Derby and the big Boab tree

We left Fitzroy Crossing in the rear view mirror (after the mandatory coffee stop for Mel) and headed toward Derby....and the ocean. After 250kms, we stopped at a park so the kids could burn off some energy.  It was when Mel decided she would walk across the road to get some supplies at Woolworths that she realised that she had left her purse on the roof the car in Fitroy Crossing.  In a mad panic we got onto the bank and cancelled all the cards.  Fitzroy Crossing is not your preferred venue to lose you wallet, but that goodness nobody had been using the cards.  Lucky I had not yet given Mel her pocket money and she had all of $7 in her purse.

The next issue was explaining to the bank that we were travelling and we needed replacement cards to be sent to Broome.  Their response "no problems, you just need to show you licence when you pick them up"  Mel's response "but I have lost my purse"  Bank "just show your passport"  Mel  "we are travelling"  Bank "just show your birth certificate " Mel  "we are travelling!!!!"  Anyway, we spoke directly to ANZ Broome and they bent the rules after we had our lovely housesitter Allison fax through a copy of Mel's passport.  Common sense finally prevailed.

Anyway, after our little issue with the wallet, we did geta few things from the supermarket and went done to the pier for lunch.  The kids must have looked very hungry (as I taught them) as we scavenged a couple of chips from a couple of oldies eating their fish and chips by the pier (we couldn't afford the $17.50 per portion after we bought Mel's diamonds....and now that Mel lost our last $7).  Then Mel joined us on the jetty with the remainder of the chips the old woman couldn't eat!!!  Love your work kids....my own little seagulls.  Will was a bit disappointed that he couldn't build a sandcastle as the beach was all mudflats. 

We moved on from beach to the Boab Prison tree.  This is now all fenced off and we couldn't get our picture taken in it because the Aboriginal people have now decided that this is a sacred site.  When we explained to Charlotte that the indigenous people owned the tree, she replied "but they own everything....can't we have anything????" 

We stayed at Bunk and Lois' place (Mum's brother) and my cousin Jane and boyfriend Dan were also visiting so it was a big family reunion.  We had a good feed and a couple of drinks and it was nice to have a shower without thongs on.  I think they were happy to see the back of us with Mel spilling drinks and Charlotte walking through their screen door!  It was good to catch up and it seems they are enjoying themselves with Lois seeing a lot of the country as a nurse with the Flying Doctors.

We have decided even though our booking in Broome isn't for another night, we are heading to the beach....we need to see the ocean.

Fitzroy Crossing ...and the cleaning begins

After our off the beaten track adventures, we needed to clean everything.  6 loads of washing later, we washed the car, the caravan, the pod, the flooring, the chairs and even the BBQ. Will was having to wear some of his sisters clothes so we certainly needed to do some washing.

Fitzroy Crossing was an eye opener as there was only a supermarket, a hardware store (which now has Tri-Fixx catalogues) a chicken shop and a Centrelink office....and hence a lot of aboriginals.  The Supermarket was like Fort Knox with bars on the windows and a huge jail like gate with barbed wire everywhere to lock up after hours....

The pub at the Fitzroy River Lodge had some interesting rules...that we tried to adhere to, but we all know what Mel is like after a couple of drinks and we were lucky not to get banned.

We did a day trip out to Geike Gorge and did the boat trip down the Fitzroy River which was very picturesque although once you have seen the big salt water crocodiles, the freshies don't excite you that much.  Very interesting to see the high water lines from the wet season and to hear about the volume of water that flows through the Fitzroy River.

We decided not to travel onto Tunnel Creek or Winjana Gorge as we didn't have another long dirt road in us, and we have decided that we are gorged out and unless the gorges come to us, we are not going to work to hard to find them (I know, we have been spoilt!).  We are looking forward to getting to the beach and with one small side trip to Derby, we will be in Broome in a couple of days!!!

 

Dirt, more dirt and the Bungles.

We decided to ditch our initial plan of staying at the newly developed Bungles caravan park (52kms from the Visitor information centre on the way to the Bungles) and I am glad we did.  $35 for an unpowered site, only portaloos and no shade.  We parked the van 400 metres from here in a free camp site, where we were joined by our new friends and we went onto have a big campfire, a few drinks and a warm night under the stars.   

The next morning we got all packed up and while the others put their van in storage (they were camping in the bungles) we nevously left our beautiful van in the free camp spot while we did our drive into the Bungles.  After 52kms of rough, dirt roads including 7 river crossings, we made it to the visitor information centre where we were told it was a further 26kms to Cathedral Gorge and little tiger striped domes they call the Bungles.  Charlotte and Mel were not enjoying the bumpy ride and Charlotte ended up sitting in the front so she didn't redecorate the inside of my car.  This was instantly forgotten when we arrived and saw the little domes and walked into Catheral Gorge.  I am pretty sure Qantas did an advert where all the kids were standing in here (we still call Australia home ads).  It was spectacular....I think it might be even better in the Wet season, not that you could access it by road.  We had a picnic there and did the Domes walk before we jumped back in the car (much to Charlotte and Mel's disgust) and went back on the bumpy road in the direction of our caravan.  2 hours later we were there and much to our delight, so was our caravan, still in one piece!!

By this stage Mel was in no mood to be staying in a dust bowl (even with all that lovely wood I collected last night and wanted to burn tonight) so we packed up and headed for our next desination - Fitzroy Crossing - which happened to be 400kms further down the road.

After a few tense moments on the road - and a very brief stop in Halls Creek for some chips for the kids dinner (parents of the year) we travelled through the darkness towards Fitzroy Crossing.  Mel was not amused when I suggested we camp at Wolfe Creek which was only 100km down the road.   We arrived in F.C. about 8pm where were threw the kids into bed, had a fantastic hot shower (and removed most of the red dirt) and enjoyed having electricity again!  A very long day, but worth the extra driving to get to somewhere we can spend a few consecutive nights - and get everything clean again...including ourselves.

The Gibb River Road

Now that we have the Pod, we are actually able to go camping.  I don't know how we thought we were going to fit everything in the car, but we jammed everything in the pod (and the car) and set off along the Gibb River Road towards Home Valley Station.  We were expecting the worst of the Gibb River as some fellow travellers had advised they had 7 punctures before they reached El Questro, but we found a dirt road (not for too much longer....they are going to seal the road to El Questro) which had corrogations and plenty of dust...but nothing the Nissan couldn't handle. 

We stopped at Emma Gorge on the way to Home Valley Station where we again had a hike in front of us.  It was certainly worth the effort (3.2km return - about an hour each way) as after Mel and Charlotte fought off a big brown snake, we found a beautiful waterfall with a big waterhole to cool off in.  We got a bit of local information that off to the side of the pool there was a thermal spring that somebody had tried to dam and we were able to squeeze into and have a dip.  Even Will thought it was warm enough for a swim!!

 
We finished the hike with a cool drink a some sandwiches before hitting the road again...now the only thing in our way was the Pentacost River  - once again full of crocodiles - which the car negotiated well over the rocky river bottom.  We made it to Home Valley and set up the tents - we had a girls tent and a boys tent, and I was lucky enough to end up in the Taj Mahal with Will - the downside was I got the lilo with the hole in it.  Mel and Charlotte were very cosy with just enough room in their tent to cram a double mattress in.

Mel got up the next morning and went on a Trail ride down to the Pentacost river on "Pistol" the horse.  Pistol was very cheeky and tried to take Mel under low hanging trees as much as possible.  The kids and I spent our time by the resort pool (pretty much for the whole day) before Charlotte got to have her turn on Pistol which she thoroughly enjoyed. 

We ended the night with our new friends Tim, Christine, Cameron and Jane at Dusty's Bar and Grill where we feasted on Crocodile, Emu, Buffalo and Kangaroo (washed down with a scotch fillet, some barramundi and a few beers).  A great feed where the kids had a ball.  Charlotte won the coloring competion and she was rewarded with her drawing being displayed on the pin up board (she may have been the only kid who entered...)

We expected the kids to get up bright and early the next day with how bright the tents were, which meant we could get to Zebedee springs before the crowds.  Of course, this ensured that they both slept in and we didn't get to the Springs at El Questro 9am.  I don't know how we did it, but nobody was there when we arrived (most people arrive at 7am to bags the best position in the hot springs) and we snaffled the best position with our own waterfall and huge pool all to ourselves.  Noisy kids sometimes pay off!!  We loved Zebedee Springs as even the walk in felt like you were in a rainforest rather than being in a dust bowl.

After our swim, we headed back to Kununurra where we stocked up on fuel, more groceries, picked up the van and we were off towards the Bungles.  Mel had to make one very important detour to Kimberley Fine diamonds where we invested in some Arglye diamonds.  We will now be eating bread and baked beans for the remaider of the trip!!  Within 2 1/2 minutes Mel had posted the photos of her new bling on Facebook for all to see!!  Back on the road towards the Bungles with Mel's facing beaming from the passenger seat!

Kununurra and Lake Argyle

We finally made it to Western Australia after a quick detour to Nighthawk couriers in Katherine where my roof racks had finally arrived.  We can finally stop taking the Pod in and out of the caravan and actually attach it to the roof and utilise it for some much needed storage!!

After a gruelling 500 kms, we made it to the border where we had to relinquish our honey, a few spuds and a bit of salad and we were into Western Australia.  We were stopped for a while on the road while a water truck tried to control a bush fire (not sure how many of these fires are controlled burn offs or whether they are just bushfires...but there is a lot of them).

We made it to where once again we were met with the McCallums and the Elliotts.  For people who complained we were going to quick they seem to be a lot of places before us!

We found Kununurra to be the hottest place we had visited so far...and the time difference (1 1/2 hours further behind...now 2 hours behind Melbourne time) threw the kids out.  The sun is now up at 5.30am which means so is much of the caravan park (including our kids).  I can't believe some people think it is acceptable to just chat and laugh at 5am without considering that we have little people sleeping.

We went out to Ivanhoe crossing where I threw a few lures around (once again without success).  I did lose a lure right near the bank and even though I could see the branch it was stuck to on a metre and a half away in shallow water, I decided to leave it for the crocs who were lurking just below the surface. 

The flights over Lake Argyle were a bit rich for our blood (and I think Mel is eyeing off an Argyle diamond in town) so we did the drive around the Lake which is between 20-40 times the size of Sydney harbour (depending on season).  It was impressive with picturesque views, but I couldn't help thinking of Lake Eildon when we were driving over the wall.    We did tell Charlotte that the sparkles on the water were diamonds from the mine (before we left she was hoping to visit Lake Argyle and fill her bucket up with diamonds.... so was her mother).

We loaded up the new Pod and did some final preparations for our first camping leg of our trip which will commence when we head down the Gibb River Road to Home Valley Station and El Questro. 

Detour back to Douglas Daly Hot Springs

We decided that instead of heading straight back to Katherine, we would turn right and head back up the Stuart Highway to the Douglas Daly Hot Springs, as we had heard great things, namely that it is where 2 streams come together, one is boiling hot and the other is cold so you can move around to find your perfect temperature!!

This took us to our first off road adventure in our van (mind you our van isn't technically meant for the off road), so we hit the dirt and the corrigations hoping it was worth the trek, about 2km in we decided that it may be best to pull over and check that the oven, microwave and fridge where still where they were meant to be (didn't want a repeat of Mum and Peter's experience).  Andy pulled over and after a quick check we continued on through a small water crossing and made it safe and sound to the free camping area. 

The springs where amazing, only very shallow, but the hot water was so hot you couldn't stand in, so down the stream to where the cold water entered in and we could find a lovely spot to sit and relax.  Over the back was a large water hole, that would have been about 32 degrees, this one was deep and Andy and the kids had a long swim in there.  I had a quick swim, but having come from Kakadu and seeing so many crocs, the place looked like perfect croc water to me, so I decided to just let them eat the kids and Andy :-))

We spent all afternoon sitting and relaxing and chatting with fellow travellers, so worth the detour back up the highway.  That night we crashed someone elses campfire and enjoyed a couple of glasses of red.

The next day we headed back on down to Katherine, the home of the famous Hetherton clan :-))  We did a quick stop at Edith Falls, not too much to see so we got a move on and arrived in Katherine.  We spent the arvo doing domestics, such as shopping, washing and getting the car back to a clean state inside and out!!!

Today we went to the Cutta Cutta caves, they were very interesting, although no real cultural significance.  Some of the inhabitants are ghost bats (otherwise know as the vampire bats) along with snakes and spiders, mmm just the place I want to be.  This afternoon was a quick trip to the Katherine Hot Springs (yes we do like hot springs - the more we do the better) which the kids loved, they had a lot of fun with the small waterfall there.  Tonight we polished off the rest of the Barra Andy caught, the one fillet fed all 4 of us, the kids loved it, and now want Andy to catch more, yes I know he is protesting (not)!!!


Off to Kununura tomorrow, looking forward to the next phase of our trip W.A.....

We're going to Kakadu.....

We left Darwin in the rear view mirror (not that I can see anything out of that will body boards, fridges, hoses and fishing gear in the way...not to mention a two tonne caravan!!) and we headed toward Kakadu. 

We went for a swim in the caravan park pool while I desperately tried to organise a barramundi fishing charter.  Unfortunately the first available is Tuesday...looks like we will be staying 5 nights in Kakadu instead of 4.

We headed out to Ubirr the next morning to look at the Aboriginal paintings.  There were plenty of informative talks by the ranger about the aboriginal paintings and their meaning which Charlotte absorbed like a sponge.  We went to the top of Ubirr which is where Crocodile Dundee looked out over the Never Never.  After a refreshing dip in the resort pool we were back out to Cahill's Crossing where we saw some very foolish people fishing for barra with their feet in the water while crocs were circling metres away.  We saw plenty of crocs (in the wild) on the turn of the tide, but no tourists were taken.

We headed towards Yellow Water the next morning where we visited the Cultural Centre where we purchased some lovely new hats.  We then had a quick walk around Mardugal Billabong (no swimming here...lots of crocs) and moved onto Yellow waters for the Sunset cruise.  We saw a heap of wildlife including to name a few,  Jabirus, Sea eagles, Pigs and a heap of big crocs.  The kids loved it, but it was probably a bit long (2 hours) as their parents both wanted to feed them to the crocs at some stage of the cruise.

The next day was probably one of my favourites of the trip so far.  We got up and left the caravan park early in the direction of Jim Jim and Twin falls.  After 60km of dirt road and then a further 10km of 4 wheel drive tracks (I was in Low Low) we arrived at Jim Jim where we scaled some massive boulders to the waterfall and beautiful swimming hole found at the bottom.  Once again Charlotte and I braved the cold waters which revitalised us for the walk back.  We were undecided whether we would visit Twin Falls as Mel had a cracking headache...but I didn't so on we went.  After another 9km of 4x4 tracks and a 700mm river crossing (don't tell the boss....Tri-Fixx do go everywhere you know) we made it to Twin Falls.  We had a little boat ride on the river which led us to the falls.  There was definitely no swimming here as salties could swim in at any stage so we had to make do with little showers on the walkway to escape the heat.   The best thing about these two destinations was that we basically had them to ourselves.  As they were so remote with only 4x4's able to access them, the majority of tourists flocked to other sites in Kakadu.

Our last day in Kakadu, I got up early and got on my barra charter.  There a no guarantees in fishing so I was very happy after we put the boat in the East Alligator river that I landed my first size barramundi within 15 minutes.  The rest of the trip was just cream landing another barra, a tarpon a catfish and watching the other 2 people on board catch a few fish as well.  A great mornings fishing with plenty of croc spotting as well. 

We finished our last day in Kakadu with a day by the resort pool.  We were enjoying it so much we ended up eating a meal there with some acoustic music to entertain us.

Our last encounter in Kakadu was driving down the road and running over a 2-3 metre Brown snake.  We were just hoping it was killed immediately and not wrapped under the car or caravan waiting for us at our next stop....