Day 47 Tuesday 31st May

This morning we went to Malcolm Douglas’ Wilderness park where we saw lots of big crocodiles. This is where all the rogue crocodiles of the Kimberley end up as well as many more. These crocs were huge. One creek had 70 crocs living in it, harmoniously. There were many other animals including birds and wallabies. Doug took a great video of a Barking Owl.

Then we went for a swim at Cable Beach. It was my first swim up here. It was so nice. I think my health is improving.  That afternoon we drove down onto the beach to watch the sunset. Every afternoon there are camel rides along the beach at sunset and what a great picture you can get.

 We took heaps of them. Sunset is at about 5.30 so it is not a late night. Then we had a sausage sizzle on the beach and watched all the cars returning. There were heaps of people parked along the beach doing the same thing as we were.

Day 45 Sunday 29th May and Day 46 Monday 30th May

Happy Birthday Doug    Time to retire.

We have spent the last 2 days resting, swimming and wandering around. This place is very peaceful and postcard beautiful.

We went to dinner at Zanders on the beach front last night for Doug’s birthday and had a lovely seafood meal. It was a bit strange without the family and we missed them.

Day 43 - 44 Friday 27th May & Saturday 28th May

We had a day in Derby today. My cough was not so good so we relaxed in the van and watched DVD’s of William and Mary. 

Day 44 Saturday 28^th May

We left Derby at 8.30 this morning and drove to Broome where we arrived at about 11.00. Wow! What a fabulous beach. We settled into the camping area and then went for lunch and a drive around. We had to look at the beach. After a rest we went down to the beach where Doug had a swim in the Indian Ocean. It was beautiful. We have booked a week here and looking forward to a relaxing time.

Distance travelled today  238kms

Total distance travelled 7675 kms

Days 41 - 42 Wednesday 25th May & Thursday 26th May

Go the Maroons

We had a relaxing day in Fitzroy Crossing, did some washing and went for a drive out to the old Fitzroy Crossing. Usually by this stage you can drive across but it is flooded still.

That night we went down to the Lounge Bar to watch the State of Origin on the big screen. There were lots of people in there all barracking for their favourite team. Fortunately Qld won.

Day 42  Thursday  26^th May

We left Fitzroy Crossing at 8.30 this morning and arrived in Derby at about 11.00.  We went out to the jetty where we could see the mudflats for a long way. It is quite hot here. We went to The Prison Tree where in the old days, aboriginals were kept inside the tree against their will and used for the pearling industry. It was quite sad to think that people were treated like this. Then we went to photograph the Boab Tree at sunset, a popular tourist location.

Distance travelled today  296kms

Total distance travelled  7437 kms

Day 40 Tuesday 24th May

We left Mary Pool at 8.30 and travelled to Fitzroy Crossing. The landscape was different again. There were many flat areas as far as the eye could see as we gradually came down off the plateaux. Every now and then you would see a huge escarpment or mountain range in the distance. There were quite a few trees and spinifex grasses with some beautiful flowers around. Lots of yellow, purple, pink and red flowers made it look quite pretty.

We arrived at Fitzroy Crossing at about 10.30. Then we went to Geike Gorge for a cruise down the gorge. The area here had been quite badly hit by floods this year and the Gorge hadn’t long opened. The Gorge is about 9kms long with the Fitzroy River flowing through it. It has a lot of spectacular cliffs and beaches. The rock is limestone and was once a coral reef. There is a white area which shows how far the river reaches during the wet season. Apparently this year the level was a lot higher than the white mark. There were quite a lot of freshwater crocodiles along the banks so another non swimming spot.

The caravan park is great and really big. There are so many caravans and campers here. Distance travelled today  237km

Total distance travelled  7141kms

Days 36 - 39 Friday 20th May - Monday 23rd May

We left Kununurra at 8.30 this morning and drove out to the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu). The road here had lots of potholes and was quite bad. We have camped in a new camping area which is still being developed at the beginning of the Park, called Bungle Bungle Caravan Park.  The countryside has changed from escarpments and cliffs to mountains and we have risen from about 80m above sea level to 340m above sea level. It should be interesting. It is supposed to be really cold tonight. (about 9 degrees)

They had a huge tent up with a campfire in front, so we sat around it. What a pleasant evening!

Distance travelled today 287kms

Total distance travelled 6521kms

Day 36  Saturday 21^st May

The Bungle Bungles Park was closed today so we couldn’t get in. The fellow from the caravan park was grading a section so that people wouldn’t get bogged.

The highlight of the day was Doug having a haircut with Geoff’s clippers. Ha Ha

We drove down to Fletcher’s river and swam in the water. It was crystal clear. Then we returned and looked at Spring Creek. This is where they get their water from for the park.

We played cards tonight under the big tent.

D
ay 37  Sunday 22^nd May

We left our campsite at 7.30 this morning and drove the 53 Kms to the Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park. The road was not very good but was not as bad as we had expected. It was unsealed and there were lots of curves, dips, rises, dirt, corrugations, mud and creek crossings. Mal, it would have been your worst nightmare.

We reached the visitor centre after 2 hours of driving and paid our National Park admission fee. Then we went to the Kangkalahayi Lookout. The view was sensational.

We then went to Piccaninny Creek and walked to the Domes and Cathedral Gorge. It was quite hot but when you got into the gorge the temperature was cool. It was a truly amazing site with lots of beehives or domes all banded from water flowing down and the different minerals in the rock.

 The red colour was iron oxide and the black colour from blue-green algae. This area was formed from a Devonian Reef. After the walk of about 2 hours we left and had lunch. It was then time to return to our campsite. We arrived back at our campsite by 4.30. Today was a wonderful experience and I can see why it is a World Heritage Site.

Distance travelled today

Total distance travelled

Day 38   Monday 23^rd May

We left the Bungle Bungles Caravan Park at 8.45 and drove to Halls Creek. The countryside flattened out but there were still mountains and plateaus in the distance. We were also travelling at a high elevation. There were fewer trees along this road. We arrived in Halls Creek at about 10.30, bought some groceries and had morning tea. We decided not to stay here and travelled on to Mary Pools Rest Area. There are so many caravans and campers here. It is on the banks of the Mary River and obviously a very popular spot.

Distance travelled today

Total distance travelled

Day 35 Thursday 19th May

Happy 60^th Wedding Anniversary Ros and Arthur.

Today was a relaxing day washing and shopping. We bought a few souvenirs. Doug fixed a sliding shelf into one of our food cupboards.

We were sitting on the banks of the lake having a quiet drink and watching the sunset when we looked down and there was a freshwater crocodile looking up at us. It was only about 2 metres away. As we looked down the lake about 10 metres further on was another one. They weren’t that big but they still have very sharp teeth.

We then went out to dinner at Kelly’s Bar and Grill which is a restaurant at the Kununurra Country Club. It was a very pleasant meal, especially the dessert.

Days 32 - 34 Monday 16th May to Wednesday 18th May

On Monday morning we packed up and dropped our vans at the Discovery Van park where they were staying for 2 nights. After doing some extra shopping we took our camping gear and drove out to El Questro. We managed to get a private campsite and set up our tents along  the banks of the Pentecost River.

 It is beautiful here however, you can’t swim in the river for fear of crocodiles. Such a shame! The water is crystal clear .

On Tuesday, after a cool night sleeping on our airbed(didn’t go down during the night fortunately) we headed off for Zebedee Springs, about half an hour’s drive from here. These are thermal springs and are just divine set amongst the rocks. We had a great swim and then returned to our camp .

At the moment Doug is fishing and determined to catch a barra. He caught a few little fish last night but we threw them back as we didn’t know what they were. Some were catfish. Yuk! The others were a mystery. We are having roast chicken in the camp oven tonight. Woohoo!!!

Day 33 Wednesday  18^th May

The roast chicken was fantastic. Nothing like food cooked in a camp oven. Yummy!!!

Doug tried hard to catch a barra but so far  it is illusive. We packed up this morning, had a final swim at Zebedee Springs and then came back to Kununurra.

We are staying at a different camping ground this time.

This one is right on the lake. There are also hundreds of flying foxes feeding in the trees across the road from us.

Time to rest and relax.