Katherine to Broome

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Day 36 Katherine 04/08/06

As mentioned in our previous blog, we had planned out our day in Katherine. Unfortunately, when we arrived at ‘The School of the Air’, we found that we had missed the final tour for the day by ten minutes. The place was locked and a note on the door stated there were no individual or private tours available. However, there was a highlight for the boys, being a snake on the road adjacent to where we had parked. It had been run over and its back was broken but it was still alive with its head and tail thrashing around. The boys watched with curiosity as cars drove past and over it until it was dead! I’m not sure what type it was but it was over a metre in length. So we drove back into town to the Internet Café and checked our emails and published our 6th blog. After stocking up on supplies we then drove out to the Katherine Hot Springs. While Leanne and the boys had a dip in the springs, I went to the local auto electrician, Hobbits, as I wanted to sort out an earthing problem in the trailer that has been annoying me since we had the electric brakes wired up. As the electrician was at lunch, I returned to the hot springs and had a swim. After about an hour in the springs, I dropped Leanne and the boys at Springvale Homestead and returned to the Auto Electrician. After discussing the problem, we decided to insert an extra earthing point on the car trailer loom and see if this rectified the problem. This was done quickly and I then returned to the Homestead to pick up the family. Leanne and the boys enjoyed the Springvale Homestead; they had a Devonshire Tea, spoke to an interesting couple from Gove and did a quick tour to of the Caravan Park. The boys liked the Homestead Park better because the pool was better and warmer! We then drove back to the Low Level Caravan Park where the boys had a swim while Leanne and I listened to an hour of country ballads and poems by Bob Morgag. The boys joined us as the hour came to an end and we bought one of his books as a memento.

After this, we had dinner and the boys did some diary work before we returned to the pool area for some Country and Western Music put on by the park. It was great and after about an hour and a half we retired to out trailer for the night.

Day 37 Katherine to Kununurra 05/08/06

We awoke to another fine morning and got up reasonably early as we were on the road again. After breakfast, while Leanne and I packed up, the boys did a little more diary work before going for a ride on their bikes. We were about to collapse the tent when Daniel came racing towards us exclaiming “William’s had a crash and really hurt himself”. Leanne raced over to the ‘accident scene’ to find William sitting on the ground beside his bike sobbing. William explained that he had taken a jump off the side of the road into a culvert doing an ‘endo’ then hitting the ground face first. He confided that he had it performed this stunt twice yesterday without problems, but thought he was going too slow this time! We returned to the trailer and bathed his face carefully. We managed to complete the pack up without further incident and then headed back into Katherine.

As the extra earth wire had not cured the problem in the trailer, I returned to Hobbit’s Auto Electrics to get it sorted. While we were waiting, I opened up the trailer plugs and found the cause. I refitted the earth wires into the correct terminal in the trailer plug and this fixed the problem. A road test confirmed this with the trailer lights and electric brakes now performing as they should.

While I was doing this, Leanne had been checking our Itinerary and found that we would have to drive through to Kununurra, rather than stop overnight in Timber Creek as originally planned. We arrived in Timber Creek at around 2.00pm, had lunch, refueled and checked out ‘The Croc Shop’, where we purchased a few small gifts. We hit the road and reached the NT / WA border at 4.40pm NT time. Here we had a thorough inspection carried out of both the car and the trailer for fresh fruit, nuts, honey and handed over the fruit we hadn’t managed to eat.

We wound back our clocks an hour and a half, then continued toward Kununurra. We arrived in Kununurra at about 4.30pm and replenished our fruit and veggie supplies at the local supermarket before phoning Paul and Julie Milner. Julie met us at the Information Centre and we followed her back to their house. We put the trailer in the back yard and the sat back and relaxed until Paul returned home from the evening cruise at around 7.30pm. Once he was home we decided to organise an easy dinner of Pizza and spent the evening discussing old and current times over quite a few cold drinks. The boys enjoyed playing with Paul and Julie’s son, Darcy, who is around the same age as William.

Day 38 Kununurra 06/08/06

We were woken early by William and got out of bed at around 7.30am. After breakfast, once I had unloaded the bikes from the trailer, so the boys could ride with Darcy, I went with Paul down to the ‘BBQ Boat’. I helped Paul carry out the cleaning duties on the boat before we returned to the house. Paul, Leanne, the three boys and I then went to the local Rodeo. Here we had lunch and watched horse, bull and bare back horse riding. On two occasions, large Brahman bulls took a liking to the fence immediately opposite us, which was quite scary. Leanne took several photos and video clips which we will show you all on our return. We had a fantastic afternoon and returned to the house at around 4.00pm. Leanne and I then took Darcy and William down to the Kununurra pools for a swim, while Daniel stayed at the house and played X Box.

Once Paul returned home from the evening BBQ Cruise, we sat down to a beautiful meal of BBQ roast leg of lamb and roast veggies. As Darcy had school the next day, we put the boys down shortly after dinner. We sat around talking for awhile with Paul and Julie working out what and how we could fit into our brief stay, as there is so much to see and do in Kununurra!

Day 39 Kununurra 07/08/06

We awoke around 7.00am, got up and had breakfast, departing Kununurra at around 8.30am for Wyndham. We arrived in Wyndham at around 9.45am and first stop was the Wyndham Historical Museum. From here we drove to the Port area and checked it out. We then drove back into Wyndham itself and after buying some cakes at the Bakery (very tasty) drove up to the Five Rivers Lookout. The views from this lookout are absolutely superb and ‘a must do’ if you are in Wyndham. On our return trip, we stopped at the Grotto which was also interesting. You walk from the car park, down stairs into the Grotto, where you find a lush watering hole with all the usual greenery including a large boab tree.

From here we drove back to Kununurra to the Zebra Rock Gallery. This Zebra Rock is very unusual and apparently only found, in Australia, at Lake Argyle. At the gallery, they cut, work and polish this rock to produce some fantastic items which are for sale. Some of these include jewelry, book ends, bottle racks, sculptures and numerous other kinds of mementos. We then walked down to their jetty, on the Ord River and fed the fish, which the boys really enjoyed. Before leaving the Gallery, we met Paul’s parents, Aileen and Noel. As we drove back toward Kununurra we stopped and took photos of a boab tree which had what appeared to be a door hole in it. After a short drive to the other side of Kununurra, we stopped at the Barra Barra farm for lunch. We enjoyed banana and mango smoothies, foccacias and chocolate coated bananas by the lake, it was very nice. We then drove back to Paul’s to get ready for the evening BBQ Boat Cruise. At about 3.20pm we departed Paul’s, in the BBQ Boat Coach, picking up all the other passengers on the way to the boat. We really enjoyed this informative cruise and the food was both tasty and plentiful. On the return leg, as it was getting dark, with the aid of a spot light we saw several fresh water crocodiles. Once back at the mooring, Paul showed us all two freshies that came up in the water right next to the boat. We returned home to Paul’s at around 7.30pm for a quiet, relaxed evening.

Day 40 Kununurra 08/08/06

We awoke early at around 5.30am, believing it was actually 6.30am, and got out of bed. We had risen early to get ready for a 55 k trip up the Ord River to the Ord Dam Wall in Paul’s fishing boat. Paul returned to the house, from cleaning the BBQ boat, at around 6.20am and we all headed off to the boat ramp, via the service station, shortly after. Paul gave Darcy a day off school, so he could come along, but unfortunately, Julie had to work to get the BBQ boats ready for the evening cruise. We left Lily Creek Lagoon and headed up the Ord River at speed for a little while until we needed to stop to warm up! It was warm in the morning sun, but the chill off the water, as we sped along the river, was very cold! Paul was kept busy dodging floating clumps of grass, as well as branches from dead trees as we navigated the river. The boys were all up on the front platform of the boat, enjoying the wind and boat movement.

As we got closer to the wall, the river narrowed a few times and it was extremely tricky navigating this shallow, fast running river. We got caught at one stage, but after carefully checking out the alternate routes, we got through, going flat out on the plane, without further issues. As we cruised around the last bend, the sight of the huge rock wall was awesome. There was water shooting out, at the base of the wall, from one of 3 hydro tunnel outlets. As we pulled up to shore, Paul spotted Macka, who was seeing off a couple of his canoeing customers. Macka runs Eco-noeing and had his bus and trailer at the waters edge. Macka was kind enough to drive us all to the top of the wall and into Lake Argyle Tourist Village. The views from the lookout over the dam were spectacular. This Lake is huge! It holds 21 times the volume of Sydney Harbour, at full capacity, and the water extends some 110 k’s from the wall to its tail! Macka drove us back down to the base of the wall where we boarded Paul’s boat again. The trip back downstream was a lot more pleasant as it was now warmer. We negotiated the tricky spots without any trouble and our first stop was at Jumping Rock. We all climbed up on the rocks but Darcy was the only one brave enough to jump in. Unfortunately for him, he whacked his arm on the water surface as he entered the water. After a little comforting from his dad he was okay. We continued on down river and once out in the open river, Paul let the boys have a steer of the boat. Back at Lily Creek Lagoon boat ramp, once the boat was back on the trailer, we returned home to Paul’s place.

As Paul had plenty to do prior to the evening cruise, Leanne, the boys (Darcy included) and I continued on our tourist trip around Kununurra. First stop was back to Barra Barra for lunch (those banana & mango smoothies were too hard to resist). We then drove out to the Ivanhoe Crossing for a look. This is a concrete causeway across the Lower Ord River, originally built as part of the main road from Wyndham to Darwin. As the river flows across it all year round, you can cross in a 4wd, except in the wet season, when the river levels are too high. From here we drove out to the ‘Hoochery’, reputed to be the only Licensed Distillery in Western Australia. Here they produce Rum and have tastings as well as sales of their various products. We did the tour and I tasted 3 of their rums which were very smooth and flavorsome. Their 67% proof Rum, a blend of two others was nice, but it really nocks your socks off! From here we returned to Paul’s, as Darcy had to be home in time to get ready for his weekly tennis lesson. Leanne, Daniel and I then went into town to buy some groceries for dinner, while William stayed with Julie playing X Box. On our return trip from the shopping, we drove up Kelly’s Knob and took some photos as the sun went down, quiet spectacular. We then drove back to Paul’s and we made a dinner of nacho’s and chicken and mince wraps. We then had fresh rock melon for desert. As we were departing for Fitzroy Crossing the next day, we tried to get an early night.

Day 41 Kununurra to Fitzroy Crossing 09/08/06

We awoke around 6am, packed up our bedding and had breakfast with the Milner family. As we had the trailer almost ready to hook up, it was a really easy decamp. We said our farewells and departed at the same time as Paul was leaving to take Darcy to school, around 7.40am. As we had a big drive ahead, the boys got the portable DVD going as we drove through to Halls Creek, where we stopped for fuel. As the natives were aplenty, we decided to drive to the next shady roadside stop for lunch. As it turned out the nearest shady roadside stop was Mary Pools and this was a further 118k’s down the road. We had our lunch under the shade of some large gums in the 24hour camping ground which was cool and peaceful. After lunch we hit the road again and drove to Fitzroy Crossing, arriving at 3.30pm. We booked into the ‘Fitzroy River Lodge’ and set up the trailer on a grassy, shady site. Once the boys had done some diary work, we drove into Fitzroy Crossing, bought some groceries and had a look around. We returned to the park and I cooked a BBQ dinner on one of the Park’s wood fired BBQ’s. We sat in one of the picnic shelters, next to the BBQ, and ate our tea watching the fire burn down. After this it was showers all round and an early night.

Day 42 Fitzroy Crossing to Broome 10/08/06

We awoke to the usual noises of ‘the Silver Army’ as they packed up in the early hours. After eating breakfast, as we packed up, I gave the car a quick wash. We managed to depart the park at around 9.30am and refueled in Fitzroy Crossing before heading for Broome. We drove through to Derby arriving at around 12.30. After having a look at the Information Centre, we drove to the wharf and had lunch watching the change of tide. The rise and fall of the tide varies between 8 to 11 metres and as it changes it runs hard, awesome to watch. After lunch we drove out of Derby, checking out ‘The Old Goal’, next to the current Police Station, on the way. We also had a look at the ‘Prison Tree’ which is a very old boab tree that was used to detain Aboriginal prisoners a long, long time ago. From here we drove through to Broome arriving at Cable Beach Caravan Park at around 4.30.pm. Setting up was a drawn out task as I couldn’t get the pegs into the hard ground. After waiting to use a simple water drilling device supplied by the Park, we finished the setup, including the family room, by about 6.50pm. I phoned Christos and notified him of our arrival and he said he would call at the Park in the morning to catch up. As it was late and dark, we decided to have takeaway for dinner and so drove into Broome. After dinner we had a quick drive around the town, before driving back to the park and getting ready for bed.


Thanks for all the emails, it is wonderful to hear your news. By the way William’s face has totally healed now and is back to its beautiful self.

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Photos

Katherine
Springvale Homstead

Katherine 1
Bush Story Teller - Bob Magor

Katherine 2
William after his crash

Kununurra
Information Board

Kununurra 1
Kununurra Rodeo

Kununurra 2
William & Darcy at the Kununurra Pool

5 Rivers Lookout
5 Rivers Lookout Plaque

Wyndham
The Big Croc at Wyndham

Kununurra 3
Zebra Rock Fish Feeding

Kununurra 4
Boys at the Boab Tree

Kununurra 5
Paul on the BBQ Boat

Kununurra 6
Freshies next to the BBQ Boat

Ord River
Boys on Pauls Fast Boat

Ord River 1
The Base of the Ord Dam Wall

Ivanhoe Crossing
The Ivanhoe Crossing

Kununurra 7
The Milner's

Comments

[liz kors jones]

just checking in.
Glad to hear that all is well and you are still having a wonderful time. sad to hear that william is so bored that he is trying his luck with stunt riding. Something a little more sombre may be suggested. Anyway glad no broken bones. Keep up the good reporting work. we love it. have fun love to all liz pete alex and bronte.

[Davidson Family]

Hello
Hi guys looks like you are having a fantastic time. We can't wait to do the trip ourselves. Hope William is feeling better. Daniel yoo will be pleased to no that Snowy is fine. He is enjoying lots of cuddles from the girls.Look foward to reading your next entry have fun and William no more falling off your bike!!!