Kimberley Adventure

The Last Leg

fops — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:31:00 GMT

So began the long drive home. Our seasoned car travellers, Oliver and Sienna took the 400kms plus days in their stride and played, chatted and enjoyed a DVD or two (great investment for a driving holiday like this!).

For those of you interested in the distances we travelled this is for you!!

July 12 - Katherine to Banka Banka = 684 Free camped off the main drag near a nice water hole.

July 13 - Banka Banka to Mt Isa = 546 Ripped off at a Mt Isa caravan park where we were charged $28.00 to camp on a small grassy patch which was the front "garden" of a unit. The other side was the driveway into the park!! After dinner we hooned around the streets of Isa and bought icecreams and more Chinese fans for Sienna's collection.

July 14 - Mt Isa to Winton = 467 Treated ourselves to a night in the iconic North Gregory Hotel in Winton. Apparently this was where our other national anthem Waltzing Matilda was first recited in public and Winton is considered the birthplace of the song. Winton is a great little town full of character and quaint shops and curios. We enjoyed visiting Arnos Wall where a slightly eccentric local has made his concrete fence into a montage filled with everything from china plates to old cash registers and the kitchen sink, apparently he is still adding... We also enjoyed a great movie nostalgia night at the Royal Theatre, an open air cinema which was established in 1918 and still operates with its original projection equipment. Despite the chilly night, Ol and Si loved watching old favs such as Popeye, Esther Williams swimming her gorgeous lungs out and various other golden oldies. They even enjoyed a tour in the projection room and learnt how the projector works. Put Winton on your list to visit.

July 15 - Lark Quarry - Only 110 kms out of Winton, this is an amazing site where you can view the world's only known site of a dinosaur stampede. Thousands of footprints are captured in rock formed from mud that once bordered a prehistoric lake. It has been dated to 95 million years ago - fascinating!!

July 15 - Lark Quarry to Barcaldine = 396 Relatively short day as we spent the morning at Lark Quarry. Our stopover tonight was free camping 10 kms from the Barcaldine township down a pretty road which led to a Botanical walk. Only notable event was our first flat tyre for the trip which Paul changed at 1.00am in the morning when he noticed it whilst up needing to relieve himself.

July 16 - (5.30am start - ughhhh) Barcaldine to Kingaroy = 910 kms Our longest leg for the trip!! The kids were great - what amazing little troupers!! After this epic drive we enjoyed a night of warmth and hospitality with Pauls rellies Uncle Neville and Auntie Audrey. Beautiful roast dinner, hot showers and comfy beds - bliss!!

July 17 Last Day!!! Kingaroy to Brisbane via Crows Nest = 367 In the morning the kids enjoyed running around Neville and Audrey's beautiful property making friends with Elle and Socks the horses, and Midge the dog. We did the rellie run and also visited Paul's Uncle Loyld who lives just out of Kingaroy and then onto Crows Nest to visit Paul's grandparents (Ol and Si's great grand parents). It was lovely to catch up with everyone before the final drive home arriving in Sandgate at around 8.00pm.

What an amazing, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable adventure which we would all do again at the drop of a hat. We have seen so many memorable places and we can truly appreciate that Australia is a magnificent part of the world with a rich culture and astounding scenary, flora and fauna.

Thanks for sharing with us - happy to bore you with all our pics should you feel so inclined!!

Love and hugs and cheerio from Francesca, Oliver, Paul & Sienna

A little ray of sunshine!

fops — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:20:00 GMT

Leaving all our worries behind (and Paul's keys somewhere, too) we arrived in Katherine to glorious sunshine and finally met up with Leanne, Steve and Ethan! They looked wonderfully relaxed and happy and to say we were so excited to finally catch up is an understatement ie. lots of jumping up and down and squealing (and that was just the adults!!!)

Oliver and Ethan immediately set about exchanging books, tales from their reciprical adventures and playing games which included Trivial Pursuit, Chess, planes and indulging in some electronic "quality" gaming time together!! After endless chatting and catching up and a quick lunch we all meandered over to the thermal springs behind the caravan park and enjoyed a warm dip (much busier than when we visited last time!)

What an enoyable couple of days catching up with very dear friends! We talked and talked about life on the road and agreed we could all do this type of travelling for a very long time. We shared a delicious chinese meal in downtown Katherine for dinner and spent the following day lounging around and talking some more.

Our last night together culminated in a glorious and memorable sunset cruise along the magnificent Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk Gorge). It was lovely to see the gorge in the setting sun which heightened the glorious colour of the cliffs. The cruise included a 3 course dinner which was a culinary feast (not the BBQ and salad that we had envisaged!!!). It was a truly special and memorable evening, being where we were and who we were with.

Sadly we departed company and the Bulldusters headed north to Darwin to continue their amaszing adventure and FOPS headed south to conclude theirs!! SIGH :(

It couldn't get any worse, could it??!!! July 9-10

fops — Fri, 9 Jul 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Yes it could......

Sometime during the course of packing from our apartment today we realised Paul's keys were missing. No amount of tracing and re-tracing events from the previous night could shed any light on their whereabouts. We looked everywhere three times, from inside rubbish bins, inside the dishwasher, under beds/couches/chairs/children, stripped all the bed linen, emptied the contents of the car, etc etc. The keys had simply disappeared. Luckily I have a spare set to the car. However still not a good thing when the car can only be started once the immobiliser is connected to the slot in the dashboard. So we are down to one immobiliser. Our next dilemma was the camper trailer keys also on Paul's key collection. These we did not have a spare set of.

Whilst we could access the tent and the food and stove/sink, we had locked the steel trunk whilst it was at the repairers (and the ONLY time during the entire trip we actually locked it!). The trunk contained the batteries for the lights etc but thankfully these had been charged not so long ago. Other bits and pieces included all our chairs, bucket, extension lead and various tools.

So we left Halls Creek in a very bad mood, picked up the camper trailer (which had been repaired with a few shonky methods) and set off to Kununarra where we would spend the night before heading to Katherine to meet Leanne, Steve and Ethan.

Oh so much worse....

Made it safely to Kununarra wracking our brains the entire 6 hours as to where Paul's keys could possibly be. We stopped at the petrol station to fill up and in a momentary lapse of concentration Paul pumped 48 litres of unleaded petrol into our diesal car. OMG!! Paul went a horrible ashen colour when he realised what he had done. After consulting with the attendant and ringing a bloke nearby who deals with events such as this we were very luckily able to switch to the sub fuel tank and drive to have the poisoned tank drained.

This delayed us for about 2 hours and was a costly exercise after paying for the unleaded petrol, labour to have it drained and a charge of $2.00 per litre for it to be disposed of correctly. Then back to the petrol station to fill up again.

Thank goodness this day was over.

You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave........

fops — Thu, 8 Jul 2010 11:37:00 GMT

We have had a forced overnight stop only about 60kms from Ruby Plains at Halls Creek. The axle on the camper trailer went jibby and it is at the repairers. Had to spend a night in a very swanky apartment with all the mod cons - a treat after roughing it for so long. RACQ insurance is covering some of the costs so that made it even more pleasurable! The swanky apartment was not by choice as everything is completely booked out due to school holidays and bad weather. It was the only accommodation left in all of town which gives an indication of how overpriced it was. We certainly made FULL use of every gagdet and service within the room!!!

We are hoping the trailer will be fixed by midday so as we can be on our way. WE are due to meet with Eth, Leanne and Steve tomorrow in Katherine so it will be a couple of days of many k's to get there. We really will have to come back now that our final days have been sabotaged by bad weather and broken bits. Happily the sun is shining today and we may even lash out and purchase some Blundstone boots for Sienna at the local suppliers here!!!

Photos: Fitzroy Crossing - Halls Creek July 7-8

fops — Thu, 8 Jul 2010 09:29:00 GMT

Photos: Broome and the Dampier Peninsula

fops — Thu, 8 Jul 2010 00:24:00 GMT

Ruby Plains Homestead July 6-7

fops — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 19:59:00 GMT

After final goodbyes to Sar and family we parted company and headed towards Halls Creek via Ruby Plains Station – the cattle station that Nick works on. The bad weather from Broome extended south east and eventually caught up with us so by the time we arrived at the station it was pouring. We enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Nick and all at Ruby Plains who put us up for the night in the visitors quarters saving us the drudgery of camping (and cooking) in the rain. It is the first time in 9 weeks we have slept with a solid roof over our heads in cosy beds and it was blissful to listen to the pouring rain knowing there wasn’t a soggy tent to pack up in the morning.

The rain lasted all night and we woke up to more steady rain. Our plan today was to drive to the Wolfe Creek Crater and then to Balgo to view the aboriginal art centre and their famous art. We began the drive but unfortunately had to turn back after about 20 kms as the road had deteriorated overnight with all the rain and was treacherous. We were sliding from one side of the road to the other and large parts of the track were underwater.

Old Merv from the station who has been here for over 26 years said he had never seen rain like this at this time of the year. It is hard to believe we are in the Kimberley in the middle of the dry season on the edge of the Tanami Desert and it has been pouring with rain for over 24 hours!! Unfortunately we may have to abort this part of our trip as the road will probably remain closed for the next few days (on the to-do list for next time).

Oliver and Sienna are making good use of the time here with the local kids who live at the station and willingly went to “school” with them this morning. That increased the school population to 5!!! The school, a small demountable nearby the visitors quarters, is well set up with books, posters, computers and art materials galore. The governess Jenny is responsible for teaching the children (she says they all get a bit slack sometimes!!!) and they follow the WA Curriculum and also tune in daily and participate in half hour lessons with the Kimberley School of the Air.

We are hoping the rain which is due to stop tonight does not force too much of a change in our itinerary as we need to be in Kununurra by the end of the week to allow sufficient time to get home (and hopefully catch up with the Williams/Calloway clan). In the meantime we will enjoy being fed (they have a wonderful cook!!!) and sheltered by the lovely crew at Ruby Plains Station.

PS. We hope Sar and Graeme and Daisy have miraculously missed this weather front and are dry and safe and happy!

Ride 'em Cowboy!! July 3 - 5

fops — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 19:53:00 GMT

We spent our last couple of days in Broome stocking up for the final 2 weeks of our trip and exploring the nearby points of interest as well as indulging in some excellent dinners of Thai one night and visiting Matso’s Brewery for our last night in Broome. Matso’s is located in a 120 year old lovely rambling building that used to house a bank and is near the waterfront. They have some interesting variety of beers such as Chilli Beer, Mango Beer and Monsoonal – my preference. For a person who does not drink beer it was surprising to taste a beer with hints of cloves and cinnamon and actually enjoy it!

After a tearful goodbye to Graeme, Sar and Daisy who are leaving for Melbourne from Broome, we headed off to Fitzroy Crossing some 300kms east of Broome. It seemed as if we were travelling at the speed of sound on the smooth straight bitumen.

Fitzroy Crossing is a stopover town, usually used as a midway point between Broome and Halls Creek. It is also where the mighty Fitzroy River is crossed although it was all but a sandy bottom at this time of year. However the location of the ablution block in the camp ground gives some indication as to the might of this river during the wet. The block is positioned on top of a fairly substantial mound (mountain??!!) and we felt we were climbing up a staircase to visit a sacred temple rather than to go to the bathroom! All permanent structures are on stilts at least 6 metres off the ground. Obviously lessons have been learnt from many huge floods in the past - the last big one to inundate the town was in 2002.

Our main reason for being in Fitzroy was to attend the annual Rodeo as Paul’s cousins, Nick and Michael were participating. As Oliver noted, it was an entertaining day! Lots of cowboys, magnificent horses and horsemanship on show and same mighty large bulls. We could only admire the courage (stupidity??!!) and skill of the bull riders – the bulls were not only BIG but mean so after they unceremoniously dumped their riders into the dust they then charged them for more revenge!! We have new respect for the clowns in the arena who are there to ensure the riders are safe and distract the bulls whilst they head for the safety of the barrier. Michael did this job very skilfully and even threw in a couple of tricks such as riding a bull backwards and then jumping over one that was charging him! Oliver and Sienna were suitably impressed.

Nick did well in the buck jumping (horses) and managed to qualify for the final. Very talented menfolk in the Reimers family!

It was great to see and experience this “other” culture of the Kimberley’s. We also enjoyed a surprise rendezvous with Sar and family who decided to explore this area as Broome was in the midst of a bout of wet weather.

Photos: Gibb River Road

fops — Sat, 3 Jul 2010 00:40:00 GMT

Broome to the Dampier Peninsula and back again!

fops — Fri, 2 Jul 2010 23:34:00 GMT

We arrived in Broome and finally caught up with our travel companions - car troubles all fixed 2 days later. We spent a couple of days doing chores as one is compelled to do at a caravan park with all the facilities (ie. wash clothes, sweep tent, buy groceries etc - ugh, feels like home!!). Broome is an interesting town - frontier feeling with a good dose of tourism added. Cable Beach provided the setting for an evening dinner watching the sun setting (and dodging a very fast rising tide and trains of camels!!).

The next 7 days were spent exploring the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome. We camped for 3 days at a very idyllic and tropical beach shelter at Middle Lagoon and were as happy as pigs in mud, swimming, shell collecting, cooking on the open fire and watching the kids completely carefree and happy. This was one of the hardest spots to leave but another booking in the shelter moved us on. We moved to Bully's camp about 40 kms further north - hmm quite a contrast to the previous camp site but the bountiful supply of oysters fresh off the beach and easy access to Cape Leveque ensured a pleasant stay. The waters in this area are so clear and warm it really is hard to believe this is the middle of winter further south. We had gorgeous weather except for a very windy night which left every corner and crevice covered in fine white sand - grit galore!!!!

Paul and Ol went on a mud crabbing tour run by the local aboriginal community and came back to camp with 2 huge crabs which we cooked on the hot coals and ate for dinner that night.

We are now back in Broome re-stocking and getting some new bearings on the car. Tomorrow we leave for Fitzroy Crossing and will partake in the event of the year - The Rodeo. Yeehaa that should be fun!!

From there it will be along Highway Numero Uno to Halls Gap, south along the Tanami Desert Road to Balgo via the Wolf Creek Crater and then head home (only 15 days of our adventure to go - soooooo sad :(

Thanks for all your comments and to continue with the shoe mishap theme - Sienna has lost one of her school shoes, her thongs have been chewed up by a dog and Olivers shoe melted in the fire. All other shoes are holding up reasonably well!!

Love to you all.

XXXXX

Olivers Update

fops — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:01:00 GMT

Hi all!

We haven't had any internet access again so I am going to give you a quick update now.

Today we were camped on a beach and we collected lots of shells and we did lots of swimming. The water was cystal clear and not too cold. Yesterday we went to the Whalesong Cafe. There were 4 kids working at the cafe with their mum. The waitress was a girl, 8 years old and her name was Oseanna which means the ocean. I was reading my book and they came over and said they had the movie of my book which was Eragon! That night we had a really bright full moon but then there was a lunar eclipse. The eclipse went half way and then went back again. We thought we were going to get washed away by a king tide but we didn't even though the tide was very high.

Last week we went to a creek which was underground in a cave. We had to take head torches and we had to wade through water which was shoulder height sometimes and in the pitch black. We saw stalagmites and stalectites and we saw some bats hanging upside down. They screeched when we shone out torches on them. We accidentally went the wrong way and ended up in a mud hole. We nearly lots our shoes and it was still pitch black!!!

We have a few weeks left of our holidays so we will be seeing you all again soon.

Bye for now,

Oliver

PS I hope I will have more internet connection to write on this blog again soon.

Sienna's Update

fops — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:50:00 GMT

Hi Everyone,

We have been having a great holiday and in one of the campgrounds we made a fire and I accidentally dropped my shoe in it!!! Luckily my mum got it out in time.

Yesterday we camped right on the beach. We collected a lot of shells and I am going to bring some in for show and tell. We had a lot of swims at the beach and we saw a few dolphins. The water was a bit cold.

When we were in Broome I finally found some Chinese fans. I bought two with my own money.

I am going to bring them in for show and tell as well as the shells.

Goodbye everyone

Love from Sienna

Photos: Purnululu and beyond

fops — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:40:00 GMT

Re-emerging from remote WA!

fops — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:31:00 GMT

Hello to all ye faithful FOPS journal followers!

I know it has been an awfully long time between blogs but such is the nature of travelling in remote areas ie. no internet, no telephones, no mobile reception!! Where to begin with this update....

I think a summary will have to do!! This is truly an amazing, wild and obscenely scenic part of the world. We have swum in gorges virtually every day, canoed along Dimond Gorge and walked through an amazing underground tunnel. We have visited the majestic Mitchell Falls on the Mitchell Plateau, which was worth the gruelling 76kms 2 and a half hour bumpy track to get there! We have visited a remote coastal community north of the Gibb River Road, Kalumburu and chatted to the local indigenous people about fishing, pastimes and their wonderful town. Kalumburu was established around 1905 by the missionairies. It has survived a bombing in World War 2 where 5 people were killed and then a diminishing aboriginal population due to disease. Today it is a thriving community of over 400 with a large population under the age of 25. It also has the dynamic Father Anscar, who is an amazing character with the best laugh we have heard in ages!! He has set up a truly informative museum and is passionate about perserving the indigenous community's culture and traditions. Put it on your list of places to visit!!! We have crossed many rivers much to the delight of Si and Ol! We have enjoyed the best dinners cooking in the camp oven on the open fire - eat your heart our Jack Absalom!! Ol and Sienna have become expert bird watchers and can name most birds that we encounter. We have spent 3 glorious days at the Mornington Wilderness Park - about the only area in the Kimberley that is cattle free!! This ensures a plethora of flora and fauna, some unique only to this area. Plus they have a great outdoor bar - very welcoming after being in alcohol free communities for a couple of weeks!!

We have got dirt under our finger nails, dust in our beds, and a swim in a gorge counts as a wash for the day. All in all we are having a glorious, glorious time!!

Thanks for your comments and thoughts - we should be within mobile range over the next few days if anyone needs to contact us on my mobile (ie. Zane!!).

Love and hugs to you all.

FOPS

XXXX

PS. As I am updating this at the public library in Derby I do not have access to download photos - hopefully next update!!

We are aiming to head off to Broome tomorrow and finally catch up with Sar, Graeme and Daisy who we unfortunately have not seen for 2 weeks since their car decided to play up.

Alas, we have also missed the Williams/Calloway clan in Broome - we are stilling trying to contact you!!!!

Thanks Ms Natoli and preppies!! Sienna has many stories to share with you all!

Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park

fops — Wed, 2 Jun 2010 23:19:00 GMT

Have just returned to Kununarra after spending 3 nights in the Bungle Bungle National Park. This is an awe-inspiring, spectular and most beautiful part of the Kimberley's. We undertook numerous walks and all were equally amazing - Cathedral Gorge, The Domes, Echnida Chasm. Oliver and Sienna have got into the rhythm of walking and bound along the tracks full of enthusiasm ready to omit oohs and aahs at the sights discovered. This world heritage listed National Park has rock creations which are over 500 million years - for all you budding geoligists this is definitely the place for you!

The weather has been spectular and after last Saturdays storm in Kununurra we have lost the humidity out of the air and are even enjoying coolish nights. This has made a huge difference to being able to actually undertake more strenuous activities past 10.00am in the morning!

Our intentions after visiting the Bungles were to keep heading along Highway number 1 to Broome but decided with this good weather that all the roads leading from the Gibb River Road would be open so we came back to Kununurra with this intention. We have since found out this is not the case which may change our plans slightly. We now will head out to El Questro and camp for a few days and explore the sights and gorges it has to offer, and then try for the areas further west, which hopefully will all have access open by then. We will eventually get to Broome - Im sure!!

Love and hugs

F,O,P & S

XXX

Photos: Lake Argyle and Emma Gorge

fops — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:46:00 GMT

The Return of "Bear" Papa

fops — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:11:00 GMT

We got a call from Paul on Thursday night to say he had finished his bike ride at 10.00am that morning so unfortunately we missed cheering him in. All our information indicated that the ride finished on Friday morning. Nevertheless he received warm and heartful hugs and kisses when we arrived at El Questro on Friday morning to pick him up. Paul says it was an amazing experience with amazing scenary, hot and arduous riding, and a very sore bottom to finish with. He put in some amazing days including a 190 km marathon in one day. The road was mainly corrugations with numerous river crossing, lots of mud but great company and good catering too! Chris and co also had a great ride and it was great to run into Chris on my way in to pick up Paul.

After much sorting, packing, chatting (Paul), standing around and feeding apples to horses (Francesca, Ol and Sienna), we finally left El Questro and headed back to Kunuarra with a short 4 wheel wally drive on the way. This involved numerous river crossings much to Sienna and Oliver's delight. The standard procedure for river crossings is to wind their window down, hang their heads out and yell out what level the water is up to on the side of the car - and lots of excited laughing!

On Sunday we pack up and head to the Bungle Bungles so our updates will be very few and far between until we hit Broome in a couple of weeks.

Until then bye and lots of love,

Francesca, Paul, Ol and Sienna

Oliver's Update

fops — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:42:00 GMT

Sorry guys, I havent been writing to you because mum hasn't had much internet connection. We have travelled a long way and we are in Kununarra. Highlights for me have been the Qantas Founders Museum, swimming in Emma Gorge and the cruise on Lake Argyle. Hey Mrs Kurtz, I haven't been doing any homework yet!! I am going to send you a postcard soon. Hi to all my friends and I am missing you all.

From Oliver

Four Wheel Wally

fops — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:12:00 GMT

Well, it is official - I have ventured into the world of "serious" 4 Wheel driving. Decided to tackle the most infamous of them all the Gibb River Road yesterday (well 30 kms of it anyway) and head for Emma Gorge. We were 15 kms in along a very bumpy but not too white-knuckle gripping type of road when we hit the King River crossing. Ready to turn around and abort, my adventurous and risk-taking children urged me on and we made a safe crossing (and I was decidedly excited!!). Much of the road is corrugations, mud and a few smooth-ish bits but we made it safely to Emma Gorge, packed our picnic and enjoyed a rocky and very not and sticky walk into the gorge. It was spectacular - beautiful clear pool with a gentle cascade of waterfall and oh so refreshingly cool. Oliver up to his usual antics in the water with pure delightful abandon - I am sure I am going to find gills on him one day!! Shame to leave such a beautiful spot but thunder clouds were beckoning and we began the walk back. Sienna slipped on a rock and somehow landed head first onto the rock in front - a nice little lumpy momento for this adventure!!

Still no word from Paul but tomorrow we head out further along the Gibb River Road to El Questro to cheer him in so hopefully will be able to fill you in on his bachelor-esque adventure.

Thanks for your comments too! Sep, Oliver is missing his soccer and AFL is all they know up here! Opa, glad to hear Oma wears you down with her requests - you will be happy to know I do the same to your son!!

PS There is a spectucular resort at Emma Gorge if anyone ever happens to come up here and want to indulge for a few days (maybe in 20 years time for me!!)

Lake Argyle and surrounds

fops — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:32:00 GMT

Did I mention it was hot up here?!! It is hot and humid but dare I say it the wet weather seems to have finally passed and we have had 3 in a row of sunny weather (and HOT!!!). We spent the day yesterday at Lake Argle, the largest man made lake in Australia. Took a lovely sunset cruise which although 3 hours only covered less than one third of the entire lake. Oliver got his wish just on sunset to have a swim - we were in over 20 metres of pure, fresh water and found we sunk very easily! So kept Sienna in only for a very short time as I was terrified she would sink and never be seen again!!!

Today we took a few short walks around the Mirima Nat Park which happens to back onto where we are camped. Despite Oliver's constant whining we enjoyed some wonderful scenary, typical of this area which houses landscapes over 200 million years old. This small national park is known as the "mini Bungle Bungles" as the rock formations are the same only much smaller.

Am feeling decidedly young as we are camped amongst a sea of grey nomads - all very friendly but we are definitely not up with the complicated level or amount of camping equipment required. Next door has a washing machine and spinner with them and the largest portable fridge I have ever seen!

No updates from Paul - I can imagine he is hot, muddy and very sweaty but we should find out in 2 days!

Thanks for all your comments - really appreciate hearing from you all. I will try and keep the blogs coming as regularly as possible although this connection is somewhat temperamental!

XXX