Ok. Time flies when you’re out of range, busy, and simply enjoying yourselves!!!! So let us catch up.
The wonderful Kimberley Gibb River Road Derby
Everyone was happy for that as we all have flexible timetables and off we set.
Helen and Steve did catch up with us at Roebuck Roadhouse and we had an enjoyable evening under the stars – again! How boring!! We unfortunately woke to the sound of heavy rain overnight and the morning saw the landscape transformed with that fabulous thick sticky mud everywhere. What a mess. Luckily the rain stopped and we were able to carefully pack away quickly and with the least amount of mud as possible to leave Roebuck and head towards the Bungles.
The journey along the bitumen saw us pass through Fitzroy Crossing and we camped the night at Nygumban Cliff, about 190 kms from Halls Creek. With so many parks and roads closed on the south eastern part of the G.R.R. many travellers have had their plans thrown upside down and so camp sites along the bitumen where highly sought after and very busy and full. We squeezed in to a little spot – not easy with four campers and enjoyed sunset drinks on a cliff edge overlooking a very scenic landscape. Later in the evening a Combie Van with 3 young people pulled up near us and they enjoyed an evening of smoking a rather interesting substance!Heading off at
Arriving at the entrance to the Bungle Bungles in the
Incredibly warm set up but everyone happy to be there. Stayed in the generator section of Kurrajong as we decided we were a noisy group and the “Silent” section of the camp ground did not sound like us! Here we were at
After leaving the airstrip we went to Cathedral Gorge and completed the Dome Walk and The Dome Lookout. It was a hot walk but it is just lovely to walk through this amazing country. The colours are just magnificent and we find ourselves repeating adjectives that really do not give justice to what we see, think and feel. Helen led the way for part of the walk and we must have taken a wrong turn as we ended up at the end of a small rock area that we hadn’t planned too. It is now known as “Helen’s Gorge” and Glenn is sure he has discovered a new bird – which is now known as “Dovicus Glennicus”. We all felt pleased with these two discoveries! Drinks were very welcome on our arrival back at camp. We all felt we deserved them and felt very exhilarated with the day’s proceedings. Dinner by the campfire and relating highlights of the day for everyone, led Steve M to tell us that he had to replace another two 10amp fuses in his camper. Helen had tripped the system by trying to use her 12 volt hairdryer when he was showering. Helen has now had 2 hairdryers confiscated and she is learning she can have nothing with an element. It was a good day!
The following day – July 11th, we walked into “Mini Palms”. Another 5.2km (return) hot walk. Lots of walking over river stones along a creek bed meant it was very unstable underfoot – but onwards we went! A very picturesque finish awaited us. Lovely tall palms in the shade of rocky outcrops saw lots of photos taken and then we headed back along the creek bed and we drove to “Echidna Chasm”. We had a detour to a lookout (800mtrs) and then walked the 2km (return) distance into the Chasm. While the sun was hot, the shade provided by the magnificent chasm was very welcomed. Everyone was feeling the heat. The sheer rock sides of about 200mtrs were awesome and the colours with the sun on them brilliant reds and oranges. We just sat at the end of the chasm for about 20 mins chatting with the many people coming and going before heading out and back to camp. At 4.30 pm we walked to a high rocky outcrop not far from camp, armed with nibbles and drinks to watch the sunset over the Bungles Range
If it appears we have breezed through describing the Bungles, then again we say – there simply no words to describe things we saw. Come and have a look yourselves. You will not be disappointed. Yes it is a long way to come and yes it is difficult, but it is the way it always should remain. It needs to be difficult to really appreciate it.
On MondayJuly 12th we departed Purnululu National Park 2.30pm . The rain effected travellers and the Kununurra Rodeo on the weekend saw the town still very busy and we were lucky to get 4 unpowered sites at the Hidden Valley Caravan Park
Tuesday saw us doing our own thing. We went and toured the town and had lunch at a tavern. We went to Zebra Rock Gallery, which is located about 15 kms out of Kununurra. Lots of fabulous ornamental type bits and pieces made out of Zebra Rock – only found in this part of the country- with its distinctive striping. We wandered down to the water’s edge to look at the massive catfish swimming there. Prehistoric looking things – and huge!
We took a look through the Sandalwood factory before heading out to a Rum Hoochery Distillery and meeting up with everyone at 3.00pm . We all paid for our samplings and sat down to “enjoy” the different variety of rums. Wow – some of the samples blew your head off! Steve enjoyed the aniseed flavour of a liqueur he sampled and we purchased a bottle.
Back at camp, we again relaxed and enjoyed a warm evening before we headed to bed a little earlier than usual as Steve and Glenn prepare for a fishing trip early on Wednesday to catch some Barra for tea!!
Wednesday 14 July
Today Steve and Glenn set off for the Ord River
Thursday 15 July
Today we packed up and left Kununurra and headed to Lake Argyle
Friday 16th July
Another day exploring the Argyle area. The highlight today was a cruise on the lake including some croc spotting and a swim in the lake. The vastness and quantity of water is mind blowing. Most of the fresh water here flows out to sea…..what a waste!
Saturday 17th July
Today we packed up and headed to Kununurra again to stock up on supplies. We filled up on food and grog before heading to Parry Farm to camp for a few days before heading to the GRR proper.
We will not be in range to catch up for the next few weeks, but our satellite tracker will show where we are each day. We are looking forward to hitting the bush!