Moving Day 31/8/15

 After an ordinary nights sleep ( due to a coughing fit on my part ) we were awake before sunup , laid in bed listening to everyone else make a racket while packing up . Nothing left to do , but get up and make our own noise !!

 Packed up and tanks emptied , we headed down to the chemist for some medicine - they’d had 5 customers before me , and 4 out of the 5 wanted something for a ticklish cough , even the 2 girls behind the counter had the cough as well !!

 Down to the auto electrician to get the electric brake controller tested out . After a couple of hours of fiddling & testing , they decided the control unit was buggered - they didn’t have a replacement , but organised one at Broome , and an auto electrician to change it as well - all under warranty - cant get better than that !!! Didn’t cost us a cent , just a few hours of our time !!

 Finally we were on the road and heading south , then west to Broome . We passed through a lot of the same vegetation as previous days - burnt trees , grass & boab trees , occasionally going through a section where the trees looked like they wanted to be there - they had new growth and there were a lot more of them . 

 The road was a shocker , wheel ruts from trucks/ road trains , uneven surfaces , lanes sloping off to the side , you were continually readjusting where you were on the road . It was only 211 klms to Broome , but it felt like 500 !! , or maybe that was just the way we were feeling after last nights lack of sleep . 

 We stopped for lunch , then Lyn took over , her thoughts on the road and the drive were pretty much the same as mine . 

 After a bit longer , we’d arrived at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse & caravan park , we’d had enough for one day and booked in for 2 nights .

 Fortunately for us it wasn’t as hot today , only getting to 29 degrees before we left Derby , and then only 28 degrees at Broome . There was a wind blowing for most of the drive - a head wind - we are just not used to that - it wasn’t really a problem though , we just kept cruising along . 

 After setting up we just sat and chilled out for a while before having a swim to refresh ourselves .

Cheese & bickies were called for and we chilled some more - no radio or tv out here , makes for a quiet time !

 Here’s some photos from yesterday - Barramundi Farm , tidal mud flats & mangroves and some of the coastline .

Todays map link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kYJmbnl9NSuQ&usp=sharing

A turbulent day 30/8/15

 Due to feeling crook last night forcing an early night , the consequences of which were waking up before the sun - gotta love body clocks !!!!
 Ah well , got up at 6am , feeling better than last night , so that was a bonus ! Breakfast out of the way , backpack organised , we wasted some time before heading up to the front gate and awaited our pick up . We didn't have to wait long , and the bus arrived , delivering us to the airport .
 Waiting again , we finally boarded the plane and taxied down the runway and took off . The views were amazing , mangrove lined creeks , mudflats , mountain ranges and King Sound .

 We left the mud flats and tidal areas and started over the mountains , the turbulence was starting early when we were flying lower , gradually our young pilot took us up to 5,000 ft and things smoothed out again . There are some remote properties and communities that live up this way - we do mean remote, come the wet season , they don't go anywhere by 4WD !!
 Again the views are still spectacular , can't see that changing any time soon !!

We were tracking northwest from Derby , it was only a half hour flight and we were nearly there when I got my first glimpse of what we'd come to see - Horizontal Falls !!!

 We circled a few times gradually getting lower , giving everyone a view at one stage or another .

 If you look closely at the edge of the shadow , you can see one of the boats at the right side of the whitewater .
 We turned again and looked out at Talbot Bay , where we would be landing - a bay you say , yes , we are in a sea plane !! It would have been up there with the smoothest landings we've ever had !!
 Tied up at the pontoon , we got out and went up stairs to where we will base ourselves for the next 4hrs45mins . First stop was a brief run down of todays activities , then down to the fish feeding area , where 2 shark cages are installed . You can get into the cages and feed the sharks - they are tawny nurse sharks , and while they have teeth , they generally just suck their food into their mouths , you would probably lose a finger and have a bad case of suction damage . They are about 3m long and know when they are going to get fed , so turn up at feeding time with monotonous regularity , otherwise they are free to go anywhere they like !!

There were also large bat fish , school of garfish , baby gold trevally  & giant trevally . They tell us there is a bull shark that comes in as well , but the water is a little murky today .
 Okay action time , into the boat - not just your average boat , a very powerful fast boat - 3 x 300hp motors on the back - this thing gets up and boogies !!! We round the corner into a smaller bay , the mountain range towers above us , orange cliffs , green trees , blue sky and turquoise water - what a combination .
 We spot the 20m wide gap between the cliffs , with so much water flowing through - apparently there is between 30 to 40 MILLION litres of water passing through this gap every SECOND !!!! That's impressive . The gap is also 40 m deep !! The water surges through at amazing speed , and the turbulence stretches for several hundred metres on the other side as well , eddies , whirlpools and water surging upwards turn the boat sideways with the current . The water on the other side is about 1.5m lower than the side we entered from - this is where the 3 x 300 hp motors come into their own - the young skipper skilfully guiding us through , powering our way through as was necessary . They stopped the boat to allow for photos , before powering through again , turning and going though again and again , some of the runs through were with speed , the skipper was enjoying himself - so was everyone else on board !!!

 We headed over to the next gap - only 10m wide and again 40m deep , the height change in the water is about 2.5m and was too dangerous to go through safely , so he took the boat into the gap backwards and sat in the middle of the current , carefully controlling the throttle and direction to keep us off the rock walls .

 Back and through the first falls and back to the pontoon for some Bbq barramundi & salad for lunch , and I have to tell you , we probably haven't had barramundi that's tasted this good before !!!!!!

 A couple went for a helicopter ride for 10mins while we had lunch , then came down and sat with us for a while before we went back to the boat again for a cruise up Cyclone Creek for an hour . 

 The cruise took us up the creek , so named , because it is an excellent shelter for boats in cyclones . the creek snakes around and has high steep cliffs & hills which stop the wind from building up too much . 

 The water was still flowing in here as well , but no where near as fast as before . There are 27 different types of mangrove trees that live here , today they were getting a good dunking at high tide .

 Back to the pontoon , we had a break for 10 minutes before going for another boat ride . This time we hit the second falls , but as we got to the first falls , we could see it had almost stopped flowing , there was still water flowing through , but it was pretty flat now , not like earlier .

 This time the water at the second falls was only 1m lower , and safe to go through , which we did several times , and at speed as well !!

 Back to the pontoon for a final time , we watched as the float planes brought another 2 plane loads in for the afternoon trip from Broome . 

 They do 2 trips per day from Broome , one trip from Derby through the day , then as we land and get off another group are queueing to get in for an overnight stay . 

 All too soon , it was time to get on board for the return flight  , 40 mins this way , as they show you some more features on the way home .

 We take off and do a circuit over the falls before banking right and heading for some of the Buccaneer Archipelago - 1,000 islands or more .

 The flight took us over a barramundi farm ( where lunch came from ) and other parts of King Sound , before heading back toward the wharf and Derby . The high tide was making the small creeks & tributaries overflow , and we could see how high it was at the wharf as we flew past it .

 A couple of minutes later we had landed , and I was happy about that , the flight had been quite turbulent and I was feeling a little green , it was very nice to be out and walking , getting some fresh air !!!

 The bus dropped us back at the park and we walked down and  I collapsed into the outside chair , before laying it down to get some blood flowing back to the head - it appeared to have drained away !! , but lunch stayed where I had put it , didn't waste the barra !!

 After recovering , we loaded the bikes & kayak , had some salsa & a beer , before the sun started to set - a cloud was above the sun and it was raining , looking like it was trying to put the sun out !!!

 That's it , day done , put this place on your bucket list , it deserves to be there !!!

Map Link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kUKGQJThIOVI&usp=sharing

Derby Two 29/8/15

Yesterdays blog today - was a little off colour last night !!

 Time to go for a ride , bikes ready , we head to the wharf - there is a bike path all the way out there, its 2.5klms . We arrive at what looked like low tide , but it was actually turning and had been for an hour or so . As we chatted to Emma on the phone , we watched a fisherman gathering bait fish with a cast net , he worked at it for about 20 mins and caught plenty , but he had to keep an eye on the water , it rose over a metre while we chatted to Emma for 40mins !! 

 That must have been the sign , as shortly after another 4 boats put in . 

 We then rode out onto the wharf , watching a lot of fish to 300mm long playing around in the shallow muddy waters . Back to town and the RV , sat and cooled down for a while before having lunch .

 After lunch we headed out to get some fuel and sight see . The main street has a central island and they’ve planted boab trees in it - looks quite good !

Heading just out of town we found the Prison Boab Tree , that was used as an overnight gaol for prisoners on their way to the courts for some rough justice !! 

 There was a lot of aboriginal prisoners that were hard done by .

 Beside here was also the Myall Bore - a 150m long cattle trough , used to water the cattle prior to shipping them out at the wharf . There was also Frosty’s Pool - a small concrete pool constructed by soldiers and used to cool down .

 As promised here’s a photo of the termite mounds .

 We drove down the Gibb River Rd again , this time the western end - much more civilised - this end has 80 klms of bitumen before the gravel starts . So now we only have about 600 klms of it to complete !!!

We had a final visit to the wharf to view high tide , as it was one of the highest today at 11.15m !!

 We then sat & chatted to Bob & Sharon for a few hours before retiring early for the night - we did the cruise on Lake Argyle with them , and have caught up with them at a few other parks as well .

Map Link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.k-xXNbtYigjQ&usp=sharing

Derby Day 28/8/15

Up with the sparrows again , 6:30 up & at em ! We cruise through breaky , pack up and on the road at 8:30 . We took our time packing up , as there was no real rush - the only thing we had to beat was the heat - 26 degrees at 8:30 , 27 at 9:30 , 31 at 10:15 and 33 at 11am and 33.5 at 2pm !!

 The drive to Derby , was uneventful - which is good - the vegetation was changed every 20 mins or so . There are large flat grassy sections , then areas sparsely covered with short trees , then areas covered in trees up to 8m tall , wildflowers were also starting to come out beside the roads - lots of mauve flowers , then some taller grassy looking ones with cream coloured tiny flowers and some really small yellow flowers - very tiny !! 

 At one stage we could see 360 degrees around us and there was only trees & grass all the way to the horizon . 

 The termite mounds up here are different from the cathedral and magnetic types - these resemble Jabba the hut from star wars on a really bad diet !! They build large rounder mounds and then build fat looking sections that hang from the sides , that have holes under the overhang - presumably for ventilation in the nest - photos will come at some stage ! 

 Boab trees seem to increase in numbers as well , some of which must have an excellent water source , as they retain all their leaves , most others have dropped their leaves to help the tree survive the dry season .

 Traffic was very light , then you would get a group of vehicles - mainly cars & caravans - then it would go quiet again for long stretches . We only had about 4 vehicles overtake us on the 250 klm drive ! 

 Reaching the turn to Derby , we turned right and headed on in , passing Curtin Air Force Base , then arriving in Derby 42 klms later . Stopping at the auto electrician to book in for a check on the electric brake system that isn’t working correctly - Mondays job !! 

 Driving in the mainroad you become aware of all the Boab trees planted in the centre of the road between the 2 lanes - impressive !

 Finding the van park , we check in , set up and have lunch before shopping time - there’s 2 supermarkets here , an IGA and Woolworths . 

 We discover some ants in the ute as we drove today , then later discovered they were coming from the kayak onto the roof and into the ute through a very small hole just inside the door & front fender . The kayak had a lot of dead ants in it , and there were a lot more after I had sprayed surface spray everywhere I found them !!!

 Time for a beer , cheese & bickies and chat to some people we have been seeing here & there , before heading down to the pier to watch the sun go down on another day - here’s the pics for you to peruse .

Todays map link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kBcP9OJabFx0&usp=sharing

Time to stop 27/8/15

 The title says it all , we've had enough , we are not going to drive more than 20klms today !!!
 Had you worried there for a minute , we're not stopping this any time soon !!!
Today can be summarised quickly , we cleaned the RV , fuelled the ute ,  washed & cleaned the ute , did some maintenance , had a swim , did lunch , had a swim , had another swim and then had some salsa & a beer - day done .
 We saw the highlights ??? of Fitzroy Crossing - went on a slow cruise around town - it didn't take too long !!
 Anyway , the moon is nearly full and was coming up over a boab tree near us , so here are some pictures of it .

 In case you are wondering , the ball like objects in the tree are seed pods , which you can eat the inside of - it doesn't have a lot of flavour , but is edible - bush tucker !!!

 Well that's it for today , we thought we better give you a rest , it's been pretty stressful reading our exploits !!! HA HA HA 

See you !

Corrugations ,crocs , graders & tunnels 26/8/15

Awake & up at 6:30 , rearing to hit the road again . Walking to the amenities block , I ran into an ex employee from Endeavour Energy - a former live linesman from Hoxton Park and then an instructor ?   Paul Miesenhoff I think .They now live at Bomaderry and are going the opposite direction to us . Small world !!
 We stripped the bikes & kayak off the ute , loaded lunch & water and headed off , just under half a tank of fuel - should be heaps for a 250 klm return trip . Heading toward Derby , we turn off the highway 42 klms out , onto a gravel rd . Stopping at the start to engage 4wd and lower the tyre pressures to 30 psi for the expected corrugations , and they didn't disappoint !!! The road started okay, and gradually got worse , bad enough for us to consider turning back - glad we didn't ! The road fluctuated between bad & worse , with the occasional section of Oh My God !!! About 20klms the road started to improve , we ran into roadworks , they were grading the road - how lucky are we !!!! They started at the Gibb River Rd end of Leopold Downs Rd and have a few more days to go to finish this section . It was dusty , stoney , did I mention dusty , but it was reasonably flatish , allowing Lyn to drive a lot more comfortably than for the last 20klms .
  We were driving beside the Devonian Reef - an ancient barrier reef , that is now a limestone mountain range - not overly high , but has that grey weathered look about it - if you have been reading the blogs , it is similar stone to Chillagoe Caves , and there are tunnels & caves in it as well . the other feature is the amount of Boab trees here - they are thriving !!

 
 Reaching Tunnel Creek , we met a young couple and asked them about Windjana Gorge - 35klms up the road - they said don't miss it , the road has been graded so all is good . We jumped back in and headed up there first , due to the heat expected today - 37 - it was 10 am and 28 degrees !!
 Arriving at the carpark at Windjana , packed the backpack with water and the cooling towel   -            ( a glorified chamois that works really well to cool you down - I bought it for golf ) , and we set off into the gorge . Not knowing what to expect , we decided we'd walk into the gorge and follow the track that takes you 3.5 klms in , but only go a couple of klms & come back depending what it was like . You enter through a small tunnel , only wide enough for one way walking traffic , then the gorge opens in front of you - there are 2 sides of the gorge , both Devonian Reef , that stand each side of the Lennard River . It has carved a 3.5 klm gorge through the Napier Range , that is now Windjana Gorge .

 The water level is down at the moment - due to it being at the end of the dry season , would be a spectacular site when full of water .

 Being that dry is a bit of a bonus for us - due to the pools drying up , there is limited water for the crocodiles , so they are crammed in !!

Look closely at the above photo and count how many there are !!

 The walk took us beside the river and cliffs , there are also fossils in the limestone from when it was a reef - the next photo is of a nautilus .

 The track didn't take us to anything special , just meandered in & around the bush on the river bank, so we turned around and wandered back after about 2klms , it was getting bloody hot as well !! More of the cliff scenery on the walk .

 Reaching the ute , we drove around to the camp area to find a table & chair to sit at for lunch - the ones at the carpark were being monopolised by tour buses . 

 Lunch done , back in the ute and back down to Tunnel Creek - 35klms away - for a cool walk through the mountain . 

 The entrance is hidden by large rocks and boulders , but you zizgzag around them and squeeze in between rocks and drop into the water - its only ankle deep here .

 The rock is a marbled collection of colours and patterns .

Into the first chamber , and you find yourself looking at a limestone cave with stalactites hanging from the roof , dripstone & flowstone formations .

Further in and the two torches come in very handy , as it darkens up , and you are now walking through water 8 inches ( 200mm ) deep . There is a spring feeding water into the tunnel - Tunnel Creek to be precise !! - it bubbles out from a pool about 1m above the surrounding water .

 Further in and there is a section where the roof has fallen in and lets a lot of light in , birds & bats also !!

 To the side of the collapse is a stalagmite that has completed it's mission and joined up with the stalactite , forming a column .

There are some intricate formations in the caves that don't really become apparent until you see them in photos later .

 After crossing the creek a few more times in water up to your knees , you reach the other end where there is a beautiful pool shaded by some trees .

 We sat & took in the view before heading back through - its 750m through the mountain , and the water was beautiful , clear and cool - just what we needed after the gorge walk . As we made our way back , I shined the torch on the water and found a crocodile - apparently there were a few others in there as well that we didn't see !!!! We checked each water crossing a little more thoroughly after that - they were only freshwater crocs , not interested in us !!
 We made it back to the ute and changed our wet footwear for some dry and headed out , waiting for one car to turn in in front of us , another was coming about 500m away , so I pulled out to keep in front of him , so we weren't eating his dust all the way back !! If he didn't stop he'd be eating a fair amount of my dust , as 6 wheels creates a bit more than the average !! We didn't see him again .
 A guy flagged us down further down the track - a backpacker that had a flat tyre and couldn't get his wheel nuts off , he was surprised we had a compressor built in , and we pumped his tyre up again - he was driving an old Daihatsu van that really shouldn't have been on this road - if it makes it back in one piece he will have done well !!!
 We continued and found the graders were still at work at 4:30 , and had completed the earlier section and were working on the next 10klm section - bonus , 10 klms less corrugations - Lyn wasn't impressed as she had 10klms extra than me !!
 The rest of the drive was uneventful , still had the worst section of corrugations and rocks , but we'd made it unscathed .
 Another great day at the office !!!
Todays map link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kVSOSj5WXoOI&usp=sharing