Blogs from Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 4

Day 28 – Friday 27th July - Mornington Wilderness Sanctuary We had camped next to the small river on the property, Annie Creek, home to a rich variety of birdlife, including the rare purple-headed fairy wren and the endangered Gouldian finch. Supping our cup of tea at 6am all Mark and I could see and identify was the very cute looking, green and red (or red and green) crimson finch. A whole family was hopping around on the bush next to our tent, but as soon as we moved closer to take a better photo they flew away to safety. As we had one full day at Mornington we decided to go canoeing along the Dimond Gorge in the morning. We booked two 2-person canoes and got to the water after the 20km drive ... read more

Day 26 - Wednesday 25th July – Mitchell Falls National Park to Manning Gorge After a sparse breakfast due to dwindling supplies, we hit the road at about 8.30am. Mark has navigated his way through the rough patches of the unsealed road very successfully so far. Before we turned back onto the Kalumburu-Drysdale Road we checked out two sites with “outstanding examples of ancient aboriginal art” that we had driven past on the way up. The two short walks revealed examples of Wandjinas (ghost-like heads), Gwion art (stick people) and even a burial site where you could still see the skulls and bones. We met an archaeologist at the second site who was investigating the degree of degradation of the rock art due to increased tourism and environmental factors. She has been checking rock ... read more

Day 24 – Monday 23rd July – El Questro to King Edward River Campsite on the Mitchell Plateau We left El Questro at 9.30 am after packing up and refueling and filling the camper trailer with water. We were considering making the long detour to the Mitchell Falls after taking to people in the Zebedee Springs who said that it was absolutely spectacular and the road up there had just been graded and was in good condition. So, after reading up the Mitchell Falls we decided we should go. Just passed the turnoff for Home Valley Station at the top of a hill, all of a sudden we had a couple of bars of Telstra mobile connection! We turned off the road and joined a small gang of 4 others, standing in the middle ... read more

The Kimberley grasps you. Whether you are just passing through or living here you cannot help feel it's presence. Three times the size of England with only 26,000 inhabitants the rugged Kimberley is such a vast, unpopulated region that each car that passes by can be counted on one hand and waved at fervently with the other. The intimidating heat, beamed down from a sun that feels too close for comfort, tests even the most stubborn of settlers and can reduce you to sweat before you get out of the air conditioned car. The land is unto itself, holding majesty in an area that still feels untouched. Before we entered this huge region we stopped for the day at the seaside town of Broome. On the edge of the barren Kimberley, Broome could not be more ... read more

Onward from Brisbane again and a Friday late night flight saw me arrive in Darwin to begin my trip down the west coast of the Australian continent towards Perth, a journey I hoped to complete in about a month. Having originally begun the Australian part of my adventure in Darwin some 10 months previous I had already explored the city (town really) and surrounding Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks and I was happy not to delay in the area long before beginning my western adventure. So early on Sunday morning I left my hostel and met with 14 others who were to join with me on a Western Xposure 4WD trip down the famous 'Gibb River Road' towards the isolated coastal town of Broome. Sometime just before 7am a not unwelcome farewell was bid to Darwin ... read more