So we got a bit of an inkling that there might have been some confusion
when the security guard in Fitzroy Crossing said "Hey aren't you playing in
Halls Creek tonight, it’s written out front of the pub."
In a bit of a panic I left dinner to make a call to Yasmina at the Hotel Kununurra, who booked the gig for us. She assured me that I was right and we were due in Halls Creek on Thursday the 13th of March. Anyway we arrive in Halls creek to cries of "Better late than never" from the staff swimming in the pool and head inside.
Apparently the hotel thought we were coming the previous Thursday, then when we didn’t show they thought it had been changed to Wednesday, the night before, and so by the time we actually arrived they had pretty much given up on us. The rooms were all booked out and for a while we weren't sure we could pull off a gig. After a quick chat with management, we put the communication difficulties behind us, and decided to make the gig work. The hotel rang around town and let the folk know there was a show on. As if it was meant to be a booking was cancelled and we even got a room to stay in. Fortunately, for promotions sake, the grapevine is very strong in a small town and we ended up having a cracker of a gig.
The next morning we got up early, well not early enough to catch breakfast but thanks to the amazing staff we had a great specially cooked breakfast of mushrooms on toast and headed off to our next destination.
A woman we met at the Halls Creek gig had told us that the east Kimberley is god’s country and we were in for a real treat with the upcoming drive. She was right. All the way towards Kununurra the colours we're amazing and the different rock formations were up there with the most beautiful terrain we'd ever seen. I've driven all over America and I remember once thinking the drive through Colorado from Denver to Telluride to Vegas was one I would never match but wow! The Kimberley's are spectacular. I just wish we had more time to explore; it would be so great to take a flight over the Bungle Bungles.
We are yet to see any Crocodiles but gee the waters are looking very ominous. One scary moment came when we approached a part of the road which was under water. It looked pretty clear but we weren’t sure how deep it was. Now this may have been stupid but Leesa got out and walked across to check the depth. We didn’t think much of it as she got out of the car but she called the van across with such urgency that I raced across, she jumped in and we were both a little spooked. We’d read all the tourist literature that says not to go into the creeks and rivers around this area, and shortly after the walking incident we saw a big sign saying “Welcome to Crocodile Country”…
We arrived at the hotel Kununurra in the early afternoon, were shown to our room, handed meal tickets and shown to the bar where there was a perfectly good PA all set up and ready for us to play. The system is working.
