Lennard River & Windjana Gorge

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Yesterday was an exciting day because we had lots of adventures.
First dad and I went under Lannard river bridge.Then we saw some archer fish under the shadow of the bridges. Then we went over to a fence that had barbed wire. The gaps between were the size for e to get through. Dad had to climb over. Then we went down the hill where lots of trees were .We went through the trees and on the sand there were lots of kangaroo tracks on the sand. The water fresh and crystal clear and we filled our waterbottles and went up on the bank under a big shady tree and had something to eat. After, we went back exactly the way we came and then we went in the bus and drove off to Windjana Gorge.
When we got there we had lunch and a rest . When we had finished our rest ,my French friends Edith and John arrived in their truck. We got ready for a big walk and my friends and I went with our parents off along the path. The first exciting thing we saw was a chasm which opened into the gorge and a path leading into the gorge. There were so many colours it was like a big picture. There were many shades of reds greens and yellows and it was a healthy place. John, Edith and I became very excited we saw lots of crocodiles basking in the sand and floating in the water. While we were on the walk we found yummy bush tucker. Altogether we saw twenty three crocodiles .They were all fresh water crocodiles. I went a bit too close to one of them but it didn’t bite me. Because it was getting late we turned around and went back to camp. After a great day we had dinner ,a story and went to bed.

The next day we went for another 2 hour walk in the gorge and looked at more details. We saw fossils in the rocks and lots of fruit bats, they are very smelly, but their faces are very cute, like a bear. We also found some green ants where you sucked their green tails and it tasted like lemon, it was very sour. I played with Edith, John (we met them last week in Quongdong, then again in Derby) and another boy called David. That night we had a fire and roasted marshmallows.

A few days ago we went to Tunnel Creek. It was amazing. There was a cave that went for 1km and we needed our torches and headlamps because it was pitch black. We had to walk through water up to my bottom. Dad led the way, playing his ukelele. We saw one freshwater crocodile in the cave, its eyes glowed orange in our torchlight. There were lots of people exploring the cave which was very beautiful. We also explored out the other end and collected some boab nuts. (We forgot to tell you that we saw the Prison Tree in Derby. It is an enormous boab tree with a hole in it). After our adventure at Tunnel Creek we drove through Fitzroy Crossing and stopped in a place just before Halls Creek.

The next day we did lots more driving again and came to Kunnunnura. We crossed the Ord River which has lots and lots of water. It has gates out one side and there was water gushing through it.
Last night we stayed in a caravan park for the second time. I went swimming and tried out my birthday present (one day early) which was flippers and goggles. We went shopping and bought a cake for my birthday tomorrow. We had to take Dad to hospital because he hurt his back lifting things out of his cupboard, he could only crawl around very slowly and was in a lot of pain. The doctor gave him some medicine so he is starting to walk a little bit.

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Comments

[Mrs Schmidt]

Jasper the trecking guru
Wow Jasper, You are becoming one with nature. How lucky you are to see so many fantastic things. I can picture your dad leading the group with his ukelele. I hope he is okay now and his back is not so sore. It is wonderful that you have met some friends too because they make the trip even more memorable. Maybe, one day you will be able to go to France and visit you future email pal when you travel the world! Kunnunnura. We loved that place. Are you going to El Questro? We hired the mini mokes for the day and went to the zebra rock gallery. Happy Birthday! From Mrs Schmidt

[terry]

hello from drc
Hi guys, looks like you're having a wonderful adventure. Sandy and I used to love wandering through Tunnel Creek and Windjana gorge. It's such a beautiful area and you're so lucky to be able to visit. I've arrived in Kinshasa and have begun settling into my new job here with the UN. Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a city of 4.5 million people, terrible roads and lots and lots of cars. I've only seen two bicycles and about 4 motor bikes. Most people are too poor to have cars. The buildings are old and dirty. I can't take many photos because the police don't like it...and there police everywhere. They carry machine guns so I do not try to take photos. I am working with people from all over the world...more than 100 different countries. I hope you and your mum and dad continue to have a good trip. i guess you are heading for Darwin. That's a really interesting place so I hope you enjoy it. Take care and best wishes for your birthday. Terry

[Peter]

Sunday update
Jasper, Happy Birthday!!! Great to read your latest update. Those photos of Tunnel Creek are really good and show the amazing scale of the gorge. I imagine by now you are heading for Katherine. Today we ent and played golf at 12 mile. Ben and the Broome Advertiser staff had been invited to a golf game at an old blokes place. He has his own golf course in the bush on his property. It's not a very long course but we had good fun and a sausage sizzle when we finished . Jo and I won and Ben and Pip also had an enjoyable time. I'm busy now reading class sets of reports. At least I don't have to write them! Back to work I plan to set the alarm for 2:30am so I can see Australia vs Germany in the World Cup. Goodnight

[kim oldfield]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASPER
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JASPERRRRR HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Jasper,looks like you're getting some new teeth? Did your Dad tell you all about the Aboriginal freedom fighter that hid from the troopers and lived in Tunnel Creek for years? I bet there was all sorts of bird life in Winjana Gorge eh. I hope to cross paths with you all in Darwin in a few days. Best wishes, Kim.