Landcruisin Around Oz

Across the Nullarbor and into S.A.

2010-02-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

I know I have been incredibly slack in not having made a post since before Christmas. We are now on the outskirts of Adelaide and I guess one of the reasons I have been so lax is because we are now back in more familiar territory and it does not seem that it is quite as adventurous (a pretty lame excuse, I know). Since leaving Esperance we travelled north stopping overnight in the quaint little town of Salmon Gums, where a powered site in the community run caravan park costs all of $10, then on through Norseman with another overnight stop at a free camp on the shores of lake Cowan, a dry salt lake, before arriving in Kalgoorlie. We spent Christmas in Kalgoorlie and of course took in some of the famous sights, the most notable being the ‘Super Pit’ where we were fortunate enough to see the daily blasting operations. This massive hole in the ground is regarded as one of the top ten environmental scars on the planet and it is easily visible from space. However it is rather exciting to know you are standing beside the richest square mile of gold bearing ground on earth, and they reckon there is still at least another 10 years of mining to be done before the gold runs out.

From Kalgoorlie it was back to Norseman to begin our trip across the Nullarbor. The 1205 Km journey from Norseman to Ceduna is one that many people try to get through as quickly as possible, however we took the best part of 4 days, with 3 overnight stops. One day was a short drive because of the incredible headwind so the decision was made to make camp early. That camp was the most spectacular, right near the edge of the ‘Bunda Cliffs’ of the Great Australian Bight. Once across the Nullarbor we stayed overnight in Ceduna before beginning our journey around the Eyre Peninsular. During this part of the trip we made stops of one or two nights in Haslam, Sheringa Beach, Venus Bay, Coffin Bay, Port Neill and Whyalla, with longer stays in Port Lincoln, Lincoln N.P., Louth Bay, Lipson Cove, Port Gibbon and Cowell. Just a few of the highlights of the trip around the peninsular would be swimming with the southern blue fin tuna at Port Lincoln, walking a deserted beach amongst nesting Terns at Lipson Cove, strolling right up to massive Sea Lions at Point Gibbon and of course the fabulous fishing at Cowell

Part of the reason for our 8-day stay in Cowell was to catch up with our good friends, Bob and Yvonne from Minto who had journeyed this way mainly for the fishing. It was just great catching up with them and an added bonus was that another couple of friends we had met during our travels, Craig and Jenny, also turned up for 3 nights. The daily ‘happy hour’ turned into two or three hours and we drank a bit more than we should have. Being the expert fisherman that he is, Bob made sure there was no shortage of fresh seafood for the evening meals. I was fortunate enough to participate in 4 days of fishing with Bob in his boat in and around Franklin Harbour. Together we made abundant catches of whiting, squid, Tommie Roughs (Herring) and blue swimmer crabs as well as razor fish and stripies for bait. Bob is not only a great fisherman he is also very well versed in the best way to clean and prepare the catch, I learnt so much – thanks Bob.

From the Eyre Peninsular we rounded the top of Spencer Gulf for a few days on the Yorke Peninsular staying at Wallaroo before visiting friends at Stansbury and then overnight at Port Julia. Again rounding the top of the Gulf, this time Gulf St.Vincent, to head towards Adelaide finding us now (20^th Feb.) at Parham only about 75Km out of the city. Now that we are getting a little closer to home we will probably not be updating this blog all that regularly. We will, however be updating our location periodically on my Facebook page, if you are not on Facebook the links below will give you a look at some of our photos.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10588&id=1767032619&l=c41e306ad5

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10725&id=1767032619&l=ed2fdb528d

By the time I got to post this we had arrived in Adelaide where we are staying at the Adelaide Shores caravan park at West Beach for a week.

Esperance & Cape LeGrande 11/12 to 22/12

2010-01-24T21:59:00.000-08:00

Esperance is reputed to have the prettiest beaches in Australia, and I must say this is an accurate description. They may not necessarily be the best swimming beaches but they certainly are very beautiful. This is the most easterly town on the south coast of W.A. and the main business centre is right on the shores of the very large Esperance Bay. Today this busy and attractive town relies quite heavily on its busy port, which is prominent in both exports and imports. Leaving the port in great quantities are iron ore, nickel, grain and woodchips. Imports are comprised mainly of fertilizer and sulphur (used in the processing of nickel). Because of the very strict and innovative handling procedures enforced by the proud locals, their town is unlike most other port towns. It is clean and sparkling without the usual covering of red dust found in other ports that handle iron ore and other minerals. The actual port area is quite small and the channels narrow and restricted; yet it handles some quite large ships. This is achieved by the use of two very special tugs, and even though they are not all that big they are, in fact, the most powerful and agile tugs in Australia. Once again we were quite fortunate to be in town over the weekend because on Saturdays and Sundays the local Apex club conducts tours around the port. There is no need to book you just wait by the port admin. Building at 1.20p.m. and for just $5 they put you on a bus for a 1½-hour tour with commentary by one of the club members. This is the only way you can get a close up look at the port facilities because the high level of security means there is no public access.

There is a Grand Ocean Drive around the western end of the bay and your first stop should be the lookout high on the hill just past the port. From the viewing platform there is a 360-degree view of the town, the bay and beaches and some of the more than 100 islands of the Recherche Archipelago. We made numerous stops along the drive to admire the beautiful beaches, all very attractive, but the most impressive would be Twilight Beach. The drive eventually takes you past the wind farm that provides a significant proportion of the district’s power needs. Esperance is not connected to the state grid and therefore relies on its own power station with generators that can run on natural gas or diesel. So the supplement that the wind farm supplies is most important.

After 3 days in town and still no mail, thanks to a postal strike in the busy lead up to Christmas (makes you question the sincerity of the unions) we decided to head out to the national park. For camping in the N.P. there are 2 choices, Lucky Bay or Le Grande Beach. It seems most people head to Lucky Bay where the beach has been voted the best and whitest in the country, but the camping area (for vans and trailers), although large, is open and bare. We chose Le Grande Beach where the campground is smaller and more intimate with individual sites surrounded by low coastal heath affording a bit of privacy. The sites are just a short stroll from the glistening white sand of the beach that stretches almost all the way back to Esperance. The water is sparkling clean and blue and we wasted no time in jumping in because the temperature had risen to 44 degrees, the hottest day we had encountered on our trip so far. Both campgrounds have flush loos and solar heated showers in modern brick buildings and there is plenty of beautiful fresh water pumped from a nearby spring.

We spent 8 fantastic days at Le Grande taking in the nearby sights with walks around the adjoining bays (Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove, Lucky Bay and Rossiter Bay) and even conquered the challenging and strenuous climb to the summit of Frenchman Peak. During that time we travelled back into town (130Km round trip) for some essential supplies and to collect the mail that again had not arrived due to the aforementioned strike. Our original intention was to stay until after Xmas but that would have meant another return trip to town for the mail (we wanted it before Xmas) so once we were sure the mail was there we packed up, headed into town, collected the mail and the travelled north towards Kalgoorlie.

Albany to Esperance 2/12 to 13/12

2010-01-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

Nestled around King George Sound and the surrounding inlets and bays, Albany is West Australia’s busiest tourist town. There are all the usual shopping opportunities and we took the time to stock up as well as have the car serviced. Today the port is quite busy with grain and woodchips being two of the prominent commodities passing through. In times past one the major maritime activities was whaling and Albany was the last shore-based operation in Australia, only ceasing processing in the 1970s. A visit to the award winning Whale World is a definite must do and if, like us, you are fortunate enough to have a tour guide who actually lived and grew up at the station, all the gruesome details of it’s existence will be revealed. There are a number of coastal drives and walks around the bays and harbour all revealing wonderful views of the spectacular scenery and well worth the effort. We would strongly recommend a visit to the war memorial on top of the main hill overlooking the town. Albany has a particularly special place in our wartime history, as it was the place of embarkation for most of our troops heading off to the battlefields of WWI, and for many, the last piece of Australia they saw. It is also the first place ever in Australia to hold a dawn service on Anzac Day. Another interesting thing to do is visit the wind farm, where there are viewing platforms, and walks that take you right up to the towers of the massive turbines. Along the way you can stop off at a number places to view the rugged coastal rock formations, with the blowhole and the gap being most impressive. We also visited the Mount Romance sandalwood factory to learn about the process and to purchase some of their excellent products at factory prices. Being the fortunate types we are, our time in town coincided with the annual Christmas pageant and we certainly enjoyed sitting in the gutter of the main street with hundreds of locals as we watched the parade of decorated floats and community marching groups pass by. The evening’s celebrations culminated in the switching on of the lights on the enormous Christmas tree in the town park.

On the way to Esperance we stopped off in Bremmer Bay for one night and it was certainly worth the detour. Like much of the southern coast of W.A. the scenery surrounding this quiet little town is just fantastic. After passing through Ravensthorpe we spent the next night at the small highway town of Munglinup before taking the dusty unsealed road out to Quagi Beach. There are less than a dozen private individual campsites nestled into the coastal Banksia heath and with plenty of fresh water, a composting loo and outside cold showers for just a couple of dollars a night it was a great place to relax for three nights. The Banksias and Mallee type eucalypts were all in flower attracting a myriad of nectar eating birds that buzzed and chirped around our campsite all day long – very pleasant indeed. We enjoyed rock hopping around the point and swimming at the sandy beach right in front of the camping area. A long walk in the sand to the southeast led us to discover the remains of an ancient petrified forest slowly being eroded by the pounding waves of the southern ocean. It was hard to tear ourselves away but we needed to travel the 70 or so Km into Esperance to re-provision and collect some mail.

Big Tree Country 25/11 to 2/12

2009-12-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

The South Coast Highway swings away from the coast as it heads east from Augusta. The going gets more undulating to hilly the nearer you get to Pemberton and you soon begin to notice how large the trees are becoming. Pemberton owes much of its existence to forestry and logging and has the largest sawmill in the country where they process sawlogs from the large Karri tree forests surrounding the town. We set up camp in the picturesque caravan park before doing some exploring. Firstly we had a trip on a quaint little tram out into the forest, learning quite a lot from the informative commentary. Next it was a drive out to the N.P. and a challenge for me was to climb the Gloucester Tree. This giant Karri tree has a fire lookout 60 metres above the ground that you access by climbing the steel pegs driven into trunk. It was a challenge both physically and mentally because I am not that fond of heights. Sue declined the challenge and waited patiently on the bench at the base while I enjoyed the view from the top. We rounded off our exploration of Pemberton with a drive through the magnificent forests and a visit to Beedelup Falls.

On the way to our next destination of Walpole we passed through the small town of Northcliffe where there is an unusual sculpture walk through the forest behind the visitor centre. This audio-guided walk takes up to an hour as you gaze at the contemporary works of art while listening to the artist’s impressions from the supplied Mp3 player. That night we camped at the well-appointed campground in Shannon N.P. Upon reaching Walpole we stayed a little out of town at the Peaceful Bay caravan park. The most well known attraction in the area is the Valley of the Giants and tree top walk where we ascended into the canopy along the elevated walkway to get an entirely different perspective of the forest. The other main attractions are the Giant Tingle trees just out of town. A walk through this grove of trees is an eye opener because you actually walk right through the hollowed out trunks of these still living trees. In fact you could easily drive a car through a couple of them. The whole area around Walpole is very attractive with the densely wooded hillsides coming almost right down to the dark cool waters of the Walpole and Nornalup inlets.

We took a break from our southwest journey at Parry Beach just outside the small town of Denmark. The local council runs a camping area almost on the beach with flush toilets and solar showers all for the princely sum of just $7.00 per site per night. We liked it so much we stayed for 3 nights, which allowed us to explore the delightful scenery of the Denmark area. If you ever visit this area make sure you do not miss Green’s Pool and Elephant Cove – just fantastic, and Lights beach is well worth a look too! Denmark is an attractive and friendly town and would cater to all the needs of any traveller. We can especially recommend the multi award-winning bakery for some very good pies and pastries. Oh, and don’t forget to stop in at the visitor centre to check out the worlds largest barometer.

Heading into the South West 20/11 to 25/11

2009-12-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

Saying goodbye to Chas & Shirley at Mandurah we headed of in a southerly direction. We stoped for lunch at Australind before continuing on to Bunbury. From Bunbury we travelled inland through the hills to Collie and Donnybrook enjoying a couple of different overnight free camps along the way, and returning to the coastal region at Ludlow, staying in a free camp in the Tuart Forest before travelling into Busselton. The very friendly Kookaburra caravan park is a great place to stay in Busselton because it is within a 2-minute walk to the centre of town and about the same to the famous jetty. We enjoyed strolling around town and really enjoyed one of the best ice creams we have ever had, home made Italian style, just great. The sign out the front said “Best ice-cream in the world” and we would say that it is pretty accurate. One of the main attractions at Busselton is the jetty, which, at nearly 2 Km long is the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere, if not the world. Unfortunately at the time of our visit the jetty for the most part, was closed and undergoing substantial repairs after a disastrous fire. It is planned to reopen in early 2010 but judging by the amount of work to be done we suspect it will more likely be the middle of the year at least. Of course this meant that the renowned underwater observatory at the end of the jetty was also not accessible, much to our disappointment, oh well, never mind, it just means we will have to come back again.

Leaving Busselton we travelled through Dunsborough and then out to Cape Naturaliste where we did the walks around the headland and were rewarded with fantastic views and, surprisingly, the spectacle of passing humpback whales. Further down south brings you to the Leeuwin-Naturaliste N.P. that protects a long stretch of coastline to the east of Margaret River and all the way to Cape Leeuwin. We stayed several nights in the N.P. campground at Contos Field, from where we explored the Margaret River region. There are almost 100 wineries in the area and I reckon we drove past most of them; this almost certainly is the lifeblood of the district. However the highlights for us were a visit to the Bush Shack Brewery at Yallingup, lunch at the organic Wild Thyme café in Margaret River and a total pig-out at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory.

Southward again brought us through Augusta on the way to Cape Leeuwin which is where, theoretically at least, the waters of the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. We had a look around the lighthouse precinct and inspected the calcified remains of the old waterwheel that was used to pump water up to the lighthouse during it’s construction and then later to supply the keepers and their families with fresh water. After a good look around it was time to start heading east and now, after being fairly close to or on the shores of the Indian Ocean for the last several months, we took our last glimpse of the clear sparkling waters. For the next few months at least it will be the great Southern Ocean that will be in our sights.

Perth 9/10 to 18/11

2009-12-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

We timed our arrival into Perth to meet up with Wendy & Rick (Sue’s sister & brother-in-law), who were in the final week of their 3 week holiday to W.A., so we could spend some time together before they returned to Ulladulla. It was really great to catch up with them and it made both of us realise how much you miss your family and friends. We managed to do quite a bit together including a visit to Fremantle with a tour of the historic gaol and visit to the village markets as well as the chocolate factory – oh yum! Another great day was had when we all went on a dolphin, sea lion and penguin cruise. It was a nice sunny day but the wind was strong and icy cold, we all needed to have warm jackets on.

A day after Wendy & Rick left for home we also left Perth for a trip out to Wave Rock and surrounding wheat belt towns. However before we left we called in to PDA caravan repairs for quote on some minor warranty work to be done to a couple of the windows of our van. They were so busy the earliest appointment we could get for the work was the 18th so this gave us plenty of time to look around the area we were travelling to. The small wheat belt towns are all very attractive and well kept and seem to have a high level of facilities for their small populations. It seems rather obvious that cropping is the major supporting industry for this vast area and the farms all must be very large in area, some of the paddocks are so large that you can’t even begin to see the other side of them.

On our return to Perth we settled in to the Coogee Beach Holiday Park for 3 weeks awaiting our appointment at PDA. Coogee is about 6 Km south of Fremantle and is right on the beach and was a great location for us to explore the surrounding districts. We did lots of day trips up and down the coastal region near Perth as well as visits to Kings Park and the Perth Mint. On Melbourne Cup day we visited Chas & Shirley (Rick’s sister) at Mandurah and we had a lovely time at a local pub for lunch and a few drinks. Watching the races on TV and enjoying the atmosphere with everyone urging on their chosen steed made a great day out. (None in our party managed to pick a winner ~ bugger) Chas & Shirley invited us to return and stay for a while, which we did after we left Perth having had the work completed on our van. We stayed a couple of days with them enjoying their gracious hospitality before heading off on our journey through the southwest of the state. Thanks Chas & Shirl, you are great hosts.

Geraldton to Cervantes 5/10 to 9/10

2009-11-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

Leaving Geraldton we headed inland through the hills in the hope of seeing more of the spectacular wildflowers the area is known for. We visited Mullewa, Pindar and Coalseam Conservation Park over a period of several days, and we were not disappointed. There were wonderful displays all along the roadsides, on the fringes of cultivated paddocks and scattered through the bushland. Of particular interest were the unusual wreath flowers, with many others and us following hand painted signs for kilometres along sandy bush tracks just to see them.

From Coalseam we travelled south through Mingenew, Three Springs, Carnamah and Eneabba before rejoining the coastal route near Leeman. Taking the time to quickly check out Leeman we also had a look around the seaside villages of Green Head and Jurien Bay before arriving at Cervantes and checking in to the caravan park. Cervantes is the closest town to the well-known Pinnacles desert where we spent an entire afternoon looking around this unusual natural attraction. There is a virtual forest of limestone pillars sticking up out of the desert sands, all within sight of the ocean. It seems that the scientific community is still quite divided on how they were actually formed but there is loads of information at the excellent visitors centre to allow us mere mortals to form our own theory.

It is an easy half day drive from Cervantes into Perth and after taking care of finding and checking into the caravan park we went straight into the city to meet up with Sue’s sister and brother-in-law for a couple of drinks at one of the inner-city pubs, it was really great to see them again after so long.

Murchison River, Kalbarri and Geraldton 2/10 to 4/10

2009-11-14T00:35:00.000-08:00

Leaving the Gascoyne behind and heading south down the highway it is generally a good flat run until you begin to approach the Murchison River. Not far from the turnoff to Kalbarri the highway crosses the river and here you find a quite large rest area well back of the road and next to the river. In the rest are we found some other travellers that we had met with a number of times and decided to stay for the night. The further south we travelled the more wildflowers we began to see even crowding right up to the edge of the highway, this was to be the beginning of several weeks of wildflower encounters and already we could easily see how this area has got such a good reputation for fantastic displays. Anyone who has travelled this section of highway or is looking at a map of the area will see that we passed by the turnoff to Shark Bay and Monkey Mia. We chose not to take the trip out to this area partly because we wanted to pick up the pace of our trip south, but more to the point, because we generally shun areas that are over promoted tourist destinations, particularly the ones that rely upon unnatural animal behaviour as their main attraction – each to their own - of course.

From the highway it is a little over 50Km into Kalbarri through undulating to hilly terrain. It took us a good half day to cover this distance because we stopped to take a couple of short walks in the Kalbarri N. P. both of which reward you with spectacular views of the gorges of the Murchison. Once in town we were fortunate to secure a site at the caravan park just across the road from the beach. Kalbarri is a spectacularly beautiful town situated at the mouth of the Murchison, which forms a lagoon on the beachfront as it curves around the headland and enters the ocean. The place was busy and full of tourists as it was at the end of the first week of the school holidays. Tourism has to be one of the mainstays of the local economy these days and you can see lots of new development centred on capturing this trade, in the past the town relied heavily on seasonal Cray fishing for it’s existence. As soon as we were set up out came the bikes so we could ride to the seahorse sanctuary. The seahorse sanctuary breeds seahorses and pipefishes for the pet trade in an effort to lessen the amount taken from the wild. A seahorse taken from the wild will seldom survive very long in an aquarium, yet the captive bred ones from the sanctuary can live for many years. The sanctuary’s strategy is to breed as many as they can to keep the price down therefore making it less attractive to those who might try to profit from the taking of wild seahorses. You can take a self-guided tour of the sanctuary, which we enjoyed very much.

Taking the very good cycleway back towards town we paused at one of the splendid lookouts along the way and were instantly rewarded by the spectacle of Humpback whales frolicking just off shore. They were putting on quite a show with their breaching, tail slapping and fin waving, we were totally mesmerised, so much so that we forgot to get the camera out until they were just too far out of range for a good shot. However we refected on the fact that we had been studying some of the smallest sea creatures and then just minutes later were being entertained by some of the largest – quite a contrast. Back at the caravan park the manager had just got word that one of the local trawlers had returned to port and had a good supply of fresh fish for sale. We were quickly back on our bikes and following her directions it was down to the wharf in just a couple of minutes to select a fish and have it filleted, right there on the back of the boat, it doesn’t come any fresher unless you catch it yourself.

It was certainly a whirlwind visit for us because as soon as we were back at the van we jumped in the car and drove back out to the N.P. to do the two longer walks. Firstly to the rugged Z-Bend gorge and then to The Loop posing for some photos at the appropriately named Nature’s Widow, all the while passing through vast areas of wildflowers. Our late afternoon return to town meant it was a good time to detour to the hilltop lookout to watch the sunset over the ocean and inlet, and then because of all the physical activity of the day we were quickly back at camp to get that fish on the BBQ. Next morning we left Kalbarri and travelled the coastal loop road past Gregories and Horrocks turnoffs rejoining the highway at Northampton. From there it is good highway, although quite undulating, into Geraldton.

Geraldton would be the largest town we had been in since leaving Darwin and we used this to our advantage to re-fuel and re-provision. Although we only spent one night in town we did manage to get a good look around and found it quite appealing. Geraldton is a busy port town and regional hub and yet is attractive to visitors where you can stroll along old narrow streets among many restored 19th century buildings. They seem to have a developing cappuccino and alfresco café strip in one of the old streets not far from the waterfront. There are several large attractive parks around town and then on the top of a hill the memorial to HMAS Sydney II. This is a beautiful tribute to the ship and it’s crew, which was lost with all hands just off the coast during WWII. The canopy of the large central dome is fashioned from 645 stainless steel seagulls, one for each life lost. Curving around the southern edge of the site is a polished black granite wall of remembrance engraved with the names of those lost – many so young – what a tragedy.

Exmouth to Carnarvon 29/9 to 1/10

2009-11-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

We would have liked to stay at least another week at Cape Range N.P. but we had word that Sue’s sister, Wendy would be holidaying in Perth around mid October and Sue was very keen to catch up with her and Rick. So we made the discission to speed up the next sections of our journey. Travelling south from Exmouth we called in for a look at Coral Bay and for the first time in months we struck rain. The rain and cold blustery wind combined to give us a less than ideal impression of Coral Bay, couple this with the fact that it was school holidays and the place was overrun with tourist meant we only stayed for lunch and a quick look around. However we could easily see the underlying beauty of the area and we would like to return sometime when conditions are a little better. As we were travelling directly into a ferocious headwind with occasional light showers it was an easy decision to pull over and camp for the night at a free rest area at Lyndon River.

Hitting the road early the next morning and with travelling conditions a little more favourable, had us arriving in Carnarvon before lunch. We checked into the Marloo C.P. for 2 nights. After catching up with some washing and then the necessary shopping it was time to have look around town. We found Carnarvon to our liking and whilst in the town area we paid a visit to the ‘Mile Long’ jetty and even took a trip on the ‘Coffee Pot’ little train that runs out on the jetty. This is where the first shipments of livestock to be exported from Australia were made. The jetty and the nearby railway heritage precinct are well worth a visit.

Next day we did the 75Km trip northwest out to Point Quobba to witness the spectacular blowholes and to check out the camping area, again finding it to our liking which meant putting on our list of places to come back to one day, hopefully. On the way to Point Quobba you pass by yet another large salt production facility and then, something a little unusual, a Beta Carotene production plant. From the roadside you can get a very good view of the large ponds that are a vivid pink, quite an unusual sight. Sitting as it does near the mouth of the Gascoyne River, W.A.’s longest, Carnarvon has over 100 plantations growing everything from bananas and mangoes to tomatoes and herbs. On our way back into town we took great advantage of this to stock up on some really fresh fruit and veg, and one place even has home made fruit ice-cream – yum! Even though we were not there to see it Carnarvon has a growers market every Saturday in season, in the heart of town. We were assured it also is well worth your time to visit. From Carnarvon we head south to Kalbarri and Geraldton.

Exmouth & Cape Range N.P. 14 - 28/9

2009-11-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

Exmouth is a young modern small town having been established in the 1960s as a service town for the nearby Naval communications base on North West Cape. The present base operated by the Commonwealth government was once an important and strategic base for the U.S. and Australian navy for operations in the Indian Ocean and to our north. The massive towers situated on the tip of the cape are extremely high with tower zero (the central one) being 387.6 metres tall, making it the second tallest structure in the southern hemisphere. The town of Exmouth is used by a sizeable proportion of travellers as a stopover and supply base for their visit to Cape Range N.P. and Ningaloo Reef, and this it does very well. It has a couple of small supermarkets, a bakery, several restaurants and hotels, camping and fishing stores and postal and banking services as well as a good collection of other service outlets. There is also a good range of accommodation options that would suit most travellers. For those staying out at the N.P. (no fresh water available) there are fresh water taps at the information centre where you can freely top up your tanks and containers before heading out there.

The entrance station to the N.P. is about 45 Km out of town and it is a good sealed road all the way and this good sealed road continues all the way to Yardie Creek at the southern end of the park. There are about a dozen camping areas scattered along the coast with some having as many as 15 sites and some as few as 3. The entire park is very popular during the main tourist season from May to October and demand for sites is very high and at the time of our visit you could not book in advance. To secure a site during this period you need to employ a certain strategy and fortunately for us we had previously been given some good advice by a couple of regular visitors. What we did was stay 1 night at Yardie Homestead caravan park which is only about 10 Km outside the park and then one of us got up real early and drove the car to the entrance station to await the arrival of the ranger. I arrived at the entrance station at 5.40 a.m. and was 8th in line. The ranger arrives at 8.00 and then contacts all the camping areas by radio to find out how many vacant sites, if any, they will have that day. As each vehicle approaches the office the ranger informs you of what is available and then you make your choice, he then gives you a booking conformation slip and you have until 10.00 a.m. to get to your site. I quickly returned to hitch up the van and then drove to our chosen camping area to be greeted by the camp host and directed to our allocated site, all of which was easily completed by 9.30. You may wonder why we did not just pack up and take the van with us to the entrance station in the first place, well, some days there are not any sites available and you would then have to return to the C.P. and set up again.

Once again we were fortunate in having a choice of camping areas and employing our previous good advice we chose Ned’s Camp, the northern most camping area and the nearest to the entrance (8 Km) and also not far from the very good visitors centre (4 Km) as well as being the closest to the one and only water tap (bore water) in the park. (1 Km) Ned’s would also seem to be the most protected camping area even though it is only metres from the beach. Most of the sites are nestled between a couple of low dunes, which do a good job of sheltering you from the fairly incessant wind, and there is a line of Tamarisk trees to provide some shade. The bush loos are amongst the best we have seen and they are kept spotlessly clean by the volunteer camp hosts, they even had a very pleasant smell. The Western Australian department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) makes good use of their excellent voluntary camp host system which sees most of the more popular N.P. camping areas having the services of camp hosts during the busiest part of the year. Here again we were very lucky being at Ned’s because we reckon that our camp hosts were the very best you would ever find. Norm & Gwen have been the voluntary camp hosts at Ned’s for six months each year for the past twenty years – how’s that! Norm & Gwen have lined up all the picnic tables close to their campsite and make it almost mandatory to attend the happy hour at 5.30 each day

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During our 2 week stay they were honoured at a camp host’s function at the ranger headquarters and the service they had provided over that period was tallied up. They have contributed more than 40,000 hours of voluntary service and have greeted and checked in over 106,000 visitors. People like Norm & Gwen are real heroes in our minds as they go about the business, without any fuss, of making sure all the visitors to ‘their’ camp are looked after and have a good time. It is no wonder that they were recently presented with a gift in recognition of their service by the Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett.
What sort of time did we have during our 2-week stay at Cape range? Well, in a word, Fantastic! We swam and snorkelled most days, had long walks along the beach, paddled our kayak amongst a pod of playful dolphins, walked Mandu gorge and cruised Yardie creek. Ningaloo Reef (one of the longest fringing reefs in the world at 260Km) is just offshore and in some places is little more than 100 metres out. This provides a wonderful sheltered lagoon full of coral and tropical fish for the entire length of the park. This is the best snorkelling we have done because it is so easy. You just swim out from the beach and within just a few metres you are above coral formations populated with a myriad of colourful fish (around 500 species recorded) and mostly in no more than 2 metres of water. The water is very clear and nice and warm.

Our tips (we could be biased) for visiting Cape range: 1. Go early in the season (late April to early June), as there is less wind. 2. Make sure you have plenty of water tanks and containers and fill them before leaving Exmouth. 3. Be prepared to be patient when waiting for a site. 4. The best camp, Ned’s. 5. The best swimming beaches, Sandy Bay & Turquoise Bay. 6. The best snorkelling, Oyster Stacks (high tide only) and Lakeside. 7. The best combo of swimming and snorkelling, Turquoise Bay. 8. The best camp hosts, Norm & Gwen, of course.

Footnote: You can stay camped in the park for a maximum of 28 days during any visit. There are the usual vehicle entry and camping fees with discounts for concession cardholders. At the time of our visit it was proposed to allow pre booking for about half of the sites. We think that the present system works extremely well and does not need changing as it rewards visitors who are diligent enough to arrive early and patient enough to wait for a site during peak times. This would have to be the best run N.P. we have come across providing a very good balance of public access and protection for the environment and the entry and camping fees are quite reasonable given its popularity and facilities. It runs like a well-oiled machine due to its management plan, its staff and in no small part the work done by all the dedicated volunteer camp hosts. Why change things? We realise that a lot of people are fixated on the need to make forward reservations, well they can satisfy this need by booking ahead at one of the caravan parks or other accommodation choices in Exmouth and make day trips into the park, it is not that far.

Millstream - Chichester National Park 9 - 10/9

2009-10-29T01:49:00.000-07:00

These days the run from Karratha to the national park is pretty good as the road is sealed almost to the park boundary. It is not a real fast journey however; as it is quite hilly and when you are towing a van it makes a big difference to your travel time and fuel consumption. Our first night was spent in the Chichester range section of the park at Snake Creek camping area. This camping area is reasonably remote and the only facilities are long drop toilets, but there are no fees and it is quite close to the main attraction in this section of the park, Python Pool. There were only 2 other groups in the campground during our 1 night stay and so we had a quiet and restful night. Packing up early the next morning it was only a short drive to the parking area for the walk to Python Pool. The permanent large plunge pool nestled against rugged red cliffs and surrounded by trees is a stark contrast to the arid surroundings. This would make a great place for a refreshing dip and even though the temperature was already quite warm the water was very cold, far too cold for us to venture in.

Back in the car we began the steep climb up the escarpment and stopped in the carpark near the summit of Mt. Herbert. The walking track to the very top is not all that long but it is quite steep so we made good use of the seats to catch our breath while taking in the fantastic view across the ranges to the north and east. Another great walk from this carpark is to follow the camel trail around the base of the mountain where we found a clean running spring fed stream with large clear pools and lush vegetation, again quite a contrast to the country surrounding. This 4 Km round trip walk took us over 1½ hours due to the rugged terrain and the rising temperature. Just as well we always carry plenty of water and wear a hat and sunscreen.

Our next destination was the main Millstream section of the park where all visitors are required to stop at the entry station to self-register and pay an entry fee. Our information (now outdated, it seems) had us planning to camp at Deep Reach Pool on the Fortescue River for several days but, much to our disappointment camping is no longer permitted at this pretty spot.

You now have to travel on to a newly finished camping area near the old Millstream Homestead. This campground is well laid out and has new composting toilets (the best we have seen in a N.P.) and a fantastic new camp kitchen, however it seems to be in the most exposed, hot and dusty location in the entire park. Given that we had visions of camping for days by a cooling stretch of river this was quite a let down and we stayed for only one night. Of course we did enjoy the walks around the homestead and to Chindewarriner pool. This permanent spring fed pool on Millstream Creek, is a very attractive oasis populated with waterlilies and surrounded by stately palms, and the water is so clear it becomes almost invisible as you gaze into the depths.

We left the next morning travelling out of the park via Pannawonica to rejoin the northwest coastal highway. All of the roads within the national park are unsealed but are generally in good condition with the corrugations being not too bad. The dust, though, is another issue, it is fine, red and very plentiful and by the time we got back on the bitumen the exterior of the car and van were totally covered. You have to be careful where and what you touch or brush against because it really sticks to your skin and clothes and once ingrained it is quite difficult to wash out. Thank goodness our van has very good dust sealing. Travelling southwest we spent 2 nights at Robe river rest area (using the abundant water to clean the car and van) and 1 night at Barradale rest area before heading into Exmouth to begin our stay at Cape Range N.P. and Ningaloo Reef.

Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier 28/8 to 8/9

2009-10-19T02:09:00.000-07:00

Port Hedland is pretty much just an industrial town and quite a busy one. Even the tourist attractions are focused around its industrial activities such as viewing the enormous ore trains as they bring their massive loads from inland mines to the busy port. The information centre has a board out front detailing the arrival and departures of ships and trains, and the best place to view them. The trains are quite impressive, the longest in the world, with lengths in excess of 2 Km common, and some more than 3 Km long. The landscape is dominated by large industrial structures as well as huge white ‘mountains’ of salt and other minerals. We spent three days in town and a further two out at Indee Station waiting for mail and began to really believe, as many a fellow traveller has quipped, that W. A. stands for ‘Wait Awhile’.

After the mail finally arrived we travelled south through more of the Pilbara towards Karratha and Dampier. We did have a two day break at Balla Balla, a free camping area on he coast east of Whim Creek, where we met fellow travellers, some of whom had been camped there by the water for up to 5 months. Initially we based ourselves at Roebourne, inland from the coast, and the original main town of the northwest. From here we explored the old buildings of the town (many very well preserved) as well as the old abandoned town of Cossack, which was the original port. Some of the more prominent buildings in Cossack have been restored, and combined with magnificent coastal scenery, made this a rewarding visit. It is interesting to note that all of the old, now overgrown and no longer visible, streets of the abandoned 19th century town are shown on our 21st century GPS navigator. Also while in Roebourne we visited the attractive seaside town of Point Sampson, having lunch on the terrace of the tavern overlooking the sparkling bay, and the mining company built town of Wickham.

From Roebourne we travelled into Dampier for 3 nights. Dampier could be described much like Port Hedland with the addition of a couple of very large natural gas processing plants. The scale of the operations in these parts is quite overwhelming and seemingly at odds with the ancient harsh and rugged landscape of the surrounding country. If there really is a world economic downturn then they forgot to tell the people around here, because everything is going full speed ahead. Nearby Karratha is a modern service centre town with all the facilities you would expect. We used this opportunity to restock and refuel as well as do some posting and banking. A bit of a highlight for us while in the area was to catch up with our son-in-law’s cousin, Matt. Having just recently arrived in the area to work on a power station development Matt, an electrician, is certainly going to feel it with the weather heating up noticeably. We only had a brief visit with him at his accommodation camp and just sat around with a few coldies discussing each other’s travels and adventures. Good on ya Matt!
Oh ! almost forgot. While we were in the area we visited Hearsons Cove to view the spectacular natural phenomenom of the staircase to the moon, This happens when a full moon rises over the exposed mudflats at low tide - quite a spectacle.

We left Karratha heading inland through the hills to Millstream-Chichester National Park.

Broome to Port Hedland 21 - 30/8

2009-10-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

The drive along the Great Northern Highway from Broome to Port Hedland is a journey of over 600 Km. The terrain along the highway is generally quite flat and featureless and the trip would be boring and tedious if you were to undertake it in one hit. Fortunately there are a number of diversions that are only a short distance from the highway, to break up the journey and make it more interesting.

Our first deviation was to Barn Hill camping area located on Thangoo Station. Thangoo has an 85 Km frontage to the ocean and the commercially run camping ground and Caravan Park is situated right on the cliff edge overlooking the sea. The road in is a reasonably good sandy and gravel stretch of about 10 km, with only minor corrugations here and there. We spent two nights there enjoying long walks on the golden sandy beach and swimming in the warm tropical waters. Our visit coincided with the weekly Sunday night roast dinner that we really enjoyed. It is a BYO everything (except food) and it was great to see about 200 people setting up their tables, chairs and cutlery on the lawns surrounding the tin shed that serves as the shop and office. The friendly staff served the food efficiently and all this was accompanied by music from a band comprised entirely of members of one local Aboriginal family. Good food, great atmosphere and all for a very reasonable price.

For us the second break in the long journey was at Cape Keraudren. The turnoff is almost opposite the Pardoo Roadhouse and a well maintained sandy gravel road of about 13 Km leads you to the camping areas scattered around the headland and creek mouth. Cape Keraudren is situated at the southern extremity of eighty-mile beach that marks the transition from the Kimberley to the Pilbara region. Administered by the East Pilbara Shire Council the campground has numerous small clusters of sites that have expansive water views, either over the rocky headland, or across the creek mouth and sandy beach. The only amenities provided are long drop loos that are clean and well maintained, so visitors need to be pretty well self-sufficient. Our site had expansive views over the rocky cape and northward along the sands of eighty-mile beach. We enjoyed 3 relaxing days mostly observing the abundant marine life that consisted of whales, dolphins, turtles and the elusive dugong. We even witnessed the spectacle of large marlin jumping quite high and repeatedly out of the water. Large tidal movements affect this area and 6 to 7 metre tides are quite common. Just below our site a large rock shelf was exposed at low tide leaving behind a rock pool the size of a football field at least and around a metre deep. We enjoyed numerous walks around this large pool that was full of coral and fish, sort of like snorkelling without getting you feet wet. I (Alan) even rescued a stranded turtle trapped on the rock shelf by a quickly receding tide. It seemed grateful when I returned it to the water when after an initial high speed swim away, it turned and raised it’s head above the water a number of times as if to say thanks. I am sure that if it had been left to bake on the exposed rocks in the hot sun it may not have survived until the next high tide.

Thankfully we arrived quite early at our next stop at De Grey River. This free roadside rest area is very popular and is almost always quite full because of the shady trees and proximity to the permanent water of the river. We only stayed one night before the final leg into Port Hedland.

Quandong Point 18 - 21/9

2009-09-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

Sincere apologies to our blog followers for being so far behind. We have been out at Cape Range N.P. for the past 2 weeks without Internet service so will endeavour to catch up soon. (Alan, 30/9/09)

Considering not being impressed by Broome but still wanting to spend some time in the area, we travelled up the Dampier Peninsular (the road to cape Leveque) to a place called Quandong Point. The total distance from Broome is just under 50 Km although the access road is quite rough and corrugated in places so the going can be quite slow.

The camping area is located right above the beach and each campsite is at least 100 metres from the next. Some sites are large enough for several tents or vans, while others have just enough room for a single camp. All the sites are just clearings in the low coastal scrub with no large trees, so very little shade, however there always seemed to be a cooling breeze from the water. We were lucky to find a spot all to our self and parked the van literally metres from the low cliff top with a wonderful view out over the clear blue waters. There are no facilities at all provided but then there is no charge either and with spectacular views and just a short stroll to the beach we recon that it is primitive camping at its best.

We spent four relaxing days just swimming, beachcombing, working on our suntan and gazing at the view, pretty hard to take, don’t you think? Of course there was also the whale watching, as it seemed that almost ant time you cared to look you could spot whales somewhere. We also managed to see the odd turtle or two. It was quite hard for us to tear ourselves away from this quiet, relaxing place. Before heading south towards Port Hedland we backtracked into Broome to top up on a few essential supplies and fill the water and fuel tanks.

Derby to Broome 12 - 15/8

2009-09-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

After 2 days in Derby and our wonderful trip to the Horizontal Falls it was time to head off towards Broome. The distance is only about 220 Km but because we are not on a tight schedule we took 3 days to get there. Just after crossing the Fitzroy River at Willare Bridge we turned onto a rough 4WD track and travelled about 7 Km to a campsite known as Tumble-goodie. This free camp is on Yeeda Station and right on the banks of the Fitzroy. Here we enjoyed the peace and solitude for 2 relaxing nights.

Arriving in Broome around lunchtime on the 15th our first stop was the visitor’s centre. Outside the centre they have a large whiteboard displaying the available vacancies at the various caravan parks. At this time of year finding a caravan site in Broome can be quite difficult, so they have several overflow areas for travellers. We chose the Pistol Club and at $27 per night it was quite a bargain when the minimum price asked at the caravan parks is in the high $30s with some in the high $40s. The Pistol Club has just basic facilities, which are small but clean, and power and water. You are camped on red sandy earth but then at most of the caravan parks the conditions are the same.

In Broome there is one thing you must do and that is, visit Cable Beach, of course. We visited on the first afternoon and what you find is a very long, very wide beach of hard packed white sand, with yachts moored at one end and nude bathers at the other. We chose a spot somewhere near the middle and raced down to the breakers for a dip in the Indian Ocean. This was Sue’s first swim in the Indian Ocean and we both reckon that somehow it feels different to swimming in the Pacific. You can call us mad if you like. The unusual thing about it is the population of bathers, which seems to be evenly divided between extremely white skinned southern tourists and seasoned locals who are mainly in their very senior years and are as suntanned as you can possibly get. There is a concession on the beach that hires out sun lounges, deckchairs, umbrellas and all other sorts of beach equipment, and they do a very good trade. The whole thing made us feel as though we were in the middle of an American movie or TV show shot on Miami Beach or Waikiki, it was not the sort of beach experience we are used to. The other unusual thing is that you can drive your car right onto the beach (only at either ends) and lots and lots of people do, right in amongst the sunbathers. Off corse we did all the other touristy things whilst in town but one of the highlights was meeting up with some newly acquired good friends for lunch at Matsos Brewery. We have been bumping into Jenny and Craig from Goolwa on occasions since we first met them in central NT and it was great to join them for lunch. Good food, good conversation and good beer – just great !

What was our impression of Broome? Well overall it was not really to our liking, very busy with tourists (there was even a circus in town) inflated prices and a little bit tacky, a bit of a tourist trap. Sort of like a Surfers Paradise in the making. We did get the impression that it would have been more to our liking 20 or so years ago when more of its original character would have been evident. We only stayed 3 days and then headed up the Dampier Peninsular to a place called Quandong Point.

Horizontal Waterfalls 11/8

2009-08-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

It was quite a rush to get ready to be picked up by the shuttle bus as we had only arrived in town a couple of hours earlier, however we made it with a little time to spare. After completing his pick up run our driver delivered us to Derby airport just in time to watch our plane arrive. This will be our first flight on a seaplane of any kind (it can land at the airport because it has retractable landing gear in the floats) and it seemed quite large for a plane that only carries 10 passengers. Matt, our friendly young pilot, quickly carried out the safety briefing and loaded our luggage as we climbed aboard and fastened our seat belts. The powerful turbo-prop engine soon had us flying off over Derby and across King Sound and Stokes Bay then climbing over the Kimbolton Range. Below, the receding tide was leaving wonderful patterns in the exposed mud flats with the mangroves lining the twisting creeks creating a vibrant contrast to the glistening wet mud. The views during the 35-minute flight were absolutely terrific but were insignificant compared to our approach to Talbot Bay. We swooped low over the horizontal falls and circled the brilliant blue water of the bay before an immaculately executed smooth landing on the water.

The introductions and safety briefings were completed in a very short time and then, with life jackets firmly fitted, we boarded our specially designed high-speed boat for our ride through the falls. This boat can really move and you have to make sure your sunglasses and hats are very secure otherwise this wind in your face ride would soon have them ripped off. By now the tidal flow had reduced quite a bit and we were told that the falls were not very intense at this time. Well, this was news to us because it was still very thrilling as we powered through the churning waters of the first (and wider) set of falls, then zoomed off to the second (narrower) set that were even more turbulent. All in all we went through both sets of falls numerous times in both directions and even stopped in the middle a couple of times. Well the boat was actually doing about 30 Km/hr water speed and yet we were stationary compared the rocks on either side. With enough adrenalin pumping thrills for a while we were whisked right across the other side of Talbot Bay for a pleasant glide up Cyclone Creek where we could observe, close up, the twisted and tortured strata of the high rock walls of the bay. Then back across the bay to the day use boat for some afternoon tea and time for some fishing. The only decent fish caught were lost to the sharks, but judging by the size of the heads brought up, they were very decent fish indeed.

With sunset approaching we were transferred to the Lady M for our overnight stay. This vessel is 105 feet long and cost around $12 million to build and has every luxury one could ask for. The owners, Bill and Maria, and crew Theresa, welcomed us and showed us to our well-appointed large cabins (with full ensuite) to freshen up before dinner. Our skipper, Bill, cooked the best Barramundi we have ever had on the large BBQ under the canopy of the rear deck. Bill said it was his secret Italian style home made infused oil used in the cooking that made the difference. The girls served up a delicious selection of salads and a potato bake to complement the Barra and we dined in splendour on the back deck enjoying the last fading colours of evening. After such a thrilling day all on board were so tired that everyone went off to bed quite early.

Just as well that we turned in early because our wake up call came at about 5.45 am so we could be up and ready to watch the sunrise before a sumptuous breakfast. The real reason for our early start was that the tide was just right and the falls were really pumping and our fast thrill boat would be here soon to pick us up. If we thought it was exciting yesterday, well, this morning it was something else. Think of the wildest white-water rapids you have seen and then multiply it several times and you would be getting close to the volume of water crashing through the opening in the rock walls. Even though it looked impossible we made the run through the first falls with the powerful boat doing it with ease. Unfortunately we do not have any photos of this as we were advised to keep our cameras stowed away to protect them from the inevitable spray. Across the bay to have a look at the second falls but there was no way we were going through. As the boat nudged up towards the falls, beyond the white water we could see a vertical wall of water about 2 metres high trying to squeeze through the narrow gap. That was close enough for us and so off we went back across the bay, and for good measure we went through the first fall a couple more times in each direction. If anyone was still not fully awake before this morning adventure they certainly were now. Before our hearts and minds had fully settled down we were back on the pontoon awaiting the arrival of our seaplane for the flight back to Derby. The return flight was quite different as we flew a lot lower and wide out over the Buccaneer Archipelago for a good look at the countless islands and bays that make up this spectacular part of the remote north west coast.

We travelled with Horizontal Falls adventures who were very professional and yet relaxed and laid back. All in all this was a most exciting and thrilling adventure and we cannot give enough praise to all the staff of this local family owned company. Special mention should go to Matt our pilot, Bill & Maria on the Lady M, but especially the youngest member of the family, Damien, our thrill boat pilot. Even though he is only in his early twenties he has already safely taken well in excess of 10,000 people through the falls, well done!

For more information go to www.horizontalfallsadventures.com.au

Gibb River road to Derby 11 - 13/8

2009-08-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

Whilst we were set up at Windjana Gorge we did a day trip up the Gibb River road to Bell Gorge. Total distance was about 130 Km each way, all on unsealed road. We had heard many reports about the notorious Gibb and how people had done all sorts of damage to their vehicles. Damage like blown tyres, busted springs and blown-out shock absorbers. However the sections we travelled on were some of the best unsealed roads we had driven on, although care was still required on some sections and at the creek crossings. Turning off the Gibb towards the National Parks run Silent Grove Campground is a journey of 19 Km, then it is a further 11 Km to Bell Gorge. Many folks had told us that Bell Gorge is one of the best gorges along the Gibb, and of course it lived up to its reputation. A permanent stream flows across a large rock shelf before spilling over a wide multi-tiered waterfall into a huge deep plunge pool. As the day was quite hot we did not waste any time jumping in for a refreshing swim. After our swim we returned to the shady campground for a late lunch at one of the many picnic tables before making the return journey to Windjana.

An early pack-up the next morning saw us on our way towards Derby which was still about 150 Km away. All the maps show that only about 42 Km of this is sealed but we were pleasantly surprised to see now only about 20 or so Km are unsealed. On arrival in Derby we found that one of the caravan parks was booked out (the smaller one) but we had no trouble getting a site at the larger one. On checking in we mentioned that a priority for us was a trip to the Horizontal Waterfall and so the duration of our stay would depend on when we could get a booking. The caravan park is also a booking agent for the trips to the falls and when we mentioned that we wanted an overnight trip, Ian the manager suggested one that he said was absolutely 5 star, however like we had been told by many, he said he was not sure how long it would be before a booking became available.

Not long after we un-hitched the van Ian arrived on his push bike with some exciting news. The tour company had just rang to say that there was a vacancy for 2 people on this afternoon’s trip, and because it was only a couple of hours before departure they were offering a discount of $100 each. It took us just a few seconds to discus if we could be ready in time before we excitedly confirmed we would take it. This is an expensive trip and one that we had been wanting to do for a long time. In anticipation we had been economising wherever possible to allow ourselves to do it. Even so the cost has totally blown the budget and we will need to keep economising to help get the finances back on an even keel. Keep watching for a full report on this fantastic trip

Fitzroy Crossing to Windjana Gorge 6 - 10/8

2009-08-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

Making a good early start from Halls Creek we headed off to Fitzroy Crossing a distance of 290 Km. Making just one stop along the way we arrived in Fitzroy Crossing before lunch. A look around town did not take too long and we soon found ourselves at the old crossing point and the nearby inn that apparently is the oldest continually licensed pub in WA. Today it has attached to it a good gallery showcasing the works of local artists and on the other side a small caravan park. Because of the licensing laws in this part of the state the pub does not open until noon so we chose to make our own lunch in the van while we were parked on the shaded grassy verge of the park across the road.

Considering it to be a little early to stop for the day we decided to press on. We have a new book called Priceless Campsites in WA by Jan Holland. There is one for the north of the state and one for the south, and we have both, so consulting this book we found that a turnoff 43 Km east of Fitzroy Crossing would take us on the Leopold Downs road that loops around past Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge before joining the Gibb River road about 124 Km north-west of Derby. Just 11 Km along this road we found the Turn into a campsite mentioned in our new book. It is called the RAAF boab quarry and was the site of the quarry used to supply the material needed to build the Curtin RAAF base near Derby. Today the large pit of the quarry has filled with water creating a lake about 50 metres wide by several hundred metres long and about 2.5 metres deep. We set up camp amongst the numerous boab trees surrounding the lake and because it was so peaceful and relaxing we stayed for 3 nights.

We could have quite easily stayed at this wonderful bush camp another night or two but however decided to move on. Rejoining the Leopold Downs road we travelled towards Tunnel Creek. The 125 Km unsealed road, although generally good, has some rough patches and steep dips into a couple of creek crossings that can catch you out if you are travelling too fast. We arrived at the Tunnel Creek parking area for an early morning tea before venturing along the 1.7 Km return walk through the tunnel. Formed by a tributary of the Lennard River eroding a tunnel through the Napier Range this is the only place in WA where a river runs through a mountain. The walk takes you around some large boulders before entering the underground cavern that is about 500 metres long. It is totally black and you are wading through long pools of water that can be up to a metre or more deep. Fortunately during our walk the water was never more that knee deep. There has been a cave-in about half way along that allows the sunlight in, so the dark sections are not all that long, however you do need a very good torch. The tunnel is inhabited by several species of bats as well as small fish and freshwater prawns in the pools. Without a good light you would not get the full impact of the numerous large stalactites and wonderful limestone flows clinging to the walls in a number of places. This is a very rewarding, if a little challenging, walk to do and a great experience.

Just 24 Km from Tunnel Creek brings you to the 3 Km access road into Windjana Gorge. Adjacent to the day visitor area is the large campground divided into two sections, one allowing generators, and one a quiet area with no gennies allowed. Both are well served with flush toilets and solar heated showers. An afternoon walk into the deep gorge carved by the main arm of the Lennard River was very rewarding. The towering cliffs of this ancient Devonian reef are reflected in the large pools of water that is the Lennard River in the dry season and, if you look carefully, fossils of primitive marine creatures can be seen in the exposed walls of the deep gorge. The deeper pools of the river support a large population of healthy looking Barramundi (no fishing allowed) and Archerfish and the densest population of freshwater crocodiles we have seen. We were treated to the sight of a 1-metre croc patiently stalking a couple of Barra that were at least as long as itself. The walk along the gorge is 7 Km each way (we only went about half way) but the best of the scenery is in the first 500 metres. We enjoyed the company two couples camped nearby who brought their chairs and drinks under our awning for a late afternoon happy hour. After dinner we turned in reasonably early as tomorrow we will leave the van in the campground and do a day trip 120 Km up the Gibb River road to Bell Gorge.

Halls Creek & Wolfe Creek Crater 3-5/8

2009-08-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

After our wonderful 2 days at the Bungle Bungles we headed to Halls Creek where we checked into the caravan park. The park is just fairly basic but has all the usual facilities, which allowed us to catch up on some washing. The next morning we arranged to leave our van at the park overnight for the princely sum of $2.50 so we could take the trip out to Wolfe Creek Crater. Before leaving Halls Creek we took a drive out to Old Halls Creek, the site of the original town during the short gold rush of the 1890’s. On the way we stopped to wonder at a formation called the China Wall. This strange looking natural formation is an almost perfect stone wall of hard quartzite rock sticking up above the surrounding strata. It is about a metre wide and up to four metres high and extends for more than a kilometre as far as we could tell. Made up of tightly fitting blocks of creamy quartz rock it would be a structure any landscaper would be proud of.

About 18 Km south of Halls creek you find the intersection of the Tanami Road or track as it otherwise known. The Tanami is the shortest distance from the Kimberley to the eastern states via Alice Springs. Alice Springs is over 1000 Km away but thankfully we only had to travel about 112 Km down the track to the turnoff to Wolfe Creek Crater. The Tanami is a pretty good gravel road, which, for the most part could be driven in a conventional 2WD vehicle, as long as you were careful. Not so the 23 Km access road to the crater. This road is very badly corrugated with washouts and potholes and in some places is strewn with sharp rocks, great care is needed. We set up our tent in the rather open camping area before taking the 500-metre walk to the crater later in the afternoon. Formed when a large meteorite crashed to earth some 300,000 years ago it is the second largest of its type in the world. Standing on the rim and looking across the 850 or so metres to the other side makes you glad you where not here when it happened.

After a peaceful quiet night we packed up camp and travelled back to Halls Creek where we re-fuelled and stocked up with a few basic supplies before returning to our van. Because it was now early afternoon we decided to stay one more night and get an early start the next morning.

Bungle Bungles 1/2 August 09

2009-08-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Situated some 180 Km North East of Halls Creek on the great northern highway is the turnoff to Purnululu N.P. and the Bungle Bungle Range. It is a fairly rough and corrugated drive of around 53 Km from the highway to the national park. This road is restricted to high clearance 4WD vehicles only, because of the rough terrain and several rocky creek crossings and caravans of any type are strictly not permitted to use it. Off road camper trailers are permitted and we saw quite a number of them in both of the campgrounds in the park. A lot of people just do a day trip into the park and then return to their van at the Spring Creek roadside rest area. This rest area is quite large and the lower section near the creek is really quite pleasant, and very popular so there is no shortage of other travellers to do the campers watch and look after the vans left there. We chose to leave our van overnight and camp out in the N.P. with our tent and camping gear.

Most Australians would have heard of the Bungle Bungles, and maybe have seen photos or TV shows about them, but believe me; nothing can prepare you for the awesome experience of actually being there. After paying your entry fee at the visitor centre it is then approximately 20 Km to either the northern or southern sections of the park. We did the southern walks first and then set up camp in the northern campground to relax for the afternoon, ready to do the northern walks the next morning. To us the southern walks are probably the most spectacular and we combined the three-day time walks into one big loop. The first section is the Domes Walk and then onto Cathedral Gorge and then Piccaninny Creek and lookout. The highlight would have to be Cathedral Gorge; there are just not enough adjectives or superlatives to describe this wonderful place. We were both overcome with a sort of spiritual and humbling feeling and a sense of awe at the power and majesty of Mother Nature. It would be hard to imagine how anyone would not moved after visiting this natural wonder. We had an added bonus during our visit when a young lady began to play the flute. With the fantastic natural acoustics the soft pleasant sounds filled the enormous cavern.

After setting up camp in the northern campground it was time to relax with a couple of drinks before dinner. We had dinner just on sunset and we, like most of the other nearby campers, turned in fairly early after what had been a tiring, yet very rewarding day. Next morning after breakfast and packing up the tent and gear we were off to do the northern walks. We started with the longest daytime walk in the park, Mini Palms gorge. We found this walk the most difficult, not because of the distance, but because you walk most of the way following the creek bed. The dry creek is a deep bed of gravel and waterworn stones of varying sizes and the loose and uneven nature makes walking strenuous. After this we walked the spectacular Echidna Chasm and then to the nearby lookout. The two sections of the park are quite different from each other. The southern section is comprised mainly of the well-known black and orange beehive domes, which are simply sedimentary sandstone laid down in distinct layers. The northern section is made up of jagged outcrops and eroded cliffs that are comprised of conglomerate rock.

We would definitely recommend to all Australians that a visit to this spectacular place should be a must

Emma Gorge & El Questro

2009-08-05T01:02:00.000-07:00

One major day trip we did whilst in Wyndham was down the Gibb River Road to Emma Gorge and El Questro. The first (or last, depending on your direction of travel) of this quite infamous road is in fact not too bad. Of course it is corrugated and very dusty but seems to get regular attention from the grader. This is something I guess you would expect because of the popularity of these two attractions and there certainly was a lot of traffic going to both.

Emma gorge was the highlight of our day and we would recommend to anyone who is going to spend a day like ours, to go to El Questro first before returning to Emma Gorge. Why? you may ask. Well Emma Gorge is just so fantastic that anything else for the rest of the day just does not measure up. It is quite a strenuous walk up to the gorge as you negotiate the rocks and boulders and cross the creek a number of times. At the end of the climb you are greeted by a most magnificent sight of a cascade and drip waterfall falling into a large crystal clear pool. Another tip we will give you is, don’t do what we did, and leave your swimmers back in the van, because the pool is very inviting and we sure could have had a cooling dip after our strenuous hike. We had to make do with a bit of a paddle and a splash of water on our faces and heads.

It is about 23 Km down the Gibb to the turn into Emma Gorge and then just a couple more to the carpark. Back on the Gibb it is a further 10 km to the turn into El Questro and then approximately 18 Km to the station township. During our visit we walked to Zeberdee springs and up El Questro Gorge, visited the small township and took the very steep 4WD track up to Saddleback Lookout. We had lunch beside the Jackeroos Waterhole, a pleasant shady spot. All of this is very much worth the effort and quite enjoyable. However as previously mentioned, the attractions of El Questro, although good, are just not in the same class as Emma Gorge, in our humble opinion.

There is camping available at El Questro and the camping areas we saw looked quite good. However, if you are considering visiting and staying at El Questro please be aware that since they have declared themselves to be a wilderness park or reserve they charge $17 per adult just to enter onto their property. Camping then costs $16 per person per night for an unpowered site. You do the sums, and then see if you think it is worth it.

Into Western Australia

2009-08-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

It has become quite hard keeping this Blog up-to-date, mainly because there is only limited Internet access in the areas through which we are travelling. Being the people we are, we do prefer the more remote and secluded camping spots and any service available is only in the larger towns. Since our last post we have continued westward on the Victoria Highway, detouring into Keep River N.P. before crossing the border into Western Australia. The detour was a trek along a very dusty, but otherwise reasonably good gravel road to reach the northern most camping area. The camping areas in the park are very good and give you close access to some very good walks. The main walk from the northern campground is an 8.5 Km loop that is generally easy and takes in a great view of a mini “Bungle Bungles” formation.

The border crossing involves passing through a quarantine checkpoint. The restrictions are tight and rigorously enforced. During our crossing vehicles were banked up two lanes wide and six or more vehicles deep, and only two inspectors on duty. Vehicles and vans are thoroughly searched for fresh fruit and vegies as well as honey, all of which are not permitted across the border. Just after the border we turned off the highway to visit Lake Argyle and the Ord Dam. The dam holds back the waters of the Ord River creating the largest man made lake in the southern hemisphere, so large that it is classified as an inland sea. We had a good look at the dam and the relocated Argyle Downs homestead (home of the pioneering Durack family) before enjoying a wine and some nibbles and the sunset view from Pannikin Bay lookout.

From Lake Argyle it was back to the highway and then to Kununurra, the major town in the east Kimberley. We spent 2 days in town re-stocking and collecting mail before head out to Wyndham. Wyndham was much more to our liking, quiet and peaceful. We visited the prison Boab tree as well as the magnificent lookout where you can see the five rivers running into the Cambridge Gulf. Other attractions include the port, a museum and a really good bird watching location at Marlgu Billabong. From the Wyndham/ Kununurra area we travelled southwest along the Great Northern Highway through Warmun (Turkey Creek) to visit the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu N.P.) We hope to have Internet access to give you impressions of this iconic location in the next few days.

Victoria River & Timber Creek

2009-07-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

At just under 200 Km southwest of Katherine, Victoria River Roadhouse was our next stop. The pleasant caravan park right on the banks of the river is peaceful and good value at $20 per night for a powered site. For at least 20 Km or so as you approach Victoria River the landscape becomes much more dramatic with the road weaving through rugged red hills under a brilliant blue sky. The hills appear to get higher as you get closer to the river. There is a lot of roadwork going on in this part of the country including a new high-level bridge over the river, but we were told that even this massive new structure would still go underwater in a big wet. We undertook two walks while there, the first at Joe Creek, and the second a free ranger guided walk through the riparian zone along the river. The Joe Creek walk has you scrambling up to the base of the escarpment and then walking along the base of the towering red cliffs amongst the Livistonia Palms, it is quite hard going for the first part. The return section of this 1.7 Km track is via a dry creek bed back to the carpark. The ranger guided walk was most informative as we learned about the animals and birds that inhabit the fragile zone along the river’s edge. We also learnt how important the tall (up to 2 metres) spear grass is and it’s vulnerability to destruction by feral animals like Buffalo and Pigs. This walk was well worth doing and the rangers were friendly, helpful and enthusiastic.

Ninety kilometres west of Victoria River is the small town of Timber Creek where we stayed overnight so that we could take the river cruise. The river here is quite wide and very attractive as passes through the rugged countryside and on the 2½ hour cruise you travel downstream for over 40 Km. The shallow draft boat takes about 38 passengers but with it’s two 200 HP 4 stroke Honda outboards it really gets moving and makes for a thrilling ride. You do make plenty of stops as Geoff the skipper brings the front of the boat right up onto the banks to get a real close look at the numerous crocs sunning themselves. A stop is also made near the territory of a pair of sea eagles who come down to the bank to accept a small handout. It seemed unusual to see these large majestic birds feeding on the bank while totally ignoring us and the dozens of Black and Whistling Kites constantly hassling them for a scrap or two. At the furthest point of the cruise Geoff brings the boat to a stop in the middle of the river and serves a selection nibbles and fruit while we consumed our bottle of chilled

chardonnay as the sun set over the mountains. On the swift return journey Geoff again stopped the boat in the middle of the river where we all enjoyed the spectacle of the sun setting over a long straight reach of the river.

In 1855 Augustus Gregory set up camp on the riverbank near a couple of large Boab trees. He had his men cut planks of timber from a nearby creek (hence the name of the town) to repair his boat, the Tom Tough that lay at anchor on the Victoria River. We visited this site and the inscriptions in the tree made by Gregory and his men are still clearly visible. Our second night in the area was spent in the Gregory National Park at Big Horse Creek campground. This campground is only about 10 Km out of Timber Creek and it’s unusual name comes from it’s popularity with fishers. It seems around here if you catch a large Barra it is called a “Big Horse” so we can assume that quite a few large ones are caught in this tidal creek. Another thing to do is to walk across the large high-level steel and concrete Bradshaw Bridge that crosses the Victoria River. This bridge is securely locked at its northern end as it is only there as an access into the army’s Bradshaw training ground. It is probably the largest bridge crossing the Victoria River and yet is very seldom used. Another thing we did was to drive up to the lookout at the top of the escarpment to take in the view of the town and later, the sunset

Flora River Nature Park

2009-07-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

After stocking up on supplies and fuel in Katherine we turned west on the Victoria Highway. Considering it was already past lunchtime when we left, our first night on our westward journey was at a roadside stop at Limestone Creek. This large shady area is very popular and by nightfall it was pretty much full with a diverse collection of rigs of all shapes and sizes, from large 5th wheelers to people in tents. One advantage of staying in free roadside rest areas like this is that you meet a lot of very interesting people who all have a different story to tell, and usually are eager to do so.

The next two nights were spent at the Flora River Nature Park. To reach the park you turn off the Victoria Hwy 86 Km south west of Katherine and then follow a gravel road for 46 Km. This road was in reasonable condition with only minor corrugations, although large deep Bulldust sections were beginning to appear, some up to 100 metres long. Great care is needed when negotiating these sections because even though the surface appears smooth, the fine powdery dust can be quite deep and easily conceals deeper holes and large rocks.

Upon reaching the Djarrung campground a suitable site was easy to find as very few people were there. The campground is very pleasant and has a large amenities block with flush toilets and solar heated showers. Just a short walk from the campground brings you to the edge of the river, although the river is not easily visible because of the dense vegetation comprised of Pandanus and Paperbarks. There are two walks, one of around 100 metres will take you upstream to Djarrung Falls, and the other of about 450 metres return goes downstream to Kathleen Falls. The spring fed, calcium rich waters of the Flora River flow over these falls, that are comprised of fragile Tufa rock (pr. too-fa), which is really deposits of calcium carbonate. It begins to form as the water’s flow is impeded by tree roots and other obstructions and eventually forms large weirs and dams across the river, in places even encrusting living vegetation. The deep clear pools of emerald tinged water are just begging you to jump in, they just look so inviting. However swimming is definitely off the agenda, as large estuarine crocodiles (Salties) inhabit these waters. There is a boat ramp about 4.5 Km from the campground for people with small tinnies (limit 15 HP) or canoes, with the river downstream of Kathleen falls being navigable by canoe for about 20 Km.

Heading South, then West

2009-07-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

Since leaving Darwin on Friday 10th July we have travelled south back down the Stuart Highway staying overnight at Hayes Creek. From Hayes Creek it was an easy drive to Katherine. We arrived in time to catch the Saturday morning markets in the park. There wasn’t much on offer so we took a walk around town and then had lunch in the parkland surrounding the visitor’s centre. After lunch we took in the 45-minute film in the visitor centre that gave us a real good insight into the difference between the wet and the dry season.

It was a drive of about 30Km from Katherine out to the famous gorge where we checked into the campground. This campground is quite large and reasonably pleasant, but in our view overpriced with an unpowered site costing $28.00 per night and powered $32.50. We were looking forward to the renowned scenery and the chance to put our kayak in the water for a paddle up the gorge. After a late afternoon visit to the info centre we found that you need a permit to put a private boat (canoe or kayak) into the waters of the gorge. Early the next morning we set off on the 3.7 Km circular walk that takes in the main lookout. Even though the view is pretty good it was not as spectacular as many we had seen previously and this led us to the decision not to bother with the kayak trip. In fact, overall we were a little disappointed with Katherine gorge, feeling that it did not measure up against places like Lawn Hill gorge and others. Returning from our walk we packed up and headed back into town to re-fuel and re-provision. When heading west from Katherine your re-provisioning needs careful consideration because of the strict quarantine rules at the WA border. We had to calculate how much fresh produce we would consume before the border crossing so as to have just enough without running out. The basic rule is no fresh fruit or vegies and no honey. With strict enforcement and heavy penalties at the 24-hour checkpoint we have to make sure we comply with all the rules.

On the way west from Katherine we have so far stopped overnight at Limestone Creek, Flora River National Park, Victoria River and Timber Creek, and intend to visit more of Gregory N.P. and Keep River N.P. before reaching the border. Each of these locations will be covered in more detail in later posts along with what I hope to be some good photos, so keep watching!

The main problem with keeping our Blog up to date is lack of Internet coverage in these areas, so it may be a while until our next post.

Return to Darwin

2009-07-04T04:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are back in Darwin after being away for about 3 weeks. Our main purpose for returning was to meet up with our good friends Wayne & Mary. They have sailed their yacht around to Darwin from Bundaberg to take part in a yachting rally to Indonesia in company with more than 100 other boats. We met them at the Darwin Yacht Club on the shores of Fannie Bay and then took them on a shopping excursion so they could restock with some essentials. After this we were invited aboard their yacht for dinner and it was fantastic watching the sunset over the harbour while enjoying a couple of relaxing drinks, and of course their company, a very nice night indeed.

During our absence from Darwin we have visited Adelaide River, Daly River, Douglass Hot Springs and Berry Springs. Adelaide River was the virtual front line of defence during WWII and has lots of historical military sights and the war cemetery, all of which are worthy of a visit. A rather unusual and amusing sight is in the bar of the pub. There standing on top of the end of the bar is “Charlie the Buffalo” who was a star in the Crocodile Dundee movies. It seems Charlie’s owner, the publican, was so fond of him that when he died he had him stuffed and placed in this prominent position so he could see him every day.

Daly River has little to attract tourists unless you are really into fishing and it was a little disappointing for us because we were told in no uncertain terms that you would be a total idiot if you tried to fish from the bank because of the large crocs always present. With us not having a boat and not wanting to pay the high prices asked to hire one, we couldn’t see much reason to spend much time there.

Douglass Hot Springs were also disappointing mainly due to the state of the camping area. It was dry and very dusty, the toilets were blocked up and it was totally unregulated. The campground was overpopulated with locals (from Darwin) all with lots of kids that mostly ran noisily around uncontrolled until well after dark, and some of the adults were very rowdy and inconsiderate of others. We only spent one night there before moving 14Km up the road to the Douglass-Daly Tourist Park that has a 2Km frontage to the river with lots of lovely swimming holes and nice shady sites with plenty of lush green grass. Each Thursday they serve up free scones with jam and cream and your choice of tea or coffee – mmmm, yum.

At Berry Springs we visited the local nature park (free entry) that has a spring fed stream cascading through a number of large pools full of fish. There is lots of room for swimming and the water is very inviting. The extensive lawns under the shade of large trees made the perfect spot for our picnic lunch, whilst others were using the free BBQs scattered throughout. Berry Springs is also the location of the Territory Wildlife Park, which could be seen as Darwin’s zoo. The displays and activities on offer are just great. At the sandy billabong some people are chosen to feed the freshwater Whip Rays and the pond is full of Archer Fish. An attendant comes along and gives you Mealworms which when held over the railing are shot down by powerful spits of water from these deadly accurate fish, very entertaining. They have a birds of prey show, a walk through aviary and an excellent aquarium, as well as many other attractions, again very much worth your time to visit.

Litchfield N.P. 15th to 20th June

2009-07-04T03:27:00.000-07:00

Heading south along the Stuart Hwy we turned off to reach the town of Batchelor at lunchtime. Batchelor, the gateway to Litchfield, is an attractive small town with large areas of parkland containing many mature trees and all surrounded by lush green grass, a perfect place for a lunch break. However before we started lunch we were advised that the only campground within the park, Wangi Falls, that allows caravans fills up very early, so we decided to defer lunch and travel the 60 or so Km in the hope of getting a spot. We reached Wangi at about 1.30 to find all sites taken so we had to settle for a commercial campground about 4.5 Km away just outside the National Park. After a quick set-up and a late lunch we returned Wangi for a swim in the large pool at the base of the spectacular waterfall.

Now refreshed from our swim in the cool crystal clear waters we walked back through the campground before returning to the car. In the campground we met up with some people we had camped with previously and they had been at Wangi for 4 days, and so they advised us to be back at the campground the next morning to wait for someone to leave so we could get a site. This is what we did and it was easy to find a suitable site where we stayed for the next 4 nights. The National Park campground at Wangi is quite good; it has recently been upgraded with good-sized sites (sandy, no grass) and a good amenities block with solar heated showers, and costs $6.60 p.p.p.n.

It is often remarked that people have a preference for Litchfield over Kakadu and that Litchfield is more spectacular. We tend to think that one is not better than the other, just different, they are both very good and well worth the effort and time to visit if you can. What advantage Litchfield has is that it’s more compact, allowing you to set up a base camp and do day trips to the various points of interest. This was our plan and we managed to cover two major points each day and still be back at Wangi for a refreshing afternoon swim. Litchfield’s main attraction is it’s spectacular waterfalls and we managed to visit all of them and swim in as many as you are allowed. Our favourites would be Wangi, Florence, Sandy Creek and Buley Rockhole. Other attractions we visited were; The Lost City, Reynolds River 4WD track, Bamboo Creek Tin Mine, Tolmer Falls and Greenant Creek. The snorkel we had fitted in Darwin proved useful as we negotiated a couple of deep-water crossings on the Reynolds River Track.

Darwin

2009-06-27T04:15:00.000-07:00

We have been in Darwin for 2 weeks now and are enjoying looking around. Apart from the usual tourist activities we have been fortunate to have been able to catch up with Sue’s second cousin, Brian and his wife Suzie and their son Phoenix (20 months) We got a dinner invitation to Brian’s on the first Friday we were in town and of course we accepted. Brian also escorted us on a day out for a BBQ picnic and some fishing at a little known spot on the Adelaide River. (On the Saturday of the long weekend) We had a great time and I was the only one to catch a fish, although not a ‘keeper’. I was most disappointed when I managed to loose one of Brian’s favourite lures but he was very understanding and said it was all part of fishing.

We have done most of the “must see” tourist things around Darwin including the Aquascene fish feeding (Sue loved this and got very excited), where many hundreds of fish come in on the high tide to be fed a little bit of bread. The other things we have done are visiting the excellent museum and art gallery of the N.T. as well as the East Point Military museum, a heritage walk around the city, a ferry ride from Cullen Bay across the harbour to Mandorah, and amongst other markets a visit to the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. Food stalls of all kinds dominate these markets and the variety is amazing. We tried sweet & sour Barra, sate′ prawn skewers and choc coated frozen pineapple, which are just a few of the wide selection available. The sunset over Mindil beach was just fantastic and was witnessed by many hundreds of people, probably many more than visit the beach during the day. With your choice of any dish you like and a cold drink it is a great way to enjoy a tropical sunset.

Apart from the very good museum and art gallery (one of the best we have seen), which is free, just about everything you do around Darwin has you dipping your hand into your pocket. Some are a little overpriced by our judgement, even throwing a couple of bits of bread to the fish at Aquascene costs $11 p.p. We have booked in for another week as Sue’s next dentist appointment is on Tuesday 9th and we thought we had better stay the remainder of the week in case she needs more follow-up. That will see us leaving Darwin on Monday the 15th heading for Litchfield N.P.

Mataranka

2009-05-25T03:20:00.000-07:00

From Daly Waters we resumed our journey north along the Stuart Highway with our next stop being Mataranka. The district is, of course know for it’s thermal springs. We chose to set up camp at the 12-mile yards campground in Elsey N.P. about 17Km out of town. Here it was peaceful and quiet on the banks of the Roper River. On our trips into town we visited the thermal springs (Mataranka) as well as Bitter Springs, which is more natural, less crowded and very attractive. Another interesting activity was at the Territory Manor where we witnessed the Barra feeding and saw a very large Barra caught by hand.

After 3 days at Mataranka we headed of to Katherine, the largest town we had seen for quite some time. Although Katherine has many attractions for visitors we concentrated on re-stocking the pantry, collecting mail and re-fuelling. ($1.24.9 per litre for diesel with a shopper docket). As our first night was Mother’s day Sue thought it would be nice to go out for dinner, so on the recommendation of the lady at the caravan park we went along to a Teahouse/restaurant about 3Km up the road. They had a Mother’s day special buffet dinner for just $20 per head for all you could eat. The food was outstanding with prawns, Barra and roast beef and vegies as well as a large selection of salads and Asian dishes, all finished off with a selection of deserts and tea and coffee. We also had a visit from Sue’s 2nd cousin Paul, who lives in Katherine, and it was great to catch up with him and also to absorb a little local knowledge. With us only spending a couple of days in Katherine we decided against doing anything of a tourist nature as we will be returning here after Darwin. You need to come back down to Katherine to pick up the Victoria Highway to head west towards the W.A border.

Daly Waters

2009-05-19T04:31:00.000-07:00

Daly Waters 4th & 5th May

The next stop for us was at Daly Waters where we camped the grounds of the historic pub for $5 p.p.p.n. unpowered or you can pay $10 p.p.p.n. for power. The Daly Waters village, such as it is, has a lot of history attached to it. Probably the most notable being the airfield. The airfield was active from about the 1930s and was a base for Qantas doing the aerial mail service and then later the flights to Singapore. It is described as Australia’s first international airport. During WWII it became an important base and forward staging point for aircrews and other military personnel.

We had a good look around the area putting our folding bikes to good use. As well as the airfield we saw the old police station and cells as well as a tree marked Stuart on his exploration through the area in the 1860s. The highlight of our stay was definitely the pub and it’s surrounding buildings I don’t think you would find such an interesting and colourful collection of unusual buildings anywhere else than outback Australia. We had the “Beef & Barra” dinner in the company of some very nice people and were entertained by a great comedian and singer, “Chicken Man” who performed with 2 baby wedge tail eagles (Chinese Silky Chickens) on his hat. All in all a very enjoyable and entertaining stay.

2009-05-15T15:52:00.001-07:00

After more sunrise pictures at the Devils Marbles we were on the road north. The 106 Km return journey to Tennant Creek was a little more pleasant than the southbound trip, due in part to a helpful tailwind. We stopped in Tennant Creek only long enough to re-fuel, with the price being quite reasonable considering the location. The pump price was $1.39.9 but we were given a 3 cents per litre discount for having spent more than $50 at the local supermarket the day before.

Tennant creek to us was quite depressing with all the houses having very high fences and locked gates and there were many groups of aboriginal people just wandering the streets, seemingly aimlessly. All this gave us the impression that the town suffered from a deal of social problems and possibly a high crime rate, considering the previously mentioned fences. About 9 Km north of Tennant Creek is the old Overland Telegraph Station. This was truly worth a visit and we spent about an hour wandering around looking at the well-preserved buildings and reading the info boards. It must have been a harsh and lonely existence for the workers stationed out here in the 1800s.

Once again heading north we passed by Three Ways again and set our destination for Banka Banka Station. We had heard that this was a good spot to stop for the night and the recommendations were certainly correct. It was the first nice green grass we had seen for quite some time and although they do not offer power you are able to run a generator until 7p.m. We were quite surprised when we were offered the opportunity to wash our car and van, and this we did because both were covered in red dust from our trip out to Lawn Hill and Riversliegh. The water at Banka Banka comes from a spring and is clean and sweet tasting, you can drink it straight from the tap unlike the bore water at most of the places we had been over last few weeks. Because there was an abundance of this good quality water we also took the opportunity to fill our water tanks.

Our overnight stay at Banka Banka was very pleasant and we enjoyed the free slide show which runs each night for all visitors. It gives a very good insight to the daily life of the station workers here and at the two nearby stations that are part of this section of the Kidman Cattle Company. We thought this a good place for anyone to break their journey, the cost is reasonable at $16 per night ($8 p.p.p.n.), the amenities are large and clean, and the sites are shady with lush green grass, highly recommended.

Camooweal to the Devils Marbles 1/5 to 4/5

2009-05-11T04:14:00.000-07:00

Crossing the Barkly Tableland we made our first stop at Barkly Homestead for lunch. This isolated place is like an oasis with a roadhouse, bar and caravan park. It also lies at the junction of the Barkly and Tablelands Highways, with the later being an alternate rout to Darwin vie Cape Crawford and Borroloola on the gulf. We continued west on the Barkly camping overnight beside a disused Telstra microwave tower. This put us quite a distance from the highway, unlike the regular roadside rest areas which suffer from the highway noise, the only downside being copious quantities of flies. However the flies disappeared after sunset but were replaced by hordes of tiny insects that managed to climb through the screens to reach the lights inside the van. Never mind it was a small price to pay for the solitude.

Reaching the intersection of the Stuart Highway at the iconic Three Ways Roadhouse it was time for us to head south through Tennant Creek and on to the Devils Marbles for our first visit to this well-known landmark. At first Sue was hesitant for us to travel the 124 Km from Three Ways, because like me, she had the impression that it was a collection of about a dozen or so round boulders. My only reservation was the fact that for the entire distance we were driving straight into an extremely strong headwind and you could literally see the fuel gauge going down. Well, let me tell you how wrong our expectations were, the Devils Marbles is comprised of many hundreds, if not a thousand or so, exposed and weathered rocks of all shapes and sizes. They range in size from very large to some that would be not much bigger than a beach ball. Some are solitary and then there are those in small groups, just like a handful of marbles, others are split as though cut with giant knife and there are many in large stacks which look like they have been squashed with the stack resembling a pile of pancakes. We spent hours wandering through this unusual landscape and because they are at their most impressive at sunset and sunrise we stayed the night in the well-maintained N.P. campground. ($3.30 p.p.p.n.) The only facilities here are long-drop toilets but they are clean and don’t smell. Thank heavens for digital cameras because I took almost a hundred shots, and even though any photo could not give you the real feeling for the place I have included a collection in the gallery to give you just a little idea, so please have a look.