Dampier

We're in Dampier after a quick stop of in pardoo station last night which was good and had more toilet/shower facilities then all the places we have been in the last 3 weeks put together! No queues is good!

Stocked up in Port Hedland (we seem to eat a lot!). Saw one of the incredibly long 3km iron ore trains. Ciara counted the second half and it had 132 trailers! It was slowly moving out of town and we drive alongside it for 4km!! And saw some ships being loaded as well. Soooo much red dirt. Also saw the salt mountains which are like giant shining white snow cones! The road trains are massive as well .. 4 trailers long but the roads are very straight so good chances to over take.

The drive to Port Samson was very scenic thru the desert type landscape. Red sands and dunes, rusty outcrops covered in olive Spinifex, fields of purple/mauve tinged Mulla Mulla flowers, and a multitude of other flowering bushes and small shrubs which I have no idea what their names are but the colours were incredible. Yellow, Orange, white, cream, purple, red, and greens of all sorts. We did see the iconic Sturt desert pea as well which was very exciting (maybe I have been out on the road too long!). Such a beautiful plant. Port Samson is lovely and very quiet. Kind of wish we had stayed but the caravan Parks were jammed 

Headed an hour on to Dampier instead which is another port town with a huge iron ore facility. Across the water from the campsite is like daylight with all the lights from trains, conveyors and ships being loaded. There must be some very very large empty holes in the Pilbara region. It's quite surreal as it's a naturally beautiful area but so industrial at the same time. Had the best AFL oval with the softest looking grass. Was tempted to go for a run with the crowd training there after eating too much chicken parmy at the local (overpriced and strange) pub but felt I was probably a couple of decades too experienced and didn't want to embarrass the locals. 

The campsite is silent and quiet aside from the hum of iron ore being converted into AUD $$$ filling the govt coffers and building great roads up here. 

Tomorrow we head to Millstream Chichester national Park for 3 days and then karijini for 4 days. It'll be great to not have to drive more then a couple if hours tomorrow after covering about 1200km in the last two days. 

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Heading west again

Today we left Pender bay escape after a wonderful 6 nights stay. It was hard to leave cos it was such a relaxed, fun place to be.. Everyday we saw whales (breaching and flipper flapping), dolphins, swam numerous times, watched fantastic sun rises and sets, and even read and played games. We saw an amazing red moon rising last night just after dusk over the bay. It was really dark red due to some local back burning smoke and very striking. There are huge tidal swings in this area. Low tide was between 1.5 -0.4m and high tide about 7.5m. At the low tide we could walk in around all the rock pools and along by the cliffs exploring the intertidal zone (I had to read up on some of this!!) Where there are these amazing creatures and plants. We saw chitons (thanks aengus for the id), heaps of snails, shells, coral, sea cucumbers and possibly a feather star which we intially thought was a black plant with feathery tendrils until it moved!! We also saw boobys (don't get so excited they are sea bird), sea Eagles, brahimini kites and frigates (they are huge!!). Swimming was best in the few hours around high tide so we had many swims everyday and a snorkel as well. The kids got to watch a movie one evening under the stars. Walked upto the cliffs as well and the whales put on a great show breaching and slapping flippers which makes a huge booming sound. Don't think we'll get a better campsite again. Metres from the beach on a cliff with a quick scramble down to the beach and glorious views all day and night. Full Moon was soooo bright we could see colours. 

We also made a plan for the next couple of weeks. Everything is extremely busy but we managed to get a few nights (tried for hours to get this) in karijini national Park, also milstream Chichester before that and tonight we stay at pardoo station to break the long drive then Dampier the next night to see the rock art before heading inland to the national parks. Ningaloo national Park is completely booked out so we're going to base ourselves at bullara station between Exmouth and coral bay and do day trips from there. 

I forgot to mention we could swim in the sea despite there being saltwater crocodiles in the area they only are sighted very occasionally (last time was April) and it's very clear seas so everyone takes the chance. 

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Pender Bay, Cape Leveque

Didn't take long to figure out that Broome is over packed and full to 4 times it's usual population so did a quick change of plans and headed north to Cape Leveque. We did stop for a quick look at Cable beach which is incredible, 30 minutes queue at the post office, and pickup some essentials like meat, beer and pies.

Cape Leveque is a peninsula north of Broome and the road has just been sealed for the first time this year. It's straight and smooth, white topping with deep red margins, green bush and intensely blue skies make it quite a pleasant drive.

We managed to score an overflow site at Pender Bay Escape which is a pretty rustic beach side place 25km off the sealed road on a very sandy (but fun to drive!) road. Next day we got lucky as someone with a small kid couldn't handle the gale (it was very windy the day we arrived) so vacated a site and we got it. It's awesome, surrounded by bush with a corridor view out onto a cliff edge that over looks the bay. The cliffs are red, the beaches are white and beautiful and I'm told top grade for sand castle building! And the sea is glorious blue/turqoise. Have to keep an eye out for crocs but its so beautiful to swim and snorkel in (not much to see). We can light a campfire at the edge of the cliff and watch any whales pass by. Yesterday we saw 3-4 groups and I think there were mostly mother/calf combinations. They were doing some incredible flipper flapping and breaching. Flipper flapping is unbelievable!! First we heard this deep booming sound then saw this huge splash. I think it was a mother humpback trying to scare off a boat that was nearby. 

The guy that runs the place is very helpful and last night put on a movie for the kids under the stars. Feeling very very lucky right now. We initially were here for 2 days but have extended out to 4 days now. So we just swim, build sandcastles, hide out for a couple of the hot midday hours under the gazebo then swim, stroll, whale watch, repeat * 4 days.

Unfortunately seems like west of Broome is absolutely jammed to the gills with grey nomads and tourists so we're not having much luck getting anywhere to stay at Karijini or Ningaloo. We have a couple of other more remote options to investigate thou so might just have to do that instead. Not the worst dilemma.

 A few people have asked about photos and there's a link on the RHS menu but this doesn't seem to appear on the mobile version of the site and I'm too busy staring at the gloriously turqoise Pender Bay to be bothered fixing it so here's a link instead!

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/N8Tm7LRcowwCpdQN8

Heading to Cape Leveque

Stayed at a lovely station last night called Birdwood downs near Derby. They kids loved the peacocks and chickens especially the white male peacock who was in mighty displaying form this morning! 

Driving to Broome now then found a place called Pender bay to stay on at cape Leveque. Everything here is fully booked for the next couple of weeks which is a bit frustrating as we actually have to make a plan. Still a few days by the sea, whale watching and swimming (allegedly there are no crocs!) And walking on the beach sounds very pleasant. 

Will be offline again but much nearer civilisation this time. 

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Out of the wilds and into Derby

Staying near Derby tonight at Birdwood Downs station which is about 20km from town but really quiet and lovely aside from the gale blowing the dust all day! Strange being back in 'town' after so many days out in the wilds of the Kimberley. We had planned to go to Broome but it's impossible to find a place to stay so stocked up on food (ahhh fresh green things!!) and trying to make a plan for where to next!! 

The Kimberley region is so wild and gloriously scenic. Almost feels a shame to leave it but the tug of the Pilbara and Ningaloo coast is strong!

Mornington Sanctuary and Charnley River on the Gibb River Road

 
From Mt Hart we headed further west along the Gibb River Road to the turn off for Mornington Sanctuary which is 90 km off the GRR. This is an AWC run nature reserve. I'm not going to run the sales pitch on you as you can find plenty of that on their website. The road in is about 60km of flat, very dusty stuff thru a station with some very skinny looking cattle. Not a lot left for the poor buggers to eat. The road then gets a bit windier as you enter the reserve and plenty more interesing with lots of trees incd boabs and heaps of grasses. Plenty creek crossings with water as well. The campground is shaded but very dusty and was very busy the evening we arrived. Seemed to be much quieter thou by the time we left so I think the season here is slowing down and impacted by Covid cancellations for sure. It was census night so we went and filled in our forms and had a couple of beers to help with that. Really nice bar and restaurant there but pretty expensive for a family of 4. They get some high end tours and glamping there so good market for that. Great range of beer as well - so nice to not drink out of a tinnie for a change!!

We explored the Sir John Gorge area on the first day including the really informative termite trail - did you know that termites are the main grass eaters of the Australian Savannah ie they are the wildebeest and bison/buffalo of this area. Some of the mounds are massive and support a vast array of birds, lizards, and insects. Also visited the wetlands which was pretty much a muddy puddle at this time of the year. Sir John Gorge was brilliant thou. We walked up it as far as we could until the cliffs got too high to rock hop. Had the whole place to ourselves and the birds. Went for a few swims to cool down. The river that runs thru the gorge is the Fitzroy and there was so much water running. Listened to a bowerbird terretorial song bounce and echo across the gorge. Not sure if he realised it was an echo!! Loads of beautiful paperbarks fringe the edges and then above the sandstone cliffs and rock platforms the spinifex starts so once again just beautiful colours. There are also some massive boabs around. On our way back we stopped at the Bluebush Waterhole for another swim and relax along the edge of the water. So peaceful.

Next day we hired a canoe (fits 4!) and paddled up the Dimond Gorge. This was just amazing. Surrounded by huge tall sandstone cliffs, amazing paperbarks, hunting osprey, little waterfalls and beaches. So much fun. Heard a sandstone shrike thrush make the most amazing sounds as well. Went for a couple of short swims but the water was freezing!! Must be geeting acclimatised!

We stopped into Cadjeout waterhole of the way back. This has to win the award for the best chill out spot of the trip. The kids played on the rope swing into the very deep creek, which was lined with massive paperbarks some of which were flowering so there were heaps of little honey eaters flitting around. There was even grass and a sandy little beach and the backdrop of a huge sandstone range. Could happily stay there for days ... but we have a schedule to keep!

Last day at Mornington we strolled along Annie's creek which is next to the campground. I think I saw a freshawater croc behind our campsite one afternoon but I went to get the others and he was gone when we came back. We did see a purple crowned fairy wren which is the most beautiful little cheeky bird and very rare as they rely on riparian (riverside) habitat which has been decimated across the savannah areas of Australia by feral animals (think anything with a hoof). So exciting :) twitch twitch!! we returned to Cadjeput that afternoon for some more chillaxing. Attended the presentation that evening (another excuse to have a beer from the bar) and learnt all about what the AWC are trying to save out there.

From Mornington we drove across 150km to the north (crossing the Gibb river Road for a couple of kms)to Charnley River. What a change in scenery from open graslands and spinifex to much more wooded areas and rolling hills. Not as spectacular as Mornington but very varied bush so really good to see even if it's in its peak dry season state with many of the waterholes dried up. The campground thou is one of the best. Green grass under the shade of some very pretty Northern Salmon Gum trees and shade all day long plus hot showers and flush toilets. Ahhhh. We have little agile wallabies visit in the afternoon, heaps of crimson finches, douple barred finches, corellas and red tailed black cockatoos as well. At night all the frogs come out so need to watch your step plus they light a communal fire too.

Yesterday we went and explored Grevillea Gorge which is very lush and beautiful cut in the sandstone. Would have been great to be able to get down and explore the gorge but it's closed off for some reason. Went for a swim at the aptly named Lily ponds which are looking a bit sad now and think in another couple of weeks will be very stagnant. Did see a Merten's water monitor there thou! From there drove onto Dilli Gorge where we finally saw some bustards (Australia's heaviest flying bird at 4.5kg) and swam in the gorge which was very stunning and surrounded by some beautiful bush with heaps of bloodwoods, boabs and massive paperbarks.

Today we're doing jobs like blog, journal, photos and washing. Everything has a faint (or not so faint really) red 'glow' on it now from all the dust. We even had to wipe the dash off today as couldn't put anything up there without getting a crusty, dusty layer on it. Sitting here under the trees, we're the only people in the campsite for the last few hours and it's just very lovely place to be on a Monday afternoon!

Next stop Derby or Broome we think. There are a heap of other gorges off the Gibb River Road but we've decided to go find some coast and more of WA since we actually have got this far!!

Windjana Gorge

 
Headed out nice and early from Purnululu. Our packup is getting more and more efficent now! Once again just took it easy on the road and had no problems. Stopped at Hall's creek to refuel and had to queue for 20 mins as there were only 2 pumps working as some local kids had bust up the other ones in town. Mananged to pick up some milk, fresh fruit and bread as well which was a bonus. The road from there to Fitzroy Crossing was pretty dull and monotonous. We did stop at a very nice rest area (Mary's something or the other) for a shady lunch under the gum trees. Decided to head to Windjana Gorge that day instead of stopping at Lawarra station as originally planned as we were making good time. Fitzroy Crossing was pretty rough and unpleasant and aside from topping up on fuel we kept going. The road to Windjana Gorge from there is another legendary 'awful' unsealed road. Left down the tyre pressure and braced ourselves for the corrugations but honestly it wasn't that bad at all. Couple of sharp sections where the limestone appears on the surface but we just took it handy and got thru unscathed. Did met a couple of young women who had absolutely shredded a tire but they had just finished changing it when we arrived. Tunnel Creek is currently closed as there is some fault/gap appearing over the entrance so I guess no-one wants to risk being trapped under tons of rock or on the wrong side of a rock fall. The drive was so stunning again as we drove parallel to a limestone ridge (possibly Devastonian range?) most of the way with some spectacular boabs growing amongst the rocky shards of limestone. Arrived at Windjana Gorge campsite at sunset so quickly setup. Good campground, flushing toilets and hot showers!!! but very dusty underneath.

Walked up the 3.5km thru the gorge the next day. Its very spectacular and different with the classic limestone jagged spikes and cliffs. The river winds thru it and forms a beautiful sandy beach near the start of the gorge and there are some massive melaleucas. Spotted 17 freshwater crocs on the walk up the gorge and 28 on the way down as they came out as the day grew hotter. relaxed for the rest of the day, keeping an eye on the cheeky bower bird who kept stealing stuff from the campsite. He stole our grey soap holder and also half my tooth brush holder so had to send the kids into the bower to retrieve those. He did entertain us for our stay tho so not complaining too much!!

From there we went to Mt Hart Wilderness Lodge. The 10kms from the gorge to the Gibb River Road had some very impressive corrugations so that was a bone jarring 20 minutes! Think this caused another crack in one of our under tray toolboxes which is now being held together with a tie down strap. The Gibb River Road itself was very impressive surface wise. Occasional corrugation and potholes but really one of the best unsealed roads we've seen. Stayed at Mt Hart for a night which is 50km off the road and just the most beautiful shaded AND grassed area plus flush toilets, showers and a swimming hole off the end of the campground. Lots of very strange dark brown/black dolerite exposed on these ranges and went for a swim at Dolerite Gorge which was very refreshing. We even got offered a caretaker's job for the wet season to keep an eye on the place for 8 months til the end of next year's wet. Highly tempted but then I remembered that would mean home schooling so that shot that idea in the head!! The road in/out was rough but ok if you took your time.

Purnululu

 
From Kununurra, we drove south towards Warnum and the entrance to Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) National Park. Really scenic drive of rolling hills and ranges covered in spinifex, grevillea and bloodwoods so plenty colour and things to look at. We even had intermittent internet which was enough to do a last minute library borrow for the kids as one of them forgot to renew their books in town.

The road into the national park is renowned for it's corrugations, river crossings and general awfulness. Dual wheel caravans and trailers are not even allowed in. Left the tyres down to 32 PSI and headed in. The scenery was so beautiful even before we arrived to the national park with ghost gums, bloodwoods, spinifex and rolling hllls of sandstone. So many colours. The road itsef was reasonably corrugated and some of the river crossings were rough on entry/exit but we took it handy and didn't have any problems. We camped at the Northern end of the park at Kurrajong and found a nice shady area to ourselves. The campground lies between the main Bungle Bungle range and the much older (conglomerate I think) Osmond range. There's also a ridge of limestone that runs down the middle of the valeey and was just behind the campground so we had a couple of stunning sunsets sitting on its (jagged) rocks overlooking the northern side of the Bungle Bungles. This side is not the classic beehive shapes that are synonomous with this national park but rather a huge long cliff of rusty red standstone interspersed with gorges and canyons. All against a layer of spinifex, silverbox (a silver leafed wattle which is very striking in large stands) and another much smaller and eroded range of dark chocolate coloured Cambrian sandstone plus of course ghost gums, grevilleas and bloodwoods and other fauna as well.

On our first full day we explored this northern end. Started early at Homestead Valley which is a big valley which massive red walls. Walked up through it and had the whole place to ourselves. Beautiful, serene place to be. Then from there made our way to the Mini Palms valley where there are many remant Livistona Palms and you can walk right up into a kind of huge cavern. Really striking and pretty. This was much busier, probably cos its more dramatic then Homestead Valley but we nearly preferred the Homestead Valley for it's wildness. Wandered up the escarpment trail along the edge of the range as far as Echnida Chasm but it was packed at the car park plus we were all a bit hungry, hot and tired so walked back to the car and campsite for a lazy afternoon. 14.5km in total so pretty good for little people in the exposed sun.

Next day we headed to the south and iconic beehive section of the park. And I knopw I've seen a heap of photos (and taken about 600) but honestly it's just a mind blowing place up close. The colours, the abundance, the shapes, the layers, the flora all combine to make this one of the best day walks we've ever done. We decided to do the close to the car park Domes and Catherdral Gorge later in the day and headed up the Picanney Creek towards Whip Snake Gorge stopping at the Picannaney lookout and the Window (which is a small beehive formation with a large hole in it). The walk along the creek is incredible as it's all eroded away (I think its a limestone foundation bed) into little channels and groves, surrounded by the beehive formations of the BUngle Bungles. The beehives are layered rust/dark grey depending on the phase they are in. The dark grey colours are created by cyanobacteria and the rust is from the sandstone itself. very fragile but so beautiful. Whip Snake gorge is immense and we had it to ourselves for awhile. Decided to continue up the creek towards the area called The Fingers where you can overnight camp (definitely on the list) and managed abput 3km upstream before turning around. Only met one other couple so more or less had the place to ourselves, the bowerbirds, snakes and herons at the occasional shrinking waterhole. At one stage we were in a narrow section of the creek and 360 surrounded by beehive formations. Just soooo specactular. Headed back towards the carpark with tiring legs (esp the little ones) and stopped at Cathedral Gorge. It is a very huge cavern caused by some massive rock plates slipping with a waterhole. Unfortunately there was a 4 year old throwing a massive wobbly and a tour group plus others so after the day of having most of the hike to ourselves it didn't feel quite right. Dragged the tired legs back thru the Domes to tick that box but at that stage we were pretty tired. Figured we did about 19km which is some achievement for the 2 girls. Missed an ice cream at the visitor centre by 1 min (arrived at 4:01pm) but did find some emergency treats in the back of the car instead.

On our last day we took it easy and did the Echidna Chasm which is essentially a very narrow (like less then a metre wide) split thru the sandstone. Its a couple of hundred metres tall as well and around midday supposed to spectacular but we went early in the morning when there were no crowds and it was still very striking. Chilled out for the rest of the day and went and got that promised ice cream which made everyone happy.

Probably one of my favourite places of the trip so far ... it's possible I keep saying this but this place is truly special. Hopefully we'll get back again some day and do the overnight walk.

Quick check-in heading to windjana gorge

Left the unbelievably fantastic purnululu this morning. Well update with details but suffice to say this may steal top spot of the trip so far. We got lucky with cooler days and nights so did 15km walks on the first day and 19 the second day. Yesterday we just did a small walk as the kids were a bit buggered!! What a place thou. Road in is rough a bit corrugated but we went slowly so all good. The scenery is out of this world. Way better in reality then any photos we've seen. 

Off to windjana gorge today so big drive but then two nights there. Then a night at Mt Hart then 4 nights at Mornington and 4 nights at Charnley River and then we'll pop out back in Derby or Broome in 12 days! Even got some fresh fruit and veg at Halls creek whilst we queued for diesel as some local kids had bust up some of the fuel bowsers so 20 minute wait between the Caravans. 

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Leaving Kununurra tomorrow

 Just spent a couple of days in Kununurra which was good fun despite the very hot 35-40c temps. On Sunday we did some sight seeing north to Wyndham which is almost a ghost town now as the meatworks there closed 30 years ago and very little employment aside from the 36 road train deliveries of iron ore per day to the port. 4 trailers per truck so really need to be careful of these massive machines on the road. Visited Parry's Lagoon on the way and there were literally 1000s of birds. Also stopped for a photo of the Big Croc (fake). And had a pleasant picnic under a huge shady tamirand tree. Visited the really interesting (seriously even me and Laura were sucked in) historic museum which documents everything from the beef industry past & present, natural history (boabs and crocs!), World War II epic tales of escapes and ship sinkings and the bombing of Darwin and Kununurra by the Japanese. Also the epic story of 2 German guys who crash landed in remote Kimberleys in 1932 and survived (just about) with the help from the local trackers who eventually found them. There's a doco by a guy called Michael Atkinson who reenacts the story in 2017 (see this article for more info https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/australian-geographic-adventure/adventure/2018/08/surviving-the-kimberley/)

Drove up the big hill to Five River Lookout which is where the Ord, Pentecost and 3 other rivers all meet to form huge salt pans and flat wetlands. Very stark landscape. Its also the most northerly town in WA and one of the hottest towns in Oz with an average daily max of 36C!! Compared to Brisbane's at 27 and Cork's is about 17C in summer!! No wonder we were sweating.

We then headed back towards Kununurra stopping at the very deep Grotto which is this huge chasm of a pool cut into the sandstone. Allegedly 100m deep and 144 steps to get to the bottom where you can swim. Coolest water so far of the trip! even colder then some of the showers in Lawn Hill in QLD! So refreshing tho.

Great scenic drive and a bit off the main tourist route of the Gibb River road. 

Today we walked into the tiny but very scenic Mirima NP which is at the back of the caravan park we're staying at. It's such an interesting place, saw heaps of sandstone formations, boabs and birds including the very well constructed Great Bowerbird's bower which was made from sticks, white stones, green glass and fruit and some tinfoil balls as well. Got too hot by 10am so packed up the car and checked out everything is tightened and full and are ready for 3 weeks away from any big centres til we reach Broome. 

We'll be most likely out of touch til mid August as heading to Purnululu tomorrow for 5 days then across to Larawa Station for a quick stopover, Windjana Gorge for a night and then into the AWC sites of Mornington Station and Charnley River for a combined total of 8 nights all going according to plan. Then maybe slowly onto Broome - no plan really from there so need to make that up as well!

SO DO NOT PANIC if we're out of touch. It's part of the plan!

Have heard of some expensive car and caravan issues from the Gibb River rd. Guy next to us has a broken front axle and waiting 10 days for parts to arrive so he can fix it himself as the mechanics are fully booked for 8 weeks. Another story of a caravan costing $3000 to tow back to town and now waiting for weeks for repairs. Fingers crossed for our machine to stay well and at least the tent doesn't have an axel even if we have broken and taped every pole section almost at this stage!!

Kakadu Summary

 Oh how could I have ever doubted that Kakadu wasn't worth a visit. It's an amazing place despite all the media reports of mismanagement etc.

We drove in on Monday 24th stopping at the wetlands (Mamukala) which was a lovely lunch stop despite the heat. Beautiful lagoon with plenty birds and fish thou didn't see any crocs! Did see a Jacana or Jesus bird as they are also known as they appear to walk on water (actually they walk on lily pads) and have the longest toes in proportion to their body size of any bird I think.  After a quick visit to the visitor centre to book our Yellow Water cruise and pay the park pass we headed onto Sandy Billabong which was a basic but lovely campsite. Located at the end of a 4WD 5km road so put off most people as well which was an added bonus. Mind you the mosquitos at sun down and for most of the night were pretty full on. It was stinking hot so decided to have early dinner and then went out to Nawurlandja Lookout for sunset which was incredibly spectacular as all the escarpment and Burrungkuy (aka Nourlangie but us white fellas screwed up the name and go it wrong so the Indigenous folks have asked to call it by the Burrungkuy name instead!). Just sooo huge and quiet and special place to be. 

Next day we headed off early towards Ubirr. Did the 6,5km Bardedjilidji walk near Cahills Crossing which went thru some funky sandstone formations, then along some really cool billabongs with heaps of water lillies and birds (and probably crocs!) then back along the river where we saw a massive croc on the far bank and some others as well. Also saw a sea eagle on it's nest and disturbed a male water buffalo which we didn't see as thankfully it went the other direction. Some guy on a fishing boat told us he saw it and it was massive. Yikes. The feral water buffalo, horses, cane toads, pigs are doing immense damage in the park. Such a delicate environment being really thrashed in some places by the invaders. 

From there we had lunch at Cahills Crossing and waited for the tidal surge which is 7m high. The crossing is something like 60km from the sea but the tidal surge is huge so we went from watching crocs lying in the mud to the water rushing over the causeway. The crocs then line up at the other side with their mouths open waiting to catch the fish. They do this weird hands out and up thing as they have very sensitive hands so can feel the fish to catch them. It was very exciting spectacle added to by some keen fishermen standing very close to the edge and some dudes in utes driving across when the water was pretty high as well. The other side is by permit only as aboriginal access only allowed. 

We then headed onto the art work at Ubirr and the incredible 360 lookout over the stone country, floodplains and paperbark forests in between. Between art and nature it was such a place to visit despite the 35+ temps. Grabbed an ice cream at Jabiru and then went to see the rock art and shelters at Burrungkuy. Such history and cultural significance in both places. Good to see such a strong culture still remains. 

Next day we packed up and drove out to Jim Jim Falls. The 50km road has a terrible reputation but nothing worse then we've seen. Some corrugations but very manageable. The falls are immense. Like stupendously immense, We decided to do the climb up to the top of the escarpment thru monsoon rainforest which was very steep and hot. Saw a cool Noisy Pitta tho. Got the top and met some folks who told us the walk to the top of the falls wasn't too bad so we decided to do it. Was 2km over rocky exposed but some shady bits and the view (albeit it smoke haze limited) was unbelievable. Even managed a swim in a pool at the top! Walked back the 3kms and then upto the base where we went to the beach side of the falls. There's a rock clamber to get there but then there's this white sandy beach and beautiful cool pool full of fish that nibble your toes (oh and a small angry freshwater croc that some people allegedly heard). You can lie back and look up at 200m sandstone walls. Words fail me here. It's just such an experience. We were totally buzzing after it. Also saw a gorgeous green tree snake which was a vibrant yellow!

Camped near Yellow Waters at Mardulak which was really lovely. Showers and flush toilets so nice :) 

Got up at 5.45 to do the sunrise cruise over the Yellow Water Billabong. Another stunning experience watching the sunrise over the wetlands with 1000s (really!) of whistling ducks, jabirus, sea eagles, night herons and juveniles, magpie geese, egrets of all sizes and CROCS everywhere! Around the boat, on the bank, behind us and in front of us. Such an intimidating beast but so cool to see from the safety of the boat. After the cruise we packed down and headed to Maguk campground and plunge pools. Very busy campsite with only 1 toilet for way too many people. Quickly became a very short long drop (A long drop is a very big long hole in the ground with a toilet on top and normally the contents are a long way down but not when there's a lot of people about). Maguk plunge pool was stunning, beautiful walk in thru the paperbark forest and along the creek ending at the pool which is really deep and coolish and has a waterfall at the end. I took some bad photos but its so much better in real life. Plenty dingos at the campsite ripping thru careless campers rubbish bags that night. 

Also it was sooo hot like 35C plus everyday and nights over 20 as well so we slept with just the fly on the tent which made the best ceiling ever watching the incredible night skies. I have literally given up counting the number of shooting stars I see every night. 

All in all Kakadu was such an outstanding highlight with incredible scenery and vast landscapes with nature and rock art in one place. If you can get anywhere in Oz at all this should be near the top of your list as it's truly a special place. Wish we had some more time and would love to see it just after the wet like I did 22 years ago as a backpacker with John, Tara, Karen and Declan!

Kakadu to Kununurra

750kms drive thru amazing scenery and variety. Left Kakadu early Friday morning, stopping a couple of hours later at Katherine to load up on water, fuel and some basic food plus updated our passes to get into western Australia. Left the Stuart Highway and headed west along the Victoria Highway towards WA. Noticeably way less traffic on particular less road trains and Caravans which is always good. Pretty flat for the first hour but then we came to the northern edge of judbarra (or Gregory) national Park which we had decided not to do much in as it's a lot of 4wd so not fair on the kids. The scenery is stunning thou. Huge deep red/Brown sandstone cliffs with big cracks in which livistona palms grow and then Spinifex, Ghost gums, grevillea and the ever present yellow flowers of the kapok providing an immense contrast of colour and vibrancy despite the temperature being between 35-40c. Victoria River Roadhouse had green grass campsites so we were tempted to stop but it was only lunch so since on and stopped at Joe Creeks picnic area which was just beautiful. There's a 1.7km walk but it was so hot that Laura has a red face from the effort of eating lunch so we didn't attempt to kill her with heat exhaustion. Next time we'll do it in the early morning or late afternoon. 

From there headed to timber creek where we fuelled up on diesel and icecreams. Our fuel consumption is gone to hell .. 130km speed limit, air con on max but also suspect higher profile if roof rack. Doh.

It's 200km to Kununurra from there with no stop really till the border and there's a national Park called keep rubber just before the border at we decided to head for there. Bizarrely just as you leave timber creek the boabs start growing. They are such an amazing tree. Huge girth, such character and colours and stand out so much in the landscape. Drive thru the Patterson gap I think it's called which is where they used to run beef cattle to Kununurra for export overseas. Seriously good scenery again. Headed into keep River around 5.30 and it is just beautiful. Camped at the jarnem which was just stunning with a huge boab tree and red Hills backdrop. Let's ignore the stinking very short long deep toilet. Did the 8km walk early next morning into an area known as the mini bungle bungles for it's sandstone formations. Brilliant walk despite the heat. Would love to have spent longer but WA is calling us. Packed down the campsite, sweating so much we had to change clothes again and lunchex at the very peaceful cockatoo Lagoon at the entrance to the park under a lovely cool tree. 

Crossing the border was easy and the road into Kununurra is all sealed and easy going. Camping at the very large but good vibes and scenic backdrop Park near Mirima national Park called hidden valley. Strange being back surrounded by 10m Caravans again but There are a few backpackers around which is good to keep it young. Nice to shower too 😜 

So the drive across has been a wonder of nature and scenery. Highly recommend!!

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