Halls Creek to Broome

July 22 to July 29

 The Mary Pool Camp was last Friday’s overnight spot about 100km after Halls Creek, a huge, heavily treed campground catering for up to 100 caravans and motorhomes, with maybe 60-80 there that night. It is the peak season and most camp areas fill by mid to late afternoon so we have been keen to arrive well before 4pm. To get a good spot at a small camp you need to be there by lunch.

Geike Gorge

Saturday we visited Fitzroy Crossing, another primarily indigenous settlement which is home to the Geike Gorge. Like we haven’t seen enough gorges, however this one is interesting as the walls are dense limestone, the surrounding rock has been eroded and the remaining limestone is white or coloured by algae and with interesting pitting. We hiked the gorge walk after lunch in 34⁰C, not ideal but well worth it.

Geike Gorge limestone walls

Drove to Ellendale Rest Area opposite the massive Ellendale Cattle Station for Saturday night. Next day, Derby. We had a number of ideas for trips in this area, and Derby was looking the best option to base ourselves, so we booked in to the Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park for 4 nights.

Up ‘till now, most of the small towns have been quite compact, all the houses and shops within a block or two. Even Kununurra wasn’t too large, you could walk end to end and back in an hour. Fitzroy Crossing was the first that was spread out. Maybe only a couple of hundred live there, but the town area wasn’t easily covered on foot. Derby more so as the population was a lot larger, it would have been more than 10km from end to end.

Now THAT'S a boab tree!! Morning coffee outside Derby.

Sunday and Monday we visited a number of local tourist sites including the prison boab tree, the old Derby goal and the Wharfinger Museum. We also caught up on washing and other chores.

Tuesday we did the Horizontal Falls day trip, flew in a sea plane to Talbot Bay, where the operators have a floating tourist centre. They cater for up to 200 people per day with military precision organising tourists, staff and activities. It keeps the operation running smoothly and you don’t feel rushed or imposed upon, just well organised.

Derby Township and tidal flats

We did two trips in and through the falls, both incoming and outgoing tides, a trip into the main gorge system, barbeque barramundi lunch, and swimming and feeding the sharks. The horizontal falls is the main attraction, two tight rock gorge restrictions where the massive 11 metre tides rush through every day. They only have a small window during each tide when the drop from one side to the other is low enough to be safe, below 1.5 metres in height difference. We had to wait for 10 minutes for the level to drop, and even when we went through, in a 900HP boat, it was very exhilarating.

Horizontal Falls

The flight to and from the area was also spectacular, flying over the Buccaneer Archipelago and King Sound. An amazing day and well worth the effort and cost.

You can see the water level drop across the falls

Wednesday I had (finally) booked myself a barramundi fishing charter. I had planned to do this around Darwin, but the season was so poor I decided to wait until this area. The river system and breeding cycle is different here, and the type of approach a bit different. Due to the mud stirred by the massive tides, the barra are fished using live bait. I did a small guided trip with only three guests to one guide per boat. We cast net for popeye mullet bait then fish the creek mouths. They caught 10 fish, including 6 barra the day before. Unfortunately we landed one fish in our boat all day, a threadfin salmon, and the other boat caught none. We did have a number of runs, but the barra are so elusive they are very hard to hook up. A great day and I learned a lot, but no barra this time.

The high powered boat negotiating the fall

Thursday we depart Derby, a town I really enjoyed. One funny story on how isolated it is out here, I like the Weekend Australian newspaper to read, it lasts me a week. Normally available first thing Saturday in the capital cities, we have been waiting until Sunday afternoon in many places before it arrives. Monday 4pm it arrives in Derby! Not really news by then!

In the footsteps of dinosaurs

Thursday night we stopped at a non-descript camp spot 110km before Broome. Friday we drove into Broome, a town I should have been looking forward to as it has such a tourism reputation. As the tourist operators only have the 4 months of the dry season (bit like the snow season), I know it is going to be a bit hectic. I am not disappointed, we secure one of the last spots in a caravan park at the bargain peak season price of $57 for a powered site. The caravan park was massive and the nearest to Cable Beach, so it was convenient. Broome is also VERY spread out, no caravan parks are close to the town, and if you flew in to Broome you would need a hire car just to get around. We visited Gantheaume Point, where dinosaur prints are in the sandstone rock shelf, visible at very low tides. We also visited the pearling museum for a history lesson on the industry that defined Broome.

I also had the first problem with the motorhome for this trip, the cab air conditioner stopped working (on a Friday, beautiful). After visiting four auto electricians and air conditioner places, we isolated it to a split aluminium gas tube. Stay tuned next week to see if I can get parts or find a way to get it repaired.

Darwin to Halls Creek

July 16 to July 22

Victoria River Escarpment

We stopped overnight about 15km north of Katherine on Friday night, in a large open free-camp spot which many people knew about but was big enough so it wasn’t crowded. Heading south-west towards Western Australia we drove to the Victoria River in the Gregory National Park, another area of really interesting geology and impressive rock escarpments and formations. A deeper red/purple (burgundy?) than the typical iron oxide, this relatively small area was a delight to drive through with the towering cliffs either side of the road.

Boab Tree and typical rock plateau for the area

The Boab tree also becomes more prolific as you approach WA, interesting in the dry season as it loses its leaves and offers fantastic silhouettes. We stopped at Timber Creek, a small town 200kms from the WA border. We camped at the lookout and had the area to ourselves overnight, however at sunset a number of visitors joined us as it is popular for the spectacular view over the Victoria River.

Lake Argyle

On Sunday we headed for the border, and after being searched at the quarantine stop for fruit and vegies we were finally in Western Australia. Although we had been driving for 2½ hours (+½ hour for obligatory coffee) and it was 11am in NT, and when we entered WA it was only 9:30am!

We drove to Lake Argyle, the second largest man-made lake in the world, to check out the Ord River Dam. The dam was completed in 1973, part of the planned massive Ord River agriculture irrigation scheme. After lunch (longest break between breakfast and lunch EVER) we drove to Kununurra. We planned to stay two nights at the Showground but for some unexplained reason it isn’t open, so fortunately got a site at the heavily booked caravan park across the road (the place is full of tourists!). With the change in time zone the sun now sets at around 5:15pm and rises around 6am, we struggled to acclimatise for days.

Bungle Bungles from the sightseeing flight

We had a chores day on Monday and explored Kununurra, interestingly only established in 1969 as part of the Ord River scheme. It is now the largest town in the north-east Kimberley and a key service centre for farming, mining and tourism.

Tuesday morning we were booked on a light plane flight over Lake Argyle, the Argyle Diamond Mine, and the Bungle Bungles. The two hour flight was outstanding. A clear cloudless day and not too hot (we did a 9am flight). You get a great appreciation of the size of Lake Argyle from the air, but the real impressing was done when you reach the Bungle Bungles in the Purnululu National Park. For a rock formation which was largely unknown before 1983, it is now one of Australia’s best known natural attractions after Uluru and attained World Heritage status in 2003. 

The rock domes are formed from the wind and sand blasting from the Tanami Desert to the south, and the colour banding is from bacterial layers (the grey colour) and oxidised iron (red). There is the typical dome shapes and also amazing gorges and rivers.

Massive gorge in the Bungles

The Argyle Diamond Mine, although impressive in its size and output (especially the rare pink diamonds), is coming to the end of its reserves and the underground mine (the open cut is already closed) will close in 2020.

In the afternoon we visited other local sites around Kununurra before driving 80km towards Wyndham and staying at the Maggie Creek free-camp.

Dreamtime Statues, Wyndham

Wednesday we explored Wyndham, the first settlement in the north-east Kimberley (1886, a bit older than Kununurra, huh) to service the Halls Creek gold rush. It is now a port for live beef exports and Ord River agriculture. It is also where five rivers converge to form the Cambridge Gulf. The Five Rivers Lookout is a fantastic vantage point to overlook the river junction, port and town, and another great spot for coffee! Also interesting was the Dreamtime Statues, an art installation for the bi-centenary in 1988 (erected in 1989!!??).

Emma Gorge, El Questro

China Wall, Halls Creek

We returned to Maggie Creek for the night (just 28km out of Wyndham). Thursday morning we drove to El Questro Station, a privately owned cattle station which covers a number of rock ranges and gorges which is open (for a fee) to the public to enjoy. We had thought we would stay for two days and hike a couple of the gorges, but after the dry, wet season most of the gorges are just “stagnant pools” (the El Questro’s desk guy’s words). He suggested Emma Gorge as the only worthwhile hike, which was certainly worthwhile. It was a two hour, grade four hike with the gorge walls closing in as you reached the top pool. As you can see from the photos there is barely any water entering the gorge, a real pity.

We headed out of El Questro and drove 100km to Dunham River to camp overnight.

Friday we were back into the “drive lots, see little” country. 300km south to Halls Creek and you pass through one small town, Warmun, an indigenous settlement between the access roads to the Bungles and the Argyle Diamond Mine.

Halls Creek wasn’t too exciting either to be honest, although the annual Rodeo and Camp Draft started the day we arrived. Deciding not to stay the night and catch the local horse-persons, we visited the China Wall, a quartz rock vein that is left protruding after the surrounding rock has eroded. A bit of fuel and food and we were off 100km south-west to Mary Pools camp for Friday night.

Emma Gorge hike at El Questro

Ivanhoe Crossing, Kununurra

Argyle Diamond Mine

Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks

July 11 to July 15

Surprising "Dry Season" rain over the wetlands

The timing for being in Darwin was to go on an organised guided tour of the two big National Parks in the Northern Territory, Kakadu and Litchfield. We had booked this tour in late February while in South Australia, when it popped up at a very good price on a travel website, and we had thought about doing a guided tour to make sure we saw the better parts of the parks.

Croc spotting from the boat

So we were very excited to finally be on the bus! Monday we departed Darwin and visited Howard Springs, site of the original dam for water supply, now a tourist attraction where you can feed barramundi and do nature walks. Next stop was Fogg Dam, a spectacular water catchment swamp teeming with wildlife ….. usually. The 2014/15 wet season was the driest on record, only to be outdone by the following (most recent) 2015/16 season. The dam receives run-off from the vast wetland area, but is now very low and with two dry seasons the complete eco-culture of the area has been heavily impacted.

Ubirr Rock Art

We visited Corroboree Billabong, where we did a boat cruise spotting birds and crocodiles. The first couple of crocs took a bit of finding, but as the afternoon went on we spotted many more.

Our accommodation base for the four days was the Mary River Wilderness Retreat, a sprawling property along the Mary River at the edge of Kakadu. Tuesday we entered Kakadu proper, visiting Ubirr Rock, the primary Aboriginal Rock Art site. It is also at the top edge of the Kakadu Park where the spectacular mountain range and its mountaintop plateaus, escarpments and rivers stretch 500km’s south and 400km’s west from there.

The scenery and quality of rock art was greatly enhanced by our guide Rich, who has an incredible knowledge base of indigenous art and culture, and the flora and fauna of the Top End. We also visited the Nourlangie Rock for more art sites, Cahills Crossing (a causeway on the East Alligator River, where crocs feast on the fish, and sometimes the fishermen) where Kakadu meets Arnhem Land, Jabiru, Bowali and Mamukala Wetlands.

Spotting a 4-5 metre monster on a "Nature Walk"

I had heard and read many negative reports on Kakadu (nicknamed Kaka-don’t), but I can say I was impressed as hell with the sites we visited, and can only imagine how much better many of them would be after a decent wet season.

Learning ancient skills from the locals

The Wednesday we stayed around the Mary River area, doing more croc and bird spotting on a river cruise, a cultural walk and talk with three of the local Uwynmill Aboriginals, and doing a couple of long nature walks in the National Park. As you can see from one photo, you need to still be cautious of crocs, after we came across a 4-5 metre beast on a sand bank close to where we were walking.

Thursday was all Litchfield, a totally different experience to the cultural focus of Kakadu. Although another spectacular rocky plateau and escarpment landscape, the main attraction here is waterfalls and bushwalking. We visited the Magnetic Termite Mounds, a unique termite that builds flat, tall, plate like mounds to catch the eastern and western sun.

Wangi Falls, Litchfield NP

The two waterfalls (and rock pools at the bottom for swimming) we visited were Florence Falls and Wangi Falls. Again after a decent wet the falls would be spectacular, but with only a small volume of water tumbling and ridiculous number of visitors it was a bit disappointing. It was also a cool and windy day (26⁰C) so the swimming was a little chilly, especially at Wangi Falls. The walks were fantastic though. I’m sure on warmer days and visiting less known falls and rock pools (and more water over the falls) it could be worth spending a lot more time there. Our day was great but I didn’t feel the need to re-visit the Park on the way out of Darwin like we thought we might.

A bit of nature rangling

Our four day tour, fortunately shared with other easy going and like-minded travellers, was a real joy. Without us having to make too many decisions on what to do, having a well thought out and balanced itinerary, and having such a knowledgeable guide to enhance our experiences, we were very happy with our trip.

Friday it was back to our mo-touring, we stocked up in Darwin and were back on the road heading south to Katherine so we can turn west and head for Western Australia.

Darwin

June 30 to July 10

With Pete and Sharon and one of those sunsets

We had originally planned to spend about a week in Darwin but we arrived about a week earlier than I thought we would, so Pete and Sharon have had the motorhome as a fixture in their driveway each night for a couple of weeks. We can’t thank them (especially Sharon, Pete was travelling for business a fair bit) enough. Pete and Sharon are very near the beach so we quickly got back into the routine of morning coastal walks.

With the extra time in town we took our sightseeing slowly, not packing in too much and getting a lot of chores, motorhome maintenance, admin (personal, hockey) done. The weather was incredibly consistent, 33⁰C to 22⁰C, sunny, with the wind direction and humidity the only changes.

B52 Hangar at the Aviation Museum

We were really impressed by the Heritage Aviation Museum, although heavily focused on the war period, it has amassed a large collection of planes, including the only B52 on display in the southern hemisphere.

Territory Day Fireworks

Friday July 1 was Territory Day. We have a Queensland Day, but it is nothing like this. July 1 is the only day you can buy then ignite fireworks. It is nothing for locals to spend $500 to $1000 (or lots more) then to go to the beach (or park, or back yard) and launch explosives! As we found out these are quality fireworks if you spend enough, you can get blocks of bundled rockets launched on timers delivering fantastic displays. This bundle might last for 30 seconds, but when you sit on the beach and can see thousands of people all around Darwin doing the same thing at different times, the results are spectacular for hours on end.

It starts innocently enough with early starters around 6pm, and it literally continues for 5 hours (and longer). The later it gets the more risky some of the activity gets, with rockets launched parallel to the ground and people scattering.

Mangrove Walk, 8 metre tides can be challenging

It’s no surprise that 18 people were hospitalised last year and debate rages every year, but hey, this is the territory!

We also made the most of the sunsets over the ocean, the photos never do it justice but they have been spectacular, with local burning off adding smoke haze on the horizon for extra effect.

We visited the Mindel Beach Markets, Botanical Gardens, walked all the waterfront beaches, points and wharfs, and Pete got me out for a game of golf. I don’t think we missed too much of Darwin.

East Point Walk looking back to the City

I had planned to go charter fishing to catch a barramundi, but the unbiased advice was that because of the poor wet season the numbers being caught are very low. Given the trips are very expensive (and I prefer “catching” to “fishing”) I will wait to see if my odds improve.
On Sunday we had lunch with Faith from Pack and Send Darwin, it was great to see her again (even though she was heading back to the store after lunch to clear work backlogs!).