Kununara to Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing to Derby to Broome

Now, it may seem like I have been very slack with the posts but the fact is that most of these stops were one night stands.  Some people will tell me that we zoomed through the Kimberley which is the best part of Australia.  Good for you.  We found a whole lot of nothing here except red dirt.

Before moving on to the new sites. it would be remiss if we did not mention another little aspect of Zebedee Springs at El Questro.  As we drove out, Dad got the itches and assumed it was a mosquito or some such animal.  The itching drove him made and the next day he had come up in a shocking and very unattractive rash.  It was a reaction to some grasses, apparently, and Dad's view of El Questro is that it is a commercial enterprise that is over-priced and hopeless and he would never go there.  Catching leprosy does tend to sway a person's view of a place.

Least there was any doubt
from the episode the day before
we learned that tyres should not
have that flat bit on them.

Anyway, we left Kunanara (including some very liberal does of "Stop Itch) and got to Halls Creek.  Pa has a new found dare devil attitiude that saw take us up more unsealed roads.  And we got another flat tyre.  Two in two days.  Great.  Anyway, it did mean that dad and Pa went to the local tyre repair guy/Toyota agent and it was a experience - in a good way.  It seems that the service that you get in the country is either hopeless of fantastic.  This fell into the fantastic (he repaired the tyre) but he also gave us an interesting insight into Halls Creek.  A few years ago they banned the sale of all take away alcohol that was not low alcohol.  So, in essence, you can only buy take away low alcohol beer - not even a bottle of wine to take away.  (You can buy it to drink in the premises).  He said that it was the best thing the town had every done and that the place was now much better than its bad reputation.  He said it was no easy task to get the rules made but that the local aboriginal women needed a lot of credit.  His view about the place was that there were some trouble makers in town but it was otherwise a good place,  As a former cop there also, he had seen some bad things.  Anyway, whatever his name was restored my faith in white, country males.

The other thing that has to be noted about Halls Creek is that it hosts the two worst caravan parks in the country.  But the one we stayed in does have the best tourist attraction in the whole town (which, as you might imagine is not a contest that is too hotly contested) - the most amazing caravan park shop one could expect to find.  Amongst the various things this shop sold were childrens' bikes (a selection of at least 10), perfumes, after shave, kids dress-ups, all the gardening paraphenalia you could imagine, microwave ovens, fully stocked pharamacy etc etc etc.  It was truly extraordinary.  No idea who would buy the stuff but there you go.

Mum does love a good boab tree.

We travelled on to Fitzroy Crossing and checked out the local sights there - the local supermarket and BP.  Its a small place.  It is near Geike Gorge but we have a case of gorge-itis and the prospect of a two hour walk in 39 degree heat - without a swim (well, you can swim, but you will be eaten by a crocodile or a bull shark - take your pick - either way, it tends to take the fun out of the walk) - was all just a bit too much for us to contemplate. 

Derby is not a bad place but again a bit short on tourist sites.  It has big tides apparently - it you get there at the right time - which we did not. 

Isaac got into the swing of things
on Cable Beach.  The rest of us did
not.

We then made it to Broome which, if you have not been here, is Byron Bay on the west coast.  We are staying at Cable Beach and if you come on to the beach you can turn left or right.  If you turn left then you go to the normal section with the flags etc.  But you cannot take you car.  If you turn right then you can take your car and park it on the beach.  The stories about fantastic white sands and beautiful blue waters are true.  However, there is a slight down-side to turning right - the beach is a nudist beach.  Yes, another stop on our trip of exposing (pardon the pun) our children to the best nudist beaches in Australia.  The thing that is particularly concerning is that people who choose to be nudists are the people who should not be nudists - old, fat people.  We don't want to see.  Put them away.  As Anouk said, very loudly, about one bloke - "He is not wearing anything, not even any underpants".  Isaac corrected her, "He was wearing a hat, though".  Mum had not even noticed.

Anyway, we will be here for a while.  Basically, we will be sitting on the beach.  Not much to blog about for a while.  I hope.

You get some nice moments as a grandparent (note that they are clothed). 
Of course, you have to be a parent first ...

but then, being a parent is not all bad either ..

El Questro

In case I decide to sell my car, this is just
a pcicture of the car superimposed on
'a picture of the road sign for the GRR.

We took a side trip from Kununara to El Questro "Wilderness Park" over the last two days.  For those who do not know, El Questro is a privately owned cattle station that has been turned into a somewhat unlikely, yet fabulously successful, tourist resort.  Its on the Gibb River Road (GRR) which is something of an icon for four wheel drive enthusiasts - although I am not really sure why.  It may be different early in the dry season but there is no great challenge for getting down the GRR except being able to withstand the vibrations from the badly corrugated road (although read on becuase we did discover one little challenge).

There are various options for staying at El Questo:

- camping - but you have to be prepared to camp without power or water and be prepared to stay in a tent or have a caravan that could withstand the GRR;
- stay in an "eco tent" at Emma Gorge - again, no power and no air conditioning
- stay in one of their "cabins" - effecitvely a motel room with air conditioning - and which had 40% off;
- stay at the Homestead which is for very exclusive (not even on any maps), will not accept kids under 12 and costs about $1600 a night.

Guess which one we went for?

Fat bloke sucking in his gut
while washing his t-shirt at
Emma Gorge and possibly
polluting it for eons to come
given how sweaty he was.

On Sunday we travelled in and went to Emma Gorge.  You will not believe this but Emma Gorge is lot like Jim Jim Falls.  Hence, you can just read the blog about Jim Jim to get a sense of what this was like.  In short, dad and mum carried Isaac most of the way, Yvette was on dad's back and Anouk walked the whole way by herself.  Again, we should not have done it but we did.

We got into El Questro that afternoon and were impressed by their $8 VB cans.  The room was basic but comfortable.  I cannot say that we had an unbelievable El Questro "experience" but perhaps we did not stay long enough.  Anyway, they were fighting pretty serious bushfires and, in fact, the GRR was closed west of El Questro because of them.  The fire fighters were having a beer while we were there and dad asked why they were bothering to fight the fire.  The response was, "To ensure it does not get to a place we were rather it did not get to but enjoy your holiday anyway."  Yeah, cheers, thanks.

Two very hot chicks at Emma Gorge.

The following morning (after not being evacuated) we caught a glimpse of the Homestead and then went to Zeebedee Springs - which we had heard was amazing.  If would be amazing if you had not been to about 20 hot water springs in the last few weeks.  If you have, then there are some that are better - Mataranka and even Katherine.  You cannot swim in these are there is not enough room - you just sit wondering if the person next to you has just done a wee because its warm and that's what it feels like.

Picture of dad swearing.

Anyway, we left and for the first time this trip Nana and Pa were in front.  Then Mum thought she lost her phone (she hadn't) so we pulled over and then when we started again we had a flat tire - on the GRR. And not just a little bit flat.  So we had to change it.  In 39 degrees.  Oh yes, had I mentioned that the heat has returned?  With a vengence. Nana and Pa even bought an evaporate cooler for their van.  Its useless.  But back to the flat tire.  Notwithstanding his noted bushie experience, its been about 20 years since dad changed a tire and since mum had more recent experience (she watched the RACV man do it only a few weeks ago) dad let mum do most of the heavy lifting.  Unfortunately, dad was involved in the issue of where the jack should be located and he selected under the running board.  Which meant that the running board was wrecked but the car did not lift.  Anyway, it was eventually all fixed after much sweating and swearing.  This has been a very educational trip for the kids.

Picture of tyre worth $400
in Kununara if only it did not
have that flat bit on it.

Back in town, a very dodgy tire repair shop said they would sell dad a replacement tire for $400 new (which they did not have anyway) or $40 cash for a second hand one.  I am pretty sure that he was prepared to sell the second hand one because its completely unroadworthy but what can you do?  Anyway, if anything should happen to us while travelling on that tyre, it was purchased from Tyre Power in Kununara.

Anyway. tomorrow we leave Kununara and the mosquitos for Hall's Creek which I expect will give Wyndham a run for its money.  No plans for leaving the caravan park.

Litchfield National Park to Katherine to Lake Argyle to Kununurra

The oldest sibling always has a distinct
advantage .....

After not encountering any more wildlife at the toilets at Litchfield we went to Katherine which, after the heat we had been living with, was a very pleasant 29 degrees.  It made life much more enjoyable.  We stayed at a very good Big 4 caravan park there and, in passing, whinged about some crappy aspects of the Big 4 park in Bathelor - which looks like its about to die even if it did have ensuites and our own washing machine.  The people at Katherine then gave us ice creams, mango and a bunch of other bits and pieces and we got an email from the Big 4 MD giving us an extra 2 years on our membership.  We have decided to complain about every caravan park we go to from now on.

Katherine is a surprisingly nice place - surprising because there are a lot of little towns in NT that are not nice - although you do not really want to go into the middle of town on a Saturday night.  It has thermal springs and a bit of a gorge which we visited.  All very enjoyable especially for Yvette who actually did go in the water at Katherine without whinging.  However, as spoilt at this sounds, you can get sick of thermal springs and natural water holes and even massive gorges that have taken 1860 million years to create. 

From Katherine we hit the Stuart Highway and the GPS told us to turn left in 472 kms (and we still have about another 50 kms to go after that).  The only town between Katherine and Lake Argyle (which is just over the WA border) was Timber Creek - which was about as dire a place as we had seen (but not nearly as dire at Wyndam - read on).  We had contemplated staying there but were very glad we did not.

A speed limit that grey nomads do not
travel at.

Anyway, this is a good time to mention a few things about driving around here.  First, the grey nomads are not in any hurry.  Second, by travelling about 80 kmh they can save petrol.  Third, we are in a hurry because we have three time bombs in the back seat who are pretty good travellers but more than 500km in a day will test just about anyone.  Hence, when we get stuck behind the grey nomads, the kids learn new words.  We ask that Anouk, Isaac's and Yvette's teachers all take this into account if, next year, they let fly with some pearlers if the kid in front of them is walking too slowly.

Anyway, after having all our fruit,vegetables and honey confiscated at the WA border we moved on to Lake Argyle where we developed only mild cases of scurvy.  Lake Argyle is a massive (75km x 45kms) freshwater lake that is man made.  They are very proud of it around here and talk about the massive success that it is.  If the aim was to store a massive amount of water then, undoubtedly, it was a success.  However, it seems that the real aim was to do something with the water - like grow stuff - then the success is not quite so obvious.  The main crop is a parisitic smelly wood.  Anyway, each to their own.

Amazing pool at Lake Argyle
caravan park - and you get it
to yourself since its about
8 degrees. 

We did a tour of the Lake Argyle area but had finished that by 9.37am.  This time zone change is a bit of a bugger.  The kids were already waking up at 6am but 4.30am is getting a bit ridiculous. However, when the sun rises at 5am there is a limit at how much one can yell at them.  Actually, there is not.  Our capacity to yell at our kids is pretty well limitless.

Since we finished our own tour so early we decided to do a boat cruise around Lake Argyle with Lake Argyle Cruises.  I mention the name not because it is so obvious but because the guy who took the cruise asked us to pass on the name and what we thought of the cruise to everyone we met.  So here I go.  If you want to go on a boat cruise with a bloke who refuses to speak unless everyone is listening, glares at anyone who dares speak when he speaks, hates kids, ignores people with kids, is a narcissist, a male chauvinist and probably picks his nose, then Lake Argyle Cruises is for you.  Otherwise, go wtih Triple J cruises.  Apparently, no connection to the radio station.

The tour guide from Lake
Argyle cruises was boring
too...

Kunanara is then less than 80kms from Lake Argyle and is a very green place - they have all this water in Lake Argyle but very little to do with it.  Kununara marked our return to civilisation - only three days out of Katherine and without internet or telephone coverage but we were getting twitchy. Kunanara has lots of parks but very few playgrounds or competent caravan park staff it seems.   When we checked in the lady said the computers were down so she could not check us in.  When dad had the temerity to ask how long it may take, the response was "Well, I just told you that the computers are down didn't I?"  Umm, yes, but if that means that they may be down all day and we are going to have to wait at reception until then, then we may go and check in elsewhere - you stupid old cow, dad wanted to say but did not have the courage.

Talking about courage, this was also where, we met a old bloke at the swimming pool who used the word "abo" about 10 times in 2 minutes ("I met one good one - a ranger - and he invited me to his house - you don't expect that from abos do you?"- not when you're a racist, in particular) and then finally got to the nadir of his diatribe with, "I have nothing against the abos but I hate all trash - white trash and black trash". Pa could not cope with this crap and walked away from him mid-sentence and dad, to his great shame, was so busy thinking up all the put downs he could use that they best he could come up with was, "Mr Samartino, the use of term 'abo" is really not appropriate".

These are the Bungle Bungles - as seen
by a person without any kids with
her on a hazy day

Mum and dad took a scenic flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungle - its an expensive way to get three hours away from parenting responsibilities but sometimes you have to do these things. Nana and Pa also did the scenic flight - not at the same time - we had contemplated doing it together but then decided we did not to have to pay Anouk to look after Isaac and Yvette. 

Wyndham marina - during high season.

Today we did a few walks around Miramar National Park - which is practically in Kunanara - before hearing up to Wyndham.  We had a sense that there was not much at Wyndham given that the best thing that the brochures could say about it was that it is WA's most northerly town but we had no preparation for just how dire the place actually is.  It looked like it was set up about 50 years ago and then left to rot.  Half the places in the main street are falling down and many are boarded up.  The local townsfolk are scary (and that is the women) and the whole place made Hugenden look like a thriving metropolis. It does have a good view of the various rivers that make their way into the ocean at this point but the best thing that can be said about it is that we will never go back there again. 

Dad wins the prize for best
artistic photo to be taken
without getting out of the car.
("Artistic" means there are no
people in the shot).

On the way back we stopped in at another few water holes but did not even get out of the car.  This may sound like we are lacking in apprecation but we are now offically over the following things:
- water holes
- thermal springs
- water falls - especially those that dry up in the dry season
- boat cruises
- crocodiles - especially fresh water crocodiles.  I mean, how can you respect a crocodile that is not going to to eat you?
- racists
- grey nomads that travel at 80kmh who only speed up if you try to pass them
- 5am starts.

But, we are having a great time.  I swear. Constantly.  (I mean, we are in the outback).

Darwin to Litchfield National Park

Anouk's legs at Aquascene in
Darwin where fish come in
to feed. Rest assured, the rest
of Anouk was there also.

Darwin held one of the greatest disappointments of the trip so far when the free water park - with massive water slides - was closed on the day we attended.  Kids were not so disappointed but dad was inconsolable.

We also went to Crocodylus - basically a crocodile farm with a bit of a tourist show put on - but it was worth doing - and to Aquascene, where the fish come to shore at high tide and they swim around your feet as you feed them.

A furry little critter that Mum
encountered on her way to the loo at 4am.

However, it was mum who enjoyed the most authentic experience wtih the wildlife in Darwin.  As all caravaners know, one of the issues with staying in a caravan is what to do about the need to take the trip to the bathroom at about 3am.  You can hold on for about an hour or so but eventually you have to get our of bed and go.  Its a pain - even if the weather is good - and if you have kids it carries with it the additional risk of waking them up.  Anyway, in Darwin, mum resisted the call of nature for as long as she could but then, at about 4am, she made the trip.  On the way in she met one of her least favourite critters - a large snake.  She describes it as a "brown snake death adder" which means it is a very exciting discovery of a new species.  She did not see it that way.  She was more of the - lets just get out of here - theory.  So we went to a place where there are not likely to be any snakes - Litchfield National Park.

A very short trip down the Stuart Highway and we arrived in Batchelor which is on the doorstep to the Litchfield National Park.  Now, one may have assumed that Nana and Mum would not have loved this place with the frogs in the toilets and the fact that it is overrun with ants.  However, one could not be more wrong.  Here, we have an ensuite site and our own washing machine and we set a new caravan park record with eight separate washing lines!  "This achievement is even more specutacular given that erecting temporary washing lines in the caravan park is banned," a spokesman for the Guiness Book of Records did not say.

Pa very proudly erecting the 8th clothesline
that gave us the world record.

Three generations of washer women ...

Sure, she's happy if she isn't made to
swim...

Litchfield National Park otherwise revolves around waterfalls and swimming holes and we attended a number of them.  Two unfortunate things - one, Dad lost his wedding ring at Wangi Falls and two, Yvette still has a serious aversion to the water.  She shakes and screams whenever we take her near any open water.  Loves her bath and water play but show her a lake, billabong or waterfall and she turns into a quivering mess.  Its not getting any better either after a few weeks of trying.  Maybe we shoul give her some floaties or at least some swimming lessons.....

Wangi falls - a very spiritual place - it is the final resting place
for Dad's wedding ring and about the only place in Litchfield
with flushing toilets.

Kakadu to Darwin

A much better photo of what we did
at Mataranka that I would have included
in the last entry if I was more diligent

Kakadu was a place I had been looking forward to going for a very long time.  And although it was not really what I expecred, it was fantastic.

We went on a guided tour of the East Alligator River with a local indigenous guide, Robert.  He was fantastic, telling us about the local culture and their ways and bush tucker etc.  He also showed us lots of crocs.  We had been on croc tours before - in Queensland - when we did not actually see a croc. There were no such problems here - we saw the first croc within about 20 metres of where the boat launched - right next to where some idiot was fishing.  And we saw heaps more all throughout the tour.  Then we landed on the other side of the river - technically Arnhem Land.  It was one of the best tours I have been on.  Pity about the three noisy kids on the boat that would not shut up. Even bigger pity that they are mine.

I do not know about the politics  between crocs
and alligators bit it seems to me that calling it
East Alligator River was unnecessarily provocotive ....

Anyway, that afternoon, we went to Ubirr which has a number of aboriginal rock art sites and a walk to an escarpment (a much more popular word in Kakadu than in most places) which give a fantastic view over the Kakadu wetlands - which is  iconic Kakadu image that they always use to advertise Kakadu.  Its a reasonably tough walk - especially in 38 degrees - but Anouk did it easy and without complaint. Isaac complained more and had to get carried but still did a might job.


There are lots of rock art sites there.  My personal favourite was the Rainbow Serpent which, in short, is about a serpent that comes and eats children that cry too much.  Glad to see that they told those stories back in the dreamtime too.  Made me feel much more at one with the local idigenous folk of thousands of years ago than I ever have before.

Anouk in Arnhem Land.  Bloody good
photo.

Some very manly bushie
saving two German tourists
from almost certain death using
his local bush skills and the winch
on his car

Anyway, th Ubirr walk was just an introduction to what followed the next day.  Jim Jim Falls.  To get out there you drive 40 kms on bitumen - easy - and 45 kms on corrugated dirt road - easy but bumpy - and then 10 kms on a four wheel drive track - a bit tougher but actually good fun. Finally, you get to the car park and have a "1 km" walk to Jim Jim Falls.  Now readers of this blog will understand why a 1 km walk did not scare us off.  And the signs that warned that this was quite a difficult walk did not scare us off either.  However, apparently, the people who said it was "quite difficul" did not do it with a 1 year old on their back and a carrying a two year old because I can tell you, it was more than a "bit difficult".  It involved walking over large boulders the whole way where you had to choose your step very carefully.  And the suggestion that it was only 1 km was made by a person who could fly.  For the more mortal of us, it was more like 5km.  Anyway, Anouk again did it without complaint - unlike Mum and Dad who complained bitterly the entire time.  And while it is spectacular (even if the water is not flowing because it is the dry season) it was hard to appreciate because of the knowledge that we had to get out of there and we did not have enough food for Yvette (you can stop threatening to call DHS, I am sure that they are aware of me now).

Jim Jim Falls.  And it still was not worth the walk in...

After the walk into Jim Jim Falls the kids
were very glassy eyed and difficult to
rouse.  But they were quiet so we left them
be ...

Oh yeah, Nana and Pa took a flight over Kakadu while we were risking our lives and had the greatest time of their lives.  Blah, blah, blah.

Mum had one other complaint about Kakadu.  The problem about communing with nature is that nature also gets to commune with you.  So take the frog that thought a good spot to make home was a patch of water in the caravan park where we stayed - the only problem being that it was in the toilet bowl that Mum wanted to use.  Given the consequences that could have followed, it was somewhat suprising that Mum was more scared than the frog.  Even more disappointing for this blog is that she did not take a photo of it - apparently big and black and yellow.

Robert showing Anouk how to throw.  Good luck
mate.

A final word about Kakadu.  Lots of people bag it as being overhyped and too many people.  We certainly did not find the later - the caravan park was about 10% full - because it past the really busy period because of the heat.  And it is not overhyped either - I thought it was magnificent and there was heaps we did not get to see.  Its another one on the "will definately return to" list.

We have now arrived in Darwin where its a couple of degrees cooler (so its only stinking hot) but a few fathoms more humid.  Catching up on provisions and met up with Steve and Catherine Hoyne and family today who live up here.  Very good to meet up with them.  They have quad bikes and I think Isaac wants one now.  Bad luck.  Interesting to have to deal wtih some of Connor's more curly questions such as, "If we are related, how come we have not seen you before?" and "Why are you leaving?  Don't you love us?"  Yes, Connor, we do.  Today, more than ever.