The Kimberley is one of Australia's last great wilderness frontiers. Larger than 75% of countries, it's a vast and inhospitable region. Needless to say it's hot, hot, hot (thank you Arrow) but without the "oh lay, oh lay, oh lay." I'm in Kununurra and the heat rash is still bothering me, though I'm staying with a host whom describes me as a "traveller par excellence." Holger and Sabine are Germans who have travelled very extensively. Holger is a national park planner and Sabine is a violin instructor. It's been a great time with them. My weary self showed up a few evenings ago and they cooked up some spaghetti with the tastiest sauce you could ever have. Subsequently it was my turn to work my magic in the kitchen. "Chef" is the latest term I can call myself whilst on my travels: everyone seems to love my zucchini (courgette) bread, pizza, and vegetable tomato soup, preferably with a few glasses of Aussie wine. Craig (Smith) has said I should open my own restaurant. Since I don't have a camera at the moment Holger and Sabine were nice enough to let me borrow one. A couple of days ago I went on a day trip to Mirima National Park, a drive of only a few minutes from Kununurra. The rocks date from the Devonian period, meaning they are more than 360 million years old.
The area is like a "mini Bungle-Bungles" with red rocks stacked like pancakes.
It appears to be something out of King's Canyon (Watarrka) or Sedona. I explored and climbed the rocks until I ran out of water. That's part of what makes travelling in the Australian Outback different to anywhere else: you must carry plenty of water. Boab trees with their fat trunk are an interesting sight.
These trees look like something out of Africa. Kununurra is a quintessential Australian Outback town: small with a few supermarkets and other services and loads of Indigenous Australians hanging out and drinking. Broken glass isn't as much of a blight as in Katherine but walk around enough you'll find plenty of beer cans and wine bottles. I've read there is plenty of work available but it's getting into the low season so there's very little currently. The heat and a broken camera has caused me to make a tough choice: I've decided to cancel the rest of my trip through WA and head to Melbourne. I've been drinking between four and six litres of water per day and I'm itching all over.
Holger, Sabine, and I have been chatting every day and evening over breakfast and dinner. Holger has travelled Africa extensively and they have a large collection of sand from their travels. Holger has hitchhiked around many countries and they've both lived in England, Malaysia, and various other countries. Travel is merely an escape for some people, but for people like Holger, Sabine, and myself, it's more like a career or lifestyle. Someday I may have to "retire" as a traveller but by the time I'm all done I reckon I'll have at least 50 years under my belt. Holger and Sabine are both vegetarians and have a station wagon. The other day I noticed how he checks manually that the doors are locked. "You're paying money for something you can easily do yourself" said Holger referring to automatic and remote locking mechanisms. Last night I was invited to a gathering by Holger's colleague Evan, a Kiwi. He whipped up the tastiest mango daiquiris and my zucchini bread was a smash hit.
To sooth my irritating heat rash I went for a long dip in the lake today whilst Holger brought the dog along, and by late afternoon we did a trip up Kelly's Knob.
Kununurra is said to have some of Australia's best sunsets. Due to bushfires in the distance the sunset wasn't that great. What was more interesting is a tree growing right through the rocks.
Tonight it would be a really good chat over vegetable tomato soup. It's never a dull moment whilst chatting geography and travel with someone as passionate as myself. Over the years I've compiled a list of more than 1,000 geographical facts, such as how Zambia and the Gambia are the only countries that rhyme with one another, and how Lesotho is the only country in which it's official language (Sesotho) rhymes with the name of the country. In a few days, Holger and Sabine are off to Nepal. They've been to Nepal several times and pictures from their trips there adorn the bathroom wall. It seems they love Nepal as much as I love New Zealand.
My trip through the Kimberley didn't go nearly as planned. However, Holger and Sabine are the jewels of the Northern Kimberley. "Northern Kimberley Jewel" is a quote from an Australian poem I heard on a cassette once so that's how I came up with the term. Next year at some point I'll come back and tackle the rest of the Darwin-Perth route. The journey was short but the Kimberley sure is beautiful, I reckon!
