Kununurra to Fitzroy Crossing

Day 63—Monday, 26th August (Kununurra to Bungle Bungles CP 257kms)

Before leaving town, we called at the Information Centre to enquire about voting and were told we could make absentee vote at Broome or vote online, so that’s something we need to decide on.

Well, after almost a week in Kununurra, we finally hit the road again, heading for the Purnulula National Park and the Bungle Bungles. We had phoned and booked a couple of nights. We stopped at Turkey Creek for lunch and pushed on with only one incident of any note. As we were driving along and getting nearer the turn off to the CP, we noticed smoke from a bush fire and we seemed to be getting nearer.  As we approached, the fire was moving towards the road, only one side affected. There were lots of Kites swooping about, as they do at a fire. Getting closer it seemed that any prey trying to get away from the flames would have nowhere to go but across the road. So it turned out and the Kites were more interested in their dinner than the traffic approaching. Twice we watched Kites swoop and pick up some poor critter, while we nearly picked them off with the Patrol. They were totally distracted, it was a near thing both times, all the Kites seemed to be in a feeding frenzy.

Arriving at the CP, we decided to book a 30 minute fixed wing flight over the Bungles for 7.00am tomorrow. This will depend on them finding two other paying passengers, despite their brochure saying two was a minimum. Oh it’s an old brochure they said although still available on their desk!! All ended well though as we got a call before dinner that another passenger had signed on. So now three was the minimum. We discovered that this park exists for it’s four wheel drive Expeditions into the Bungles. Most of our neighbours seemed to be there for that reason. later, we decided that we’d store the van and drive into the park, after our flight.

Day 64—Tuesday, 27th August (Bungle Bungle CP to BB Visitor Centre 85kms)

An early start, we assembled at the office just before 7.00am and met our pilot who was also the office clerk, taking our fare and our coach driver, shuttling us out to the air strip on the Mabel Downs Station, just a short drive.

Our fellow traveller, was a fiesty lady, who was traveling in a group of four but the only one interested in the flight. Her first question was, “how long have you been flying young man”?. She sat up front with the pilot Matt and we two had the second row of seats leaving the back row empty.

The flight was really interesting, taking us up the western edge of the escarpment, then circling around the north end and back south before heading back to the airstrip. Really an unbelievable half hour and I became convinced that everyone should see the Bungles this way, either before or after a ground visit. More on that later.

Back down to earth!

Back on terra firma, we tackled breakfast and arranged the Patrol for the trip into the park. Once the van was towed into position in the storage area and the gas turned on for the fridge we were off.

The drive to the Visitors Centre, only 50kms was a dreadful event, worse than anything offroad so far. Hugely corrugated, almost without let up and you wondered when something was going to break! The tyre pressures had been reduced but even so the ride was uncomfortable. I tried not to think we’d have to do it all over again in a couple of days. A couple of deep creek crossings with water, were the easy bits. However, we arrived at noon and booked in for a two night stay at the northern end of the park at the Kurrajong Campsite, a short 7kms further.

After finding our site, I quickly got the solar panels set up although the short 50kms drive took two hours, so the battery should have got a good boost. Just the same, the sun was out and free so make the most of it. Lunch was quickly taken and we then set off for the north end of the park, another 18kms for a walk into the Echidna Gorge. About an hour and a half walk along a creek bed of tumbled , very uneven and rocky. In some places, with about 200m of chasm the walls were almost touching. In other places, rock falls had almost blocked the chasm and we had to scramble over these. I’m sure the gorge would change every year after the wet, with water tearing through and re-arranging the floor and walls.

The Echidna Gorge entrance

Taking a break in Echidna Gorge

After our trek up the gorge and return, we took another walk to the Osmond Lookout. As the name suggests this is a climb up to a point that gives a grand view of the Osmond Ranges.

The Osmond Ranges

After that, it was time to head back to our campsite and get set up. All this activity had taken place in the hottest part of the day and we had some concern about the heat back at camp. In the event, we managed to position the Patrol so that we had plenty of shade and although the temperature had climbed during the day, by 4.00pm it was starting to cool off. In fact overnight, it became quite cool to cold.

Day 65—Wednesday, 28th August (Purnululu NP 68kms)

An early start is easy when tenting, the birds see to that. We seem to be camped on the local Crow family’s patch but there were plenty of Corellas too. Today, we have a 33kms drive to the south end of the park to Piccaniny Car Park and the Cathedral Gorge. The roads inside the park are only marginally better than the entry track, so we’re getting some practice for the drive out. But that’s tomorrow.
First to grab attention as we arrived at the Piccaniny Car Park, was The Domes, a truly amazing grouping of sandstone towers.

The return walk up through the Cathedral Gorge was an hour and half over much easier surface than yesterday's trek, much smoother going in most places. At the end, it’s easy to see how the Gorge earns it’s name, as we ended up in a huge amphithetre, with towering walls all around.

After the walk out, we chose to walk up to the Piccininny Lookout, in temperatures which by now must have been in the mid thirties or higher. So it wasn’t an easy hike as there was not a shred of cover for shade. However, we managed with plenty of water and slowly made it to a great shelf, overlooking the ranges, complete with safety fence.
Eventually, making it back to the car park we found some respite under a sail, just as a couple of bus loads of tourists were leaving. One lot moving out, back to the lodge, the second gathering around their Ranger, getting advice about the trek into the Gorge. We were quite surprised that this group would be making the trip in the hottest part of the day. Many of them looking lots older than us and many quite overweight. We wondered if the tour company did any health checks on their passenger lists. Having said this, there are times in the gorge, when there’s shade but it’s still very hot.

Anyway, by now we had the car park and it’s resting areas to ourselves, so we got the lunch out and enjoyed a very peaceful recovery under the sails along with, you guessed it a hot cup of tea?!

Cheers

On the drive back to our camp site, we made a short detour to the visitor centre. It had become clear to us that snapping with a still camera could not do any justice to what were seeing, whether at this level or at 2000ft. We wondered if a DVD was available that would do better justice to the wonderful scenery at the Bungle Bungles. No such luck, so we had to made do with a picture book. Maybe one day, some pro cameraman will see the opportunity.

Day 66—Thursday, 29th August (Purnululu NP to Halls Creek 183kms)

Breakfast on the way at 6.00am.

We made an early start with a quick visit to another of the BB sites, this one called Stonehenge. No resemblance to another Stonehenge, simply a short circular walk on a man made trail, with boards opposite various trees or shrubs, listing the uses made of them by Aboriginals. So we weren’t long delayed in our departure.

Not much to say about the trip out except we met lots of bravehearts coming in. Oh, and one in a hired 4WD, who thought I wasn’t going fast enough and passed us like I was standing still! Easy when it’s someone else’s vehicle.

We found all well back at the van and Helen did some shuffling of bits and pieces between Patrol and van, while I got the compressor out and some air in the tyres.

Back on the highway, we noticed a rest area about one kilometre from the BB turn off and because the dash cam fell off the screen, we pulled in to fix it and found a very nice, well shaded area, next to the creek with three rigs set up for an overnight stop. In fact one rig seemed to have been left there while a trip into the park was made. Don’t know if I could be that brave but maybe one of the others was playing caretaker! On the way, we again crossed the mighty Ord River, a very wide Ord at this point but reduced to unconnected lagoons now in the dry season.

Arriving quite early at Halls Creek, we picked a good site under a big gum tree and settled in. During the afternoon, the park soon filled up, only one park in town.

A trip into town for a few groceries at the local IGA and fuel at the Coles Express. Note the nearest Coles store being Kununurra on one side and Derby on the other, a long way to go for a shopper docket! Dinner time, we got the Baby Q out and did some steaks, very tasty.

Day 67—Friday, 30th August (Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing 295kms)

At Halls Creek, we’d found Telstra and been able to make some catch up calls after being lost since leaving Kununurra. It was now noticed that service was available on the highway and I don’t think Telstra lost us even for a little while on the near 300kms covered today.

Quite an uneventful drive, although we found a great rest area called Mary Pool, on the Mary River, about a 100kms west of Halls Creek, with maybe twenty or so rigs set up for long stays. Officially, these designated areas are 24hrs only but a few of them looked well settled and who police's the stay time? A feature here was the single lane causeway over the Mary river, on which, on our way out, we had to give way to a tour coach coming in, probably for a toilet stop.

Reaching Fitzroy Crossing, we had to cross the Fitzroy River and this great river too seems to be reduced to unconnected lagoons at this time of year. What these big rivers would be like in the wet, only the local would know!

We were again quite early and found a very nice shady site in the Tarunda CP, had a quick bite of lunch then off down the street to the Information Centre, where we discovered that the Geikie Gorge launch cruise ran at 3.00pm and no booking were taken, just front up at the gorge and buy a ticket. Which we duly did. The coach tour we’d met at Mary River turned up and swelled the numbers but the launch was nowhere near full. At the book in counter, we were advised that the launch was uncovered, so you could see the towering cliffs in the gorge and big bottles of sun block were available for all. We made good use of this freeby, not because it was free but because we would otherwise fry.

The trip on the Fitzroy took an hour return so there were more than unconnected lagoons here! We learned that just below the gorge, the Mary River joined the Fitzroy and Deposited a huge sandbar of silt, forming a dam across the Fitzroy, so that there was deep water in this section always. A very peaceful and interesting cruise, showing the strength of water and it’s ability to dissolve the sandstone in the cliffs. Another site that must change each season, in fact they have to check it out each year before the cruises commence.

The power of water scouring the sandstone

Showing the high water mark in the wet!

Back at the CP, we were delighted to find great digital TV reception and were able to watch the Swans lose by 12 points to Hawthorn, in the last home and way game.

Day 68—Saturday, 31st August (Fitzroy Crossing)

A bit of a lazy one today, with breakfast about 7.30am. We made another trip to the Information Centre, making enquiries about the gravel road out to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge.

We’d been considering an overnight trip to these features, once again leaving the van in storage but the weight of local opinion persuaded us on a day  trip, which we’ll do tomorrow. As a result, we paid for another night and will get a good nights sleep on our return to the CP.

Then we drove out to the Old Crossing which is another concrete causeway but could not find any signs of the old township or the pioneer cemetery. Back in town, we visited the hardware store and bought a BBQ scraper/brush to help keep the Baby Q clean, now that we’re not using that non-stick sheet.

The Old Fitzroy Crossing

Apart from that, yours truly has spent most of the afternoon punching the keyboard to try and get the blog up to date, with one eye on the telly, watching the results for the last round of the season. Geeze I wish Brisbane had scored that last goal instead of a poster! Michael Voss must be getting in line to apply for his job back.

Day 69—Sunday, 1st September (Fitzroy Crossing to Windjana Gorge 300km)

An early start and after a quick breakfast, we set off for Windjana. The first section, the 40 odd kilometers, west, on the Great Northern Highway, to the turn off was covered without problems. The remaining kilometers on the gravel road, passed through Leopold Downs and Fairfield Stations, Aboriginal Cattle Stations.

The advice at the Information Centre was proved accurate and we found ourselves on a double lane gravel highway, making good time. Except for the Billabong, nobody had said anything about a Billabong in the muddle of the “highway”! After stopping and checking, we progressed onward quite easily.

Middle of the road Billabong

Once we’d covered the 70kms through the two stations, the Tunnel Creek National Park was arrived at and we stopped for a check and a decision on which feature to explore first. We decided to carry on to the Windjana Gorge and make the walk up the gorge before the hottest part of the day made it too uncomfortable. Tunnel Creek on the other hand, as the name suggests is underground and much cooler.

We drove the further 35kms to the National Park car park, arriving about 9.15am and paused to fill out our park permit, day visit envelope with it’s required $5.00 fee. Camping here is also well catered for, with shower block and flushing toilets. All this for $11.00 per head, per night. Well after a drive like that, easy or not, it was time for a cuppa! We had met regular traffic, since Tunnel Creek and tthere were several day visitors both at the Tunnel and here but none haad followed us from the highway. After chatting to a couple from Perth with “Go Cats” stickers all over their ute, we learned that most actually drive in from Derby!

Windjana Gorge walks

Narrow entrance to the Gorge

We were soon on our way up the gorge and learned that the gorge, which is 3.5m in length has been carved out of the Limestone, by the Lennard River. There were three levels of walk, with the full 7kms return trip, estimated at 2-3 hours to a half hour walk to the start of the high walls of the Gorge. We decided to just go as far as we felt comfortable, because although it was not yet 10.00am, it was already very warm. We probably made it to the 2kms mark before turning back.

The gorge claims to be the premier place in Australia for viewing freshwater crocodiles and it wasn’t long before we were seeing plenty of them, just basking on the banks of the river or at one spot swimming about. The Lennard River, like all the rivers at this time of year, when not completely dry, are series of lagoons and here at the beginning of the gorge was a quite large lagoon, well populated by freshies. As we progressed in our walk, these lagoons were nearly always in sight, sometimes making a long stream but always eventually disconnected. Most of the crocs were seen in the early part of the gorge. We were also entertained, midway in our walk by a roosting colony of fruit bats. Don’t know how they get any rest, with all the noise they make.

After returning from our walk, we ate lunch in the car park, before heading off, backtracking to Tunnel Creek. The creek runs under the Napier Range and again, you could choose your walk depending on fitness and agility. It needs to be said, that this is not so much a walk, as an obstacle course. The information board says that the more sure footed and adventurous can take the 2kms return to the other side of the Range, scrambling over rocks,sometimes wading through occasionally deep and sometimes chilly pools. A torch and decent shoes are needed. We decided to take a look and settled in the end for the easier stroll to the tunnel entrance. Soon, it was back to the car park and heading off for the return trip, through the billabong, back to the highway and on to The Crossing.