Kununurra to Tennant Creek

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3/10/11
Dear family and friends,
After a wonderful 5 and a half months in the amazing WA, we crossed the border into the NT a week ago and this afternoon after driving 500 km's, crossed into QLD! As we have wanted to phone family and friends in WA, QLD and Victoria this week, we have spent all week asking each other, "What's the time in…?" as it is different in WA, NT, QLD and now also in Victoria as last night daylight-saving started there! Last night our phones must have thought we were in SA and the clocks went forward automatically! As we hurried this morning we realised the error and gained a whole hour, only to have to give back half an hour this evening as we crossed the QLD border!
The last blog ended in Kununurra and from there we went 75kms to the nearby Lake Argyle, formed in 1971 as a result of the damming of the Ord river for irrigation, hydro-electricity and the Argyle Diamond mine. Lake Argyle is the largest body of fresh water in Australia covering over 1000 square kms and at its wet season peak holds up to 47 times more water than Sydney Harbour. It is a wetland of great significance as it is an ideal habitat for up to one third of Australia's bird species. We saw a fresh water croc there too which was exciting!
For Sue and myself, draw-cards are usually lakes, mountains, rivers, oceans and views but here, while we were awed by the views of the lake surrounded by huge rocky crops, we were totally enamoured with the pool! Now, I'm not talking about a natural rock-pool but a "man-made" pool…but… this is no ordinary pool. Apparently it was voted on Getaway as one of the best 5 pools in the southern hemisphere! Not bad considering that is in competition with all the luxury resorts in Australia, South Africa and loads of other southern hemisphere type places! As we gazed upon a spectacular view and cooled our sun-drenched bodies in the glorious cool water, we had a taste of what life might be like for multi-millionaires! Of course its location is very remote but it's the sort of pool with the sort of view that you would expect to find in a luxury resort that would cost thousands of dollars per night or more! Well, we paid just $35 for a powered site for two! Fantastic!! Check out the photos attached to this blog!
While there we befriended two women, one who is a cook and one a chef! They have been working and travelling Australia for 5 years in a very comfortable van and have no plans to stop (why would they?!). It seems wherever they go they easily get work so travelling has become a life-style! I called them "The Cook and the Chef" but they said it was more like "The Two Fat Ladies"!!!
While there, Sue, hoping to catch a big Barramundi, took me off fishing in the Lower Ord River. The Barra remained elusive but I caught my first fish - a salmon cat-fish - which tasted delicious, though I have yet to recover from the trauma of seeing the fish struggling. After all, I too know what it feels like to have a fish-hook embedded in my person! Sue caught a Sooty Grunter which was scaled, gutted, stuffed, foiled and baked - clearly a meal fit for people who have just got out of a luxury pool, except that we had to catch it and cook it ourselves! Oh well, no complaints. Quite the opposite in fact!
Whilst in this area we saw many brochures regarding the movement of the ugly old cane toad across the NT border into WA. Originally imported to kill cane beetles in the cane fields of northern QLD, as a prolific breeder they have spread out and are marching across the NT into WA and down through QLD to NSW. Otherwise known as 'extinction in motion' their poison can even kill crocodiles! They have damaged so many native species and impact upon the environment, agriculture, water supplies and tourism in so many ways. They now threaten the unique Kimberley region, the only part of Australia's north not infested and we were asked to ensure we didn't carry any stow-aways on board. At Lake Argyle one evening we saw a small one by our van. As Sue had on her sturdy runners she promptly decided to try to do her bit to save WA from a cane-toad invasion by standing on it! After putting all her weight on it for at least 30 seconds, she lifted her foot only to watch him defiantly hop away, apparently unscathed in any way!! He even turned around and blew a raspberry at us!! Amazing!! The only option left was to phone the hotline open 24 hours a day to report cane toad sightings in WA!
And talking of stow-aways, when we arrived at Lake Argyle we found a little native gecko in the car which darted out from one of our chair-bags. It would seem he had hitched a ride from Kununurra, and as Sue is a big lizard fan (like father, like daughter) she was very excited. Eventually with encouragement, he jumped out to freedom in a new place. We hope he's happy there, but he should be, after all, I bet his old back-yard didn't have such a nice pool!!
Also while at Lake Argyle, we were surprised to see an English couple ride in on a Guzzi motorbike that even had a roof! Water-bottles, thongs, rope, maps and all sorts of other bits and pieces were hanging from everywhere! Later we saw them down at the dam wall surrounded by about a dozen people all taking photos of the bike and chatting to the celebrities!
From Lake Argyle, it was a short trip across the border into the Northern Territory where we were interested to see 130kph speed limit signs! Last time I was in the NT, no speed limit existed on the open roads with a resultant high road toll. Hopefully things have improved. In Katherine we enjoyed a dip in the 32 degree hot springs and a visit to the Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge. How glorious!! We spent the morning paddling in a hired Canadian Canoe down the ancient landscape of the Katherine River until at the end of the first gorge with high rock walls we pulled up on a beach, viewed ancient Aboriginal rock art and had a fantastic swim. Yes, there are Freshies in that river but they will only attack if you go into their nesting sites and there are signs clearly indicating where they are. Try as we could we failed to see a croc on any sandy stretch or poking out from under rock caverns and had to be content with seeing many tail and foot-prints at the edge of the river!! But I bet they were watching us!
Our next stop was 250kms north to the Litchfield National Park where we walked along escarpments, into monsoon forests, saw giant termite ant mounds built on a north/south axis to minimise the impact of the sun (clever)and enjoyed relief from the heat in beautiful rock-pools beneath cascading water falls. We enjoyed an open-air "slide-night" presented by the ranger providing us with loads of interesting information. On the way back to our van in the dark, two eyes appeared in our torch-light about 6 metres away and we walked a bit faster in the opposite direction as we saw a big feral pig looking at us! Next day we also spotted an amazing nest. It belonged to a bower-bird who, so the ranger told us, collects shells, pieces of glass and bottle-tops to lure a mate! Once found he takes her to his nest for a bit of hanky-panky! She then builds her own nest to lay her eggs while he goes off to find his next mate!
Leaving there we headed south back through Katherine and stayed the night at the Larrimah pub/caravan park. What an awful place!! Presumably in an attempt to be eye-catching and quirky, everything is painted bright pink on the outside - the camp-kitchen, the toilet blocks and the outside of the pub. Normally I would consider this amusing but the "zoo" took the smile off my face very quickly. Among other creatures, were beautiful large black cockatoos, white cockatoos and a kookaburra all in cages that barely allowed them to fly more than a couple of feet. How is this legal???!! Perhaps it's not? I suppose I will find out when I write to the Dept of Conservation or perhaps ring the RSPCA in Darwin. Trouble is, Larrimah is more than 400kms from Darwin so will the authorities be able to act anyway?? I was seriously tempted to open cage doors but of course they were padlocked - except for the Kookas cage but his cage was in full view of the kitchen. I felt crushed though, walking away while Kooka looked at me with defeated, sad eyes. How despicable is the behaviour of so many human beings towards people and other creatures who are powerless.
The next day we got up at 5.30am! We felt like real grey nomads as this time we were the first (rather than the last!) to leave!! After 500 kms of driving we reached Tennant Creek, 15 minutes too late to see my choir (the MSO Chorus) singing on the turf of the MCG as part of the opening of the AFL Grand Final. If only we'd got up at 5.15am!! Well, apparently, they were great but their support act, Meat-Loaf, left a bit to be desired!! Anyway, we were standing outside the pub trying to work out which door to enter when a bloke came out saying that if we were there to watch the AFL, to head on in, the crowd was just through there. So in we went and were overwhelmed to see a massive crowd of… 5!! So we made 7 and the Irish bar-tenders made 9. Then of course there was the Aboriginal mob out in the back room (apartheid?) who doubled that number! Then before we got the chance to see all the after-the-game bits, the publican turned the TV over to the NRL. Unbelievable! Especially as the before and after bits are the best part of the whole thing!! Oh well, at least we got a free pie!
Earlier that day we stopped to have our cereal in Daly Waters. The pub there is legendary as a classic outback pub. Out the front is Australia's most remote set of traffic lights! Of course they don't actually direct traffic but are there to be interesting. As we pulled up (don't forget it was still early), a young bloke climbed out of his swag which he had thrown down the night before in the dust by the side of the road opposite the pub!! It's that sort of place!! The bar is filled with weird and wonderful things including a huge collection of WW2 memorabilia, donated bras, undies, t-shirts, caps, student cards, stubby-holders, stickers, passport photos, international coins and notes, badges, thongs and sew-on police and ambulance badges from all over the world. It has a bit of a dusty, run-down sort of feel, but it's a very entertaining place!
And now we are here in Tennant Creek. Last night we listened to the sounds of a near-by rodeo (and now know why so many people were wandering around in cowboy hats yesterday!) and this morning in the caravan park shop, I spied a freezer full of kangaroo tails for sale! I asked whether they were for pet meat and was assured they certainly were not! Apparently they are so tasty when wrapped in foil and cooked in the oven, over a BBQ or in coals that they are so popular they literally hop out of there.
Well, we are fortunate beyond belief to have seen so much natural beauty and to have memories enough to keep us happy when we are sitting in our nursing homes in the future!!
So, onwards and upwards… 5 weeks until we are due to start work back in Melbourne! Ahhhh….seems a world away!
Hope you are all well…
Ros (& Sue)
PS Scroll down to see the rest of the photos!

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