Comfortably Kununurra

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Elena got off at Halls Creek at about 5AM, and it was sad seeing the little group of west coast companions finally breaking up. Having said that, I'm pretty sure all our paths will cross in the future, in cyberspace if not the real world.

We finally arrived at Kununurra after 13.5 hours on the bus. Ian had been sitting near the driver, who had said that the coach was a McCafferty's one rather than a Greyhound because they absorb kangaroo impacts better - we hit at least 2 on the journey up. We were met by one of the owners of the Kimberley Croc hostel and I immediately got a good vibe about the place after chatting with him and his wife, as well as seeing the kitchen (best one of the trip - everyone is issued with a bucket in which to store their fridge goods, as well as plastic boxes in which to store their non-fridge stuff, so you get no 6 month old lettuces floating around).

The place is clearly a worker hostel, as there was never anyone around during the daytime, and the dorm was on the messy side. There's a pub, bottleshop, supermarket, and public swimming pool all within 200 yards of the hostel. The swimming pool was visited for at least 40 lengths every day, which convinced me that my level of fitness wasn't as bad as I'd expected.

Apart from work possibilities, Kununurra is generally just a jumping-off point for visits to the Bungle Bungles, but it also has its own small national park just 20 minutes walk away. Called Mirima National Park, or Hidden Valley, it's often described as a mini-Bungle Bungles. From an Aboriginal point of view, it's part of the Head Lice Dreaming. Ian and I negotiated its 3 short walking trails in a morning then sat at a lookout taking in the beautiful views. If the Bungle Bungles are anything like this, then I'll be happy.

Friday night in Kununurra was something special, as the well-known covers band Revamp, from Darwin, was in town and playing a show at Gulliver's Tavern (the pub just over the road). The band was also staying at the hostel (which should not make anyone jump to the conclusion that it was some sort of groupie den). A crowd from the hostel headed over to see the gig, and much beer was drunk. Most of the people working here are either doing farm work or are employed in some capacity with the various firms that do plane and helicopter flights over the region. The music was of the rock/blues variety, which went down well with the locals but left me cold, though it provided the opportunity to chat to some of the other hostel residents.

We were fortunate to be in town at the same time as the Kununurra Agricultural show, an annual fete containing animal contests (best-looking cow, etc), umpteen stalls (John Deere tractors, swimming pools, local furniture, tat, etc), sideshows, fairground rides, food stalls (at Ian's suggestion, I tried a Chiko roll, which is a veg-stuffed pastry cylinder - hmm), etc. Ian is from a farming background, so his interest in the latest tractor models was not as weird as it would have been in anyone else.

I was impressed by the sheer number of categories that were being judged at the show, in everything from fruit and veg to handicrafts to photography. Apart from the obvious ones such as age group and type of, say, vegetable, there were categories for, say, red onions, brown onions and white onions, one onion and 3 onions, weighing less than 100g or more than 100g, etc. It was almost as though they were trying to create enough categories so that no-one would go away empty-handed.

Later in the evening there was a fine fireworks display followed by, of all things, a belly-dancing demonstration made even more interesting by the Turkish Europop that accompanied it.

I purchased my first ever stubbie holder at Gulliver's Tavern. Stubbie holders are peculiarly Australian, and are essentially a foam "cup" that you put your stubbie (i.e. bottle of beer) in, and it keeps your beer cold and your fingers warm. A sensible idea that I've never seen elsewhere in the world, and an obvious collectible for people travelling around Australia.

Ian was evicted on the 3rd day of our stay, which he took pretty well given that it was a screw-up on the hostel's part that they then tried to cover up. He was able to find a bed at another hostel, which looked distinctly grimmer than the Kimberley Croc. However the Croc owner still allowed him to make use of the free shuttle up to Kelly's Knob (a hillock overlooking Kununurra) near sunset. There was a much higher hill nearby that we then proceeded to climb, undeterred by the many Keep Out signs and fences along the way, and the view from the top was significantly better.

Though Kununurra may not have many attractions, my few days there were very relaxing - and certainly I was glad I spent them there rather than in Broome. As I realised once again, some downtime can be as satisfying as manic sight-seeing. However the anticipation had also been rising for my impending visit to a place I'd been looking forward to for months - the Bungle Bungles.

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