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Quick blog for today as its late - just before 11pm - and I've been trying to get all the blog updated since we haven't had any cell phone or internet coverage for 6 days !!
Funny old day today... has been overcast all day with no bright sunshine like all other days of the holiday, although still warm (& very humid at Windjana) until early evening in Derby when it has got much coooler (mid 20s).
Headed into Windjana Gorge first thing to do the walk alongside the Lennard River that runs through there and do some crocodile spotting. As well as being geologically famous, the gorge is also supposedly one of the best locations in Australia to see freshwater crocodiles.
Heading into the gorge we came across a huge wall which clearly showed all the limestone deposits & features and also had some fossils in it (easy to see shells etc as well as one point where a squid-like creature was pointed out).
Along the riverbank walk spotting crocodiles (all freshies) turned out to be dead easy with loads submerged in the river with just their eyes & nostrils out of the water ! We easily would
have seen at least 20 crocs along the walk we did for a couple of hours.
Also met a colony of flying foxes (fruit bats) en route who were very noisy & chattery when we turned up - maybe didn't like our presence !
The gorge itself was very restful & serene - sheer cliffs, well worth the effort to go and visit.
Back in the truck mid morning, we were headed for civilisation after our 6 days on the Gibb River Road without cell phone or internet connections. The road from Windjana into Derby proved very boring - 120 kms of very very straight road going on & on (very flat; not much scenery). At the end of the GRR we thought there might be a sign similar to what we'd seen when we started at the eastern end on Saturday, but all we could see was the intersection with a regular road sign saying "Gibb River Road". The last 100 kms was a bit of an anti-climax to what had been a great trip & 4WD adventure.
Got into Derby around lunchtime. Not a lot appears to be going on - very quite "one-horse" type town.
The lady at the information centre suggested a few things to do. Turned up for a tour of the Royal Flying Doctor Base (just a regular house) at appointed time of 1pm, but no-one else there and both gates padlocked so that was a non-starter. Decided then to head out to the Baob Prison Tree just out of town to check it out. The tree was used in the late 1800's to hold prisoners and apparently about 6 people can fit in the trunk (not that you're allowed to check out that claim though !)
Rest of the day was spent mooching in Derby - beer from Cellarbrations (usual conglomeration of locals hanging around outside - some sitting on their slabs of beer !), couple of loads of laundry etc
Started drizzling with rain mid afternoon & has got quite cold : mid 20s - the forecast is for thunderstorms & more rain the next couple of days but hopefully we will still be OK for Horizontal Waterfall trip. Campsite good - only 20 powered sites, clean facilities - but loads of noisy bats flying around at night in the trees at the camp, which are a bit freaky
and slightly smelly - but I'd rather have them anyday than mossies & bush flies (none here ! Yipee.)
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auld goat
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great trip - looks fantastic - esp. Windyana Gorge and the fossils.