We are now in Broome and I have been a bit slack with the blog. I wrote 4 entries out and for some reason I can't upload any photos. So this is just a test. We are all well and having a great time in Broome. Beautiful beaches and a great pool at the caravan park. None of us want to leave! Go Cats for tomorrow, we would all love to see Collingwood get smashed! Will keep working on trying to get all the other entries up on the blog.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Bungle Bungles
We stopped at a roadside stop about 100m from the Bungle Bungle turnoff and found the Walker family. We had a message from them just before we went on to the Gibb that their bus had broken down and they would be waiting at least a week for a part. They didn't get much help from mechanics in Kununurra or Halls Creek who basically told them they couldn't help. So they had to ring a friend in Brisbane who sent the part they needed to the Warmun Roadhouse about 50km from where they had broken down.
We pulled up behind them and stayed the night.
We left the van the next morning, packing the tents again (yay!) and started the 53km road into the Bungle Bungles. It was a really difficult drive in, lots of water crossings and a really rough road. Made the Gibb seem smooth by comparison! It took about 2 hours to get in.
Our first stop was Echidna Chasm. We started the 2km return walk in the searing heat and luckily found that it was much cooler once we entered the chasm.
It was pretty spectacular in there, and the surrounding scenery is also amazing.
We then drove to one of the campsites and set up the tents. We couldn't do much until the sun started to set as it was SO hot, close to 40 degrees I think with no breeze. Luckily it cooled down a bit at night so we could sleep. We were all in bed by 7:30pm! Which was lucky because we were all up by 5:30am! We were on the road by 7:15, a new record, and drove to the Cathedral Gorge walk. Even this early it was stinking hot. We walked around the Bungle domes noticing the termite mounds clinging to the sides.
The boys found some ochre which they had learnt about in Alice Springs and proceeded to copy the Aborigines and rub it on themselves.
They were so filthy to start with it didn't make a lot of difference! They have got what is known as the Kimberly tan which will hopefully wash up once they have a shower. They all look like street urchins or chimney sweeps from Oliver Twist at the moment.
It was a pretty easy walk into the gorge which is where they have filmed a Qantas ad before apparently. It is very hard to capture how large the gorge was but if you look at the bottom of the following photos you can see the boys playing in the sand.
We found some wildlife on the way in too.
This was the view on the way out.
We then thankfully got back into the air conditioned car and drove all the way back to our caravan.
I also managed to spot a few wildflowers on the drive out. Hard to believe there are so many flowers growing in this heat! These first ones are like a carpet in many places, covering huge areas.
We pulled up behind them and stayed the night.
We left the van the next morning, packing the tents again (yay!) and started the 53km road into the Bungle Bungles. It was a really difficult drive in, lots of water crossings and a really rough road. Made the Gibb seem smooth by comparison! It took about 2 hours to get in.
Our first stop was Echidna Chasm. We started the 2km return walk in the searing heat and luckily found that it was much cooler once we entered the chasm.
It was pretty spectacular in there, and the surrounding scenery is also amazing.
We then drove to one of the campsites and set up the tents. We couldn't do much until the sun started to set as it was SO hot, close to 40 degrees I think with no breeze. Luckily it cooled down a bit at night so we could sleep. We were all in bed by 7:30pm! Which was lucky because we were all up by 5:30am! We were on the road by 7:15, a new record, and drove to the Cathedral Gorge walk. Even this early it was stinking hot. We walked around the Bungle domes noticing the termite mounds clinging to the sides.
The boys found some ochre which they had learnt about in Alice Springs and proceeded to copy the Aborigines and rub it on themselves.
They were so filthy to start with it didn't make a lot of difference! They have got what is known as the Kimberly tan which will hopefully wash up once they have a shower. They all look like street urchins or chimney sweeps from Oliver Twist at the moment.
It was a pretty easy walk into the gorge which is where they have filmed a Qantas ad before apparently. It is very hard to capture how large the gorge was but if you look at the bottom of the following photos you can see the boys playing in the sand.
We found some wildlife on the way in too.
This was the view on the way out.
We then thankfully got back into the air conditioned car and drove all the way back to our caravan.
I also managed to spot a few wildflowers on the drive out. Hard to believe there are so many flowers growing in this heat! These first ones are like a carpet in many places, covering huge areas.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Gibb River Road
First thing in the morning a man we met at the caravan park called Dave, took the boys fishing on the Ord River. Tom had some success, catching a small bream which was too little to keep. We then packed up and drove north from Kununurra and stayed in Wyndham for the night. It is like being in the wild west up there! Very friendly people in the caravan park who were happy for us to leave our caravan plugged in while we went bush for a few days.
We left in the morning after packing all our camping gear into the Landcruiser and hit the dirt and gravel of the Gibb. It is an absolutely beautiful drive past the Cockburn Ranges and we even got another river crossing in as there was still plenty of water in the Pentecost River. We stopped at Home Valley Station which had the greenest grass we have seen for months. It is a working cattle station where you can camp or stay in very expensive hotel rooms. Lovely to camp on the grass for a change, nice to get away from the ever present dust.
We went for a drive in the afternoon which the kids enjoyed because Michael let them steer!
Got back to the tents and got the fire lit for the marshmallows and damper. The damper was a bit undercooked but not bad for our first attempt.
The next day we packed up and left early as due to the early sunrise the kids have been awake by 5am. We drove back the way we came along the Gibb to El Questro Station. It is a one million acre wilderness park which is used for cattle and tourism. They have "The Homestead" where you can stay for about $1000 per person per night which was a bit out of our budget. Would have been great though as they don't allow kids under 12. We stayed in the campground which is right on the river. It was very quiet and peaceful, at least until we arrived!
There are heaps of things to see here. Lots of gorges, some hot springs, and lots of 4WD tracks to go on. Since the Zebedee Hot Springs close at 12, we thought we would check them out first. They were great as the water stays at about 28 degrees all year round. Perfect swimming temperature for me!
We decided on a bit of 4WD action for the afternoon after sharing our lunch with a visitor.
We drove along a track and up to Branco's Lookout which gave us a great view over the Chamberlain river.
Here is a picture of a Boab tree we saw which are everywhere in the Kimberley area. This one is probably over 1000 years old, they are amazing trees.
We then drove on to Explosion Gorge. Unfortunately the track was closed so we couldn't get down to the water but it was very pretty.
On the way back we had to stop for another large lizard to cross the road in front of us and then we got held up by a cow!
When we got back to the campsite it was feeding time for the 5 week old calf. Charlie wanted to take him with us but we couldn't fit him in the caravan.
The next day we decided to attempt a gorge walk, this time El Questro Gorge. We met some people from Beaumaris who have 2 boys called Jack and Tom. They are each a year older than our Jack and Tom and they all got on very well. The walk was an hour to the halfway point where you could swim. The walk itself was lovely. The gorge was like a rainforest with lots of palms.
It was quite a hard walk and Charlie did really well. Michael and I stopped with him at the halfway point and the Jacks and Toms went further with Rick and Charmaine (the other Jack and Tom's parents).
The photo above shows what the rest of the walk was like. This is where you had to climb to keep going past the halfway point! They were exhausted by the time they got back to the campground as they walked for another hour and a half before turning around and coming all the way back again.
Charlie couldn't even stay awake for his dinner!
We could have stayed at El Questro for a few more nights but I had had enough of the tents after 3 nights. Also I forgot to pack towels so was keen for a shower. We drove back to Wyndham to get the caravan, stock up on a bit of food and some barramundi and got back onto the Great Northern Highway to check out the Bungle Bungles.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Tom's First Fish
Very exciting day today too. It was Tom's turn to pull a fish from Lake Kununurra! He was worried that he was going to get pulled in by it, it put up a good fight. What made him worry a bit more about being pulled in was the crocodile about a metre away, just lying in the water watching!
And he even ate some for dinner. He didn't like Jack's fish last night but thought tonight's tasted better!
Well done Tommy! We are now just waiting on Michael to catch something. He is going out at 6am tomorrow with a local man we met at the caravan park so hopefully we may still get a barramundi for dinner. Better get something out of the freezer anyway, just in case!
And he even ate some for dinner. He didn't like Jack's fish last night but thought tonight's tasted better!
Well done Tommy! We are now just waiting on Michael to catch something. He is going out at 6am tomorrow with a local man we met at the caravan park so hopefully we may still get a barramundi for dinner. Better get something out of the freezer anyway, just in case!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Jack's First Fish
A big day for Jack today- he caught his first fish! He was fishing off the banks of Lake Kununurra and managed to pull out a 30cm catfish! It was very exciting!
Thanks to all the bystanders who told us what to do, we didn't even have a bucket to put it into. One of them also gutted it for us. We wrapped it in foil and Michael and Jack cooked it up on the BBQ. It was delicious.
Forgot to mention we had another observer who we fed- George the crocodile.
Thanks to all the bystanders who told us what to do, we didn't even have a bucket to put it into. One of them also gutted it for us. We wrapped it in foil and Michael and Jack cooked it up on the BBQ. It was delicious.
Forgot to mention we had another observer who we fed- George the crocodile.
Litchfield to Katherine to Kununurra
We left Litchfield and stopped off at Adelaide River to have a look at the War Cemetary. This was where they buried all the soldiers and many of the civilians who were killed during the bombing raids on Darwin. It was a beautifully maintained cemetery and it was very moving to read some of the messages on the headstones and see the ages of the soldiers, so many of them were about 21.
We then drove to Katherine for a quick swim in the hot springs, then about 25km out of Katherine and spent our first night on the side of the road in an overnight rest area. We were encouraged by the Walkers who promised the boys plenty of whip cracking, bows and arrows and a fire. Needless to say they were sold on the idea. The boys are having an absolute ball with the Walker boys. They have learnt to crack whips and light a fire with a flint. Wendy managed to cook damper which was delicious. We had such a good night that we even spent the next night at a roadside stop too. On the way to the roadside stops we detoured to the Victoria River to try and catch that elusive barra. Unfortunately I lost a $25 lure within the first 5 minutes and due to a faulty second rod we didn't have a great deal of success. At least the kids didn't get eaten by crocs!
On to Kununurra as we have to have access to a television signal for the big game on Sunday. Go Bombers!
With Tarron Walker.
Giant marshmallow sticks.
Wendy putting the damper into the coals.
The next day we drove across the border and into Western Australia! Very exciting to cross the border.
We then drove to Lake Argyle which is yet another spectacular location. Unfortunately due to some massive bushfires somewhere south it was very smokey and so we perhaps didn't get to appreciate it completely. Even through the haze it was lovely. We decided to stay the night as it was such a beautiful location. The place we stayed at had the best pool I have ever seen at a caravan park.
We had to put the clocks back an hour and a half which meant that Charlie woke up this morning at 4:45 but the good side of that was I got to see another sunrise.
Just another stock standard start to the day! We packed up and drove into Kununurra. Got lots of brochures on the things we what we would like to see in the Kimberly region. Checked out the market then had lunch at the pub with the Walkers. We sadly said goodbye to them today as they have to move on a bit more quickly than us. We have had an absolute ball travelling with them for the last couple of weeks and would love to have stuck with them for longer. We wish them all the best for the rest of their trip and hopefully we will be able to see them again. And Happy 5th Birthday to Sean for Monday!
We then drove to Katherine for a quick swim in the hot springs, then about 25km out of Katherine and spent our first night on the side of the road in an overnight rest area. We were encouraged by the Walkers who promised the boys plenty of whip cracking, bows and arrows and a fire. Needless to say they were sold on the idea. The boys are having an absolute ball with the Walker boys. They have learnt to crack whips and light a fire with a flint. Wendy managed to cook damper which was delicious. We had such a good night that we even spent the next night at a roadside stop too. On the way to the roadside stops we detoured to the Victoria River to try and catch that elusive barra. Unfortunately I lost a $25 lure within the first 5 minutes and due to a faulty second rod we didn't have a great deal of success. At least the kids didn't get eaten by crocs!
On to Kununurra as we have to have access to a television signal for the big game on Sunday. Go Bombers!
With Tarron Walker.
Giant marshmallow sticks.
Wendy putting the damper into the coals.
The next day we drove across the border and into Western Australia! Very exciting to cross the border.
We then drove to Lake Argyle which is yet another spectacular location. Unfortunately due to some massive bushfires somewhere south it was very smokey and so we perhaps didn't get to appreciate it completely. Even through the haze it was lovely. We decided to stay the night as it was such a beautiful location. The place we stayed at had the best pool I have ever seen at a caravan park.
We had to put the clocks back an hour and a half which meant that Charlie woke up this morning at 4:45 but the good side of that was I got to see another sunrise.
Just another stock standard start to the day! We packed up and drove into Kununurra. Got lots of brochures on the things we what we would like to see in the Kimberly region. Checked out the market then had lunch at the pub with the Walkers. We sadly said goodbye to them today as they have to move on a bit more quickly than us. We have had an absolute ball travelling with them for the last couple of weeks and would love to have stuck with them for longer. We wish them all the best for the rest of their trip and hopefully we will be able to see them again. And Happy 5th Birthday to Sean for Monday!
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