Day 50 (29 June) – Derby (Another beautiful morning, a bit of wind – up to 28o during the day in Derby)
I spent a fair bit of time trying to get my computer to work better. I finally copied all my important files to a USB drive – around 4 hours of copying.
We decided to try the Gibb River Road and, on the way out, visited the Boab Prison Tree. A dark time in our past, as most countries have had, where blackbirders would round up Aboriginies to work on the stations or pearl farms in the area. The prison tree was massive and worth a look.
Next we headed onto the Gibb River Road where we checked the signs for road status. The signs told us the road was open all the way through and suitable for all vehicles. So off we went, after around 20 km we decided that there wasn’t much to see, and so headed back to the signs at the start of the road. As we arrived there was a Kimberley Safari bus that we’d seen inflating their tyres at the prison tree (after leaving the Gibb River Road). I asked the driver about the status of the road and was told it was OK to go through, there were river crossings and if the vehicle had reasonable ground clearance it would be OK. Lyn and I decided not to put Elsie through the experience towing Lucie and we’d use the main highway.
So, back to town via the golf course (in the middle of a racetrack) where we noticed that there was a sign advising a social 9-hole game starting at 15:00 and to be there by 14:30. Next, down to the Jetty to have a look and wonder at the allowance for tide height under the jetty.
Next, we visited the ‘Sculptures in the Marsh’ on the edge of the dry marsh beds around town. Some interesting sculptures done a couple of years ago.
As we decided not to go down the Gibb River Road, I was able to watch the Storm beat the Sharks while working on my computer again. A close game for the first three quarters then the Storm put the Sharks away – well done again and a great game by Kafusi. Lyn had done a load of laundry while I was watching the game and working on the computer and had put the washing out on the line.
We decided to head to the golf club to play in the social event, if possible. As we arrived, there was a band playing, many people at the front of the club and we found the game started at 14:30 in winter. Fortunately we were able to join in and play with Mark and Lola as a team against Julie, Al and Ken from hole 5 (near the other side of the course) in a social Ambrose event.
There is a famous Boab tree on the course called the Five Fingers Lady. If a lady hits the tree, it is a $5.00 fine. If a man hits any Boab tree on the course it’s a $1.00 fine.
It was a lot of fun; we enjoyed the game and company and managed to win the day with a par round of 36 and nett of 29.7. We were given a bag of chips and a bag of sweets each for winning. (The eighth-place getters got a bag of chips each also!!).
Back to the motorhome where Lyn brought in the washing. We then tried to find a restaurant and finally, after much searching, arrived back at the Spinifex Hotel for dinner.
More work on the computer where I had to completely reset it (with limited success at the time) which deleted all my programs so I had to load all the programs back on. I think I’m going to have to wait until we are back to fix it properly. The hardest task for the blog is to process photos and videos so they may not be up to date during the rest of our travels unless I can get things working better.
Day 51 (30 June) – Derby to Fitzroy Crossing (Fitzroy River Lodge) (Another beautiful morning, no wind – up to 26o during the day in the Kimberley region – 269 km)
An hour and a half just putting the last few days activities in this blog. Then, time to start preparing to leave for Fitzroy Crossing.
We said we’d visit Mark’s gallery (Norval Gallery) on the way out so that was our first stop before refuelling and heading to the main highway to Fitzroy River. What a delight – I wasn’t expecting anything like the quality and professionalism of the Norval Gallery. Mark and Mary have done a fantastic job of bringing artistic culture and capabilities to the Derby area. It was fascinating to see all the works on display and, for once, not be discouraged from taking photos.
I had a unique experience with an indigenous guide at Mossman Gorge when we did the Eastern side of Australia trip last year and have been fascinated by the indigenous stories and culture ever since. Mark gave us a guided tour and told us about the 8000-year-old Wandjina who created the rock paintings in their image and then left, leaving their spirits in the rocks. Understanding that the reverence of the spirits is a religion, theirs is the oldest continuing religion in the world.
The Gyorn Gyorn paintings from the area are 20,000 years old also. What incredible history.
The paintings and artwork (Mark has 6 of the 8 sculptures in the “Sculptures in the Marsh” series we saw the previous day) were brilliant. It is also encouraging to hear how Mark and Mary have worked with the local indigenous people helping with their artwork and as teachers in the area. We found this gallery gem in Derby and regretted not being able to spend more time there. As we left, Lyn and I thought it was fate that enabled us to play golf in Mark’s team the previous evening and to learn about the gallery. We purchased one of the art pieces done by one of the local artists, Sarah Ambi.
On the road after the gallery, a stop for lunch at a parking bay around 100 km short of Fitzroy Crossing then on to the Fitzroy River Lodge camping ground where we set up and booked a 17:30 dinner in the restaurant.
We arrived at the restaurant and were shown to our table by Laura and then introduced to Jim, our waiter for the evening. Jim ran through the specials as we sat down. We were seated next to a table with a gentleman, Peter, who has returned to the area to assist the group of communities who run the Fitzroy River Lodge as the Finance Director. It was fascinating to hear his background, the travels and work he has undertaken and his desire to return to the Kimberley region to give back to the local communities while his wife stays in Margaret River. Jim looked after us for the evening, Lyn had the Barramundi and I had the beef curry. I was told there was only 5 servings available then it would be chicken curry. Fortunately, we normally arrive early and so I was able to order and have the beef. A great meal. We have found the Fitzroy River Lodge to be engaging and worth visiting. It seems a great place although still recovering from the recent floods.
Day 52 (1 July) – Fitzroy Crossing (Another beautiful morning, no wind – up to 28o during the day in the Kimberley region)
First to the Information Centre to get some ideas of where to go. Our guide suggested Geike Gorge, the Crossing Hotel and the Brooking Channel footbridge. We asked about the Tunnel Creek Walk and the Windjana Gorge and were told that would be a full day trip to do them comfortably.
We headed to the Crossing Hotel and then the Brooking Channel footbridge – interesting to have a look at. It’s amazing to think that people crossed the Fitzroy River at that point of the river in the past. We could see the entry and exit points and the fairly wide (so probably shallow) part of the river there. We then continued on to the Geike Gorge Boat Ramp. The $3 million ramp was washed a way in a previous flood and we were warned about the unstable cliffs in the area. The gorge was good to see although we didn’t walk too far along the river to the gorge but just checked it out from near the car park. We inadvertently stopped to have a look at the airport on the way back to the motorhome as I was looking to refuel the Jimny before our afternoon drive and didn’t check the map to find the best way to the service station.
We grabbed some lunch and then headed 42 km back towards Derby to the turn off to Tunnel Creek. Down the Leopold Downs Road took us to the Tunnel Falls Walk carpark. It was around 70km of 4WD track through some very interesting country and across fairly challenging roads. We finally made it to the carpark and found that, to get through the tunnel, you had to wade through the creek up to chest height. We hadn’t brought bathers or shoes (I did bring a good light though). I put on my bike shorts, took my socks off and put on some new waterproof open mesh shoes I’d got recently and left on my Kathmandu shirt. Lyn put on her booties and wetsuit pants from the snorkelling kit. We grabbed our phones and my light and headed in towards the cave. It was difficult getting in and we crossed the first section of water to an area before the deep section.
Lyn decided to stay at that point as I continued on. It did get to fairly high on my chest as I waded through (I think it would have been up to Lyn’s neck), then along the creek bank inside the tunnel. It was significantly longer than I expected with a collapsed section letting in light about halfway along, then another tunnel section out into an area with a tree-surrounded pool.
I had heard about some rock art if you turned left leaving the cave. I had a look and took some photos but couldn’t make out anything really.
As it was quite a distance from where I’d left Lyn, I moved fairly quickly through the cave and back, finally getting back to Lyn (who had tried to call me but got no signal inside the cave). We managed to get out, although the entrance and exit was fairly difficult to navigate. It’s getting harder and harder to clamber over rocks and through narrow passages these days.
We changed out of the wet things and Lyn drove back for the first part of the return journey, doing a quick water crossing through one of the creeks along the road. We finally made it back to the highway, refuelled at the same service station (you have to leave your licence as security before being allowed to use the pumps and get the petrol), and made it back to camp.
Dinner in the restaurant with Millie serving us this time. The service was fairly slow towards the end as the restaurant filled up. Nice Barramundi though and we had dessert and coffee again.
Back to the motorhome where I prepared the Jimny for departure and we put away all the external furniture. We’d been warned about securing everything in this region and even in the campground.
Day 53 (2 July) – Fitzroy Crossing to Purnululu (Bungle Bungle Caravan Park & Tour Company) (Another beautiful morning, no wind – up to 26o during the day in the Kimberley region – 408 km)
SUCCESS! My computer works again! I’d spent the last few days trying to fix it and finally reset the entire machine. To my surprise, HP/Windows had a feature that notes all previous applications and provides a file on the home screen listing them all with the authors and version. It was so good to have. I loaded the essential programs and will be more selective before loading any others.
We prepared to leave and headed towards Halls Creek on our way to Purnululu.
We drove into town to get fuel (.1 cent dearer than the Lodge) as they had AdBlue and we were getting low. After refuelling, off we headed towards Halls Creek. A couple of stops along the way to change drivers and we arrived in Halls Creek around midday. I hadn’t done my homework on fuel prices this time and so filled up at the Shell Station as we arrived in town. (I did check later and could have saved around $3.00 at another service station but the queue there was fairly long). We did a circuit around town to find a coffee shop and toilets, only to find them all closed. We parked next to the Information Centre and toilets to find them both locked. We decided to walk back to a bakery we’d seen on the main road and, for the first time, I locked the Jimny, the motorhome and all storage lockers as we headed to the bakery. We found the bakery wasn’t selling coffee and were recommended the Shell Service station we’d refuelled. I asked another guy and he said the coffee machine in the IGA was better than Shell, so we went into the IGA, got coffee and a couple of other items then headed back to the motorhome for lunch. We noticed the police driving around the town and main street and saw them go past us at least three times in the short period we were walking around. Lyn was apprehensive about having lunch in the park next to the motorhome as I was unlocking the Jimny and set it up for travel. I joined her on the park bench; we had lunch and finished our coffee then got in to depart. I had to reset the dashcam as I’d taken out the SD card and, apparently, it needed to be re-formatted. As I was doing that, and Lyn and I were ready to leave, I noticed an indigenous couple (Lyn said a mother and son) in the park next to us. The boy then went behind the Jimny and then crouched down. Fortunately, I could see him in the display from the cameras on the back of the motorhome. He then disappeared and I saw him go to the side of the Jimny and do something. As the vehicle was running, I tried to drive off but only got about half a meter when the motorhome changed to ‘Park’ (this happens a fair bit) and so I yelled out. As the motorhome stopped, the boy appeared alongside us and looked at us. He had a small stick with him and didn’t appear to have got into the Jimny properly. I shook my head at him and we drove off. Along the main street there were many indigenous people near the road so we drove through town and I pulled in to a parking area near the river and got out to check the Jimny. I found the door had been partially opened and, fortunately on further inspection inside the Jimny, nothing seemed to be missing. I closed the door properly and drove off. It was a disturbing experience. As we were driving off, the police drove past again but I thought there was no point in telling them as I was sure they couldn’t do anything.
I must admit I was thinking about the incident for quite a while as we were driving to the caravan park for the night.
As we arrived at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park we noticed a sign that said ‘no vacancy – bookings only’. We entered just after 14:00, booked in for their campfire dinner, set up our site then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We went into the office to get advice on the different options to see the Bungle Bungles. Asha, in reception, advised us to leave at 06:30, travel to the tourist centre (and drive through as we already had a park pass) then head South to the Piccininnicar park. She outlined the key features to see and recommended we then head North to Echidna – best seen between 11:00 and 13:00.
We joined some people around the campfire at 17:00 and then were called to dinner at 17:30. We were at a table with Helen and Pete, who were next to us at the campfire, and Michael and Debbie. Helen and Pete were going to travel in to the Bungle Bungles the next morning with us and Michael and Debbie had been in that day so we got advice from them on driving in.
Dinner at the site consisted of salads and Barramundi, local steak or sausages and multiple desserts. A good outback campfire dinner. A fair bit of discussion on how best to experience the Bungle Bungles, then off to prepare. I lowered the tyre pressure on the Jimny to 20 psi for the trip, based on advice from others.
Day 54 (3 July) – Purnululu (Another beautiful morning, no wind – up to 26o during the day in the Kimberley region)
Very cold overnight, to the extent that we’ll get the doona out for the next night.
Up early, we finished getting everything together and then left the campground just after 06:30. The road was corrugated, soft sand on spots, rocks through the road in others and a few river/creek crossings. We’d been told the worst was the first river crossing and just to drive straight ahead towards the bigger rocks on the other side. If we went left or right, the water was deeper, so best to drive straight across.
As we drove through the visitors centre around 2 hours (52 km) later, we saw Helen and Pete getting back in their car after getting their park pass.
At the intersection just in from the visitor centre, we turned right and headed South to Piccininni carpark. The scenery got better and better as we drove in.
We kitted up (backpack, water, etc.) and set off. We stopped on the way to have a look at Elephant Rock and, as we did, Helen and Pete passed us on the road. A couple more stops on the way in to take photos and check out the scenery and then we made it to the carpark.
First, we walked into the Domes. I think these are the quintessential images of the Bungle Bungles. Fascinating dome shaped multicoloured formations of conglomerate and sandstone. The grey colour is a coating of cyanobacteria which has grown on areas where moisture accumulates, The orange bands are due to the colour of oxidised iron compounds which have dried out too quickly for cyanobacteria to grow.
Next, to the Cathedral Gorge which has a cavern where the underlying rock has fallen and been washed away. It has an audio resonance inside with the echoes dying after a few times. Another fascinating area and sight.
The final area we visited on the Southern road was the Piccininni Creek Lookout. Fascinating ground formations as we walked in.
From the lookout we had great views across the plains and Piccininni Creek to the ranges on the other side. The views of the Bungle Bungles on the return trip were even better than the view over the plains from the lookout. We’d run out of water at this stage and Lyn’s hips were causing problems.
We made it back to the carpark, refreshed and headed back up the Southern road. We resisted the temptation to check out the airstrip on the way back, where most of the flights and helicopters depart from. I used Gaia GPS to track our path through the Piccininni area.
We arrived at Echidna around 11:45, with plenty of time to reach the best part of the chasm by around 12:15 (which was the time we’d been told the best pictures had been taken due to the sunlight streaming down the chasm). However, the walk in was challenging. Large round boulders and rocks along a creek bed, soft sand diversions, rocks to climb over, people coming the other way to give way to and finally larger boulders to climb over or clamber around to get to the end of the chasm. We got some fairly good shots and made it to the end by around 12:30. A challenging trip back as Lyn’s hips were giving her more and more pain.
By the time we made it back to the bottom we were fairly tired, so we tossed up whether to got to the Osmond Lookout. We finally decided to try it and, after a fairly brief climb – thankfully, we reached the lookout which had great views over the plains, Red Rock Creek and the Osmonds, as well as back towards Echidna Chasm.
Back in the car, we headed back down the North Road, stopping at Stonehenge (we didn’t go in though) and Kungkalanayi Lookout. We were too stuffed by this stage to walk up to the lookout and so started back to the campground.
Lyn took over the driving and drove the 55 km trip back to the campsite, absolutely nailing the final river crossing as her 4WD driving experience grew. We know Wren would love to hear what we both said as Lyn finished the difficult crossing – “Well done, Gam Gam, you did it!”
A few beers relaxing after the day next to the motorhome, then I reinflated the tyres on the Jimny and set the tyre pressures on the motorhome with the tyre deflater I’d bought in Derby. Some of the tyre valves were challenging to reach and read as the darkness set in and so I’ll check them again in the morning. Lyn re-arranged a lot of things in the motorhome, including some items we’d bought for the family (and Luna’s birthday present) and also got the doona out.
We also decided that we’d move on early to Kununurra tomorrow as we’d done all the main attractions at the Bungle Bungles and we’d heard about all the things that could be done from Kununurra. I extended our stay at the Kununurra Ivanhoe Village Caravan Park from a day earlier to a few days later. Hopefully it’s as good as everyone says.
We had arrived back at camp to find all seats were taken for the campfire meal, so a light meal outside the motorhome then an early night as I, for one, was stuffed!
Day 55 (4 July) – Purnululu to Kununurra (Kununurra Ivanhoe Village Caravan Resort) (Another beautiful morning, no wind – up to 32o during the day at Doon Doon as we approached Kununurra)
Not as cold overnight and I was fairly warm under the doona. Lyn said it was good though.
We’d decided to move on to Kununurra as we’d been able to finish all the site-seeing at the Bungle Bungles we wanted.
As we started packing up, our neighbours from behind in a Winnebago Burleigh came over – Fran and Steve – and started chatting about our vehicles and travels. They’d been on the road for 3 years after selling their home in Queensland. They said Tasmania was the best they’d experienced and had been there for a year. We had some interesting conversations about the best tyre pressure for the Ivecos with no clear consensus. We prefer to drive with low pressures for a more comfortable ride, albeit with higher fuel consumption.
I called in to the office to thank Ahsa for the good advice on the Bungle Bungle trip and to let her know we were moving on. We were given a refund for the last night as she said that they’d have no problems filling the site. It’s the first time we’ve had a refund and, as I told Fran and Steve they were amazed also. We heard that the proposed 4WD tours and the heliflights they’d booked were not available as the campground hadn’t got the final permission yet! I did see Fran and Steve heading towards the office as we left with some bags so I hope they managed to arrange a tour.
We left around 10:15 and stopped at Doon Doon for an early lunch around 12:00. On to Kununurra, where I had seen fuel at $1.83 per litre – the cheapest we’d seen for a while. As we stopped, we found the service station had a car and truck wash which was very popular apparently after people had finished the Gibb River Road journey.
On to the Kununurra Ivanhoe Village Caravan Park where we checked in for the next 10 days – the longest stay we’ve ever had. As I was checking in, the person before me was told there were no spaces left. Luckily, we’d booked ahead.
We drove into town to the Tourist Centre, got advice and brochures and headed back to camp. After checking out tour options, we tried to book via phone without success as the calls wouldn’t go through.
I did manage to get on to Josh of The Gourmet Camp Oven tours though (which were completely booked out until 2 days after we were due to leave) and asked if we could be put on their waiting list.
We then headed up to the office where Katrina helped us with some other bookings and advice. We booked a package which included a flight over the Bungle Bungles, Lake Argyle, the Argyle mine site and Ord River with a separate river cruise also. The cruise was booked for Monday and the flight for Tuesday. We asked about the best places to eat and were told The Pumphouse is best and were given a few other options including Sporties, just up the road.
So, dinner at Sporties – quite a good meal and lots of options that I’d select.
Day 56 (5 July) – Kununurra (Another beautiful morning, no wind – up to 32o during the day at Kununurra)
A quiet day ahead.
Well not so quiet. First a trip to the pharmacy for a top up of medications. Next, we had to find Nina’s jewellery apparently. Lyn had done her homework and asked at the Tourist Centre about jewellery shops. They recommended Nina’s. Lyn called (as it was Saturday morning and we weren’t sure if they were open) to find that there was a pop-up shop inside another shop called Nina’s for Jewellery. We found the shop (very close to the pharmacy) and went in. We were greeted by two lovely ladies, Laura and Veronica. Laura is from Dunsborough near Busselton. We had passed through there a few weeks ago. Veronica was from Perth. They had been sent up for a couple of weeks to run the pop-up inside the old Nina’s shop. As Veronica showed Lyn a selection of diamond rings, I had a long chat with Laura. (Hey Laura, you can do anything you want!) After about half an hour we (Lyn) decided on a diamond ring setting. The ring in the store was on a gold band with champagne and pink diamonds. Lyn preferred silver so, after some discussion, we received a photo of a silver ring from someone in their Perth store. Seeing the photo sealed the deal, Lyn filled out all the paperwork, we paid for the ring and so, now it will be made specifically for Lyn and sent to our home in Melbourne.
Thanks ladies, Lyn is thrilled (and so am I)!
We then tried to send some parcels back to Wren and Luna but found the post office closed so we’ll have to come back on Monday. We found a little coffee shop along Papuana St. – Kununurra Cafe – where Lyn had a smoothie and I had coffee and an apple slice.
Next to the airport where I’d been tempted to go by Joe H, the LAME on our plan back in Leongatha. I found a Cessna 310R on the tarmac owned by Shoal Aviation – I may have to make a call to Joe or Shoal early next week to see what it’s about.
We then had a look at the golf club and The Pumphouse restaurant, where we are booked for dinner on Sunday night. Unfortunately, the golf club has sand scrapes which we don’t like, so no golfing for us here. On the way back to the campsite, I found an Autopro shop and was able to replace a tyre pressure gauge that I had broken as I was pumping up the tyres after Pardoo.
Back to the motorhome for lunch and a quiet afternoon – maybe.
I moved the motorhome forward 2 metres to improve the Starlink reception and increased the bandwidth by around 30%. It only took around 20 minutes to complete the move and reposition all the external furniture and bike parts.
We decided to take a couple of short trips for the afternoon. First, we visited the ‘mini Bungle Bungles’ at Mirima National Park. Definitely some good scenes but not quite as good at the real thing.
Next, we thought it would be good to visit Kelly’s Knob, a prominent hill North of the main town. When we started, the climb looked OK but as we proceeded, the climb got more and more difficult to a point where we met some people coming down who had decided not to go all the way up. After the Bungle Bungles a couple of days before, our legs and other joints started feeling the strain, so we turned back about halfway up also.
We visited a lower lookout that looked over the town, the airport and a fire on the South Eastern side of town.
We thought we’d have a drink at Sporties on the way home, found it closed but preparing for a private function. They recommended the Magpies football game over the road but, as we drove in, we couldn’t find a parking spot and didn’t want to park too far away and to walk in to have just one drink.
Back to Elsie where I watched a great and gutsy win by the Storm as we had dinner in the motorhome.
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