Further North and now Eastward


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Published: July 9th 2012
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It is hard to love Port Hedland, and we have to confess it did not win us over – despite the most amazing fish and chips at the golf club on Friday night. We moved on.



To the north there are a number of locations that have been highly recommended, including Eighty Mile Beach and Barn Hill. We have to mention here that at our last free camp before Tom Price we met a lovely couple Joanne and David from South Aust. We crossed paths with them a couple of times including sharing the same caravan park in Port Hedland, and they were headed for Eighty Mile Beach. As that is before Barn Hill on the road north we decided that was good enough reason to head in there. It requires a short 12 kms of average to poor (heavily corrugated) dirt road to get in, but we had been on worse. After being passed by a young guy with a camper trailer, we pulled in behind him and sadly did not get a powered site, but that is not a problem to a trained caravanner. Joanne and David happened to be in a powered site (they had arrived earlier in the day when they arrived) but only a short distance away, so it was drinkies at 5.00pm.



Eighty Mile Beach is popular for its fishing (so why did Geoff go there??) and David had caught a couple of fish (2 to be precise) by the time we arrived, but the wind made fishing pretty much a lost cause. When the tide was right, that is late enough for Geoff to get out of bed and have brekkie etc. he trotted off to try his hand. Despite the water being the colour of skim milk, the wind howling and sand blasting everything/body on the beach and a fisherman every 25 mts along the beach as far as the eye can see (remember it is 80 mls long), he cast in to the Indian Ocean. Again and again and again. OK, you get the drift – no bloody fish!



After three days, with the wind showing no any indication of abating, we headed for Broome, skipping Barn Hill as it very similar in reason d’être as Eighty Mile Beach. Broome is a town that has a huge – international reputation but has developed serious delusions about itself. Merchants here have taken lessons in pricing from Ned Kelly. After some voracious shopping by someone who had to have another pair (or 2) of<span> ¾ pants, we found our friends David and Joanne at the pub finishing lunch. Geoff was sent to order a Caesar salad for M and his own meal. Caesar salad $17, Ok - do you want chicken or prawn? Ok, Chicken…for 6 pcs of chicken that were only 1 cm square it was now $22!!!!. Yes, I probably could have cancelled the chicken, but I was still in shock from paying $8 for my glass of beer. Holey Sheet… $42 for lunch … as self funded retirees… Geoff has been given a new heart at Broome hospital and should recover physically one day; mentally he is a cot case with no hope of recovery. You can see the sun set over the Indian Ocean anywhere along W.A’s 3,000 kms of coast, why would you want to do it in Broome? (Comment from Marg:<span> Think Geoff is being a little harsh here.<span> Broome has quite a lot to offer and is quite different from most other towns.<span> Yes, it is expensive and Cable Beach is nothing to skite about.)



Our next adventure is out of Derby approx 220 kms north of Broome, when we took an overnight tour to the Horizontal Falls. On the ‘WOW factor’ scale, this one is definitely hitting the roof. We were picked up from the C.P precisely on time and shuttled to the Derby airport (note there is at least 3 airports in Derby, but that is another story). We boarded the 12 seater Cessna turbo prop Caravan sea plane and were in the sky over the fascinating Derby mud flats in no time. After a relatively short flight over the ranges, we got our first view of the falls, and descended fairly quickly into the bay where the houseboat was moored. The descent was a little exciting as the pilot chose to turn around at the end of Talbot Bay between the hills for his run into the water. I could just see the headlines… “Sea Plane Crashes on Approach…” Needless to say we touched down very smoothly, and Marg did not scream once! (Nor did Geoff).



<span> It is a very slick operation out in the relative wilderness, perhaps explained by the fact that there was once 3 operators doing this tour and now there is only one. The authorities don’t appreciate cowboys dealing with the tourists. We were greeted on one of the floats and given a briefing on the time ahead of us, before being allocated a cabin. The houseboat was only 6 days old and they respectfully asked us to remove our shoes before entering the sleeping area. There was only enough time to stow our gear before we people were invited to be shark bait – no that is not right – to feed the sharks (bloody dementia again, but I did see some opportunities…). There are a number of very big tawny nurse sharks that reside around the house boat – a large incentive to remain sober.



There was still a little light left, and we boarded the speed boat and sat on saddle like seats with hand grips on the back of the saddle in front. We cruised up Talbot Bay and took in several of the natural features of the bay and the ‘single men’s quarters’ - a pontoon complete with mirror ball! I am saying nothing…. The time and tide were right and we sped back past the house boat and into the opening that took us to the falls. There are two falls – the big and the small, defined by their width.<span> The boat driver took us into the maelstrom that is the swirling, foaming ‘base’ of the falls, holding the boat against the flow for us to get a good look at the devils mouth. Then it was game on and with the twin Yamaha 225’s screaming we were into the jaws, up and over and into an effective mill pond that was the sea lake beyond. That was the big falls, and while we went across to the small falls, we did not attempt to drive through them.



The falls are created by tidal water flowing from Talbot Bay through two small gaps in the ranges into 2 valleys to the south. The gaps are approx 20 mts & 7 mts wide respectively, although they are some 40 mts deep.<span> Consequently the smaller gap creates a much wilder and turbulent cascade of water. <span> When we went through the wider gap, the water level in the first sea lake was about 1.5 mts higher than where we had come from, and 3 mts higher when looking through into the next lake. When the water falls through the gap, it creates a dip and then a rise in the water; heading from the lower level to the higher level you need to negotiate the high, low and then wall of water – at speed. If you do not get it right and the bow digs into the wall of water, then there will be headlines!



We were happy to do 3 runs through the less aggressive big falls and return to the house boat for a dinner of crispy skin barramundi… It was a tough assignment, but we managed knowing that we were taking one for the team.



An early morning start (breakfast at 6 am) and we headed off for another run through the falls. It was slightly higher than the night before and a little more exciting. The driver took the boat right up to the point where the flows from both sides of the gap join and held it there – 27kts just to stand still. Uphill was not as exciting as downhill, but it was an extraordinary feeling to get up the falls and onto the smooth and quiet water only 25 mts from the gap. Sadly the seaplanes overhead signalled that our adventure was drawing to a close and we return to the houseboat. Another load of (1/2 day tour) tourists disembarked and in a couple of minutes we (overnighters) were taking their places on the plane back to Derby.



It was an early return and we had time to drive quickly out to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek, a journey of some 180 kms ea. way. Talk about cramming it in. The gorge and tunnel creek can be accessed from Derby via the notorious Gibb River Road, however at this end it it predominently bitumen and not the challenge for which the road has the reputation.



Both places come highly recommended and we found Windjana a place of beauty even though the creek was not running. The most fascinating feature under these circumstances is the number of fresh water crocodiles lying in and around the water. Freshies are not agressive, although any croc needs to be treated with a lot of care. The walls of the gorge are limestone, and have turned grey with the weather, with flashes of orange showing through - quite unusual.



Tunnel Creek, in the same area is a unique feature that shows the power of water. The small creek (no doubt somewhat bigger in the wet) has found a way though the mountain range eating away the limestone to create a huge tunnel. The creek flows through, but it is possible to walk through from end to end, mostly in the dark. The water was icy cold and it was not possible to know how deep the next step would be, but we made it to the end; that meant that we had to do it all again in reverse, but somehow knowing the best route to take made it seem a lot easier. Back into the car, feet dried and back to Derby - just a short trip...



We have moved on through Fitzroy Crossing to Halls Creek and Kununurra, which has turned out to be pretty much a transit stage. Our next note should be from Darwin where we will be taking the plane home to deal with some admin issues.

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