12 months of wonderful experiences – a rundown on what we have done and seen so far!

Wow can‘t believe we have been away for 12 months already, time has really flown by.  Here is a rundown of some of our wonderful experiences over the last six months

• Wading in knee deep water through a tunnel gorge with only a torch to guide the way, Tunnel Creek, Kimberley WA.
• Boat cruising while watching the sun set on the biggest man made lake in Australia, Lake Argyle equivalent to 22 Sydney Harbours, what a feat!  Kimberley, WA.
• Swam in the coolest, clearest water and being amazed at the beauty of waterfall plunge pools in NT.  Edith Falls one of our favourites.
• Stared in horror at all the lazy people squeezed into Buley Rockpools at Litchfield National Park, NT.  Such a pity they are gorgeous pools. 
• Lucky enough to have had Tjaetaba Falls plunge pool at the top of the waterfall all to ourselves, Litchfield National Park, NT.
• After a beautiful cool dip, we stared in awe at the spectacular Emma Gorge, El Questro, WA – no wonder it is voted the best in the Kimberley.
• Drove on the Gibb River Road (OK only 50kms twice!)
• Spent the best day ever on the beautiful Fraser Island, Qld the largest sandbar in the world.  What a wonderful day thanks Wendy and Rob. 
• Had a great time observing an elephant keeper’s daily duties keeping his charges healthy and beautiful, Thanks Scotty. Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSW
• Cruised the Geike Gorge, Kimberley WA.  Beautiful gorge walls of white, pink, oranges and browns against the backdrop of a vivid blue sky and blue water.
• Sat on Mindil Beach, Darwin, NT watching the breathtaking sunsets indulging in the wide choice of food and drinks.  Thanks to the Ellis’ for having us stay.
• Walked many kilometres and climbed many rocks in the heat to get to some great spots all to ourselves, Kings Canyon, NT and numerous other locations!
• Toured Bundaberg Rum distillery in Bundaberg, QLD.  And we don’t drink rum but it was good.  The samples were full sized!
• Enjoyed Townsville immensely with our own private tour guides.  Enjoyed it very much Sue and Fred.  Hope to see you soon.
• Had the pleasure of spending Easter with two very excited children, thanks Briette and Alec for reminding us what a joy chocolate can be.
• Enjoyed the walks along Southbank looking across at Brisbane City.
• Spent too much money in Victoria Markets in Melbourne, well how can you not!
• Swam with the current in 32 degree crystal clear water at Bitter Springs thermal pools, Mataranka NT.
• Walked amongst the majestic Grampians mountains, Vic.  They are very majestic and the colours of the snow gums are just lovely.
• Slowly slowly climbed the Alpine Highway via Mt Hotham and slowly crawled down the other side to Porepunkah, Vic.  Only one of the steepest roads in the country!
• Witnessed autumn leaves on trees in Bright Vic.  They really do change colour!
• Ran the length and breadth and perimeter of Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria so as not to miss a keeper presentation or exhibit.  The animal hospital there is better than some people hospitals I reckon.
• Walked and walked the tracks of Mt Buffalo – possibly our favourite national park in Victoria.
• Looked on in sadness and awe at the recovering bushland surrounding the Yarra Valley towns in Victoria  that were devastated by fire in 2009.  How terrifying that fire would have been for the residents and animals.
• Picked up some history lessons in Ballarat, Victoria.  Eureka!
• Visited a ‘real’ haunted house in Junee, NSW.
• Did our first licorice factory tour in Junee, NSW.
• 90 Mile Beach at Lakes Entrance, Victoria is a wonderful expanse of beautiful sand and waves after no real beaches for a while.
• Nothing like buying fresh fresh fish and prawns direct from the fishing boats at Lakes Entrance, Victoria and cheap too!
• Agreed that Wilsons Promontory in Victoria rivals Duke of Orleans National Park in Esperance for its beauty and beaches.
• Wandered around hanging rock and yep, reckon someone could go missing here.  Macedon Ranges, Vic.
• Watching the sun set and then rise over Uluru (Ayres Rock), NT is a absolutely magical experience.
• Freezing our butts off whilst walking to the Valley of the Winds at Kuta Tjuta (Olgas) NT but the views were breathtaking.
• Walking the base of Uluru, NT is awe inspiring.  Wow it is big!
• Had a wonderful time discovering the beautiful billabongs, chasms and gorges at the West McDonnell Ranges, NT.
• Ate the best pizza ever in Alice Springs, NT.
• Wallowing in the exposed rockpools at low tide at Barn Hill Station, WA.
• John caught his first Giant threadfin salmon at Barn Hill Station, WA and it was delicious.  Nothing like fresh fish.
• Had a new clutch and shockies fitted in Darwin at $99/hour for labour!
• Had some wonderful walks at Mirima National Park – the mini bungle bungles – Kununurra, WA.

So what now, well heading home to sort out our house.  We are not sure how long we will be at home, all we know is that we will spend summer at home and think about life and what to do.  So many options and decisions to make.  We know we don’t want this to end and this trip has just whetted our appetite for more and there is so much we haven’t seen and our ‘spots to visit’ and ‘spots to revisit’ list keeps on growing. We have had some fantastic experiences and met some amazing new friends, and we don’t want it to end - so who knows????? we don’t yet.  The only thing I know is that I want to get a really good haircut when we get to Perth – I’ve had some doozies!

For those who want a recap on what we did the first six months, Click here

Days 356-358 – Barn Hill, WA (4-6 Sept)

Another very windy morning, Carl and Troy were sleeping in a swag and copped the full brunt of the wind and red sand so decided they might as well get up and fish at 6.15am.  John joined them about 8.00am.  No fish caught just enjoying the setting.  Whilst it is windy it is actually quite nice as it keeps the temperature down and it is beautiful at the beach as it is an offshore breeze so the ocean is quite flat and the wind not too bad.   The wind died down about 11.00am and the boys came back and Carl and Troy left to head back to Broome.  We just lazed around the park and later in the day took Coco for a walk along the beach and watched the sunset, quite stunning.  Should mention there is a great little kiosk here that sells homemade cakes, vanilla slices and lamingtons every morning, fresh bread, wholemeal, white and multigrain for $6.50/loaf but they are so big they would be the equivalent of 2 loaves.  Homemade sausage rolls that the boys had for lunch one day and said were very good.  Every night you can get a variety of pizzas for $12.50 each and big enough for two big appetites!  All the food is cooked here on the station and is very good value.  Haven’t tried the cakes or pizza yet.  Every Sunday they have a $16.50 three course meal, soup, roast beef and veges and fruit and icecream plus a live band.  So we booked in for that (well not me cos of the meat I took my own).  You take your table and chairs and position yourself at the front of the park to get the best views of the ocean, take you own plates and cutlery and drinks.  So on Sunday after a long two hour morning walk along the beach with Carmel and Nellie (cattle dog) followed by a swim at the beach in the afternoon we headed off to enjoy the Sunday night dinner and entertainment.  The station catered for 100 people tonight but in the peak of the season easily cater for 250 plus!  It is very well done and the food was very good.  The band was a local indigenous band called ‘Blackout’.  Clever.  They weren’t bad at all, played a variety of music that catered for all age groups.  One of the band members played the didgeridoo and then played a coiled didgeridoo (looked like a coiled sausage) hadn’t seen one before.  Sounded very similar to the didgeridoo quite a haunting sound.  It was great night and everyone got into the mood and swing of the evening.  This place is wonderful, so relaxing and the owners/manager really go all out to make sure everyone has a good time and off course the beach and surrounds is just magnificent.  Can understand why it is so popular and people stay here for the dry season.  We are lucky and have caught the tail end of the travellers.  In the peak up to 300 campers/vans are here.  That would be busy.  It is not open during the wet season.  Should mention the weather here is perfect, slight breeze, temperatures hovering around the low to mid 30s and nights down to high teens, low 20s.  It is just about the perfect spot.  Will be hard to leave.

Days 354-355 – Barn Hill, WA (2-3 Sept)

Carl and John had organised to take Carl’s boat out fishing leaving at 7.15am.  So up early and on the road by 6.40am and another 33kms.  I dropped John at the boat ramp and Coco and I went for a lovely walk along Cable Beach.  Still closed for swimming due to the croc.  We had a nice walk then went and sat on the lawned reserve at the boat ramp and waited for the boys to get back from fishing.  They came back empty handed, John caught 10 fish, 2 cod, 1 bream and 7 trevally and Carl caught one trevally.  They threw all the fish back as they were too small.  John took some piccies of a jabiru, a large black and white water bird, generally see more in NT which we didn’t so chuffed he managed to get a photo.  We headed back to roadhouse another 33kms and packed up to leave.  We didn’t get back until 12.30pm and the roadhouse were very good not charging us for the extra time.  After lunch we headed 120kms south to Barn Hill.  Barn Hill is a working cattle station on the edge of the ocean that incorporates a bush caravan park.  We had heard some good reports about it from other travellers and thought it sounded like a good spot to set up camp for a while.  It is very rustic to say the least.  The amenities are roofless and made of corrugated iron and concrete floors.  All part of the charm, the showers are good hot and lots of pressure.  We were told that only 4amp power is available so anything with a heating element is not a good idea.  However we know our neighbour is using the same power source as us and they are using their electric jug so when it is light we will be doing the same (just in case we have a problem don’t want to be sorted it out in the dark).  Our neighbour thinks they tell people this when it is packed and from June to September and it is with the southerners spending 3 and 4 months here.  Now that it not busy (although still a lot of people here) we think it might be relaxed.   No mobile reception and John put up the booster for our mobile/internet on the roof of the car and we have a low signal just enough to get a reasonable internet connection.  Had a quick look at the beach, it goes on and on so lots of walks for Coco.  Will explore further tomorrow.   Woke up to really strong winds (welcome to the west coast) but by about 11.00am they died down and we had beautiful warm day about 30 degrees.  Carl and Troy arrived about 11.30am with boat on tow.  They checked out the beach for launching the boat and by now the winds are onshore and the beach is quite rocky with waves and as Carl is not familiar with this coast decided to hold off launching the boat in those conditions.   So beach fishing was the thing to do.  So armed with gazebo, a few beers, water the boys headed down to the beach for afternoon.  Coco and I joined them a little later and it was just gorgeous.  Bright blue skies, beach sand was a reddish colour and the backdrop to the beach is the glorious Kimberley red with some really interesting rock formations.  Quite stunning.  I took Coco for a walk to a point at the end of the beach and we climbed some rocks and ended up doing a lovely bush walk along a dry creek bed.  I could imagine now fantastic it would be in the wet season to see torrential water gushing down the creek bed to the ocean below. We walked quite a way.   Back to the boys, no fish caught but they had a good day catching up and enjoyed the beach environment.  John really did catch the one that got away he had a big fish that broke his line.  That night we had a bbq and it was chilly we even had to get our trackies out!  Good for sleeping though as we can’t use our air con here with the limited power supply.

3 likely lads

Day 353 – Broome, WA (1 Sept)

Wow woke during the night as it was really cold.  We turned on the heater.  Scary thing was it had gotten down to 17 degrees!  We must be acclimatising.  We travelled 145kms west from Fitzroy Crossing to Roebuck Plains Roadhouse where we stayed for the night.  The roadhouse is 33kms out of Broome.   As much as we didn’t want to (because caravan parks won’t have us because we have a dog bigger than a cat) we had to go into to Broome to buy groceries as there are no stores now until we get to Port Hedland 725kms away and a good week and a half away.  We did though want to catch up with the Douglass’, Carl, Alison, Emma and Troy.  They are staying at the Cable Beach caravan park.  Because we had Coco we caught up with them on Cable Beach watching the sunset, it really is a fantastic spot.  The beach was closed for swimming due to the sighting of a crocodile.  There were a couple of surf live saving boats out there following it.  After the sunset we grabbed some takeaway at one of the cafes overlooking Cable Beach.  Calamari and salad very nice and the night was pleasantly warm. Enjoyed catching up with the Douglass family.  Carl and Troy and going to spend a night with us at our next stop which will be good. Woollies is open until 9pm each night so we did our shopping and headed back 33kms to the roadhouse.  Surprisingly the roadhouse wasn’t too noisy with traffic. The roadhouse closes at 10pm so after this time the trucks aren’t able to come in for diesel - so peace.  We heard the odd road train roaring past during the night but we did have the a/c fan on to help drown out the noise.  We did get woken at 3.50am by a magpie (or some similar noisy bird) that was perched on the tree above our van who cawwed until 5.30am when the sun came up.  That did keep us awake.  For a roadhouse park it wasn’t too bad at all the amenities were modern and spotlessly clean.  So because Broome wouldn’t accommodate us we had to do 132 extra kms!

Jabiru

John was so infuriated by the attitude and unhelpfulness of the Broome Caravan Parks and the Shire that he has written a brief letter which you can read below. He plans to send it to as many people, travel associations, Government ministers and anyone who will read it as it seems Broome lives with an attitude of complacency - that being “because we are so popular we don’t need to care or worry about the tourist industry!” feel free to pass the letter on if you like:
Warning! Broome WA CLOSED! Quarantine Alert!
Tourists thinking of visiting the Western Australian town of Broome should STOP and re-think especially if you have a pet because the town does not want you, your money and especially your pet!
I’m sending this to people I have met while travelling, family, friends, all travel related Associations those I’m a member of and others, Shires, Ministers of Government, State and Federal, individual caravan parks, in fact just about anybody who may one day travel around Australia.
Here is our story, in brief. My wife and I and our RSPCA rescue dog, a kelpie cross, have been travelling around Australia for the last 12 months staying in many caravan parks across this great country. We planned on including Broome but were warned by several other tourists that Broomes’ caravan parks were animal phobic and actively discouraged anyone with a pet. Despite the heads up we decided to make our own enquiries well in advance of our expected arrival date, mid August 2010.
Via email we were unceremoniously informed by the Broome visitor centre that during June, July and August there were NO caravan parks which would accept pets (we assume this is because they are so busy with visitors without pets that they don’t need to cater for them!) however there were three overflow facilities during that period and as of 1^st Sept the Tarangau Caravan Park would then take pets (no doubt to subsidise the falling numbers as the season is drawing to a close, your money is good enough then!).
Unfortunately these “overflow” facilities (temporary sites) are closed at the discretion of the Shire. When we phoned these facilities we were told that they either only had tent sites, were already closed or due to close imminently. Additionally the facilities were of a temporary nature and the maximum period of stay was restricted to seven days. (Tough luck if you wanted to stay longer, enjoy full facilities or spend more money in the town!)
I also contacted the Shire and whilst there response was at least polite, basically they added no help to the situation. So reluctantly we decided to delay our arrival by staying longer in the Kununurra area, planning to then stay at the only Broome park that allowed pets after 1^st Sept.
So today, 26^th Aug, we phoned the Tarangau Caravan Park and were told that our Kelpie cross dog (22Kg’s) was too big that they only want ‘small caravan’ dogs! and so we come full circle once again, that being if you are travelling with a pet bigger than a cat, Broome has the gates firmly shut! They DO NOT want you or your business. Oh, by the way, if you were planning a stop over at Eighty Mile Beach on your way to or from Broome, forget it! as they have the same Broome mentality!
I have re written this several times as my initial response was very emotional! So I hope this give the facts in a cool and calm manner. If you feel this situation is unfair and discriminatory and needs to have attention drawn to it, as we do, please then feel free to pass this on to as many people as you know and maybe one day Broome will wake up before its reputation is tarnished permanently!

Day 352 – Fitzroy Crossing, WA (31 August)

Tunnel Creek National Park
Had a unique day today visited a gorge called tunnel creek.  It is 115kms north west of Fitzroy via 83kms of unsealed road which was badly corrugated in parts.  Took us 1.25 hours to drive there each way but it was so worth it! “Tunnel Creek flows through a water worn tunnel beneath the limestone of the Napier Range, part of the 375 to 350 million-year-old Devonian Reef system. You can walk 750 metres through the tunnel to the other side of Napier Range, wading through several permanent pools and watching for bats and the stalactites that descend from the roof in many places. Some parts are up to 15m wide or 12m high.  The tunnel is the most ancient cave system in WA.At least five species of bat live in the cave, including ghost bats and fruit bats, and stalactites descend from the roof in many places. Freshwater crocodiles are occasionally found in the pools.”  The history of the cave revolves around an Aboriginal leader known as Jandamarra.  He evaded Police and others for three years hiding in the cave He was killed outside its entrance in 1897. Equipped with a torch each and our crocs (shoes) we firstly had to climb over some boulders at the entrance to the tunnel and then pretty much straight into water that was knee deep and cold.  Shortly after we needed to turn on the torches so we could see.  It was fantastic wading through the water shining our torches up at the roof sides and in the water where we saw a marron and little fish that looked like catfish.  There were many stalactites, waterfalls and curtain formations formed from the water seeping through the rock depositing calcium on top of itself.  Due to the sand on the bottom of the tunnel there were no stalagmites.  At one stage a stalactite was dropping droplets of water from its end onto the floor below, we stood there trying to catch the drops in our mouths!   About 2/3rds of the way though part of the roof had collapsed opening the tunnel to the sky.  There were heaps of bats on the nearby trees and it was strange but in groups of 3 or 4 they circled the gap and flew into the tunnel to roost.  They are very noisy creatures sounds like they are telling the newcomers to get of their space.   Eventually we come to the end of the tunnel which continues on as a creek and we turn around to experience it all again.  It was a truly unique experience and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Day 351 – Fitzroy Crossing, WA (30 August) – Week 52

Geike Gorge
Monday morning we went into town.  Fitzroy Crossing has a population of about 1500 people with 80% being indigenous.  Not much at all in town, two petrol stations and a very rough incredibly expensive and very makeshift supermarket.  The supermarket burnt down in July 2009 and the new one won’t be ready until October 2010.  In the afternoon we went on a boat trip down Geike Gorge.  The boat trip is run by DEC (Dept Environment and Conservation) with a indigenous ranger guide.  “Geikie Gorge is situated at the junction of the Oscar and the Geikie Ranges. The mighty Fitzroy River has carved a 30 metre deep gorge into the remains of the ancient limestone barrier reef that existed here in the Devonian period.  When the Fitzroy is in full flood during the wet season it covers the whole national park. Those floods rise over 16 metres up the gorge walls and the continuous rise and fall of the water has left the bottom of the walls bleached white.”  Geike gorge is a lovely gorge with a variety of colours ranging from white, pinks, oranges and browns.  There are two walls of note, the east and the west, the west being the most photographed because of its colours.  Our guide gave a very thorough commentary about the geology, fauna, flora and the indigenous history. Unfortunately the river is not without its problems.  River vegetation is slowly being taken over by introduced noxious weeds. One has leaves like a cabbage has that has a burr that burrows into everything particularly sheeps wool and eventually into their bodies and organs and they die a painful death. The plants were bought into Australia by the Afghans to feed their camels when the Afghan train runs were used in the early 1900s.  Such a shame as the flower is quite pretty.  An introduced creeper vine has taken hold and it slowly strangling many trees along the riverbank.  It was very warm on the water with no shade on the boat.  We saw quite a few freshwater crocodiles including juveniles cooling off on the river banks.  The cruise lasted an hour and was very good.  It probably is the only way to see both the west and east walls of the gorge which are the highlights.  Can kayak the gorge which would be interesting as there are many caves at water level which could be worth a closer look.  We have some lovely red tailed cockatoos in the caravan park which we don’t see very often, they are so noisy but good to see them.

Days 350 – Fitzroy Crossing, WA (29 August)

Sunday brings another early morning and the promise of another hot day.  Packed and ready to leave the Mary Pool free camp to discover we had a flat battery.  Our portable fridge drains the battery which it shouldn’t as we have a cut out switch attached to the portable fridge that stops this but for some reason it doesn’t work.  We also have a heavy duty battery but that doesn’t help either.  Anyway no problem we have a power pack battery charger that will do it and once we knew we were going to free camp John set it up to charge through the cigarette lighter on route (he was confident it was fully charged but this would be extra backup).  But alas the power pack battery charger didn’t not want to know – whilst it showed a charge it wasn’t enough to turn the engine.  So after John had his grumble about free camps and why we shouldn’t do them he was ready to charge the power pack in the van by a 12 volt.   I figured this would take ages and suggested we should go ask if any campers have charge leads or similar. Why don’t guys think of this.  My job - so the first couple I talk to, yeah they have jumper leads and the guy (numberplate read Frogs – didn’t ask) drove over to us in this car and we were started in minutes.  The 12 volt charge we would still be waiting for!  So off we trek to Fitzroy Crossing about 180kms west.   An uneventful drive thank goodness and into a very nice well laid out green caravan park with clean amenities.  Not expecting this it in this town.  It was hot when we got here so quickly set up and spent sometime in the pool cooling off.  The pool was well shaded and was icy cold and so what was needed. Once it cooled down we took Coco for a walk along the Fitzroy River – a very dry riverbed at the moment but when this river floods it is one of the largest rivers in the world. “Record floods occurred in 1983, 1986 and 2002 with approximately 13 metres of water over the old concrete crossing. The flow rate down the 15 kilometre wide flood plain at Fitzroy was estimated to be 30,000 cubic metres per second. In flood, it is probably the largest river in Australia.”  Fitzroy Crossing is 2524kms north of Perth and lies on the banks of the Fitzroy River!  It covers a catchment of 90,000 square kilometres.  “In 1935 Fitzroy got its first bridge, a low level concrete structure.  However during the wet season this bridge could be closed for months and intrepid travellers were treated to the experience of a flying fox which operated 200 metres south of the bridge.  When a new bridge was built in 1974, the focus of the town grew away from the original site.  Fitzroy Crossing is one the fastest growing town sites in the Kimberley due to Aboriginal resettlement, mining and tourism”.