Australia here we come!

27/4/12

We were up reasonably early today so we could pack up and leave Kakadu. We rolled out of the caravan park at 9am and stopped 1km up the road so the girls could visit an aboriginal non-culture centre. I checked Mary-Anne's caravan tyres and pumped them up a little. After the girls found out that there is no culture we hit the road again and drove 156kms to Pine Creek where we had lunch. We got out the reference books and found there was a free camp near Ferguson River which is about 34kms south of Pine Creek and 54 kms north of Katherine. We could not find the recorded free camp but set up on a gravel pit on the side of the highway that was used to store railway balast to repair the washed out railway line a short distance away. It is just after 4pm now and nearly Happy Hour for me. We plan to stay here tonight and head to Katherine then turn right towards the WA Border tomorrow.

28/4/12

We left our gravel pit oasis and drove to Katherine. We went to the Tourist Information Centre first and got info on what food was not allowed to be taken into Western Australia. Then it was grocery shopping at Woolworths to replenish supplies. After that I refuelled at the BP but Mary-Anne could not squeeze in for the diesel pump and she drove down the road to the Shell Service Station. I forgot to buy beer at Woolworths and asked Karen to go to a pub near the Shell while Mary-Anne was refuelling. While they were doing that I then drove all over town trying to buy a bottle of metho. I finally found a small convenience store that stocked it and had to go through the 3^rddegree to be able to buy a bottle. I really hate the Nancy Territory. I found Mary-Anne parked in a back street and we waited for Karen to return. After about 10 minutes we saw this great possession coming through a car park next to where we were parked. It was such a sight!! Karen was leading the way carrying a carton of VB cans followed by about a hundred traditional drunks. She was pretending to be the Pied Piper of Katherine and it was working. All she had to do was sit down in the long grass or the footpath and the carton would have disappeared in a flash. Mary-Anne and I rescued her and the following faithful just vanished as if they were never there. We had enough excitement for the day and happily left Katherine and drove to the King River Rest Area and had lunch. We then drove another 30kms to the Limestone Creek Rest Area where we set up camp for the night.

29/4/12

We left at our usual time and drove to Sullivans Campground in the Gregory National Park where we had morning tea. We went for a walk to Sullivan Creek and tried to spot some crocodiles. But we were out of luck. Our next stop was the Victoria River Road House which is right next to the Victoria River. It is one of those idyllic places that has everything. There is the magnificient Victoria River, wonderful high rocky escarpments in all directions overlooking the beautifully kept grounds with a caravan park attached. It would be a great place to stay for a week or so. We drove down to the boat ramp and walked alongside the Victoria River. There was evidence of recent flooding everywhere. It is amazing how much water these NT rivers carry through the wet season. Our next stop was at Joe's Crossing where Karen had read there was a short walk that was very picturesque (That's what she told us anyway). We set off with the sun belting down and the temperature was a pleasant 38 degrees. The first part of the walk was through long grass that followed Joe's Creek. There were towering cliffs on either side of the creek with tall palm trees high up where the cliffs met the sloping land that runs down to the creek. Mary-Anne and I thought this is great, a flat walk for a change and it should be good if the track led to the Victoria River. Next thing our good fortunes changed for the worst. The track swung left and up at a 50 degree angle towards the palms at the base of the towering cliffs about 150 metres above. There were fallen boulders and loose rock on every part of the track and our hiking poles were working overtime. At one stage I saw smoke coming off the tip of mine and had to stop for a while and let it cool down. It was taking too long so I used the sweat running from my brow that was flowing like a waterfall over my eyebrows to flow onto the tip of my hiking pole. That did the trick and it was up and up again until Mary-Anne and I finally met Karen at the base of the cliffs - then we collapsed! After regaining our strength we followed what can only be described as a goat track for about 1 kilometre along the base of the cliffs. There were signs of animal droppings now and again and I thought it could only be from the sure footed rock wallaby as no other animal would be silly enough to be where we were. One good thing about our death defying location was the view. It was as if we were on top of the world looking down on a green fairyland with craggy rock walls on either side. Finally the cliff scramble came to an end and the track started to descend. Our relief was short lived. There were the same loose rocks and boulders going down as there were going up. However, due to the amount of exercise Karen has been organising for Mary-Anne and I over the past 2 months we decended the dangerous slopes like two ADHD kids on a sugar trip. We waited for Karen to meet us at the bottom and then we made our way back to the cars. Because neither Mary-Anne nor I had whinged about the walk, Karen rewarded us with a choc coated ice cream for our good behaviour. After leaving Joe's Crossing we continued along the Victoria Highway until we came to a lookout with wonderful views up and down stream along the Victoria River. Again we could not spot any crocodiles. We stopped a short distance away at Big Horse Campground which is right on the Victoria River. We intended to stay there but it was full so we had to drive another 40 kms to East Baines River Rest Area. This is a wonderful rest area with Boab trees everywhere. The only complaint is that there are too many trees and we had to keep moving the solar panels to catch the sun. We had a huge cookup that night because tomorrow we cross into Western Australia and there is a Quarantine Station at the border where all fresh fruit and vegetables have to be surrendered. Cooked fruit and vegetables are OK.

30/4/12

Today after a short drive we arrived at the Quarantine Station which is right on the border. The staff there were very friendly and both vans passed inspection with flying colours. We had a quick lunch at the rest area next to the Quarantine Station. While there we discovered that the skylight cover on the roof of Mary-Anne's caravan had blown off. There was nothing we could do about it there and as it was only another 40 something kilometres to Kununurra we continued on. We went straight to the Information Centre and found out what we could see and do here. Then it was on to the Hidden Valley Caravan Park and we booked in for 4 nights. The caravan park has plenty of large shade trees and backs onto the Hidden Valley National Park which is home to the mini Bungle Bungles. That afternoon we drove around Kununurra looking for places that sold caravan parts to fix Mary-Anne's skylight. We were out of luck. However at Home Hardware I found heavy duty plastic that should do the job if all else fails. It was back to the caravan park for tea and bed. The only problem was at the border we put our watches back 1.5hrs and what should have been 6pm was only 4.30pm in Kununurra. What a long night!!!!

1/5/12

Today after breakfast we drove to Wyndham. On the way Karen caught both of us again with a scenic stop that had a short walk at a spot called The Grotto. From the car park there is a short walk to the lip where a waterfall came be seen cascading down 150 metres into a semi circular sheer rock walled grotto that has a shaded deep waterhole at the bottom. The water then flows out along Grotto creek. What a wonderful view Mary-Anne and I thought. Just as we were thinking about walking back to the car to continue our journey we noticed that Karen had her joggers on and was holding a hiking pole. She told us there was short walk to the bottom of the Grotto with only 140 steps. She left out the part about no handrail on the narrowest set of steps ever built going down a sheer cliff face and that you needed 7 foot long legs to step from one step to the next. Again our hiking poles came to the rescue and we made it to the bottom by walking and crawling and not falling over the edge. At the bottom there were so many large rocks that it was impossible to view the waterfall unless you were an Olympic Gymnast. We did our best, then it was time to ascend. Going up was better than going down as we were looking up, not down. That makes real sense if you are terrified of heights like Mary-Anne and I are. We finally made it to the top, again in a lather of sweat but this time no ice cream was offered as a reward for not whingeing. That's probaby bacause I did whinge all the way down and back up. Such is life!!! Then it was on to Wyndham. Our first stop was at the new fishing jetty that was only opened in January this year. It would be a great place to fish if you don't go to close to the edge (Crocodiles can jump out of the water). We had lunch in a small park then went for a drive through the township and saw the main street that is lined with Boab trees. We stopped at the Pioneer Cemetery and read all the headstones. Then we drove up a steep road that led to the Five Rivers Lookout situated on a mountaintop behind the town. We could see Cambridge Gulf disapearing away in the distance and the extensive expanse of mudflats that surround Wyndham. It was difficult to make out all the rivers – The Ord, Durack, Pentecost, King and Forrest – but we did our best. It was such a clear day with no clouds and just a hint of smoke from far away bushfires. After leaving the lookout we drove to the main street and found a 20m crocodile standing in a park. It was not real, thank god, but a replica made by local TAFE students. We wanted to drive to the Prison Boab tree but we had to turn back as the road was so rough. We did however find the Gibb River Road turnoff on the way home and went for a drive along it and took some photos of the car on the road. When I get home I can tell my friend, Nancy, in Brisbane, that I have driven on the Gibb River Road and hopefully she won't call me a wuss anymore. Just before crossing the Diversion Dam on the edge of Kununurra we turned right and went to the Zebra Rock Gallery. We viewed the gallery that had many 1.2 billion year old Zebra rocks carved into all sorts of shapes on display. Unfortunately everything was so expensive we could not afford any souveniers. We did take a walk through the grounds and played with pet cockatoos and garlahs. Then from a small jetty we saw hundreds of fish in Lake Kununurra waiting for feeding time. On the way home we stopped at Coles and the girls did some shopping. We were all very tired when we eventually made it to the caravan park.

2/5/12

Karen had been checking her local tourist guide books and found a short 500m walk for us all at the Hidden Valley National Park. We didn't check her footware before leaving the caravan park, unfortunately, and it was discovered too late that she was wearing joggers. (Joggers mean steep, long, rocky tracks ahead). To make it worse, today was the hottest day so far in Kununurra. That was all Mary-Anne and I needed. The Hidden Valley outcrops of sandstone resemble the Bungle Bungles beehive banding on a smaller scale but they are spectacular nonetheless. We took a track that led us through the beehive outcrops and then up a fairly difficult track to a lookout. From different parts of the lookout it was possible to see over Kununurra and our caravan park as well as the distinctive beehive rocky outcrops disappearing into the distance. When we got back to the car park Karen suggested that we drive to the coach parking area and leave the car there because she had seen another track that she wanted to walk along. Silly us. Karen led us on a track that wasn't a track and we walked about 4 kilometres and ended up on the town side of Hidden Valley with no way back through the mountains to the car park. We had two options; walk all the way back the way we had come to get the Prado or fight our way through dense scrub, long grass and deadly snakes to the rear of our caravan park and collect Mary-Anne's Nissan Patrol to drive back to the waiting Prado. The deadly snake option won out. When she got her breath back Mary-Anne told Karen to stick her walks and in future if we can't drive to see something we won't be seeing it. I just agreed because Mary-Anne is scarier than Karen. After we got back to the caravan park and dropped off the Patrol Karen appeared with two ice creams as a peace offering. Then we drove to Ivanhoe Crossing, just out of town to view the original Ord River crossing point. It would be a great spot for a picnic but there was only one table and it was in the sun. The water was running quite fast and deep and the crossing was closed. From the crossing we drove back to town and went to the swimming beach and skiing area in Lake Kununurra. We had lunch in a nice park right next to the lake. After lunch we drove a short distance to Lily Lagoon which is at the end of the town part of Lake Kununurra. We walked through a lovely park that had large shady trees and many Boab trees of varying sizes. While walking Karen and I were set upon by thousands of sandflies. However, because Mary-Anne is so clean from 3 showers a day, they left her alone. We ran to the car for shelter while Mary-Anne slowly strolled through the clouds of sandflies unaware of their existence. From Lily Lagoon and sandfly park we drove to Home Hardware and Mary-Anne purchased some heavy duty plastic to cover the skylight opening of her caravan. Then we drove to the Hoochery Rum Distillery 9 kms out of town. We were planning on doing a tour of the distillery and buying a bottle of rum. But after seeing the prices- $36.00 for a 375ml bottle of rum - I thought it was a ripoff and I left in disgust. We drove back to the caravan park and borrowed an extension ladder so I could secure the plastic to Mary-Anne's skylight. There is so much plastic up there now I think it should last until she gets home in December.

3/5/12

Today we planned to drive to Lake Argyle. This is the largest fresh water lake in Australia and is situated 70kms from Kununarra further up the Ord River. It was a pleasant 30km drive along the Victoria Highway to the turnoff to Lake Argyle then another 40kms to the lake. On the way we stopped at the Argyle Homstead. It is the original homestead built by Patrick Durack in 1887 and was relocated stone by stone to its present location in 1970. The original location is under metres of water at the bottom of Lake Argyle. The work involved in relocating this house would have been immense. Each stone was numbered and replaced in exactly the same position when it was put back together like a large jigsaw puzzle. It would have been a grand structure in its day considering even today it is in the middle of nowhere. It would have been further from the middle of nowhere in 1887. The house contains memobillia and photos from the grand old days. It is worth spending some time here. Next stop was Lake Argyle. We drove to the Tank Lookout and from this vantage point you can see the lake disappearing into the distance. Then we drove to the dam wall lookout where even more of the lake is visible. I always thought the dam wall would have been a very long and massive concrete structure but it is only fairly short and is constructed of piled up rock. We had lunch in the picnic area on the down stream side of the wall and from this vantage point the size of the wall can really be appreciated. It is unbelievably high and thick at the bottom. It is hard to believe that it holds back 9 times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour. I wish we had a dam like this outside Brisbane so we would never run out of water. But then we wouldn't have the volume of rain to ever be able to fill it. We drove to the Lake Argyle Resort and store and had a look around. We noticed a number of people sitting in an open area of the store and went to see what they were doing. They were watching a video of the construction of the dam wall. We couldn't help ourselves and we watched it to the end. It was an eye opening experience to see how the dam wall was put together. There was a lot more to it than just piling up a lot of rock. We had a quiet drive home listening to the Phantom of the Opera and believe me I was glad to get to the caravan park.

4/5/12

Today is a nothing day for us. By that I mean we are not going anywhere. The girls washed everything except me this morning and I spent the whole day updating out trip diary and downloading photos to put on our blog. The highlight of the day was Mary-Anne's scones which she cooked in her Weber Baby Q. She used Lorraine Leyland's recipe from her autographed cook book and they were to die for. Who could ask for more? Scones, jam and cream and a cup of coffee under a spreading Banyan tree in the East Kimberleys of Western Australia (Queensland on the West Coast).