Day 18 Purnululu to Kununurra

This morning we awoke early again and packed up at a leisurely pace. Even so, we are getting very quick at it. The kids helped… a bit… Then we set off back to the highway and towards Kununurra. We had to slow down for a small mob of Brahman cattle lazily crossing the road near Warmun and the 4 Wedgetail Eagles that emerged from the scrub as we approached. We put a bit of fuel in there, but at $2/litre it was a bit rich to fill the tank.

We turned off the Great Northern Highway for the first time this trip and arrived in beautiful Kununurra at lunchtime. The Discovery Lake Kununurra caravan park is lovely. We have a waterfront site with beautiful views of the Ord river and a friendly freshwater crocodile called George, who arrives at 4:30pm each day to check out the campers. He is missing the foot off one hind leg and half his lower jaw and is about 5 foot long. Ashley kicked a rock into the river earlier in the day and his thong went with it. We were too chicken to venture in to retrieve it but a fellow camper cast their fishing lure out and reeled the thong in.

Our camping neighbours are another family with 3 kids from Perth and the children have all become good friends. I have done 4 loads of washing to cover the past very dirty days of camping. At $4 a load, I'm glad we saved all those gold coins over the past 6 months! We are here for 3 nights. It is lovely to be able to just set up camp and relax for a while. I have booked us into a caravan park at Lake Argyle on Sunday and a sunset cruise of the lake that afternoon, so our itinerary has changed a bit. We have decided to skip Victoria River and drive straight through to Katherine instead, which gives us the extra day around here to enjoy the beauty of Kununurra.

 

This afternoon we have done the grocery shopping, fuelled up the car and Rob has been washing the car's interior and cleaning all the door trims of the accumulated red dust. We have found a new flavour of Rekorderlig Cider: Mango and Raspberry - mmm! Just after sunset a huge flock of bats flew overhead - so many it took a good ten minutes for them all to pass by. Very cool. I wonder what tomorrow will hold?

Day 17 Purnululu (The Bungle Bungle)

  
 

Today was absolutely magical, a highlight for me. We woke and packed up bright and early and headed out to Echidna Chasm by 7:30am. The walk to the gorge was over a river bed of pebbles with red sandstone cliffs towering on either side and palm trees hugging the rocks. The chasm itself was only a metre wide at its narrowest and we felt quite small and insignificant when we looked up. On our way to Piccaninny Creek we checked in at the airstrip and ensured we were booked for the 1:30pm helicopter flight. Then we drove through the Bungle Bungle itself with the iconic beehive striped domes of sandstone karst. The views were breathtaking, it was so exciting!

We packed our backpacks with drinks and muesli bars and set off on the Domes walk. The sandstone is protected from major erosion by a thin film of iron oxide and cyanobacteria which create the coloured bands. Underneath it is white, fragile sandstone which is powdery and just blows away. We ensured the kids were careful to keep to the sandy riverbeds and didn't walk on the domes.

They tower above you as you walk and many have their sheer walls covered by termite mounds climbing all the way to the top. We arrived at what we thought might be cathedral gorge but it was tiny and disappointing, so we trekked on and on and on and on until we reached the real Cathedral Gorge - it was incredible. A huge ampitheatre carved out of the rocks by an immense waterfall in the wet season.

It dwarfed us all and people walking on the other side of the cavern looked like ants. The algae on the water within the cavern reflected fluorescent yellow in the sunlight and there were many frogs and tadpoles around. Rowan was a real trooper and kept going despite sore, tired legs to get back to the carpark on our tight time schedule to meet our helicopter flight. We had lunch at the carpark picnic area with a gorgeous view of the domes of the range and the kids watched in fascination as some local ants devoured a cocroach which had stowed away in our lunch bag.

Full of anticipation we reached the airstrip, went through our safety induction talk and the children dutifully and correctly answered their safety pop-quiz questions. Then we watched our Longranger Helicopter land and important supplies from Kununurra were unloaded (many cartons of beer). Then it was time to get in, ducking under the rotating blades, through the open doors - both rear doors were removed for this flight.

Ashley and Emma each sat facing backwards with a bubble window beside them, while Rob and I sat either side next to the open 'door' with Rowan in between us. Ashley was jumping in his seat, grinning ear to ear with excitement. We put on our headphones and were shown how to use the intercom (wish he hadn't taught the kids that). Take off was so much fun. All of us in the back row had to wear jackets due to the wind - poor Rowan had the wind in his eyes the whole flight and found it hard to open his eyes to see.  I had a minor freak out the first time we banked left and I was hanging over the abyss with nothing to hold on to! I grabbed at me belt but it just kept coming out!  Rob snapped away with the camera and managed to get some beautiful photos. Most of the national park has no roads and is accessible only by helicopter so we were privileged to be able to see these remote and beautiful gorges. It was truly spectacular.

Then came the 1.5hour drive back along the dirt road with washouts, undulations, river crossings and dust. Poor Rob was exhausted. We took our van out of storage and transferred to a powered site right next to the toilets and a huge safari marquis with fairy lights where Rob and I had a scrumptious dinner of Pea and Ham soup with fresh damper; beef stew and rice. Yum! The kids had leftovers before hand as we knew they would say 'we don't like this', but Ashley ate what was left off my plate anyway and loved it. He is a bottomless pit! We all sat around the large firepit and chatted to fellow campers, then piled into bed by 8:30, completely spent.

What a brilliant day.

Day 16 Purnululu (The Bungle Bungle)

  
We rose early after a fairly decent nights sleep in the tent.  It was cold, and mildly uncomfortable, but still worth the effort.  We managed to pack up camp fairly effortlessly, and got underway at around 0730.  I have a new gate bunny, and couldn't help at giggling when Ashley tried to open the gate the wrong way, and it came back and whacked him on the bum...I'm pretty sure I saw Lisa smile too.

The trip back to Halls Creek up the Tanami Road was brief and uneventful.  We made great time and averaged 100kmh for the trip.  We got back with enough time to wash dishes, pack the caravan, and have showers which felt heavenly after being covered in dust and smoke from the campfire.  We grabbed a couple of provisions from the IGA and headed off out of town without getting fuel as nobody had any diesel for sale.  (We since found out that the Variety Bash had been through town and cleaned everybody out.)

We saw plenty of Eagles and other birds of prey again on the road, and the roo count is growing rapidly.  I haven't seen a live roo since the drive from Tom Price to Karijini at dusk.  The cows seem bigger than I remember the, but maybe that is just because they are so close to the road and I don't have any chance of stopping with the caravan in tow. 

At approx 1330hrs we reached the Bungle Bungle caravan park, and booked our van in for two nights...one in storage and one for tomorrows bed.  I grabbed a couple of Magnums for our drive into the Bungle Bungle (Purnululu National Park) which seemed disgustingly decadent considering the drive we had in front of us.  The road was much more challenging, and more akin to a rollercoaster with sharp climbs and dips, and tight turns for the 52km length.  We would have crossed 7 or 8 creeks with at least 3 being substantial enough to warrant low range gears. 

I keep reminding everyone that we are on an adventure.

We were told that the drive would take approx 2.5hrs, but we seemed to make really good time again and the drive was 1 hour 15 minutes to the visitors centre.  We stopped here to check in, and talk to the staff about the best way to spend our short time here.  We have booked a helicopter flight for tomorrow, and set about making camp for the evening.  Again we were able to get organised in short time, and managed to hike up to the lookout to watch the rocks change colours as the sun set over the ranges. 

We finished last nights spaghetti for dinner and as always, it tasted better on the second day.  Our decadence continued with peaches and custard for desert...I am now feeling way too spoilt for one day.  After dinner, we finished our day roasting marshmallows again at the communal campfire, and I learnt how to find true South using the Southern Cross and the two pointer stars.  Learning every day.  Every day has been worthwhile, and each day is bringing new adventures for us, so I look forward eagerly to tomorrow and seeing the Bungle Bungle close up.

 

Day 15 Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater

It  was a lazy morning wake up and breakfast, before getting ourselves sorted to travel to Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater.  This is the first of 2 free camping nights in a row, so it was with some trepidation that we leave the sanctuary of our caravan for the cold harsh reality of tenting again.  With the car loaded to the roof, we set out of Halls Creek for the Tanami Track.

 My last memory of this road was ungraded slop with large boulders protruding from the deep corrugations.  Jeremy and I only made 7km of this track with the big red truck, so I was already scared...how wrong I was.  Firstly, there is something to be said for the expensive upgrade to the Prado's suspension prior to leaving Perth...I love you Old Man Emu!  This was a fairly simple drive, at fairly good speed.  There were corrugations, although they were not so much felt as heard...just a bassy rumbly louder than the highway.  There were moments of sandy drifts, and deep corrugation, and the occasional boulder or rut in the road, but we made great time and arrived at the Crater around lunch time.

 All the years of camping with a tent had served us will, and Lisa and I had the tent up in a flash with the beds made, and we settled into lunch before making the trek across to the crater itself…

 WOW!  Some things on this planet make you consider your own mortality and insignificance, and this site is one of them.  To say that the crater is huge is an understatement.  Although it is only 20m deep now, the notice boards said that the initial impact site would have been a further 100 meters deeper 300,000 years ago when the 50,000+ ton rock smashed into the earth.  We walked the rim in a Westerly direction for 5-600 metres before turning back because Rowan was getting tired.  We convinced him to make the steep descent into the crater though.  The grass was taller than me, and there were a lot of spiky spinifex on the floor.  The water from the rains pools in the middle, and heavy evaporation leaves the ground arid and saline.  Only salt resistant flora grow near the centre of the site. 

 

We saw geckos and lots of bird life whilst at the crater site, as well as many birds of prey including a couple of Wedge Tail Eagles on the drive in.  We scaled the wall of the crater again, and made our descent back to the camp ground.

I returned to the crater at sunset to take photographs whilst Lisa stayed with the kids and cooked dinner at the camp ground.  I took and Eastward path from the top of the crater, and hiked about 1.5km around the rim to a point on the

Eastern side to get good shots of the sunset.  This was the reason I wanted to come to this site, and I wasn't disappointed.  The view was breathtaking, and it was worth the blood that I lost on the trip back to the car from the spinifex prickles.  What I missed whilst the sun was setting was the full moon rising behind me.  This day kept getting better and better.  I took a few quick photographs before packing my things, and hiking back to the entry point.

Upon returning to camp I found a stressed wife, hot food and unruly kids...everything in balance.  Lisa calmed down when I got back and stopped stressing about me falling into the crater.  I lit a campfire for the kids, and we had a marshmallow roasting session when Emma pointed out that the moon had gone away again.  For the next 2 hours we were treated to  a 50% partial lunar eclipse.  The campground was bathed in moonlight, and the whole experience was beyond spectacular….

 
I guess it has to be hard to beat a day like today...We shall see  what tomorrow brings.

Day 14 Fitzroy Crossing to Halls Creek

This morning started with a lovely cruise up the Fitzroy River, to view Geikie Gorge (Soon to be renamed Darngu Gorge.)  We set out from the caravan park and I took an alternate route that the caravan park told me only to find that the road which appeared on both the map and the GPS was actually a set of ruts through tall grass.  This road deteriorated to low range 4WD'ing until I chickened out and turned around to go back and around on the sealed road.  Lisa frowned most of the way in the "I told you so" kind of way, but is far too lovely to actually take the piss out of my driving.  We got to see some Brolgas on the detour, so not all was lost.

 We got to the boat in the nick of time and enjoyed and hour of commentary whilst cruising gently up and down the river on a barge.  We saw a few Johnson's Crocodiles...Freshies whilst on the cruise, as well as some Finches, (Half Bottle) Swallows, Ibis, Darter and one cheeky wallaby that was hiding in the bushes.  It is amazing to think that the standard wet season tide line is the white marker on the cliff face, and only last year the wet brought so much water that it was lapping over the top of the gorge.  29000 cubic meters per second go through the gorge during the wet. 

 After the cruise, we made our way back to the caravan park and had a very efficient pack up and got on the road to Halls   Creek.  If you have ever been to HC, then I am sure you know the disappointment of the town...there is really not very much here.  We tried to book a flight over Wolfe Creek Crater and the Bungle Bungle, but at $495.00 per head (No concession) we decided against it.  Instead we went to see the China Wall and the old townsite. 

  

We got to the China Wall, a large quartz outcropping that the locals claim you can see from space...or the air or something like that.  I must say...I wasn't too impressed by it.  The gorge was pretty and looked like a safe haven for tiger snakes and with a subtle glance, both Lisa and I decided that we had been there long enough to take a photo and it was time to move on. 

We stopped to talk to a guy who had set up camp there who was prospecting.  He seemed a bit too sun baked for my liking and had the aura of my grade 7 PE teacher, but was friendly enough.  He showed Ashley a hand full of gold nuggets that he had found, the largest of which would have weighed in at 8 or 9 grams.  Other than his friendly nature though, I couldn't help but feel creeped out by this dude, and was happy to be off again.

 The old town site was...erm...old...run down...non existent.  The highlight of our evening in Halls Creek was the opportunity to do some minor maintenance on the van and mop the floors….ahhh.  Cleanliness.

Anyhow, Wolfe Creek Crater tomorrow...YAY!!!  Will post in a couple of days.

Day 13 Fitzroy Crossing

Today was very long, lots of driving (about 250km) along unsealed roads with some river crossings and shallow creeks. Rob really enjoyed that part of it, testing out our Prado off road. There were a lot of cattle around and we scared one trio of calves out of their hideout and onto the road in front of us. The ABS works well.

Windjana Gorge was beautiful. It is the remnants of an ancient Devonian reef from 350 million years ago and walking through it feels very prehistoric, especially with all the freshwater crocodiles basking in the sun .They were still as statues except for blinking eyes and the occasional twitch of a tail and are quite graceful when they are swimming. The kids were amazed at how close we could get to them and were very careful not to startle any.

 

The amount of butterflies out here is remarkable and there was an amazing variety of birdlife: corellas, Willie wagtails, finches, pigeons, black cockatoos, many Peregrine Falcons and cockatiels. Beside an ancient sea creature fossil in the rock, we even saw the honeycomb nests of native bees and watched them busily at work.

 We reached Tunnel Creek and realised we had left our torches back at the caravan. Bugger. It turned out to have not made much difference though, as Rowan and Emma were too scared to go into the dark water for fear of crocodiles. We went part of the way in and the younger kids splashed in the sunlit pools near the cave entrance while Ashley and Rob explored a little further. The colours of the wet rocks were amazing - pink and white marbled. We spotted a tiny frog, fish and heard a fair bit of reptilian rustling in the long grass.

 Our efforts to get back to Geikie Gorge in time for the 3pm boat trip were in vain - it was cancelled today. We will go on the early one tomorrow morning. Instead, we hiked up the soft sand through the gorge for a view of the spectacular contrasting rock cliffs against the blue waters of the river in the afternoon sun. No crocodiles spotted here, but we did all get a lot of prickles in our feet. That's what you get for not changing out of the thongs we wore at Tunnel Creek.

Day 12 Broome to Fitzroy Crossing

We woke this morning to the knowledge that we were in for a long days driving, and it didn't disappoint.    After an early wakeup (6:30), we got stuck into the task of breakfast and breaking down the caravan after a week long stay in Broome.  This was surprisingly easy and quite successful, and we were able to also clean the car out and shake the sand off the floormats.  The conservation department rang earlier asking for their beach back.

The drive out of Broome was quite ordinary, and we settled into the two hour journey to Derby.  BRAHMAN BULL!  Ok, so we have now seen the first of the BIG bulls up here, and plenty of cattle around the roadside as the landscape changed around us.  The land turned to a grassy Savannah, and the termite mounds seem larger and a soft pooey greeny cream colour.  I was imagining what type of animal could have dropped such packages.

We stopped at the Prison Boab Tree just short of Derby, and got out for a walk and some lunch.  The ants are back with a vengeance.  We are going to have to pull everything out of the cupboards and spray the whole caravan with surface spray when we get to Darwin.

The prison tree is now fenced off to preserve the shallow root system, the religious significance for the aboriginal people, and the tourists from the snakes that now reside within it.  The kids were mildly interested in the tree, but it is still fascinating to see the age and beauty of this iconic piece of flora.  I can see how this tree must have been a significant land mark for the indigenous people, at the time that Australia was settled.  Along side the tree is the water trough that was used to water up to 500 cattle at a time when Derby was used for cattle exports. 

 I also took a walk over to Frosty's Pool which is a small concrete skanky pit now, but would have been a refreshing bathing pool for the diggers back in 1944 when it was constructed. 

We drove into Derby to show the kids the jetty, and came upon a sign to draw attention to the Freshwater Saw Fish...Thinking of you Deano...Feel  a bit special knowing my mate was one of the researchers discovering and tagging this thought to be extinct species.  King George Sound was still emptying to Low Tide, and we could see the water receding from the mud flats.  On the way out Lisa took the wheel and came within inches of killing the moron who pulled out in front of us and stopped in the middle of the road. 

It's called a stop sign back in Perth, most of us know what it means...but we were in Derby.

After another 40 minutes of driving, both Lisa and I fell asleep...me in the passenger seat, and Lisa at the wheel, so we swapped again and I finished the drive to Fitzroy crossing.  More cows, termite mounds, birds of prey, and plenty of single lane river crossings.  The park at Fitzroy Crossing Lodge is green, grassy and very tidy.  Should be a nice stay for the next couple of nights.