supposed to be the oldest street in Australia, the houses are an orange colour - Rottnest rust! The island houses an Anglican and Catholic church, a prison, a reformatory for young boys, a hotel but most of the buildings are now holiday accommodation. The ferry then left the island at 4pm for the return journey. A very interesting and fascinating day.
Saturday 7th August - spent the morning catching up with The Frosts sharing our journeys, looking at photos of Nathaniel and sharing plans for next few days. Geoff and I then spent the afternoon driving down to Fremantle, checking out the markets and the waterfront and taking in the sights around the area. Fremantle is a major sea port and huge ships lined the docks, import and export being major industry here. The area was packed with sightsee'ers, the footy was on at the oval so carparks were packed around the gaol which is a major tourist attraction. Back to the caravan park for dinner with Steve and Lorraine and more catch up time.
Sunday 8th August - The Frosts left early this morning to do a tour of Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth. Drove to the city to catch the ferry at 8.45am. Geoff and I spent the day with good friends, Andrew, his partner Michelle and Michelle's son, Jye who is nearly 6. Andrew spent three years of his life as part of the Litchfield family when he was in Years 2,3 & 4 spending his after school hours at our home until his mum, Jeannette returned from work. They moved to Perth but we have kept in touch with them over the past 20 years. Andrew, Michelle and Jye took us on a drive around Perth visiting many magnificent areas, parks, places where they lived, lovely areas along the Swan River, then the beaches - Cottlesloe, City Beach, Scarborough, Hillaries for lunch, a lovely area of restaurants and a marina with boats to drool over, then a drive through Kings Park stopping at various lookouts including the war memorial and eternal flame, a spectacular view of Perth city and the Swan River. Then back through the city. This river is huge, wide in parts, it winds its way from the coast up to the Swan Valley near where we are staying in Midland. A very special day for us, Andrew has wanted us to come to Perth for many years and it was wonderful to spend the day with him and his family. His Mum, Jeannette now lives in Tassie and the day even included a phone call from her with lots of laughs.
Lorraine and Steve dropped by tonight after a long day. The ferry trip picturesque as they travelled down the Swan River to Fremantle then across the ocean to Rottnest about 40 minutes away. Walking tour around the Settlement and down to the Salt Lake, (Garden Lake). Then boarded a bus which took them around the island circumference stopping at coastal spots along the way, spectacular scenery with reefs around the island. The Quokka's for which the island is famous were everywhere around the island, they are semi nocturnal so they are active mostly late afternoon and early morning. They visited Vincent Street which is supposed to be the oldest street in Australia, the houses are an orange colour - Rottnest rust! The island houses an Anglican and Catholic church, a prison, a reformatory for young boys, a hotel but most of the buildings are now holiday accommodation. The ferry then left the island at 4pm for the return journey. A very interesting and fascinating day.
Monday 9th August - left Midland this morning after voting for the Federal Election locally. Geoff and I are going to stay at Andrew and Michele's for a couple of days, our rego papers should arrive today from Sydney and we need to get that sorted before leaving Perth. Arrived at Beelier and moved into Michele's house in a lovely new subdivision before taking a drive around the local area. Geoff had planned to go to the city but we couldn't find the station or remember the name of the suburb it was in, driving around in the wrong direction (we found out later). An afternoon haircut and massage filled in the remainder of the day and then a lovely dinner at home cooked by Michelle. The evening was spent playing with the Wii - Bowling on Wii Resort - so much fun and lots of laughs.
The Frosts left today and will take their time visiting Mandurah and Bunbury on the coast road over the next two days to allow us time to catch up yet again.
Tuesday 10th August - this morning we drove to Mt Pleasant and spent the morning with a friend of mine from Sydney. Brenda and David Hansell came to Perth some years ago and loved it so much they decided to sell in Sydney and move here permanently. Brenda grew up at West Pennant Hills, nursed me when I was in Hornsby Hospital with Keryn and Adam, their boys went to Pennant Hills High and we have kept in touch over the years. It was lovely to see her and great to catch up on all their news. Their elder son, Phil is also living in WA, working all over the state, Andrew their younger son is in the Defence Force Academy in Canberra and graduating this year.
Our afternoon was spent trying to organise the registration renewal of our car, no easy feat in WA. Normally if your car needs registration you pay over the phone, if you are interstate, you have to visit a Licensing Centre, only 5 in Perth and then you line up in car queues, the car is then checked by a guy who does a thorough check including over the pits. We waited for 2 hours in the queue, to be then told the car was not passed for rego. Our rear lights on the hatch door have not worked since Broome, they are really not necessary as all other lights are ok, but no discussion accepted. Our car is due for rego on Sept 5th. The downside of this is that we will have to be home before that date. We cannot get the repairs done here in time for us to be home by the end of September. Evening spent rescheduling our route east.
The Frosts have travelled down the coast road staying overnight at Mandurah, then an Eco park near Lake Clifton where there were lots of magnificent black swans. They then travelled down through Bunbury and onto Busselton.
Wednesday 11th August - Happy Birthday to our grandson Joshua 7 today.
Farewell to Andrew, Michelle and Jye and we continue our journey south. We are meeting the Frosts in Busselton in the south of WA on the west nob. We joined the freeway and were soon out of the city and suburbs of Perth and into the farm land of the south. A few wineries, cattle properties, lovely green pastures and flat countryside made our journey easy and fast and we arrived in the busy city of Busselton before lunch. We booked into the Kookaburra Caravan Park opposite the well known Jetty. A call from the Frosts advised us that they were nearby and we met for lunch at the town Maccas. The day is cold and wet so it seemed a good idea to go for a drive. Down the coast a short distance is Dunsborough and Yallingup, two small coastal towns on the other side of Cape Naturaliste which were today pounded by huge seas, the waves crashing onto the shore and over the small jetty's that would be used in the summer season to launch boats beside and jump into the ocean from. The wind so strong it was hard to stand still, the sea black from the debris that the storm had brought to land. Obviously both towns were originally small villages now today huge mansions line the foreshores with older cottages dwarfed by their size. They would have amazing views, would love to see this area in the summer.
Thankfully the caravan park has a well appointed kitchen with bbq facilities and we chose to cook and eat there together tonight and talk about the next few days.
Thursday 12th August - today we visited the Jetty, well part of it anyway. The Jetty is under restoration and was supposed to be completed in April - May this year but due to poor weather conditions it has been delayed time and time again. The Jetty is 2kms long stretching way out into the ocean. On the shoreline end of the jetty are buildings built to resemble beach huts of the 1930s which house the ticket office, souvenir shop and information about the jetty. The jetty is closed off just past this area but at the other end of the jetty is a underwater observatory. The photos displayed and the brochure would tempt anyone to visit. Hopefully it will be completed soon. The original Jetty was built in the mid 1800s and has been extended a number of times to accommodate ships to the area, part of the jetty was destroyed by fire in the mid 90's and the town is frustrated by the number of delays in its completion. On our way back to the cars a huge downpour nearly soaked us to the skin, oooooh for the warmth of the north. A wander around town, shopping, washing and chatting filled in our day and our visit to Busselton. Camp kitchen came in handy again tonight as it is still raining. Heading south again tomorrow first to Margaret River.
Friday 13th August - Margaret River is well known for the wine that is produced here and there are hundreds of wineries to tempt the wine lover. We have decided to visit two wineries today, yes only two. Lorraine and Steve have selected Vasse Felix, a winery on the northern end of Margaret River. It comes highly recommended by Rebecca's parents. The winery has the oldest vines in the area and is beautifully situated in magnificent green pastures, the restaurant above the cellar door reminds you of an old English castle with pointed roofs and circular towers, the grounds beautifully manicured with a lovely clear brook running through the property. We are all red drinkers so we limited our selection, some specials caught our eye, the Theatre reds, a very pleasant Shiraz and then a Sparkling Shiraz which was marvellous. Also a very nice Semillion, a dessert wine was worth the taste. Our purchases made but wait Lorraine has found a really nice Jacket on special and added it to Steve's purchases. Back to the cars and our next visit is on the south side of Margaret River township. Our friend Andrew had introduced us to a very nice pink muscat from Stella Bella Winery, I am very partial to fortified wine and this particular drop caused our selection of this winery. We were pleasantly surprised with the wines from Stella Bella and they have fared well in a number of wine shows. Some really lovely reds were presented to us for tasting and their Cab/Sav Merlot took first prize in our taste test. Because the Pink Muscat is only made in small batches it is not available for tasting during the week but a very nice dessert Semillion was offered with delightful applause. We all purchased each of these, the others trusting my recommendation on the Pink Muscat. Back to Margaret River for lunch in a little Bakery we had passed. Our next visit took us to the coast arriving in the Prevelly Park area early afternoon. We visited a number of small bays along the coast taking our caravans on bumpy dirt roads, so many pretty spots. At Caveworks (Lake Cave) turnoff we visited Conto's Cape Freycinet, a rugged coast and magnificent scenery. All down this coast are caves that are open for visitors and we called into Caveworks, the HQ of the caves network to find out about a cave we want to visit tomorrow. We are disappointed to discover that Jewel Cave is not open at present but we can visit either Lake Cave or Mammoth Cave today. Lake Cave has 300 steps, not something I can tackle at present so we chose Mammoth Cave about 10mins back up the coast road. The tour is self guided with audio headsets giving a running commentary. The cave is magnificent, huge chambers with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere, a boardwalk through the caves has steps up and down and handrails that help the visitor get around. A watercourse runs through the cave at quite a fast pace. At the end of the caves there is a 170 step climb or you can choose to go back through the caves system to the entrance. A great visit and amazing history.
Further down the coast is Hamelin Bay a very pretty bay with a caravan park right on the beach so we headed there for the night. The office was closed and after some discussion decided to continue on to Augusta at the bottom of the WA coast. We were all grateful to arrive at Turners Caravan Park on the river in Augusta, all very tired after a mammoth day.
Saturday 14th August - Augusta is a beautiful picturesque town situated on the Blackwood River, nearby Cape Leeuwin is the most southern tip of WA and it is where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet. The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse overlooks the area of reefs, hidden rocks and small islands and the area is a graveyard for many ships lost before the lighthouse was built in the late 1800's. Only 1 ship has been lost since its light circled the area 25kms out to sea. We spent the morning exploring the area, reading the many plaques detailing the lighthouse history, enjoying watching the ocean currents and the waves crashing over the reef and rocks and watching for whales that are often seen in the area. Next a visit to a waterwheel that was used to feed water from a stream to the lighthouse when it was being built and later to service the needs of the keepers who lived there. The long wooden structure is still in place and the waterwheel at the end has calcified over the years but you can still make out its shape. The bay around it is rugged and the area would have been hit by many storms and bad weather through the years.
Farewell to Augusta and north to the Brockman Highway to commence our journey east. The countryside is magnificent, green pastures, cattle of all colours and sizes, sheep grazing and properties with lovely homesteads and dams. Surrounding the entire area are the most amazing trees, Karri, Jarrah and Marri tree forests are all through the south of WA. The colours are extraordinary, soft browns, creams, reds, and greys are combined with the green foliage on huge trees that stretch into the sky, so different to the scrub we have seen in the desert north. National Parks are abundant in the area so roads are lined with trees making a very pretty drive. In the Warren National Park we visited an enormous Karri tree with steel rods spiralling up the tree to a number of tree houses at various levels and Steve and Paul made it to the first level about 30mtrs above the ground, Geoff and Lorraine climbed about 5 metres up to have some photos taken. Overnight at Pemberton, a old town set on the hillside, dinner at the local pub, a historic hotel grand in its appearance.
Sunday 15th August - forgot to mention our visit yesterday to the Beedelup Falls, a magic area within one of the many National Parks in the south west. The falls cascading down the rocks into the river below, two paths, one down steps and onto the suspension bridge and the other an easy slope down to a viewing area suspended above the falls, a timber boardwalk joins the two areas. Very pretty and worth the visit. Pemberton is a Mill town, its main source of employment is the saw mill. As mentioned before this whole area is forest of Karri - a magnificent hardwood tree, Marri and Jarrah. This morning we took a tram trip through the forest with Brian, our driver and commentator giving us a fantastic and detailed description of the trees, the mill and its history and the tram journey. The mill was first used to make the railway sleepers for the overland track from Adelaide to Perth. Back in those days the sleepers were cut by hand, trees felled by saw and the sleepers hewn out by chisel and saw, 500,000 sleepers. The Mill is a working mill still supplying timber to countries all around the world and also the Australian needs. It is the biggest supplier of hardwood in the southern hemisphere. The tram track wound its way through the forest, over 6 bridges that have withstood the forces of nature, the jarrah boards still in the same condition as when they were installed. At two places we were able to get off the tram to view, first the Cascades, a part of the river cascading over the rocks and then a visit to the 300year old Karri tree in the forest, the lower part hollowed out, visitors standing in the hollow for photos, holds 35 people we were told. Back on the tram for the return journey, Brian continuing his commentary all the way. Some of the original homes of mill workers are beside the line and are in terrific condition. The outside of the homes cannot be changed but residents can do whatever they wish inside. The Tram carriages, each with its own engine, were built in Pemberton. The Railway Station is also old and well maintained and alongside the trams is an old steam engine with original carriages behind. The steam engine obviously maintained in tip top condition. On the road again for the drive to Walpole, through magnificent forests with huge karri trees on the edges of the road. Just before we reached Walpole we visited another waterfall, the Fernhook Falls are also very accessible with sloping paths down to the viewing area and overlooking cascading water running fast over the rocks. Very similar to the other falls we have seen but still worth the visit. The Walpole Jetty turnoff is just before the small town and the large expanse of water would be a boat owners delight.Not much in Walpole so onto the scenic drive around the knoll and into the Top Tourist Caravan Park overlooking the Nornalup inlets and Coalmine Beach.
Monday 16th August – early morning drive to visit the huge Tingle tree in the National Park nearby. The South West of WA is the only place these trees are found and they have a massive trunk and reach heights of 90 metres. The path is well sign posted and the area around the tree has small platforms to view the tree from various angles. A number of the surrounding trees are nearly as big with huge open bases where fire has burnt out the middle of the tree. They continue to survive by the bark on the outside of the tree maintaining the food and water source. There are three varieties, Rates Tingle, Red Tingle and Yellow Tingle.
Next to the Circular Pool in the same area and two viewing platforms give a good view of the pool below and cascading waterfall. There is also a path to the bottom but we have to move on today as we plan to visit the Giant Treetop Walk east of Walpole. First back to the park to hitch up the vans and continue our journey.
The roads into the National Parks are well maintained dirt roads but The Treetop Walk through the giant trees is world renown and the road is sealed, as we travel through the forest the surrounding trees are massive, Karri and Tingle trees and the small Karri Oak are everywhere. We are getting good at identifying different species by their bark now. The Discovery centre is well set up and we are soon walking up the 1 in 12 grade walk up a steel walkway gradually climbing to 40 metres in the canopy of the trees. The open steel plates that you walk on give the visitor a view to the forest floor and many a visitor is seen walking with eyes straight ahead and not stopping to take in the magnificent scenery around. The trees are huge, towering over us even at the highest level, many have been lopped of dead branches for safety and we wonder at the arborists who climb these heights to cut off these branches. Some of these trees are hundreds of years old. We will never see this many Tingle trees again, the lower part of the Red Tingle tree is a red/orange colour with patches appearing at various parts of the trunk which is mostly grey. The Karri trees with their smooth trunks magnificent beside them, patchy in colours of grey, cream and brown. Interestingly there are no Jarrah trees in this part of the forest. Upon descent from the treetops you can then go on a walk around the forest floor to explore the Ancient trees and again marvel at the size of the bases of some of the trees, Tingle trees can have a base that measures 20 metres circumference. Back to the highway and on our way stopping at Greens Pool, a beautiful beach area in William National Park with rocks that resemble elephants lying in the water and crystal clear water creating pools near the sandy beach that looked extremely inviting except it is quite cold. Over the rocks and around the bay is another huge pool with more elephant rocks and crashing waves, the amazing strength of the Southern Ocean. A short stopover at a property advertising toffee, peanut brittle and delicious ice cream was too hard to resist and was a pleasant break. Next to Denham, a pretty town with a river running under the bridge at the bottom of the main street and then into the farming countryside, green and littered with cows and sheep. We passed a woodworking gallery which we would have loved to visit but it is not open on Monday or Tuesdays. We arrived in Albany and made our way to the Albany Holiday Park on the other side of town. We will explore tomorrow.
Tuesday 17th August - first to Middleton Beach for some whale watching. The waterfront in Albany is huge and is made up of a number of bays each one covering a large area, there are islands in the King George Sound of various sizes and the whales come right into the bay. We saw some whales out in the bay and it was great to have our binoculars with us. We drove up to the lookout for a better view and were not disappointed. Out in the bay were three female whales with their calves, and just below us another set quite close to shore. We stood and watched for some time and it was hard to leave.
Our next stop was 20kms away at the Whaling Station at the end of the peninsula and on the other side of King George Sound. Whale World as it is now known is an old whaling station which opened in 1952 and closed in 1978. Whaling ships would leave the harbour and head out into the Southern Ocean searching for Humpback whales and towards the Indian Ocean for Sperm Whales. The whales would be brought back to Albany for processing and Whale World is set up to allow the visitor a look into the history of this industry. A tour guide takes the visitor on a journey with sight and sound videos, an original whaling ship, the Cheynes IV which you could explore, buildings housing machinery and equipment that were used and stories of the men and women who were either working or involved in this industry. Massive skeletons of whales’ filled one room, the humpback and behind it, 4 times the size, a huge skeleton of a pygmy blue whale, the smaller of the blue whales that live on the WA coast. A fantastic tour which leaves you with a great love of these magnificent creatures and the desire to see that this industry is terminated world wide. Out in the bay we could see the spouts of whales whilst we enjoyed our lunch in the onsite restaurant.
Our day had started out with beautiful sunshine but as the day progressed the black clouds gathered behind the mountains and by the end of our visit, the rain was bucketing down. We had planned to visit the blowholes on our return journey but the rain was so heavy it was difficult to see, we checked out the gap and the narrow bridge in torrential rain and were nearly blown away.
Albany town centre is built on the waterfront of Princess Royal Harbour and we went for a drive through the main street, amazing buildings in good condition dated 1880s lined the streets, everything is here, 35000 people live in Albany and we could understand why it was settled so early in Australian history. There is still so much to see but the weather put a stop to that and we have to move on tomorrow. A return visit? – we will see!
Wednesday 18th August – goodbye to Albany and on the road to Ravensthorpe, a small town between Albany and Esperance. The weather today is cold, light showers of rain make our journey damp and inhospitable. The scenery is pretty, with a magnificent kaleidoscope of green fields and yellow canola plantations all along the route. The wildflowers are everywhere is small clumps, another couple of weeks will see them in bloom fully. This rain will help to bring the buds to bloom. Huge canola processing plants are also along the route. The road is good, undulating, huge road trains move produce to Esperance to be loaded onto ships. Ravensthorpe is built on a hill and the caravan park is at the end of town at the bottom of the hill. The caravan park is a sight to behold, toilet bowls, old machinery, pieces of pipe, pot plants, old tyres and an assortment of other junk is everywhere. The toilet bowls mostly have pot plants sitting in them. However, the park is good, the amenities clean and we manage to find 3 spots next to an undercover kitchen area with bbq, sink, cooktop, microwave and small TV. Steve and Lorraine are parked across from us and the electricity keeps cutting out, the other vans in the same line on the same circuit are having the same problem. Eventually they move and park in front of us and use our power outlet with no problems. The boys have collected fire wood and make a marvellous fire to keep us all warm during dinner and for a short while afterward. Nobody sat out very late as it is too cold.
Thursday 19th August – farewell to Ravensthorpe, across the bridge and onwards to Esperance. The scenery much the same as yesterday, the magnificently coloured canola fields are huge, expanding across the hillside and flat plains, acres and acres, also another unidentified crop, low plants and green fields. A huge mine of some sort on the horizon, no signs anywhere to indicate what sort of mine it is. Open cut area and huge sheds, the only sign on the highway is Mine Site.
The roads are the same, undulating and carrying many huge road trains. As we reach the outskirts of Esperance we can see it is an industrial town with an enormous turnover of produce, rail and truck roads moving goods to the harbour port. Info Centre first then lunch at Maccas seems a good idea and we drove through town looking for the familiar big M, very funny really, each of us on a different road trying to locate the restaurant which was at the far end of the town on the main street. We eventually arrived and enjoyed our break. On the way into town we passed a Top Tourist Caravan Park right opposite the beach, which seems the ideal spot for us for a couple of nights.
Set up and washing which needs to be done are the first things on the agenda, then some shopping to restock the larder. Our caravan bays are right opposite the beach, would be terrific if it was not so cold and overcast. However there is a great bbq kitchen area which we will make use of tonight.
Friday 20th August – Happy Birthday to Rangsima.
Esperance is magnificent, the bay across the road from the caravan park is huge and surrounded by 105 islands both large and small belonging to the Recherche Archipelago. A jetty stretches out into the bay 862mtrs and is called the Tanker Jetty because tankers used it in past years to load and unload their goods. At the end of this bay is now a huge facility for the loading and unloading of goods. Sheds, cranes, circular holding tanks for wheat or grain, are visible around the area known as the Port. Massive ships are at the docks ready for loading. This port is used for exporting many different products, wheat, grain, wool, sheep and cattle, canola and products from the gold fields in Kalgoorlie some 400kms north.
This morning we drove the 40kms Great Ocean drive around the area stopping at various points as indicated on the map. The Jetty, the Port, the lookouts, the Rotary lookout at the end of town gave us a 360 degree view of the most awesome scenery you could discover anywhere. The islands, the colour of the water, the rock shelf which runs along the coast of the majority of beaches and inlets and the town which nestles down on the edge of the bay, has a population of about 13000 including surrounding rural areas. As we drove around the bays of Esperance we were delighted by the scenery, turquoise water against the dark areas of the rock shelf, with silvery blue deep water behind. West Beach, Blue Haven, Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach, Twilight Beach which was voted the best beach in Australia in 2006, then 9mile, 10mile lagoon, 11mile beaches all of which were spectacular. At Observation Point we were delighted to see a large pod of dolphins feeding in the rock shelf below diving in and out of the water, also here a beautiful view down the coast and out to sea. Each beach had well maintained timber steps leading down to the sand or up to a lookout. Next point of interest was the Pink Lake although these days it is no longer pink. The algae which causes the lake to turn pink has been removed from the surface and left a blue lake with a large salt content. An excellent drive on a beautiful day before returning to the caravans for a late lunch. Tonight we are going out for dinner to celebrate Rangsima’s birthday and our last evening together. Geoff and I will head north to Norseman tomorrow then continue our journey east to the border then the Nullarbor. Lorraine, Steve, Paul and Rangsima will visit Cape Le Grand before returning to Ravensthorpe, then Hyden to visit Wave Rock and Hippo’s Yawn, then onto Kalgoorlie, then Norseman before heading east. We will keep in touch so I can continue to blog their journey.
Whilst I was cutting Geoff’s hair this evening a couple came over to chat, they live in West Pennant Hills and their son, Ben was in the same year as Melisa. Kate and Ross Petersen have been travelling around since May doing approx the same trip as us. Small world.
Saturday 21st August – sad farewells this morning as we packed up to begin our journey north to Norseman. The Frosts not in a hurry as they are not travelling far. Out of Esperance and onto the highway, not much traffic on the road and an easy drive. The railway line runs alongside the highway crossing over to the opposite side at one point. Stopped in Salmon Gums for morning tea where the salmon gums line the road all the way to Norseman. Canola plantations continue to decorate the landscape and wildflowers in the form of a pretty silver shrub on both sides of the road. Norseman was a gold mining town, is very small now but is at the junction of highways to Kalgoorlie, Esperance and Eastern States. A nice area around the information centre was busy with caravans stopping for lunch. Being Saturday afternoon most of the shops were closed. A short journey to Frasers Range Station, this first station settled on the Nullarbor in 1872 by the Dempster Brothers. The station still runs stock on 150,000 acres and is committed to the caravan and camping ground and original buildings are been adapted for accommodation and kitchen facilities. The station covers 437,000 acres with the distance between the northern and southern boundaries is approx 160 kilometres. Drive through sites have been set up around the grounds and excellent toilet and shower facilities cater for your needs. In the centre of the grounds is a large open fire with timber seating and everyone is invited to join together from 4.30pm to share journeys etc. We have had some real characters here tonight, some ex Navy and Army veterans with some great stories to tell. A wonderful kitchen with 3 gas bbqs, sinks and tables were well used to continue tale swapping whilst cooking and eating dinner.
As we are in the middle of desert, there is no phone coverage here.
Sunday 22th August – most vans were packed and left before we surfaced this morning. We are glad that we stopped here overnight, it is such a pretty place with the mountains behind, the old stone buildings of the office and homestead are in wonderful condition. The present owners have only been here since September 2009 and are continuing to develop the property and caravan park. The station is highly recommended to anyone travelling the Nullarbor.
Back on the highway our journey continues east, we are aware we really are in the desert except for the tall gums that are all around the plains. The soil colour is back to orange and low silver and green shrubs are everywhere. The horizon roads are back, the road straight and comfortable to drive along. A constant stream of huge semi trailers pass us coming from the east, other caravans and a few cars also on the journey. Stopped for fuel and morning tea at Balladonia before beginning the drive along the 146.2 km longest, straightest road in the world. An amazing journey, on and on and on, cruise control a valuable tool, the pretty pink small wildflower shrubs the only distraction and oncoming traffic which is visible kms ahead, guessing what they are, truck, car, or caravan is fun. The stretch finishes at Caiguna where we stopped for lunch. There are plenty of roadhouses along the route for fuel, food and overnight stays, caravan parks and motel units available. Petrol is expensive $1.86 at Balladonia and $1.84 at Caiguna for Premium Unleaded.
Time change now altering our watches forward 45 minutes. At Cocklebiddy we decided to book into the caravan park, a huge storm is heading in and we want to be off the road when it arrives. The caravan park is surrounded by open plains and the park is pretty basic but the facilities are clean and we even have TV reception but not mobile phone. It is raining tonight but we are well set up in our van.
The Frosts were planning to drive towards Hyden today maybe stopping at King Lake on the way. With no phone reception here we cannot contact them to check.
Monday 23rd August - Nullarbor Plain journey continues to Madura, a lookout above Madura Pass surprises us, the most magnificent view across the coastal plains below as you descend from the tablelands to the valley. The Hampton Tablelands range remains on the northern side of the road as you travel through the valley creating a magnificent scene as it meanders near the road then moving into the northern backdrop and then back again until the road climbs up to Eucla at the end of the range.
The information in our little book about Eucla had us imagining a small town and we were quite surprised to find it is a small roadhouse with the most magnificent view to the Bight. The Eyre Memorial, a caravan park, food and fuel supplies, the remnants of an old Telegraph Station are about all there is. The Caravan park sits on the hill overlooking the Bight and we would have stayed here but it is only lunchtime and we are keen to keep moving. Crossing the border from WA to SA was an emotional photo stop, we have had a wonderful time in WA and will come back one day to spend more time in the south. As you journey across the plain the Bight with the Southern Ocean brilliant in the sunshine is in view and at various points you can stop and enjoy the limestone cliffs, the waves crashing over the coastline. We have been playing cat and mouse with a couple travelling in a huge Winnebago since Cocklebiddy and each time we pull into a lookout we compare photo shots and chat. They are also making their way to Nullarbor, another roadhouse on the plain and we arrive to an already busy caravan park and set up alongside each other for the night. Ross and Wendy Clarkson live in Glenbrook and Ross was asked by a friend to fly to Perth to pick up a Winnebago and drive it back to Sydney. Wendy decided to join him and they are having a wonderful trip over the Nullarbor, Ross surprised at the distance to be covered. We decided to have dinner together in the roadhouse restaurant and Ross and I discover we both worked in education and know the same people involved in various departments. We have had a lovely night and exchange information to keep in touch. They are committed to get back to Sydney by the weekend and we will take our time to see as much as possible. They invited us to take a look at the Winnebago and it is magnificent, set up with everything and worth $200,000, the walls extend with the push of a button, queen size bed with ensuite, full kitchen and an extra queen size bed over the front cabin, lounge and dinette area. Truck licence required to drive it or can be driven on ordinary licence as long as main driver has truck licence.
Nullarbor Roadhouse is surrounded by a treeless plain which extends for kms, there is nothing higher than a small shrub as far as the eye can see.
Tuesday 24th August – we farewelled Ross and Wendy and drove the short distance to the turnoff to Head of Bight, a whale watch interpretive centre on the coast. The centre has an entry fee but we find it is well worth the cost. They have done a wonderful job of installing boardwalk paths and lookouts to allow the visitor the best view over the ocean and bay where to our delight southern right whales and their calves feed and play before they journey back to the Antarctic Ocean. Wherever we looked there were whales, breaching whales, a white calf with her huge mum swimming just below the lookout, heaps of pairs in the bay clearly visible but enjoyed most through binoculars. We were following another mum and calf just below us when the calf decided to have some fun by climbing on mums back, swimming under her, swimming to the front of her making her turn in a circle, laying on her upside down, an absolutely amazing sight; it was so hard to leave. A wonderful and exciting morning.
Various parts of the Eyre Highway are marked runways where the RFDS can land in cases of emergency, we have passed over about 3 – 4 of these on our journey. The sides of the road have been cleared and are generally wider to allow room to land. We also passed the start of the dog fence which we drove along in the north of SA.
A stop at Nundroo for petrol and lunch, back on the road again, the road undulates through the countryside and the scenery changes to trees and shrubs, we want to spend the night at Fowler’s Bay, a nearby seaside town with a caravan park, kiosk and magnificent jetty. After setting up we took a walk out to the jetty which extends about 150 metres out into the bay. This is a very popular fishing spot, today it is freezing and the wind is blowing full force so we didn’t stay very long on the point. Whales can often be seen from here as well but our scan of the ocean comes up empty, we will check it out in the morning.
Wednesday 25th August – it rained most of the night and the wind is blowing still as we pack up and leave Fowler’s Bay. Part of the road back to the highway is dirt, then gravel and then sealed bitumen. We are pleased to discover that it hadn’t been affected by the rain and our journey is pleasant. We are heading for Ceduna, the trip back on the highway is not easy with the trucks spraying large amounts of water over the car windscreen constantly. The road is narrow and still undulating with long horizon roads but we manage to reach the outskirts of Ceduna by lunchtime. A sign to Denial Bay attracts our attention and we took a drive around the edge of the bay to a pretty little village with another long jetty stretching out into the bay. Back to the highway and we passed through the food checkpoint with no problems, we have finished all our fruit and vegetables that we had in stock. Ceduna is the largest town we have been in since Esperance and we are keen to visit the local Foodland store to restock, have some lunch and buy petrol before leaving and continuing our journey down the coast to Streaky Bay. It is still very windy and wet and the journey although only 110 kms, seems long. A lovely scene appears as we drive over the hill and into Streaky Bay, huge white silos mark the edge of town, a small village and at the end, on the foreshore, the tourist park. We set up in a lovely spot with the magnificently clear water lapping the edges of the bay just across the park road. Everyone we talk to tells us this rain is so unusual at this time of the year, but it is still a very pretty place, we need a break from driving every day so we will stay here a couple of nights spending tomorrow exploring the area.
Geoff has an eyelash that grows into his eye from his bottom eyelid, every 5 weeks or so we need to visit an optometrist to have it removed. It has been uncomfortable for the past couple of days and a visit to the optometrist in Ceduna was unsuccessful as he wasn’t in. By the time we reached Streaky Bay it was driving him crazy so we drove up to the local hospital outpatients to see if they could help. A nurse who was a real character managed to remove it and he is now much more comfortable. Next door to the caravan park is a small kiosk and we decided to taste the fish and chips on special there, also some oysters which are grown here, all delicious. As we walked in we were delighted to see Alby, Dusty and wife, Chris, the mad navy and army guys from Frasers Range at another table. It was a fun catch up, they have been playing golf across the Nullarbor on the longest golf course in the world. The golf holes are located at each of the roadhouses and the guys have been driving long distances at a time completing the course in two days. MAD! They have had a couple of days in Ceduna before coming here on their way to Port Lincoln.
Talked to the Frosts tonight, they have visited Wave Rock and were surprised at the size, it was much smaller than they expected and Hippo’s Yawn and they are now in Kalgoorlie checking out the sights. They will leave tomorrow and stay at Frasers Range tomorrow night on the start of their journey across the Nullarbor.
Thursday 26th August – a wonderful late morning, no need to rush anywhere.
Streaky Bay is on the eastern coast of the Great Australian Bight and is on the Eyre Peninsula, north of Port Lincoln, today we took a drive around the Cape Bauer Loop, a short drive to the end of Streaky Bay. The road is dirt but well maintained, the wind is blowing and it is overcast but we are not disappointed with the Cape. Cape Bauer juts out into the Southern Ocean, its huge limestone cliffs are constantly battered by the massive waves that come from the Antarctic Ocean. Amazing rock formations sit out from the coast remnant of the destructive waves and their carving of the limestone cliffs. The wind so strong here we are battling to stay upright but such a magnificent sight deserves time. The sand dunes that border the cliffs are smooth from the wind, small clumps of coastal shrub the only vegetation around. Off the coast is Olive Rock, a huge island that is home to sea lions and is constantly battered by the Southern Ocean, reefs also along this coast make white horses of the waves. Back to the car to continue our journey, a short drive further into the loop brings us to the Whistling Rocks and the Blowholes. The area boasts a 360 metre boardwalk down to the lookouts from which you can experience the thrill of the waves creating a spray that shoots up into the air. At the Whistling Rocks, the water gushing into a crevice creates a whistling sound as the spray shoots skyward. Massive waves hit the limestone cliffs and have created inlets in the cliff face, holes in the rocks caused by erosion, saltwater and sand allow the waves to send spurts of water shooting into the air. A wonderful sight, other sightseers come and go but we are eager to see just one more and hang around for ages. By the time we leave our coats are damp with spray and our glasses coated with salt. The drive back to the caravan park takes us by way of lovely rolling green hills covered with yellow daisies, the beautiful calm Streaky Bay shimmering as we come over the hills and into the coastal foreshores.
After a late lunch we decided to explore the town, lots of very old homes built of stone, the town centre very small with cafes, supermarkets, a magnificent old hotel, a hardware and an assortment of other businesses. Another wonderful stopover.
Friday 27th August – The road out of Streaky Bay is so straight, another horizon road that just goes on and on. On both sides of the road are the most beautiful and colourful Wattle trees and bushes. Like the highway they just go on and on. The road undulates has a few bends but most of it is straight until it reaches Poochera, the intersection of the Eyre Highway. All through the area are hectares of planted crops, some Canola and probably other grain. Silos are dotted along the Eyre at each town, rising out of the landscape, huge, white and towering over each small town. The railway line runs alongside the road and also a large water pipe. We stopped at Kimba for petrol and then lunch in the park, as we journey towards Port Augusta the mountains start appearing to the north, a few stand alone peaks, then the mountain range. On the southern side of the highway a large open cut mine rises out of the plain. Iron Knob was the first iron ore mine in South Australia. We took a drive through the town and today it is very quiet more like a ghost town. The info centre advertises mine tours but not on our agenda today. As we drive into the familiar town of Port Augusta, we realise it is four months since we began our journey up the Stuart Highway from this point on the 25th April. Big 4 Caravan Park is just on the edge of town and we pulled in there and set up, even managed to get some washing done.
Saturday 28th August – everyone is up early this morning and leaving to continue their journeys in the great outdoors. The town of Port Augusta is the cornerstone of all roads in central Australia. The Stuart Highway heads north to Darwin, the Eyre Highway heads west to Perth and a number of roads heading to the east and south to Adelaide. We headed south east to Wilmington, then Melrose, Gladstone and the historical town of Burra just north of the Clare Valley. The landscape beautiful and green, farmland and wineries along the route. The road narrow but good and not too much traffic.
June Hillier, an old GFS friend of mine from South Australia lives in Burra with her husband, Michael who is the Anglican Priest and we had phoned ahead to see if we could visit and catch up. June and Michael live a very busy life so we were thrilled that they were at home today and would be pleased to see us. We arrived late morning, had coffee then crossed the bridge into town to have lunch at the local pub. It was wonderful to see them and to catch up on all their news and they on ours. Burra is an old copper mining town and a lot of the buildings here date back to 1870s. The Paxton Houses are old miners lodgings and are built in a U shape, there are about 10 joined together in a row and they are now rented out as overnight accommodation. The Anglican Rectory was built around 1920’s, is made of stone, with high ceilings and large rooms. It is very cold and hard to heat, most of the fireplaces throughout the house are not able to be lit but a lovely combustion fire has been installed in the lounge room. June and I have known each other since 1972 and exchanged Christmas cards and newsletters for the past 25 years and will continue to do so.
We had planned to drive to Renmark tonight but we have chatted too long, Michael gave us some ideas along the route and we set off through the magnificent countryside. We arrived in Morgan, a pretty little town on the edge of the Murray River, the caravan park is alongside the punt that transports cars across the river on the scenic route to Renmark and it is too attractive to drive any further. Once we set up we walked over to the riverbank and sat and watched the punt at work for a while until it was too cold to sit out.
Spoke to the Frosts tonight, they have enjoyed their journey so far across the Nullarbor, visited the old Telegraph Station at Eucla, and then continued on to the roadhouse at Nullarbor, they will visit Head of Bight and then go onto Fowlers Bay for tomorrow night.
Sunday 29th August – after packing up this morning we drove around the town of Morgan to have a look at the houses and buildings that have been here for so many years. It is amazing that they have withstood the test of time and are still standing. The town of Morgan was settled in the late 1800s and at the height of the river trade from 1880s to 1910 was the busiest inland port in Australia with barges and ships lined up for ½ kilometre down the river ready to unload and load wool and produce. The quaint shops in the main street, the magnificent hotel in the style of most country hotels, the homes in the town, the river with its diverse supply of houseboats all contribute to making this town very special. There is so much history here and there is a wonderful walking tour detailed on their pamphlet. We enjoyed our journey over the river on the punt or car ferry and headed down the road that runs alongside the river, passing towns such as Waikerie, Barmera, Loxton and Berri, all fruit growing towns and passed hectares of trees covered with fruit and grape vines that contribute to the wine industry here before driving into the city of Renmark. Michael and June had suggested we visit the Renmark Club for a coffee or lunch as it has an alfresco area overlooking the Murray River. We dropped in for a coffee and stayed for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed both the coffee, our meal and the view. After a drive around the town we again took to the highway for the journey to Mildura further down the Murray. We are still enjoying the Wattle that continues to dazzle the travellers along the road. We arrived in Mildura and headed for the Big 4 Golden River Caravan Park on the edge of town and alongside the river.
Monday 30th August – today we are continuing our journey via Balranald to Hay. Crossed over the Murrumbidgee River and into NSW, we already feel like we are home. The road between Mildura and Hay is pretty ordinary, not much traffic, long stretches of horizon roads and apart from the early evidence of fruit trees the landscape is flat with few trees. We are still pleased to see some wildflowers along the edges of the road and wattle trees and shrubs. We arrived at the small town of Euston NSW and Geoff stopped at a mechanics to ask about the car registration. The mechanic came out, took a quick look at the car and said, ‘no problem’! After a thorough inspection our pink slip was completed, the car back on the caravan and we were on our way. Geoff much relieved and the pressure off. Wish that was the case in WA!
Arrived in Hay and booked into the Big 4 Caravan Park.
Tuesday 31st August – Hay is an oasis in the middle of huge expanses of flat plains, the town rises out of the plains and until you drive into it, it doesn’t look like it exists. The plains on the east side of Hay extend until you reach the outskirts of Goolgowi, from there to Rankin Springs is a wattle lovers delight, the avenues of Wattle trees and shrubs stretch in kms of beauty, small stretches of small gums then another stretch of wattle alternate. Rankin Springs looks like it came out of the gold rush days with old buildings lining the street, as we sat for morning tea, we expected the stage coach to roll up with its passengers of yesteryear, very quaint. The area also has canola fields in full bloom and wonderful green fields with sheep grazing on the countryside. The wattle continues in bursts along the highway until we reached the town of West Wyalong where we decided to spend the night. Wandering through the town is a walk back in time with restored hotels and shops, especially Thom, Dick and Harrys’ Coffee Shop on the corner.
The Frosts have all left Streaky Bay and have gone their separate ways. Lorraine and Steve continue their journey down the coast of the Eyre Peninsula to Port Lincoln and Paul and Rangsima are heading for Port Augusta, they plan to visit friends in Finley in NSW before returning to home in Brisbane.
Wednesday 1st September – our journey today takes us through Grenfell then Cowra where we stopped for a lunch break. Cowra is quite a big town and the countryside quite hilly. It was here in Cowra that the Japanese and Italian citizens living in Australia during WWII were held in a camp for the duration of the war. We drove out to the site and visited the Japanese Gardens which were built to honour the memory of the Japanese of those people. The Gardens are magnificent, manicured shrubs and lawns, a maze of paths meander through the gardens, small Japanese huts are scattered through the area including a Japanese house with its rooms set up for living. Waterfalls, creeks and ponds with colourful carp also delight the visitor. It was wonderful to be able to visit and with the help of an electric motor shoprider we were able to meander the paths and climb the heights that overlook the gardens for a magnificent view. A cultural centre at reception houses Japanese painting and art, fantastic costumes, ceramics and swords magnificently displayed in glass cabinets. We had a wonderful visit, we then drove to the Campsite where a granite memorial stands to remember the Italians who were here, a huge lookout tower stands over the campsite area and information displays scattered over the area tell the story. Not far away is the Cemeteries of those who lost their lives. The story of a breakout is full of emotion as the residents fought for freedom. A highly recommended visit not far from Sydney.
After lunch we headed out of Cowra on the road to Bathurst, our final stop on our journey. The wattle still continues its journey through the countryside and is a welcome sight in an overcast dull day.
The Bathurst Big 4 Caravan park sits on the hill on the Sydney side of Bathurst and is built in layers, our site was on the top level, a site large enough for us not to unhook the caravan from the car which is a plus in the mornings.
Thursday 3rd September – wonderfully the wattle continues. We have completed another circle of our journey returning to Lithgow, 20,150 kms of the most beautiful and diverse country in the world. We are in denial about going home, we don’t want this journey to end but we are excited about seeing our family and know that we will have so many memories, stories to tell and wonderful photos to enjoy.
The mountains are in fog as we journey up Victoria Pass, Katoomba and Leura thick, roadworks through Lawson seem slow but are a huge undertaking.
The M7 and M2 fly by and we pull up at our front gate to find Mel, Holly and Jade also Adam at home to greet us.
Thank you for following our journey, I hope that you have felt part of the journey too. I will continue to follow the Frosts journeys and report as I hear.
