Day 37 - Fitzroy Crossing

No photos to show here.  We left Cape Leveque early as we had a long drive today and the first section was on unsealed roads.  We actually took a back road which was an ungazetted road but we had been told it was quite good.  It was just a track really but not nearly as rough and corrugated as the Cape Leveque Road.  It probably saved us about an hour in time and was quite an interesting drive - no signposts, but the local police had given us a few route markers so that we would know we were going the right way.  Stopped for fuel when we got back to the highway  and arrived in Fitzroy Crossing which is on the mighty Fitzroy River (not very mighty at the moment as it is the dry season and the river is just a series of waterholes).  In the wet it can be as wide as 15kms in places and is 750 km long.  All the caravan parks are full to overflowing, but we managed to get an unpowered site in a very nice one.  Spent an hour at Gieke Gorge this afternoon, did a small walk but not the river cruise.  Compared with some of the gorges we have seen, it was not especially spectacular.  We have another early start in the morning to go to Halls Creek, grab a few provisions, and head on to the Bungle Bungles for 4 nights.  We will be out of range there, so there will not be another posting until we  return to Halls Creek for one night before heading down the Tanami Track (yet another unsealed road) to Alice Springs.  We feel as if we will be dusty and dirty for ever and will have to take a photo of the trailer when we get home.  Can't imagine how long it will take to clean it inside and out.       

Day 34 - Cape Leveque

We have just spent a fabulous three nights at Cape Leveque, 200kms north of Broome.  Even though we had booked our camping, we had to move each morning to another spot.  We started in the campground which was pleasant but small and then moved to the beach shelters.  Amanda and Edward recommended we do this and it was every bit as good as they had reported.  Photo shows where we were for the second night, right on the very end of the line of shelters and very close to the beach.  We managed to back the trailer through the sand to get pretty close to the shelter which contained a picnic table and bench seating and a coldwater shower in one corner.  The shelter had thatched sides and roof and a sand floor so was very cool during the day.  The view over the beach was magic - white sand and crystal clear water.  As the temperature was in the mid 30s, we did lots of swimming and reading.  In fact the only touristy thing we did was to visit the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, the biggest privately owned pearl farm in the country.  We had a one hour tour and now know exactly how they produce cultured pearls and can appreciate why they are so expensive.  At the end of the tour, the boxes of pearls for sale was produced - I tried on a magnificant string for $53,000.  Needless to say we didn't buy it, or anything in fact.      

Day 31 - Broome (WA)

We made the decision before we left home that we would spend our three nights in Broome in a hotel. The caravan parks are very crowded and as this is the halfway point in our trip, thought it was a good idea to have a little R&R here. So the car and the trailer are parked side by side in the hotel carpark. We arrived just before lunch and too early to check in so wandered down to Chinatown for lunch. I then went to the hairdresser to banish some grey and by the time I had finished, Jim had checked into the hotel, moved our gear in including the fridge from the trailer so it could be defrosted. Also found the laundromat so by the end of the afternoon, all our chores were done and we could enjoy our room overlooking the bay. Broome is a very famous pearling centre and in the late 1800s there were 100 Europeans here and 1300 Asian divers - hence the Chinatown area. There are dozens of jewellery stores all selling beautiful pieces. We also found a store selling stunning wallets made of barramundi skin and kangaroo skin.

The car went for its service the next morning - turned out the noise was a little more serious than we had thought - had to have a new alternator as the old one was about to explode. We were very lucky that it didn't happen in a remote area otherwise we would have had to call a towtruck to tow the car and the trailer.Took a drive to Cable Beach once we had the car back and as it was low tide, drove along the beach past the camels as the photo shows. We were a little disappointed with Cable Beach - seemed to us that it was just a lot of 4WDs, camels and nudists! Great sunset over the Indian Ocean though. Today we went to the Courthouse Markets which are on every weekend - again lots of jewellery and this afternoon we went to the races (see photo). After picking losers in the first four races, we decided to call it a day and headed for the supermarket to stock up (again). Tomorrow we head north to Cape Leveque for three nights where we plan to do some beachcombing for shells for Georgia and hopefully visit a pearl farm as well. We will be out of range again on our return journey home, but not for as long.

Day 30 - Derby (WA)

See entry between Day 13 and 14 as we wanted to post this just to let you all know we were 'back on the air' after the Kimberley wilderness

Day 28 - Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

With only a two hour drive between Bell and Windjana, we arrived with plenty of time to choose a good campsite and set up camp before heading 37km to Tunnel Creek.  It is an amazing natural tunnel almost a kilometre long containing pools of fresh water, stalactites, stalagmites and bats hanging from the ceilings.  The roof of the tunnel in the middle has collapsed, so there is a little light there but otherwise you are reliant on torches.  It was lovely and cool and a great experience.  The deepest water was about a metre, so there was no swimming needed here. Photo shows the entrance at the far end.  Where we entered, we had to scramble over big boulders again.

We ate our special fish from King Ash Bay for dinner and it was fantastic - possibly the best we have ever eaten.  The following morning, we did the Windjana Gorge walk.  It is a narrow canyon which was once a coral barrier reef. It's 3.5 km long, up to 100 metres deep and has near vertical walls for most of its length.  In the dry season (now) the river is not flowing and is the home to lots and lots of freshwater crocs, from babies to full-size.  They spend their day basking in the mud along the edge of the water.  We watched in horror as 3 German backpackers approached 2 crocs on the river edge to take photos and they kept stamping their feet to try to get a reaction from them.  Fortunately for them the crocs took off into the water and not the other way!  It was an easy walk for us - flat, few rocks and shaded most of the way. The other two photos show the gorge and a couple of the crocs.  Sadly for us this is the end of the Gibb River Road trip.  Tomorrow we will be in Derby on the coast and then on to Broome the following day.  Car is making some strange noises, hopefully it's just dust on something but it also sounds like something is a little loose.  Not surprising after the roads we have been on.  We've booked it in for service in Broome so that should fix anything that isn't right.

 

Day 27 - Silent Grove / Bell Gorge

Just a one-night stop at Silent Grove campsite in the King Leopold Ranges, with a 30km drive on to Bell Gorge and Falls. After setting up camp, we drove to Bell and did the walk to the top of the falls, only about 30 minutes. It was a further challenging climb down to the bottom of the falls. Jim decided to wait at the top, but I went to the bottom. Would have been great for a swim but not much fun alone. Photo shows the falls from the top and the second photo is of two corellas who sat in a tree beside our trailer for ages.

 
 
 
 

Day 25 - Mornington Wilderness Camp

Mornington Wilderness Camp is a 1 million acre ex-cattle property which is now owned by Australian Wildlife Conservacy who own about 20 similar properties around the country.  As the front gate is about 80kms from the road, there is a satellite radio in a booth near the road and visitors have to ring ahead to see if there is a camp site available. Only 50 visitors are allowed on the property at any one time.  There is also a handful of safari tents with ensuites available at about $500 per night.     This giant boab tree was just inside the front gate.  They lose their leaves in the dry season to conserve moisture and sprout again when it rains.    We visited two of the gorges on the property - Sir John which is the second photo and Dimond Gorge.  Jim swam at a waterhole but the water was a little murky for me and I didn't fancy sharing it with a freshwater croc.

There is just one main building which is admin/bar/restaurant which we should have photographed.  It is open on two sides and we spent both evenings there having drinks before dinner and then a meal under the stars.  A very pleasant change from our camp meals and very nice to have two nights where we didn't have to go to bed as soon as the sun went down!!

The property is home to the endangered brightly-coloured Gouldian finch and many of our fellow campers were keen 'birders'.  Jim and I thought we saw a pair, but as they were flying and we were driving, who knows!  When we told the rangers, they said we were in the area where some had been seen recently so maybe we really did see them.   It's a good story.  

Day 23 - Manning Gorge/Mt Barnett Roadhouse

Rolled into Manning River campground at lunchtime and have now completed about half of the Gibb River Road. As the temperature is now in the 30s, we decided to have a swim in the river. This was by far the nicest swimming spot, with sandy edges and bottom and clear water. No crocs either. There is a walk out to the Gorge and the Falls and the first section involves swimming across the river. The rangers have kindly provided a number of polystyrene boxes for people to use to float their shoes, clothes, cameras etc. without them getting wet. It is possible to

do the walk without swimming but it is a much longer option (and not

nearly as much fun). We set off at 9am the following morning with our lunch and had a wonderful day. It was quite a hard walk, with lots of scrambling over rocks but the 2 swimming holes and the waterfall at the end made it all worthwhile. We had lunch there and swam in both pools, before the long climb back in the heat. At least we were able to cool off again at the end when we had to swim our gear back to the other side.

That night was the second State of Origin match and we wondered if we would be able to pick up the coverage on our radio. Fortunately two off-road caravans with satellite dishes pulled in and some fellow Queenslanders talked them into putting the TV up to the window of the van, and there ended up being three rows of chairs and about 20 interested supporters out under the stars to watch the game. It was good fun and of course a great result as Qld won again and so have won the series. Photos show me after the early morning swim across the river and getting ready for the walk and the second are the Falls and the top pool. The Mt Barnett Roadhouse is 7kms from the campground but when we went to fill the car with diesel, discovered that they had run dry (again!!) Apparently it happens often and they could not tell us when the tanker would be coming the following day. We had been talking to a few people who recommended we detour off the GRR to Mornington Wilderness Camp, an 88 km detour, so really needed to top up with fuel. We took a punt that the Imintji Store 55kms away would have diesel and sure enough they did. We ended up driving an extra 50kms out of our way to fuel up, but in this area it's a good idea to fill the tanks at every opportunity.

Day 22 - Ellenbrae Homestead

No photos here, but a very pleasant unscheduled stop.  We were bumping along the road having left El Questro, crossed the Pentecost River (a wide river but not very deep)  and came across a series of home-made signs on the side of the road inviting people to detour into Ellenbrae Homestead for homemade scones, jam and cream.  As it was morning tea time we decided to take the 5km drive into the homestead to check it out.  Pretty amazing to find something so commercial in such a remote area.  But these enterprising station owners are cashing in on the tourist trade.  We had delicious scones and coffee and decided to camp there for the night.  They had a small camping area with flushing loo and shower and we were joined during the day by another 7 groups of people, some with trailers and some just tents. To our astonishment two cyclists rode in too.  A married couple in their 50s and they are cycling the Gibb River Road from one end to the other.  They set off the next morning at 6.30am and by the time we passed them at 7.45 they had covered 12 kms.  A pretty amazing feat given the road surface and the river crossings.   Heading now for Manning Gorge for a couple of nights.

Day 18 - El Questro in the Kimberley

Here we are at the beginning of the famed Gibb River Road heading for our first stop, El Questro which is a wilderness resort but also a working cattle station. It caters for campers, small bungalows for non-campers and also very high-end accommodation at the Homestead which takes 8 guests for about $2000 per night. Of course the lowly others are not allowed near the homestead. El Questro is quite close to the start of the Gibb River Road, although the road in is about 30km long with a couple of wet creek crossings. As we arrived early, we were very fortunate to be offered a private campside beside the river, just 2.5km from the store and the amenities. It was absolutely stunning and probably the nicest camping we will ever do. Photo shows our camp taken from the other side of the river. We had a small fresh water crocodile in the pool above the rocks and watched the cockatoos and jabirus come to drink from the river. The only downside was that it was quite shaded and we were having trouble getting enough sun on our solar panel. We stayed an extra night (4 in all) and probably would have stayed another but we were concerned we might lose our power and fridge.

Because El Questro is so large, it has a number of gorges to explore and they are all different. We chose to do the walk to Emma Gorge (about an hour) but  not really a walk - more climbing over rocks on the floor of the gorge. We used a lot of muscles that have been dormant for a while but I'm sure it's done us some good. We wore our swimsuits so we could swim when we got to the end (photo shows the pool) but it was so cold as the sun barely reaches the water. Jim got right under but I could only go up to my waist. It was very hot on the return walk and we were pleased to get back to our home by the river.

The following day we went to Zebedee Springs - thermal springs with a series of small pools in between rocks with a canopy of palms and tree ferns - very relaxing.
The other walk (?) we did was to El Questro gorge, much smaller than Emma, but equally as beautiful. We chose not to swim this time.
Saturday night at El Questro is buffet BBQ night so we joined in too and had a great meal. We drove some of the 4WD trails on the property but also did a fair bit of reading in our little camp. Sad to leave El Questro as we have really enjoyed our time here, but the Gibb River Road is calling even though we are not sure where we will stop next.

Day 16 - Kununurra (WA)

What a delightful little town. Built in the early 1960s when the Ord River was dammed so everything is well laid out and not too old. The first photo shows the town from the lookout and the other two photos were taken at a fantastic restaurant we found on the river. Called the Pumphouse, it housed the pumps that pumped the irrigation water from the river. Apparently it has taken 11 years for the owner to get council approval to convert it into the current restaurant. As the photo shows, the interior features the pumps and they have put a small balcony on the outside for seating as well. Wonderful to find a place with so much character in such a small town. More supermarket shopping here along with the fruit and veges as we head off down the Gibb River Road into the heart of the Kimberley. The Gibb River Road is 680 kms long and stretches basically from Kununurra to Derby across the top of Western Australia. It is a dirt road and its condition depends on when it has been graded and how much traffic has driver on it. It's dusty and corrugated with a few river crossings, cattle, kangaroos, no mobile phone coverage but very wild and beautiful and only suitable for high-clearance 4WD vehicles so at least at the moment there are few caravans and buses.

Day 14 - Katherine (NT)

Just a short drive from Mataranka to Katherine and we were able to find a great campsite just a few kilometres from the town centre.  One of the trailer tyres had a slow leak so our first stop was the tyre centre and we were dismayed to find that the leak was in the sidewall of the tyre and it is illegal to repair.  So had to buy a new one - at country prices too!  We spent one day out at Katherine Gorge which is beautiful.  Our plan was to canoe through the first couple of gorges, but the late wet season caught us again.  The rangers had been unable to remove all the crocs so canoeing and swimming were a definite no-no.   We climbed to the lookout where we took this photo but decided against a boat trip as we are coming back here in September with Jeff and Senya.  We're taking the train from Darwin to Adelaide and included in the trip is a 4 hour stop at Katherine and we are able to do a cruise on the first two gorges in that time.  We enjoyed a couple of good cups of coffee at the Coffee Club which is the best place in town by far and had to dodge the indigenous locals who all seem to sit on the footpath during the day.  We had to limit our shopping here as we were not  able to take any fruit, vegetables or honey from the NT into WA.  We had heard some horror stories about people who had virtually had their vehicles taken apart, but we must have looked honest as the border official just looked in our fridge and pantry and in the back of the car and sent us on our way.  Kununurra is only about 50kms across the border so we knew we could restock there.     

Day 13 -Mataranka (near Katherine NT)

We've had a busy last few days.  We went out for dinner in Mt Isa to the Buffalo Club on our last night there and ended up joining the locals for their weekly trivia night.  The only problem was that they were already in their teams and nobody came forward to ask us to join them.  So we were a team of 2 and didn't do too well.  For the last two rounds we were joined by a drunk called Steve who really wasn't any help at all.   We left early the next morning to do the trip up to Burketown on the Gulf of Carpentaria.  There was a steady stream of caravans heading west out of town and we were very pleased to turn north onto an unsealed road and really didn't see anyone else all day.  The countryside was very pretty and as we got nearer the Gulf, turned into wide flat grassy plains covered in cattle.  Perfect grazing land and easy to understand why the early explorers got so excited about it.  The only problem is that none of the properties are fenced and the cattle all seem to either stand in the middle of the road or along either side so we kept having to slow down to avoid hitting one.  One of the main reasons for going to Burketown was to go fishing, but when we arrived we discovered that there were no fishing charters there at the moment.  It's a very sleepy little town and the few people in the campsite were there with their own boats and go every year.  However we were assured that as we were going on to Borroloola, also on the Gulf but in the Northern Territory, we could find Arthur who would take us fishing.   So we set off again the next morning, knowing that there was a strong possibility that when we got to the roadhouse just before the N.T. border, we would be told that the main road (highway 1 ) was impassable and we would have to do a 470km detour to get to Borroloola and King Ash Bay fishing camp.  The photo shows the road before the detour - this is part of Highway 1 which goes right around Australia.  We were advised to take the detour rather than wreck our car and trailer as the roads are still suffering from the late wet season.  It took us 10 hours to do 500kms as we were continually slowing down to open and close gates, drive through water, gullies and washouts as well as avoid cattle.   Picture shows a mob of cattle on the road just after we had stopped for lunch.  We saw no-one else all day and didn't make it to Borroloola before nightfall.

We stopped at a small place called Cape Crawford which is not on the coast and we have no idea why it has this name.  It was marked on the map as having a hotel with camping facilities and we were expecting a funny little old pub with a rough patch of ground at the rear.  When we arrived we found a bright green oasis with a large hotel in the centre.  It's the best camp we have had so far.

As we only had 140 kms to go the following day, we didn't hurry too much to pack up and did a leisurely drive to the King Ash Bay fishing camp only to find on arrival that Arthur had gone to Darwin to have his boat motor fixed and no-one knew when when he was returning.  That was the end of any possibility of going fishing.  However I did trade 4 lemons from our tree at Maleny for a large piece of freshly caught fish from  Heather (my new best friend).  It's in our freezer so we will enjoy it in the next couple of days.  The fishing camp is a fisherman's paradise and can't wait to get home to show Edward the photos.  Most people are there with their caravans or trailers, tinnies, satellite dishes and all mod cons and stay there for months.  There is camping right along the riverbank and it's high above the river and out of reach of the crocs.  The fishing is fantastic (apparently) and the mudcrabs to die for (but nobody offered us any of those).

We decided to leave the next day and head west to give us a couple of extra days in the Kimberley.  Yesterday we drove 500kms, stopped for lunch at the Daly Waters Pub and then continued on to Mataranka Homestead which is in Elsey National Park (where We of the Never Never was set) and famous for Rainbow Springs thermal pool.  We swan in the pool late yesterday afternoon and again this morning - it's very refreshing and is supposed to be great for old skin and bones - can't say we've noticed any difference!  Jim has done a little maintenance today - putting WD40 on hinges and locks as everything is covered with red dust and also had to change one of the trailer wheels as the tyre has a slow leak and we want to have it fixed in Katherine tomorrow.   

We  had dear little wallabies hopping through the campground last night and this morning but haven't really seen a lot of wildlife - a few kangaroos hopping across the road, lots of dead ones on the side of the road and several magnificant eagles gorging on the kangaroo carcasses.  Also black cockatoos and lots of pink and grey galahs.     

On to Katherine tomorrow to visit Woolworths and do another shop, have the tyre fixed and also to spend a day at the Gorge.  (Jeff and Senya - we will be visiting Katherine with you in September as the train stops there for a few hours so will hunt out something good for us to do then).              

DAY 8 - MT ISA

We have just spent two days in Mt Isa.  It's much larger than I was expecting (pop 20,000) with lots of traffic lights, roundabouts, Coles, Woolworths, KMart, Harvey Norman etc. etc.  And of course the mine which dominates the centre of town. 

But to backtrack to our last day in Longreach.  We spent the morning at the Stockmans Hall of Fame which is absolutely fantastic.  Something every Australian should see and certainly all the schoolchildren.  it's much more than a museum with lots of interactive displays showing early explorers routes etc.  That evening we went on a small paddlewheeler for a sunset cruise on the Thomson River (see picture).  It was beautiful and after sundown we had a stockman's dinner around a campfire with a bush poet entertaining us.  It was magic.

We rose early the next morning as we wanted to spend some time in Winton looking at the latest dinosaur finds before heading to Cloncurry.  Unfortunately the car wouldn't start - great!  8am on a Sunday morning in a small town!   But as always seems to happen when there's a drama, out of nearby caravans popped three men who all had an opinion and some sort of gadget to get us going.  The first brought his car and jumper leads but still it wouldn't start.  So we phoned the trusty RACQ who had a man with us in under an hour.  He said it was the battery and put his large jumper leads on and away we went.  He tested the battery  with his meter and said there was nothing wrong with it and it must have been one of those one-off glitches.  NOT what we wanted to hear.  We decided we wouldn't stop until we got to Cloncurry so that if it happened again, we would at least be in another largish town (and it would be Monday). 

However we did stop for lunch at McKinlay which is really just a pub (see photo) and a service station (gas station).  It's the pub that featured in the movie Crocodile Dundee but it's not, as Paul Hogan led us to believe, in Northern Territory but about 100 kms south of Cloncurry.  And they serve a great steak sandwich!

Everything was fine with the car until this morning.  Same thing happened, but we had gone to a 4x4 store in Mt Isa and had our own truck-size jumper leads.  Fortunately we were able to find a large auto electrical company which services all the mine vehicles, and they put in a new battery. Hopefully that is the end of our car problems.

There is not really very much to see here except the mine, so we have been busy stocking up the fridge, washing and of course buying jumper leads and batteries.  We also found a Coffee Club in town so have enjoyed a couple of good cups of coffee.  

We leave here tomorrow (hopefully early) and head north to Burketown which is on the Gulf of Carpentaria and are hoping to do a spot of fishing there - barramundi of course.  We then head west into Northern Territory on dirt roads and won't be back into civilisation for about a week until we get to Katherine.  It's amazing to think we have covered 2000 kilometers and haven't yet left Qld.  

It's been very cold - 4C this morning but warms up in the middle of the day.  Still we are snug in our trailer, with a wooly underblanket and warm doona.