August 4 ... Kununurra

Despite a lovely campground in Wyndham I found myself counting trucks for most of the night ... one about every 10 mins! And the people beside us had a noisy air conditioning unit which kept cutting in and out. I had heard other people complain about this but it was the first time we have experienced it. On the good side, the curlews were screaming and this eerie sound always reminds me I am in the tropics.

Not long after we got up and got organized we had a visitor looking for an early morning carrot. As donkeys go, this one seems rather intelligent and very friendly, but he quickly moves on if his soulful eyes are unsuccessful.

Actually in the caravan park was an amazing tree. Listed as the oldest boab in captivity !! it was 20m in circumference, 25m high and more than 2000 years old. Now that is impressive. We took some time to admire it before driving out to the historic port area.

Can you see me?

Garry and I were both disappointed how such an historically interesting area has been left to deteriorate until it is now basically just ruins. We were looking forward to exploring the old museum but it was not opening today, so we tried to find our own way around the small township using the little signage they had. Most of the buildings were very old but , for sentimental reasons, I took a photo of the “store” originally owned by the Duracks (1885).

The Durack's Store

A 1900's home in the tropics

We then drove on to the port to see just where all these road trains were going. Past the crocodile farm we found a new iron ore stockpile and loading facility. As we watched, a large truck came up with its covered load of iron ore in four trailers, and while it moved very slowly across the face of the stockpile, the trailers tipped over and the ore slipped out the side. It was all so efficient, and very clean. The trucks do a continual circuit from mine to port and never actually stop. After dumping their load, another machine went to work nudging the unloaded ore up the existing and ever growing mound. From this there was a conveyor belt which appeared to be loading the ore onto barges.

Wyndham has always been a major port in the far north. It has supplied pastoralists, shipped gold, brought in the gold diggers and been the location  of a huge meatworks. Today it ships live cattle to Asia, and loads both nickel and iron ore. It has a long history and this small area could so easily be developed into a profitable tourist venue.

After a quick look at the pioneer Cemetery, we headed up and up and up to The Five Rivers Lookout. We think this would be a strong contender for the best lookout in Australia. The views it gives of the Cambridge Gulf and the surrounding area are unequalled.

The banks of the waterway do not appear to be much of a barrier for the water which spills over during a high tide to cover an enormous area. The mangroves love this environment and hence this area grows some of the biggest salt water crocodiles in the world. This is recognized in Wyndham by this model which is mainly a bit of fun.

Wyndham

The big croc!

Also in the local park are these huge bronze statues in recognition of the indigenous peoples of the area. A few of these people have made the park their “home base” so you can have a chat to them if you want. I was really pleased to hear so many of the aboriginal people here, and in Halls Creek, speaking in their original language. All too quickly these languages are being forgotten by the young aborigines and this is a real loss for the wider Australian culture.

After this we left Wyndham and headed towards Kununurra. The green and gold of Australia can be seen in the landscape in many forms apart from the usual acacia. 

The road followed the valleys below the escarpments and the landforms were again impressive. The sky is such a pure blue and the earth so red. Add the gold of the grasses and spinifex, the green of the trees and the grey white of the boabs and you have a piece of art.

As soon as you start to get close to Kununurra, you can add the beauty of water to the palette and this area is stunning. 

Just to finish off a great day, we are on perhaps our best site of the trip. Close to the pool and amenities but in good shade and with plenty of space. We are surrounded by tropical vegetation and the effect is one of feeling cool and calm. We couldn’t be happier! 

Kununurra Campsite

August 3 ... Wyndham

We drove over 700 kms today and we enjoyed every minute, the scenery was so exceptional. We were on the road by 7.30am, not sure how far we would go, but immediately we left Fitzroy Crossing the scenery changed and we had plenty to look at. Now it became obvious why this is considered prime pastoral land as the grass plains stretched away to the horizon and eventually met the ranges. This whole area is criss- crossed by different ranges so we stopped at a number of lookouts and even drove into some free camps to check them out.

Kimberly Grasslands

The one at Mary Pool was typical. It was a pretty spot with lots of trees and a creek running beside it but at 10am, it had around 20 vehicles there already! We found the same numbers at all the ones we saw, they were crowded by lunchtime and the facilities are pretty basic. Both Garry and I agree that it is worth spending the $30 or so to have good amenities, security, and power.

Our first proper stop was at Halls Creek which we heard had an excellent bakery. We gave it a good testing and have to say it is definitely true, the pies were delicious and the coffee was the best we have had in ages. We carried our cups across the road and sat on a bench in the shade to observe the passing action. This town has such a remarkable history but we neglected to take the time to explore it properly, much to our regret later. It does have a huge indigenous population but they were happy to sit quietly in the shade, and the town itself is green and reasonably well cared for. We liked it and will need to explore it in the future.

The grasses were full of flowers

As soon as we left Halls Creek the road became more undulating and the boabs became a dominant tree in the landscape.It was a really captivating drive and we think that the Kununurra area is easily the most beautiful in the Kimberly. As we passed the turn off to the Argyle Diamond Mine it was interesting to see that the sign had been removed. The mine shares the road to Lissadell Station, one of the oldest in this area and which was established by the Duracks in the 1800's.

The Argyle Diamond Mine

The entrance road to Argyle Diamond Mine

As we were driving along I spotted a healthy looking dingo on the side of the road. He was not at all disturbed by the traffic and I was able to get some good photos.
We also saw lots of brumbies all through the day. These horses just run free and they all looked to be in good condition. 

Dingo

Even though we drove very close to Pernululu National Park, the distinctive forms of the Bungles were not visible from the road. However, the main road surface certainly showed signs of the enormous flood that had gone through the area a few months ago. Warmun was looking reasonably normal again but many of the bridges were still under repair.

Brumbies

The wattle is in full bloom in the Kimberly and it is the real green and gold that are Australia's national colours. It is beautiful to see contrasted against the blue sky.

We also noticed that a new mine has opened up just north of Argyle called Ridges. It is an iron ore mine and a team of blue and yellow road trains carry four trailer fulls each to the port at Wyndham where a new loading facility has been built. Their first load was only two weeks ago but the trucks are making regular trips now, averaging about 80 a day! That's a lot of trucks using the road outside the caravan park!

Bottlebrush in flower

Garry's new friend

We were in Wyndham by 4.30. It was hot and we were pretty tired but the park was shady so we were happy to sit and have a coffee, just after which Garry made a new friend who came visiting in the hope of a carrot!

August 2 ... Fitzroy Crossing

We enjoyed a lovely lazy day today. First thing this morning we walked to the long, single lane road bridge that crosses the Fitzroy River to have a good look at the water and spot crocodiles, but none were on view again today. Then we went into town to do a few jobs and we visited the Sawfish Glass Gallery. I have seen a lot of decorative glass before but this work was stunning and really different. It was expensive but I settled on some beautiful blue glass earrings... for only $60 !

Nice Earrings!

From here we drove out and had a look at The Crossing Inn, the oldest pub in the Kimberly. It is situated out of town near the original crossing over the river. It was very well kept with green park areas, but it seemed to be a meeting place for many of the local indigenous people, and it was way too early for a drink anyway, so we continued on to the gorge.

Geike Gorge

The start of the gorge

Geike Gorge is about 20kms out of town on a sealed road. At first we were a little disappointed because the walking tracks were pretty unexciting, it was really hot, and we had to trudge through soft deep sand. There were no proper views of the gorge and so we waited for the 3pm tour, as did 125 other people, but it was not a problem as we were all comfortably accommodated in the barges. We felt that our $28 was very well spent. The river was calm and wide, there were dozens of Johnson crocodiles along its bank, and the gorge itself was spectacular.

The gorge cliff face

The mighty Fitzroy River

Geike Gorge has been created by the Fitzroy River during its many floods over countless years. The rocks are part of an old reef essentially made from algae that built up during the Devonian Period, way before reptiles and mammals. This reef was more than 2kms thick in places before it was eroded to what we see today. The white line is actually the flood high water mark, but in recent years the water has gone much higher than this.

Crocodylus Johnstoni

Geiki Cliffs

The last massive flood here was in March 2011. In the wet season, the Fitzroy can be as wide as 30kms, but this year it seemed to spread out across the whole landscape. The town of Fitzroy Crossing was completely isolated for many weeks. While the photos look exciting, I think it would have been quite a challenging time.

We were a bit surprised by our first encounter with crocodiles on this trip as they were so small. Most were around 1metre but a few were bigger. At least they are just fresh water crocs and not the nasty ones. These seemed quite shy and people were asked not to swim so as not to upset them!

Freshwater Croc

Johnson Crocodile

Following our cruise we were driving back into town when I spotted two huge blue/grey brolgas. They looked beautiful but, by the time we had decreased speed and turned around, they had wandered further away and into the longer grass. But what a great end to a very pleasant day.

Brolga

August 1 ... Fitzroy Crossing

We got away nice and early this morning because we had been told that Fitzroy Crossing filled up really quickly but, upon arriving here at 1.30pm, we found that the park was only half full and we had a choice of sites! How things can change in just a few days! It was nice to stop early though and just lounge about in the shade as it is 33 degrees today.

The drive today, 400kms, was a bit boring, long straight roads, all flat with lots of scrub, and only the odd stray cow and river crossing to attract attention. But what looks pretty ordinary to us is actually some of the richest pastoral property in Australia and a number of the biggest stations are in this region.

Broome to Fitzroy Crossing

Crossing the Fitzroy River is always full of possibility but there were no crocodiles sunning themselves today. The Fitzroy has the third largest discharge of water into the sea in the world, following the Amazon and the Nile Rivers. Obviously that is in the Wet, and it does have many other rivers that join it to make this incredible flow, estimated to be in excess of 30,000 cubic metres / second, entering the Cambridge Gulf at Derby.

The Fitzroy River

The icon of the Kimberly is the boab and we saw lots of these trees today. I love them as they are so big, so old and so unique. At any time of the day they make a stunning silhouette. We also saw lots more mulla mulla, with patches of purple showing up amongst the yellow grass; plenty of wattles in flower; and an unusual tree that has lots of bright red seed pods hanging from it that catch the sun and consequently, your eye.

Morning Tea at Willare Bridge Roadhouse

The majestic boab

What an entrance!

The red seed pods are like christmas decorations

The township of Fitzroy Crossing is looking very neat and green with a large number of new houses. A loaf of white sliced bread was $4.50 so it is not cheap to live here but, again, the tourist office was excellent and we plan an interesting day tomorrow.