Kooljamin

I have never been so eager to get away from a family in all my life! I know I shouldn't be saying that but if you were here you would be saying the same thing!  Good riddance!

It took us about an hour to get to Kooljamin from Middle Lagoon. This place is definitely more "my" style and caters for the luxury camper. They even have a restaurant but strangely enough they are not licenced, much to our dissappointment!

They have two beaches here, one you can drive on, swim and fish and the other one they only recommend fishing as the currents are too strong. Jason couldn't wait to get the car back on the beach so off we went for an afternoon of lazing in the sun. We played soccer and collected shells.

We then went to the western beach and this is where you really get to see the red cliffs against the white sandy beach. It is spectacular! I'm not sure if you would see that anywhere else in the world!

On our second day here we actually slept in till 7am (which is very late for us!) We drove to One Arm Point which is an aboriginal community at the top of Cape Leveque. We had to get a permit to enter and because it was blowing a gale, swimming and fishing were out so we headed to the Hatchery. This was really cool and the boys got to feed the turtles, barramundi and nemo fish. We even saw a 3 week old turtle!  So cute!

We headed back to camp for a lazy afternoon. We indulged in an ice cream and the boys played tackles in the grass. A new family arrived from Tasmania so the kids had some new friends. These kids were well behaved (and fully supervised!) so I didn't mind them playing together.

Off to another camp tomorrow called Quondong Point before we start to head south again. I better enjoy the hot weather while I can before it starts to get cold again. It's hard to believe we have been on the road for 9 weeks, it has gone so fast!

Nat

Middle Lagoon - Day 2

Unbelievable....

Woke up this morning and again this kid comes over and wants to run amok. I am tiring of this quickly because there is no direction from the parents.

Down to the beach again for a great day in the sun. Fishing again, playing soccer and beach tennis with the boys, and relaxing, beautiful.

It is a great spot for the kids to swim, is quite sheltered and the sand is nice. Good whiting on the other beaches late in the day and reasonable amenities, but only just. No dunny paper for 2 days, so remember to take it with you. Do make the trip, it is a gorgeous spot.

The ferals did annoy us again by just letting the kids (2 & 4 yr olds) just go off up the beach into the dunes out of sight alone, and then us trying to stop Z & Mav is bloody hard... they are very head strong like their Mum.. none of that comes from me!!

Strangely, the wife was quite nice, very sociable, and truthful in what they are doing on their holiday etc, the bloke just bullshitted us & everything we said he tried to outdo....Knob. Nat came to this conclusion last night after 30 seconds with him...

The best part of the day was when he started to puff his chest and take the family out on the canoe. They paddled around for about 10 minutes then came in, on the way he saw a wave & tried to get the canoe on it...(obviously because I was wading waist deep swimming with Z & he is a show off...)& then bugger me, he got sideways and tipped the whole family over, rods and all into the water!!!!! 

Priceless...while a small part of me was concerned for the little girl screaming her lungs out, it took all of my will not to break into laughter!!

I just looked out of the corner of my eye to see they were all OK so I just made if look like I didn't see...but I did and it was great!!!!! I'm not sure if he would have extended the same courtesy, but then again I wouldn't put my family in that position and would take them for a real paddle, not 10 minutes...

Off to Kooljamin at Cape Leveque tomorrow & looking forward to it, is another spot we have longed to get to. 

Jase....

Middle Lagoon

Today we left Broome for Middle Lagoon which is about 160klm north of Broome towards Cape Leveque & then another 40 odd klm west to the coast, unsealed road.

Nice spot, run by an indigenous lady. I was told to have a look around for a spot by another traveller & not to just take what she gives you. I am glad I did, for the same price we got absolute beach front at the top of a dune, overlooking the bay. No power but we are self sufficient.

Set up & down to the beach for a swim and fish. I hooked a Long Tong which was different, much like a barracuda and he snapped my only popper so a big cranky. Nothing else took any bait.

It got a bit squeezy by dusk with the whole ridge full of campers, which is OK but we had this knob come and camp beside us complaining he couldn't get his caravan in, implying we didn't give him enough room. We were 1m+ inside the line, not our fault he is an amateur driver.

Then out come his feral kids!!! Now I know ours are far from perfect, but we discipline them when needed. We had just washed the boys and their son comes over and entices the boys  to play in the dirt. We said no, well in earshot of the knob explaining they had just had a bath, and he might as well  have encouraged it because while watching them, he didn't say anything to his boy...and filthy they got after getting them clean at dusk.

We bathed them again in a bucket and had an early night.....

Jase.....

Broome

We have been in Broome for 5 days now and have loved it. We have been having such a good time we have forgotten to do the blog!

There are heaps of grey nomads around but also there is a fair share backpackers here too which is a nice refreshing change. The town is very Asian influenced which I was surprised about.

Cable beach is beautiful and the water is so blue. Broome itself is very busy but i guess you expect that in any tourist town. We have spent a fair bit of time on the beach and Jason's even tried his hand at fishing but with no luck. I don't think Broome is famous for its fishing!

The other morning we got up nice and early on one of the windiest days to view the dinosaur footprints. You can only view them at certain low tides.  It took us a while, along with about 50 other people but we finally found them.  That was pretty cool but the boys were more interested in jumping in the puddles and of course Mav was soaking wet by the time we left.

On Monday we went on a camel ride. Jason wasn't so keen to go but we all had a great time (I think I enjoyed it more than any of us!)  

If you drive north on the beach from Cable Beach there is a nudist beach. We saw all the oldies with their bits out! I tell you all the old guys are keen to get their gear off! We found our own slice of beach  and watched the sunset (I will mention we did have our clothes on!) It was magic! Our friends Kim, Trudi and Ziah (we met them along the Gibb) arrived in Broome yesterday so joined us for cheese and crackers and a few wines along the beach. It was a great way to catch up.

Of course we couldnt come to cable beach without going to Zanders restaurant. We had a great night and even came home with a wine glass and coffee mug with Zanders written on it!  It was smuggled out in Kim and Trudi's backpack - shhhh don't tell anyone! (Nanna would have been so proud, haha).

Off to Cape Leveque today....

Nat

Zanders Restaurant at Cable Beach

Zander calls it "my" restaurant.

Broome 1st Day

Today we got up and Nat took Mav for a walk while I serviced the Prado. I want to give it a good wash and vacuum over the next couple of days because it is a real pig.

We then went for a walk through town and had a look around. Nat doesn’t seem well and the Zander was in fine form again so whilst we did see most of the town, it was a struggle given they both wouldn’t do as we asked, but all god when we got back in the car and back to the camp site.

Nat went for a massage this afternoon and picked up some more food from Woollies while I took the boys down to the beach and had a play in the sand. Z rode his deadly and I pushed Mav in the pram. Some good time for Nat to be away from us I think.....

Tomorrow the plan is for the low tide dinosaur footprints, then the markets, then the beach, and hopefully I can spend some time cleaning the car and reading my book.

I am on to my 5th novel whilst being away. I am not a reader by any stretch, mainly because I never have the time and I always fall asleep given I am tired when I do pick anything up, so I am happy I am making an effort to relax and switch of.

All good, Jase....

Broome finally....

We departed Derby today for the 2.5 hr drive to Broome.

I often wonder whether Zander is taking in the differences in landscape and changes in surrounds that we see each day, Maverick is different - he just hangs out for creek crossings, cows, road trains & Boab trees, but with Z, I want him to take it all in being that bit older.

A half hour in today and he says - in his exact words "Daddy, this road is boring, there is nothing cool to look at like in the Kimberley." He is obviously paying attention which pleased us.

Into Cable Beach Caravan Park, not so happy about that given there are 600 odd sites and they are full. This is a tourist town that is for sure and a major change to what we have lived for the last month. Whilst our setup is pretty good, the caravans we see around the place are like homes on wheels & we feel like the poor little brother when among them, I guess that's why they call them caravan parks. We doubt whether we will ever see them in the sand dunes of Fraser Island or they might feel the same way we do at times.....

A major town means access to most things so while Nat took the boys to the beach for a walk, I  picked up all that I need to service the Prado tomorrow, fitted a new pull down clip on hard floor, high pressure water blasted all the red dirt off the whole rig and we fully set up camp - awning/Telly/floor etc.

5 days here should be nice, so we wanted to get that sorted so we could relax.

Dinner time and I was missing 1 child, here was Zander across the way in a caravan with a brand new friend, laying on his Mum & Dads bed with his feet on the wall watching a movie....he has become somewhat of a socialite and Maverick is almost as bad now too. Pleasantly for us people keep saying they are very well mannered, polite young boys - which amazes us because we don't ever get to see it!!!!!

Jase.....

Derby

After a freezing night at Windjana, I think the coldest of our trip so far, we were eager to pack up and head to civilisation - Derby.  I have never been so glad to see bitumen road and a supermarket in my life!  All we have been eating for the last few days is dry saos and saladas so our first port of call was a coffee shop to have a steak sandwich and pizza.

We decided to stay 2 nights here so we can sort out a few things.  Jason called it our "work" day.  We need to get a new dual battery for the car, replace a stabiliser bar on the trailer (it fell off somewhere along the Gibb), adjust the trailer breaks and do about 10 loads of washing.

Derby is a nice town, much bigger than I expected and the main street is lined with boab trees.  We took the boys to the local swimming pool, stocked up at Woolworths.  I think we went a little crazy after not seeing a proper supermarket for 3 weeks!

All our jobs are done now so we can now enjoy Broome when we get there.

Did I mention we are going to Broome tomorrow.....

Nat

Tunnel Creek

Windjana Gorge & Tunnel Creek

We arrived early afternoon. The campground is similar to Silent Grove but much bigger. We set up and the boys and I went for a walk to spot some crocodiles. We were going to go for a swim until we saw about 10 crocodiles on the other side of the bank!

Tunnel Creek was about 30kms down the road so we packed our torches and headed into the dark tunnel.  It was so dark you couldn't see anything!  The boys thought it was so cool.  We wadded through the water for about 750m to the other side.  Most of the water was only up to our knees but there was one section that got up to our thighs.  This has been a highlight for me!  It was fun.

We had a relaxing afternoon while Mav had a sleep and then our friends Pete and Lisa showed up again and camped next to us.  We went for another walk through the gorge to spot more crocodiles.  There was even one right on the sand near us!  

We had a nice night around the fire with Lisa and Pete having a few drinks.  We even found a bottle of wine too which I was stoked about!

Nat

   

Silent Grove - Bell Gorge

After saying goodbye to our new friends from Adeliade Kim, Trudi & Ziah (the boys loved Zia) who we first met at Mt Elizabeth after Jase kept them awake all night, we headed to Silent Grove. We stopped at Imintji for a bit more fuel and basic supplies. At least here everything was in date and we even had a Mrs Macs meat pie! Yummmmm! We ventured onto Silent Grove campground. We were set up just after lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. We will tackle Bell Gorge walk first thing in the morning. We had a sausage sizzle for dinner as we are fast running out of food. I even had a beer! That's how desperate things are getting!!

We were up bright and early to go to Bell Gorge. It was only a 2 km return walk so it was a relatively short walk compared to what we have been doing. It was a nice walk in to the falls then we ventured a bit further on to the base of the falls for a swim. We were there early enough to have the whole place to ourselves. As we were leaving we past about 50 people walking in so we were glad we went early to  miss the crowds.

We headed back to camp and since it was only 10 in the morning we decided to pack up and keep going to Windjana Gorge.

Nat

Mornington Wilderness Park - Day 2

This morning when we had breakfast we opened the long life milk to find it was curdled. Use by date of December 11 and we bought 3 litres. You guessed it, like the Pizza Shapes, from Mr Barnett. I then checked everything we bought and apart from 1 item - all out if date.

Cranky!!! I am sure that is not legal to sell items out of date……

Nat wouldn’t let me drive the 80k's or so back up the road to give it to them so I just had to suck it up.  I don’t get it, they had heaps of people in there, state of the art scanners and tills, you can’t tell me milk and eggs don’t turnover.

I have a theory in that I think that is all that they might get supplied because they supply the indigenous community also, at half the price we pay....the message is if you go there, check the use by dates and give them a mouthful from me.  

After brekky we went to Dimond Gorge for a look and again, from our aspect we didn't think it was as breathtaking as what we have seen so far. We didn't however get to canoe right up the gorge so it is just an assumption from what we saw. The beach area was great and we just laid the blanket down for about 3hrs while the boys played in the shallows in front of us, a taste of what awaits on the west coast, sensational.  

Nat ran out of wine so we did the cheese platter thing, wines and Coronas, the boys kicked the footy and played tackles - it was just a good way to spend the arvo.

The ranger did a slideshow by the fire tonight which was quite informative in terms of The Kimberley Wildlife preservation movement. One thing that resinated with me is that 40-45% of the Kimberley burns each year in the dry season, and sometimes the fires can last 3 months. The smoke compliments the red dust out here, if its not one it’s the other…..Mav blew up so Mum took him home early and Z & I stayed till stumps, then caught frogs on the walk home which was cool.

Off to Silent Grove tomorrow to do Bell Gorge. Not long left in the Kimberley now, all told it will be a month or so we are seeing as much as we can in a short time.

Jase...

Mornington Wilderness Park

This morning we moved on to Mornington Wilderness Park. Not before we realized we may not have enough juice in our batteries after nearly 2 weeks without power.....They don't allow generators here, so this next couple of days could be interesting...

I took the boys for one last swim while Nat watched the genny as we tried to pump as much charge into the batteries as we could before we went. When I came back we realized we had left the keys in the camper.......& it was now folded down.....

Luckily the spare set was reachable in one of the drawers through the back doggy door (because there is a forward thinking person who is ready for anything in our family......) all good and we didn't have to open the trailer again.

We arrived at the campground and it seems very nice. This is our 30th stop and almost 10,000 k's, so its pretty hard to believe. We arrived early enough that we had time to go to one of the gorges (Sir John) which was nice but not like what we have seen so far.

In saying that  we managed to have it to ourselves and put a blanket down to polish off the 10 year old pizza shapes while Dad was the only one to brave a swim....then we went to a waterhole called Bluebush for a another swim. This was great and we can't get enough of the clear fresh water to swim in each place we go, although disappointingly the boys get clean and then just roll in the dirt again.....but have lots of fun doing it.

They have a bistro type thing here which looks nice, tomorrow night we might go and do the $20 for two cheese platter and a couple of drinks.....because my booze hag Mrs has run out of wine. This we will look forward too.

Boys have been great for a couple of weeks but Z has regressed again, so we have taken away all electronic devices and it seems to be working, this can't be a bad thing although he does ask a poo load more questions on the road which is great but bloody tiring.

Another gorge tomorrow, bird watching and maybe canoeing, either way it should be nice.

Jase....

Manning Gorge

A bit shaky this morning.....stayed up until all hours with old mate (Peter) from Darwin who is in the ADF. He likes a chat, a bourbon and a healthy fire so we had nothing in common. We must have been going OK because Nat never comes and asks me to stop or be quiet, but she did last night because its a small world on a quiet cattle station in the outback......"one more can of coke to finish the bourbon" I said, apparently there were a few more opened after that I am told, and a huge dint in the bottle this morning...

We Packed up and took off to Manning Gorge which was highly recommended, again with the Darwin guys. Along the way we did a re-fuel and basic food stock up at Mt Barnett Roadhouse, diesel $2.10 p/l, & 10 or so items from the shop @ $79, so they didn't miss us.

Fuel has been consistent at that price right up the Gibb, Kununurra was $1.86 and before that mid $1.50's.

The pizza shapes we got the boys from there had a use by date of Sep 11 which we found out after they started munching into them, they are still breathing so all good. The eggs go bad in a couple of days and I refuse to check how old the bread is, albeit frozen.

To get into the gorge (after we set up) we found that you have to walk across a river at chest height with all your valuables in a floating box which you push across to keep dry. Good fun and different which is cool.

The walk in is challenging and takes about an hour to do, but definitely a good idea and no reason to not go.  Nat stayed with the boys and Lisa with the kids, and the two dads went alone.

To best describe it - a huge crystal clear waterhole at the base of a massive waterfall which you can swim over and into, under, and stand up to see through the water falling.......simply brilliant.

To give Nat and the boys an idea I recorded my swim over there and under, this was quite hard - deep water, powerful waterfall pushing you away from the falls, a camera in one hand swimming one handed and trying to keep it level and narrate the process at all once. Tricky work but I got there, and bloody funny to watch. I might be understating a couple of extra kegs on the old frame at the moment and a little unfit as to what I sometimes might be, but the heart rate was getting up there.

Just an overnight stop today, off to Mornington Wilderness Camp tomorrow for a couple of days. No beers tonight, early one for all of us.

Jase....

Mount Elizabeth Station - Day 2

Finally some 4WD'ing....

This morning we drove to the private gorge that exists on the station called Munnumurra. It was some of the best 4wding we have had so far in getting there, steep, rocky accents and decents, and basically 1.5hrs to do 8klms, so not for the faint hearted. We went with a couple we met from Darwin, Pete and Lisa and their 2 kids the same age as our boys, and spent the day just lazing by the rock pools and waterfall. Once again like so many other spots, we had it to ourselves and it makes it all the more special.

Lawn Hill Gorge seems so long ago and we loved it but there is something special about this place called The Kimberley. The gorges and falls are consistently magical and like nothing you will ever see elsewhere.

The boys continue to live in the dirt, so we just give up now, they love it so it's easier for them to look like they haven't bathed in weeks. Not sure what the guys from Darwin think though, here is Z Mann and Mav inviting their kids to join them in some pure West Oz red dirt. 

It is origin night and I have clued my old mate Corey up on sending me the scores on the satellite  phone.....go the maroons. Will get the fire pumping and have a few frothies in support....

Jase.....

Mount Elizabeth Station

We drove from the falls campsite to Mt Elizabeth Station today, 340klms of the toughest corrugated roads we have seen so far and it took us 7 hrs. We are a little cranky and tired tonight but I wanted to come here because they say you can self drive to their private gorges and swim, so I wanted to be in on that. No powered sites, only one shower and no washing facility for Nat, so she wasn’t overly happy but we have the genny pumping and charging everything up. She is all good now after hand washing everything….. We haven’t seen power for a few days now so when we get down the road it will be nice to wash the dirt off. We are fast running out of food and the boys are getting a bit edgy, so that means Mum is too, they eat a crap load of food between them so it is hard to keep up and make them understand there isn’t a pantry like home. We can refuel and food up in Imintgi in a few days as there is a store there apparently - and we will find ourselves about half way. Nat is definitely over the red dust and corrugations!!!

The drive tomorrow is 10klms in and takes 1.5-2hrs, very rocky and steep in parts. Just what I want (not so much Nat!!) and why we came here. The boys love it when the monster truck (Prado) gets on a bit of a lean and goes through the water. I don’t know who smiles more, me or them……will let you know how it goes.

Jase………….

Mitchell Falls - the walk in

Today was brilliant and tragic at the same time. After I wrote the blog yesterday we went to book a chopper flight out from the falls back to the campsite because if it was going to take the 4 odd hours to walk in there, the kids would have been too much. When we arrived they turned us away because there had been a tragedy on the falls. A lady in her mid thirties from Victoria on a tour bus got too close to the cliff face and fell over, she was killed. The helicopter business had to assist retrieving the body so we had to come back this morning to see if they could do us a flight. Luckily they could and we were able to walk in/fly out, albeit a little shaken up by the bad news from yesterday.

Once again, the tough walk in is a myth, in reality we could have walked back but they ham it up before you go so they can snavel the revenue for the chopper rides. We think it’s the easiest walk we have had so far. In saying that the boys loved the flight back to camp so its good that we did it, and it really gave a great perspective of it from the air after seeing and feeling it close up – the falls are bloody amazing. We were able to spend 2-3 hrs up there - swim, have lunch, walk across all of the rocks with the kids, and just admire what is a very remote, beautiful place. There was even an old bloke who decided this is too nice not to get my 70 year old bits out and go for a skinny dip in the cold water….that was a sight for sore eyes I can tell you. We did spare some thoughts for the lady that lost her life, and we had a pretty good idea where she might have gone over, but we tried not to let it worry us too much, it is only the second death in 15 years so its not like it happens all the time. Unfortunately she just got too close because she wanted that perfect photo.

The guys from Newcastle are great, as are the kids, a fire last night and again tonight, lots of stars and all that sort of fun stuff. Mitchell falls was magical, worth the drive, and the patience to get here. Stick it on your list. It is 400klms return from Drysdale Station, so no picnic, but not to be missed.

Jase…………..

Mitchell Falls - getting there

To go or not to go?

We decided last night that we would make the effort to drive to Mitchell Falls – with the camper. There seems to be a bit of a myth about this place in terms of how hard it is to get here, but I can tell you it is a myth so make sure you take the journey.

At Drysdale Station I wandered around several camper trailer sites asking for detail around the drive up there and the walk in – nothing was consistent. I heard things such as “the drive is the toughest corrugated road in Australia, it will take 6hrs minimum to get there from here, there are potholes that will swallow 4WD’s hole, King Edward River is over the bonnet, the 7klm in from Kalumburu Rd is the worst you will ever see, if you value your equipment don’t take the trailer- camp here and drive up in the car, the steep rocky decent in is tragic, flat tyres galore, we are choppering in and out, the walk is 8hrs return.” Needless to say I wasn’t overly keen to go – well I was, but Nat was quite rightly concerned with the kids and everything, so as a last resort I went over to see a bloke that didn’t have a trailer and had just rolled in. He put my fears to rest as he had just come from there.

The reality is that it is very corrugated, no doubt, the potholes swallowed my wheels, that’s about it, the King Edward didn’t get over my running boards, the first 7klms in was a little rocky, but nothing serious, the decent in was medium at best and not challenging, and if you are smart, you won’t get a flat – you just have to slow down. We got here in 4hrs, with the trailer, and the walk is tomorrow. I am sure that will be an overstatement too.

To summarise, we are here, it was not as treacherous as everyone thinks, we are glad we made the journey as long as the walk isn’t too hard tomorrow. Nice quiet campsite, we travelled with the family from Newcastle who left their caravan and brought a tent. He was a little dirty because there are caravans here and he would have made it in OK. We are pumped for the walk tomorrow.

Jase……………

Ellanbrae & Drysdale River

We reluctantly left Home Valley (I could easily have stayed another few days) and headed to Ellanbrae for morning tea as they are famous for their scones. And they were delicious but of course Jase made a snide comment about the price! I guess they have to make money out here somehow.

We continued to Drysdale River Station to camp for the night. The family we met in Home Valley; Dave, Natasha, Jye (4 years old) and Emma (2 years old) also arrived here and we were deciding weather or not to travel to Mitchell Falls. Jason really wants to go and I do too but the walk is 9kms return and we have been told it takes 6 hrs to drive there on very rough roads. I am not worried about getting there, the car and trailer will have no dramas, I am more worried about the walk with the boys. Personally I think we are biting off more than we can chew but I will guess we will see who wins that argument!

Jason spent the whole afternoon talking to every camper here to suss it out. You can get a chopper ride either in or out and just walk one way - so guess what? I lose again, will will head there in the morning! But the good thing is our new friends are coming too so hopefully the kids will help each other along....

Nat

 

Home Valley

We arrived at Home Valley just after lunch and camped in the general camping area (much to Jason's dissappointment!)  It is quite nice here, lots of green grass, a pool and a playground - not to mention a nice bar & restaurant. The boys spent the afternoon playing in the playground, making new friends and swimming. They definitely cater more to kids here than at El Questro, but you can't compare the two as they are very different.

We decided our second day here was going to be a well earned "rest" day. It was a perfect place, the boys were occupied in the playground while I had a never ending mountain of washing to do!  We had bacon and eggs for breakfast, the first time on our trip. Lots of campers left this morning so it was a quiet, enjoyable, relaxing day.

We ended up at the pool all afternoon, the kids swimming and playing soccer while Jase and I read our books. We even indulged in a glass of wine and beer. It doesn't get much better than this!

We decided to indulge further and we had dinner at Dusty's Bar. A good feed, a few drinks and some live music always makes for a good stay.  Why not? You only live once!

Nat

Emma Gorge

We left El Questro early to tackle Emma Gorge. It was a 3.2 km return walk over some very rough and challenging rocks. We made it there eventually and it was spectacular! Jase was the only one brave enough to have a swim - it was icy cold! Even the boys didn't get in! After carrying Mav most of the way we finally made it back to Emma Gorge Resort for a well deserved ice cream. Back in the car, we headed to Home Valley. It wasn't far, only about 29kms further along the Gibb River. We crossed the mighty Pentecost River & I must say it was a bit of a disappointment! It was easy going and not a lot of water. The rivers we crossed yesterday at El Questro were far more challenging then that!

Nat

The boys feeding the horses at El Questro

El Questro Lookouts

Today we awoke to sore heads and what I thought was 2 days’ worth of fire wood was decimated last night, oh well, guess we are going hunting again today.

We went to the station stables because the boys wanted to feed the horses an apple, they really dug this and Nat got some great shots. After this we went to Zebedee Springs where the pockets of rock pool springs were amazingly warm, 30 degrees consistently in fact and it was a real treat, the boys didn't want to leave.

There are quite a few lookouts over the station, so we explored them. The first time we have really hit low range and some steep rocky ascents & decents, great fun and Nat was a little quiet at some hairy moments, but the Prado continues to be as reliable as rain in the Qld summer when you are trying to build a new depot.  

After this we were told about an unexplored track which leads to a waterhole which is great fishing, so we followed it. Not sure about unexplored as we passed 4 utes full of blokes driving out, but the track was the most intense we have done and definitely a lot of fun. We threw a couple of lures and soft plastics in but to no avail. Dad got a red bream which jumped off the hook as I tried to bring it in on the rocks, but that was it. Zander had fun winding in the lures and we had the place all to ourselves, very special and not sure where you can do this anywhere with this type of remoteness.

No fire tonight, we are going to get going early in the morning so we can attack Emma Gorge early and avoid the heat.

Hopefully Mav will do some walking instead of being carried. Time will tell. Anyone that says that on this sort of trip  "the kids were just great" (if they are young and dependent) are kidding themselves.  If your kids can't feed, crap in a porta potty or walk 5klm by them self then it will be hard work.

This has and will continue to be a great - but very busy holiday. Nat & I like to call it a labour of love - because the good stuff far outweighs the bad. Our boys are good at times, & bad at times - just the same as at home only there quite often is no retreat in a tent on wheels....you just don't always get the time to fully relax. Nat and I have been getting on famously even when I am tired and irritable.

Stuff like last night and today just makes it all worthwhile and we wouldn't change it for anything.

Jase out....

First stop on the Gibb - El Questro

Today we left Kununurra and again it wasn't the most pleasant stay. Noisy all night again but we had to stock up on supplies for our journey down The Gibb River Rd, which is an area we have been looking forward to.

We couldn't believe our luck when we arrived at El Questro Station not expecting to get a private camp site (which are highly publicized) along the Pentecost River away from everyone. We love remoteness, but appreciate the need for power and as luck would have it, today was our day.

I rocked up to the info centre to find a line of about 4 people. I waited in line behind everyone listening to this exceptional young girl telling all of these people the same thing - where to go - what to do - lengths of walks - what she thought was easy and what wasn't etc, until it was my turn.

As luck would have it the old  bloke before me relinquished his private campsite because "it was too far from the toilets"....I knew I was on a winner.

I said "I will take old mates site if he wants to be closer to the dunnies!"

She was happy to oblige as it was the only one left. Now we find ourselves in what she described by the staff here as the best private campsite in all of El Questro, just  enjoying the serenity.......

Zander blew up because he knew that at a site with nobody else the chances are he couldn't make any new friends, we just said suck it up little fella, this is what camping is all about....& he hasn't complained once. We honestly think that in these types of camping areas the boys are better because there are no distractions, just us in the bush with a river, a fire, and the quiet. So - as far as I know it's 10 o'clock on a weeknight and we are quite sloshed sitting in front of a brilliant fire that our sons created about 6 hrs ago.

After setting up this afternoon as a family we fished for Barramundi, gathered wood, built this fire, sat in the dirt & played cars, watched the moon rise, spotted birds and listened to the sounds that the bush brings you around a camp fire. They also managed a few games on Mum & Dads iPhone too, but it is 2012 and that is cool. At around 8pm the boys enjoyed a few toasted marshmallows and some cuddle time with the oldies, excellent, just excellent. 

Nat never stays up later than 9pm but tonight she was more than happy to sit with me in front of the fire and talk tall stories with her old Mann...As much as she loves a good hot shower and some power to charge everything up, I think she is more comfortable with us in the dirt by the fire with nobody that can hear us screaming at the kids!!  She is a very special (as she will put it) feral looking camping lady...

Tomorrow we will do the lookout and thermal springs thing, I am sure it will be brilliant.

Jase

 

It's a tough life when Mum and Dad make you walk 2kms!!

Just like his Daddy....

Bungle Bungles

After a very sleepless night thanks to a very drunk backpacker who sang and played guitar till all hours of the morning, we were glad to see the back end of Kununurra!  Let's just say we won't be staying back in this caravan park again!

We drove 3 hours to the turn off to the Purnululu National Park then it was another 1 and a half hours drive along a very windy and rough 4WD track.  The boys and I were lucky not to be car sick (and secretly I think it may be Jason's driving!)  Note to self: I must take the motion sickness tablets on our way out of here!

We got to our campsite and were set up by late afternoon.  Jason was instantly relaxed when we arrived here because there was no one around!  Such a difference from last night!  There was only one other couple camping in the same area as us and of course Jason befriended them as they had the fire pit near their camp.  Gee, I wonder were Zander gets it from??? They seemed like very nice couple and seasoned travellers.  They also like to get "off the beaten track" like Jason so they gave us us some great locations to visit in WA to get away from the crowds.

We got up early (thanks to sun rising about 5am in WA!) to tackle the Cathedral Gorge walk.  No one tells you how vast this area is as it was another 30kms along a dirt track from our camp to get to the car park.  It was a 3km return walk and the boys sooked up a storm!  It was well worth the whinging from Zander and having to carry Mav most of the way - It was amazing.  Not to mention the stripped beehive formations that the Bungle Bungles are famous for.  You can't explain how different this place is as I have never seen anything like it, and the pictures don't do it justice.  You will just have to come and visit it yourself.

After lunch we drove north to another walk called the Echidna Chasm.  We had been told this was another great walk and it was only 2kms, so great for the boys.  I was a bit apprehensive because I was waiting for the boys to crack it as Mav hadn't had a sleep today but they both wanted to go so off we went.  Of course Mav was carried half the way and Z kept having "breaks" every 2 mins but we eventually made it.  You walk up a dry creek bed full of rocks into a chasm.  We walked between two 100m high rock walls only body width apart.  We had to climb over rocks and up ladders (and of course Mav wanted to do all those things....)  It was spectacular and I am glad we did it.

Overall we really loved the Bungle Bungles.  It was definately worth going off the beaten track to see it.  There are a lot of people here doing the walks but it seems only a handful of people camp out here.

Tomorrow we are back to Kununurra to restock and refuel.  Gibb River Road here we come.....

Nat

North to Kununurra

Today we headed north to Kununurra to restock and stay the night before starting the Kimberley tomorrow. Everyone so far has raved about this town but first impressions arent anything to go on for us. The place is very busy, every caravan park is overpriced & chocked, the shopping centre is packed and only one diesel pump working at the servo.

To add to our frustration, you cant buy full strength beer before 2pm in the Kimberley or Pilbara, there is no cask wine which is great for travelling, and I found out after going back after 2pm and waiting in line that was 20 deep with two cartons of beer and 4 bottles of wine that I was only allowed 1 box and 2 bottles!!!! Unbelieveable.......whats a bloke got to do to get a beer around here???

I seconded a local bloke and befriended him so I could tell the guy at the counter the he was with me - so I ended up getting what I wanted.

In Katherine you cant buy grog before 2pm full stop, in Darwin they ask you for your license so they can scan it to see if you are on the banned list (apparently there are 2500 of them) and it is dear as poison.

I am sure Kunnanurra is a beautiful town when you get used to it, but we are looking forward to taking off to the Bungle Bungles tomorrow, a couple of nights seclusion we hope.

Jase.