Last day on the Gibb.

June 11, 2022June 13, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 1 Comment

I have made packing up after each stop easy . The secret is not too many clothes and keep everything handy on the top of the bag in the same position!

Our last day on the Gibb River Rd and we want to fit as much in as possible.

Talking to other travellers we decided we must detour and visit Windjana Gorge to see the crocodiles and to Dimalurru to visit Tunnel Creek.

Breakfast included making a simple sandwich for lunch as there is nothing between here and Derby. Not a shop or petrol station. Nothing.

As we are packing the car I got chatting to a lady filling her water containers. We compare trips and I told her we are disappointed to be missing our house boat stay at Horizontal Falls because of the jet boat accident.

She shocked me by telling me they were there and her husband was on the boat.

She went on to describe the horrific scene as the boat with many injured people limited back to the pontoon. Many women with fractures in their lower limbs. It sounded awful. No wonder they are not ready to reopen. The staff are all traumatised and needing time off.

We are thankful it wasn’t us on board & the woman I spoke with was always very grateful she didn’t want a jet boat experience that morning.

So off we went – an hour drive back to the Gibb Rd turned toward Derby and the half an hour later turned left to Windjana.

The park is beautiful. The limestone walls so impressive.

The approach to the Gorge is through a small tunnel of limestone walls. it’s like entering a magical world.

Out the other side and a peaceful walk along the river bank keeping an eye on the opposite bank. The crocodiles are lazing and sunning themselves. Lots of them.

We walked along for about 15 mins. Such beautiful scenes.

Next stop Tunnel Creek. This place I remember being talked about because of a boy called Jandamarra. He was with his mob when they were captured. He escaped into the tunnel where the creek flows under the limestone hills. It was written as a children’s book years ago.

To get to the tunnels you need to climb and clamber over rocks. They are the most amazing colours: pinks, grey, blue even a greenish look.

Then a wade through water into the tunnels. Quite creepy. We looked out for the red eyes of the resident croc.

Lunch was a simple sandwich outside under the trees. We are so lucky with the weather warm but not too hot.

From here it was a short but fairly boring straight drive into Derby. We were told that it’s not the most exciting place to be and to be sure to lock up well. Didn’t sound too good!

We arrived in time to see the town in the afternoon light. Everything looks good bathed in a glowing sky. Then to our hotel the Derby Lodge. Not a lot of good things to say about this hotel. Except pretty ordinary.

We crossed the road to the Spinifex Hotel for dinner and made an early night of it. It was a big day of driving.

In the morning we walked to the local CWA markets, an oasis and spent a very happy hour. Such nice people and the Boab nut coffee was great as were the donuts and the home made slices.

There was music provided by the Rusty Nails, and sitting under the shade of a tree chatting to other travellers was as usual very interesting.

We walked back to get the car and of course we two retired children librarians popped into the library .

We’d been told to visit Norval Gallery and we are so glad we did. What an interesting story behind Mark Norval the owner. He and wife Mary went to Derby as young teachers and never left. He now has this wonderful art space where local aboriginal people are welcome to come and paint. He travelled to many of the communities along the Gibb River area and taught painting and encouraged painting and it’s really taken off. There are some wonderful people doing great work. Edna Dale and her daughter Petrina Bedord. I bought one I couldn’t resist.

We spent a long time chatting to Mark about his life & work in Derby. He is so kind. So understanding of the problems facing the indigenous youth.

He has mentored Edna Dale mother of 7 and her daughter Petrina an up and coming contemporary indigenous artist. Her grandfathers Jack Dale and Paddy Bedford were famous in their field of art. Watch out for her. She paints in a style to reflect stories of Windjana passed down to her.

Petrina was painting in the art shed while we were there. Lovely to watch.

We also bought some decorated boab seed pods – such beautiful work.

We left the gallery and continued on our way to the prison Boab tree. A very sad story about indigenous peoples imprisoned in the tree.

Onto Broome. We have an extra night here as our planned night in a houseboat at Horizontal Falls was cancelled.

Sunsets are spoken about here more than anywhere else – except maybe Santorini! So we set out to find it. After checking into the Oaks at Cable Beach we drove along the coast to the port.

Broome is also famous for its dinosaur footprints. We went dinosaur hunting. It took us to Roebuck Bay.

We decided to head to the fishing club for a sundowner. It not well known to tourists. It’s where the locals head. I’d read about it and it turned out to be perfect. Casual and a beautiful setting. One glass of Prosecco led to another led to fish and chips.

And so a perfect start to Broome has begun.

The A to Z of Gorges & Swimming Holes

June 6, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / Leave a comment

We decided to give ourselves a slow morning after our walk yesterday. So it was a sleep in , breakfast and a little reading on the grass outside our cabin. The early morning horse riders were returning as I sat enjoying my book.

Yesterday Emma Gorge. Today Zebedee Springs. Located an easy 10 mins drive from The Station at EL Questro we headed off at around 10. The early birds go at 7. We’d heard that as it closes at 12 we should go a little later as people start to leave.

Good decision. Apparently there were two tour group buses there this morning.

Zebedee is made up of a series of thermal pools. After parking it’s a short 1.5km walk into the springs passing through very tropical Livistona forests.

The rocky pools are a little oasis at the end of the walking trail. A series of pools they are surrounded by palms and vines.

We slipped gently into the pools and made our way to a spot where we’d enjoy a soak in the warm water. It was very shaded and tranquil.

I lay back into the water running over some rocks from a higher pool. It was bubbly. Putting my ears under I could hear the water bubbling and running.

So therapeutic.

After 45 minutes of soaking we emerged feeling rested and a little covered in the fibres of the plant life edging the pool. A cold shower would be good but a bottle of cool water poured over my head prepared me for our lunch at the Emma Gorge resort about another 20 minutes away.

Emma Gorge is part of El Questro and although the accommodation is glamping it’s lovely. Everything is just a bit more upmarket than the campgrounds and The Station cabins where we are staying.

Where we are is much more family oriented.

Lunch was delicious and we headed back to The Station for our afternoon naps before another swim in the waterhole just near our cabin.

We just have to do Amelia Gorge and we’ll have covered the A to Z of Gorges.

Glorious Emma Gorge Walk

June 5, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 1 Comment

I have to admit to feeling just a little apprehensive about the Emma Gorge walk. We’ve heard all kinds of reports about it.

My sister did it a few years ago and said it was challenging. Other people we’ve met on our travels made comments ranging from ‘its very difficult’ to ‘take your time and you can do it. ‘

I was only worried about my arm that I broke back in Dec and is still recovering and wouldn’t handle a fall and Steve’s new knee 6 months ago.

But we did it! Nice and slow with lots of scrambling up and over rocks, rock hopping over creeks, and a steady climb.

We left the Emma Gorge resort around 8.30 with plenty of water , a muesli bar and a bag of lollies. We walked through grasslands, started to gently climb and then got to the scrambling stage.

We passed the turquoise waterhole.

The reward was a swim at the falls. It was magnificent. Beautiful clear water, a waterfall that massaged your back if you positioned yourself underneath it correctly and the perfect temperature for cooling.

The walk back wasn’t as bad as we thought. All downhill and hard in the knees but we were quicker than going up.

We went straight to the cafe for a delicious iced coffee!

Hair wet with sweat! And a delicious drink

We got back to The Station at El Questro which is about a 25 min drive away and had another swim in the waterhole just near our cabin.

Water not as clear but a beautiful setting.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and reading before our pre dinner gin, a bbq dinner, music and a game of cards before an early night.

Perfect!

Magical Lake Argyle

June 3, 2022June 3, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 2 Comments

Today we had an easy drive of about 80km to Lake Argyle. If you are planning on coming to Kunanurra you must plan a night or two at this beautiful relaxed place. There’s a big campground and a number of cabins. We’re in a cabin. It’s modern well equipped and views to the lake.

There’s a beautiful infinity pool, restaurant bar and lots of lawn and picnic areas.

We arrived in time to do the Ord River Bush Tucker morning tea with Josh, a former New Zealander. He greeted us and we headed off in his orange safari van. We made about four stops and each time Josh pointed out some of the plant life. First up was the pink Turkey bush we saw at Litchfield. A natural repellent it smells lovely when crushed and rubbed on. Throw a bush on your campfire and you have no mosquitoes.

He then pulled up a piece of spinufex grass and rubbed in the roots. It was so sticky. The aboriginal people used it as a glue. Now it can be used in making condoms. Hygienic and environmentally friendly. Not sure how it would feel!

The brightly coloured yellow flower of the kapok trees has caught my attention. Turns out it’s an edible flower a bit like butter lettuce & so perfect in salads. It also is a great indicator of the life cycle of the fresh water crocodile. When it flowers the soft fluffy kapok can be plucked off. Used in pillows and stuffed in blankets perfect for use by Aboriginal people and the early settlers.

The Boab tree is very eye catching up here. It’s different to the bottle tree. The boab is native to Madagascar but found its way to the northern part of Australia. Found between Broome and Timber Creek it has a very hard nut & when broken open has a yellow spongy fruit than can be eaten. A little bit of orange sherbet flavour but spongy. Like styrofoam Josh told us. He was right.

Last stop was the bower birds bachelor pad. So cute. He knows how to attract the ladies. He has all silver, white and green things in his nest. So attractive!

By now we were ready for morning tea! Delivered by his mother we found it set up in a little park. Made with local ingredients – it was delicious. We hadn’t had breakfast so were ready for it.

The coffee cups done by an Alice Springs Artist

Back to the resort and ready for a swim. What a pool. It makes you feel like a movie star!

A little sit on the verandah of our cabin looking at the view before heading off at 2pm for a cruise which would last until sunset!

Cameron our skipper took us over about 20% of the total area of the lake. It’s that big. We were in the boat for 3.5 hrs! and didn’t nearly cover it all.

We saw a few wallabies. But I was hanging out for the star of the show. The freshwater crocodile. Or freshies as they are called. With 30,000 in the lake surely we’d see one up close.

Cameron showing the lake and giving us the history.

We weren’t disappointed. We saw several freshies. Sunning themselves! Looking very relaxed. Not at all menacing.

One freshie came up close. We fed bread to some spotted archer fish. Or spitting fish. They spit on their prey. We explored the lake. and as the sun was getting ready to set we stopped……. got into the water and had some fun. We swam, bobbed on noodles and watched as the scarlet sun disappeared. Topped off with a glass of bubbles!

It’s so good to share this experience with friends. It was wonderful.

We reboarded the boat and watched the last of the sun.

Such a great sky.

We motored back to the dock in the dark. We were all on a high.

When we got back to the resort we passed some very happy fishermen. They’d had a successful fishing trip. They offered us some silver cobbler fish to cook but we headed to the very lovely casual beer garden and had a BBQ.

A game of 500 completed a beautiful day.

Beautiful Bungle Bungle

June 2, 2022June 2, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 8 Comments

Aviair picked us up this morning at 8.15 for the short ride to the airport. It was busy. There were 3 flights going to the Bungle Bungle today. Some staying to hike, some to stay at Savannah Lodge. Next time I thought!

The pilots all seemed to be young women. So we felt we were in safe hands. Alice our pilot was tiny and was capable, friendly and gave us great commentary during the flight.

After the weigh in, the safety plan and an outline of our two hour flight we were allocated seats and away we went. Steve and I were directly behind the pilot. A view out both sides and to the front.

The pilot offered Steve the co pilot seat and as tempted as he was he decided he’d see better in the next row. Or he might want to take over flying!

The flight was amazing. Down over Lake Argyle the scale of which is unbelievable. It was built as the finishing part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme.

It’s freshwater is clear blue, pristine and several times bigger than Sydney Harbour. It’s dotted with 75 islands and is a great breeding ground for fresh water crocodiles.

We heard stories about the huge beef cattle properties including the famous Lisadell Station which was bought by Argyle Diamonds in 2003.

Patrick Durack emigrated from Ireland to Queensland, then drove a vast mob of cattle 4828 kilometres overland. It was the longest overland trek undertaken by Australian drovers up to that time, taking two and half years to reach their Kimberley destination.

I happen to know a great granddaughter of Michael Durack and now I’ve flown over it I’m looking forward to hearing some more stories about it.

I’ll also have to re read ‘Kings in Grass Castles’. Written by Dame Mary Durack it outlines life on the properties in those prosperous times.

We continued the flight due south over the Bungle Bungles.

These dome shaped sandstone towers and deep gorges were formed over 360 million years ago when sand and gravel were deposited by rivers flowing from the north east. With the winds from the SE much of the year dunes began to form. Originally only known to the aboriginal people they were discovered by a pastoralist flying his helicopter over.

In 1987 the area was declared a national park named Purnululu.

We landed at Bungle Bungle land strip just briefly to let those staying overnight off. Then it was along the stone runway and up up and away over the amazing Bungle Bungle.

We flew towards the Argyle Diamond mine. It’s is a huge diamond mine. Argyle was at times the largest diamond producer in the world by volume. It’s now closed.

The increasing operation cost and a stagnant diamond market, forced Argyle mines to close in 2020. Another reason for the closure is that the mines are so deep now that further excavation is unviable.

We continued on towards Kunanurra flying over the vast cattle properties. As we neared Kunanurra the fruit trees particularly the mango and sandalwood trees came into view.

Sandalwood is a big industry here. It’s expensive to grow and produce. Quintis grow sustainable Indian sandalwood trees and the shop is a good place to find out about the production and the variety of products available.

We popped into the small art gallery in the Main Street of Kunanurra.

Also the Diamond shop where the lady there was very generous with her time allowing Jill and I to try on lots of rings while she talked about the beautiful pink argyle diamonds. They are so very valuable. My favourite was a simple band with 5 diamonds and an offset pink diamond.

She told us the diamonds are selling well and the value is increasing as the mine has closed. she modelled her own ring.

We decided to visit Chikshed Gallery. It’s a pottery glass gallery about 15 minutes out of town. What a place. It’s owned by Janine in a gallery built by her husband on their mango farm in the most beautiful settle by the lake opposite the sleeping Buddha rock formation.

She also did mosaic pots and flowers.

Last stop today was The Hoochery. The Hoochery is in the Ord Valley and is W.A.’s oldest legal still. It produces rum, gin and other liqueurs

We chose our tastings. The mojito one for Jill and I and the classic one for Steve. He liked the spiced rum so much he bought a bottle. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon and today with the rainstorm that came through it was great.

Sunrise at Katherine Gorge

June 1, 2022June 1, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 3 Comments

An early start for our Katherine Gorge trip. It really is the best part of the day. I’m not usually a morning person but when I do get up early I love it.

We drove for 30 mins out of Katherine to the entrance of the Gorge. We were early and we beat the guides there.

An early morning cuppa and some fruit and we boarded as first light was coming.

It gives off a very spiritual feeling being in the gorge this early. Sadly the sun was hidden behind clouds that looked remarkably like rain clouds. And surprisingly for June it did rain!

Our Guide gave us a detailed description of the make up of the rock formations. It’s all sandstone.

It floods during the wet season. It’s made up of 9 gorges.

We heard the story of the explorer Stuart who was sponsored by a man called Chambers who was hoping he would find some valuable things like gold/ silver. They weren’t found but several of the place names came from the Chambers family. Katherine Gorge. Flora river, Edith falls.

We changed boats to get to the second chamber. There was walk of about 800 metre. It passed some rock art about 10,000 years old. It’s still clear on the wall. Amazing as it’s in the open and is covered with water during the flood season. The colours used have leached into the rock so deeply it’s imprinted.

The 2nd chamber is as impressive as the first. It comes to a corner where it then straighten up like a highway until the next chamber.

This would be magnificent flying over in a helicopter.

We finished the tour & returned to the hotel packed up and headed out of town on A1 road towards Kununurra . We were a bit sorry we were missing the Junk Festival.

The road to Kununurra is very good. Straight and not much traffic. A light refreshment stop at A petrol stop at Victoria River – with a very funny sign . A long way from anywhere!

Loved this sign of what NOT to take into WA.

Lunch stop at Timber Creek. A big stop and last petrol before Kununurra. There were all types of vehicles there. Caravans, mobile homes, a group of jeeps, a garbage truck on a semi trailer, lots of 4 wheel drives, and the odd motorbike rider. Dress is optional. Singlets are a big favourite with the men. Thongs are popular , shorts in all lengths, sizes and colours for the women. It’s a western fashion parade.

There’s a lot of land out here. And a lot of nothing. But you can see there are cattle stations like Bullo River Station made famous by Sara Henderson who wrote a book about reading naming the station after her husband died.

We made it to WA disposing of the fruit we hadn’t managed to eat. Then into Kununurra. We went to the view point overlooking the town.

We drove through the streets which looked unkept and just rather sad. Groups of people sitting around amidst the mess. So many businesses closed.

Jill and I went for a walk to Lilly Lagoon which looked towards a rock formation called reclining Buddha.

Back to our hotel – the Country Club hotel for a swim and dinner on the verandah. The temperature is beautiful though a little more rain is predicted tomorrow. We hope not as we are heading out early for a scenic flight to the Bungle Bungles.

Farewell Darwin

May 31, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / Leave a comment

Thrifty have provided us with a brand new car with plenty of room for our bags. Very comfortable which is good with the Gibb River coming up.

Coffee , ✅ , lollies for the driver and we farewell Darwin.

First stop is the Adelaide River War Cemetery. Like all our war graves this one is well set out and maintained with gardens and shrubs at each headstone. There are 434 burials.

We were looking forward to the swimming at Edith Falls. And we weren’t disappointed. It’s got some beautiful grassy areas leading to several entry points into the large water hole. Only Jill & I went in and we were so pleased it did. The temperature was just perfect.

The sign said there were no crocodiles so we believed them. We paddled and swam around a small island and passed the waterfall on the other side of lake.

People were floating around on noodles and one lady was paddling a canoe.

It would make the perfect place to stop for a few days if you had a caravan. Peaceful and safe.

After changing we drove the 20 minutes into Katherine.

Lunch was a tasty wrap from The Finch cafe. We just made it before they closed and took took it to the park adjoining the information centre.

We headed out if Katherine past the Tindal airbase to the Cutta Cutta Caves. Jill had found this tour of the caves and booked ahead.

They are millions of years old and still growing and changing. Cutta Cutta in Jawoyn means lots of stars. The Jawoyn people wouldn’t enter the cave but believed the bats gather the stars and take them out at night to put up into the sky.

Inside the caves you can see sparkling limestone formations of stalactites and stalagmites and five different species of bats including the rare ghost and leaf-nosed bats.

There are also brown snakes, spiders and other varieties of the eco system. James our guide assured is they hadn’t seen any snakes for awhile.

You can walk deep into the cave along metal walkways. The caves are closed during the wet when the flood!

The air inside is hot and humid. Unlike other caves there are no openings so no air can circulate. It gets hotter and more humid as you walk in.

An hour was enough and I felt for James having to do around 5 tours a day. Breathing that stale air wouldn’t be good.

Back to Katherine and a 5 pm check in to our hotel Contour a big but we’ll planned hotel with a large pool and an outdoor restaurant.

We passed this old engine near Katherine

So another full busy day

Museums of Darwin

May 30, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 3 Comments

Today it was back on the tourist trail to see three museums on our list.

First up was a walk out along Stokes Pier.

It curves out around the bay across from the waterfront park. It was hot walking but lovely and cool as we entered the Royal Flying Doctor building. It’s also home to a display about the bombing of Darwin in 1941.

We’ve been to RFD museums in Charleville, Alice Springs, Longreach and now here. All great displays of such a wonderful service. Here there was a virtual display. Fantastic! For the plane flying and then the bombings of Darwin. I love these 3D headpieces.

There was a RFD plane which brought back memories of my son’s flight from Cambodia to Thailand after a bad accident. Although that wasn’t a RFD plane it was similar.

Next stop…… the Museum of Darwin. We caught the bus. Seniors free ….. thank you very much! but our navigational skills let us down and we got lost going from the bus to the museum ! We walked and walked in the heat until , passing Darwin High School the grounds man saw us, took pity and gave us very good directions. He asked did we need water! Like we were explorers lost in the desert! I was hoping he would offer us a lift!

We made it …….somewhat hot and sweaty.

It had some very good displays. The animal life of the NT, a cyclone Tracey room and a meeting with Sweetheart – the huge croc – 780 kilos, 5.1 metres and around 80 years old. They tried to capture him to bring into a crocodile enclosure but in doing so he died.

A little further out through Fannie Bay was the military Museum. Another good display with a film about the bombing of Darwin. We now feel very informed on that piece of history.

By now we were ready for a cold drink and a sit down. The Trailer boat club had been recommended so we made our way there and it was a great spot. Lots of tables all facing out across the water. We couldn’t pass on an Aperol Spritz – it’s the colour of a magnificent sunset.

We watched the sun sink & enjoyed some seafood.

It took us back to another shared sunset with the Wilsons in Santorini!

Good Morning Darwin

May 29, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / Leave a comment

Our day had a alarming start to it. At 5am there was a loud beeping noise. Awaking suddenly I thought we had a bird in the room!

No it wasn’t………. it was the fire alarm outside our bedroom. We all came stumbling out half asleep to both alarms beeping loudly. And this was meant to be our sleep in day after two early touring days.

No fire. So we quickly rang reception. “Send help we called.” Jill appeared with a broom and Steve thought she was going to do a little sweeping. No, it was to push the off button.

It took at least half an hour of ear piercing alarm before the maintenance man arrived and removed the battery !

After a cup of tea we headed back to bed for another 2 hours sleep.

A little treat this morning. A lovely walk back to the waterfront precinct where we had dinner last night. This area really has added a lot of life to Darwin.

There are gardens with lovely seating and lounges, restaurants, a wave pool, a protected swimming area, a very long jetty out to the Royal Flying Doctors, and new apartments.

Looking toward the long jetty with the RFD

We enjoyed brunch and a little people watching before continuing our walk out to Mr Barra for prawns for dinner.

We decided on a quieter day. The Wilsons have been out touring Kakadu and are ready for a ‘down’ day.

We got very hot walking so headed to the pool for a swim and another walk up to Mitchell Street and to seek out some street art.

We finished the afternoon on our verandah having a few cool glasses of Prosecco and beer and playing cards! Great fun

Let’s hope we don’t have the alarm go off again tonight!

Litchfield NT. Waterfalls & Waterholes

May 28, 2022 / brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

Another early start. Touring is not for the lazy! A 7am pick up at our apartment for day out of Darwin to Litchfield National Park and a swim at the falls.

Our driver Mel arrived and we went to a few pick up stops and suddenly the bus was full. A big group off the Ghan joined us. I hope they haven’t got covid. Most were wearing masks!

The driving was good along well maintained roads. Mel gave us a little introduction and then in an hour we arrived at Batchelor for morning coffee. The coffee was good.

Batchelor had a big uranium mine which has closed and the town is more an area for camping and a jump off to Litchfield.

Next stop was a viewing of the giant termite mounds.

They are generally a honey coloured mound until they’ve reached the end of their life they become grey.

Litchfield is a favourite waterfall & water hole for swimming.

There are 120 steps down – all steel steps with a rail so quite safe. There is an alternate route a 15 minute flat walk which crosses the stream several times.

We decided to walk the steps down and walk the track back yet dry out.

Good decision.

There were two falls dropping into the waterhole and easy steps down into it.

It was delicious! Cool but not cold. Under the waterfall it was like a pins & needles massage.

We were told there would probably be a few saltwater crocodiles around but they wouldn’t bother us. Ok!

Fortunately no scary sightings.

The walk back along the slate path was just lovely. Shaded and quite tropical it criss crossed the creek and back to the car park.

Wangi Falls was our next stop and it’s a beautiful little oasis. Access to the swimming hole is easy. Only problem is there was at least one big crocodile spotted recently and there has to be at least 21 day without sighting a croc. So no swimming.

It would be great to have a swim. It is very beautiful. The walk to the outlook was easy.

Lunch on the verandah of the cafe was fine.

Last stop : fish feeding at Howard Springs.

Howard Springs became famous as a good place to do quarantine during covid. Perhaps not in summer. But the weather today is absolutely beautiful.

It’s a lovely little place with beautiful gardens and a fish sanctuary where we did some fish feeing. Lots of turtles, barramundi and all other types were plentiful in the water.