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Whilst we were waiting in Derby for the parts for our repairs to arrive we caught sight of this wonderful sign on the back of a Vista Camper Trailer ($$$).
We dropped the caravan off to the welder at 7:35 am on 5
th and then had to amuse ourselves as best we could until we got news of whether the parts had arrived or that the repairs were completed. We set off for the jetty where we walked out to do what most people don’t do, inspect the low tide. This was just as fascinating as the high tide. Especially when we finally worked out that the three trailer fuel tanker out on the jetty was refuelling a ship which could not be seen because it was completely below the decking of the jetty. You can just see the ship in the photo.
After much debate and talking with Herbie (the Welder) we believe the damage actually started when we hit the hole full of bull dust on the road from Jasper Gorge. Neither of us saw it coming, it was just off a concrete floodway and full of bulldust. That was in the NT, so it took about
1700 kms to actually finally dislodge. Why did it have to sever my water pipes as well.
Eventually we got a message at 11:30 am to say that the parts had arrived and were being delivered to the welder. We waited a while and went and paid Derby 4X4 who had arranged the parts and set off to see the welder. He was mid job, so we went and sat in our car and read our Kindles until the phone rang to say our van was ready. When we walked into the workshop 45 seconds later Herbie was flabbergasted, he did not realise we were sitting outside in our car.
We paid our bill and hitched up and set off down the road to go as far as possible that day to catch up with the Oakleys. This was all about 1:30 pm. We drove down to where the Derby road joins the Victoria Highway and pulled off for Graham to get underneath and inspect the repair job. He declared it as magnificent. Herbie had even used cable ties to ensure that the water lines were secure and protected.
Whilst Graham was scrabbling around under the van
I noticed that there were a few spots of rain happening, then looked across the road and noticed a Brahman sheltering from these meagre drops in the information shelter!
We had heard that the Boab Rest Area was very nice, so we pulled in to have a look and yes it is nice but what impressed us was the massive Boab which gives the area its name. Fabulous tree. You can get an idea of the sheer size of the tree when you see that there is a man in the foreground who was about 6 foot tall.
We put the foot on the accelerator closer to the floor and at the same time were battling some head winds but wanted to get as many kms as possible done on Wednesday. Pulled in to a day only stop at Little Panton River and as we were crossing a floodway back to the Highway we came across a really nice grassed area, lots of gum trees and rotundas and seating. The 20 or so cattle who were grazing and sleeping in the area certainly thought so.
We rushed through Fitzroy Crossing noting that it had cleaned up its
act in the last 23 years and headed off toward Ngum? Cliffs Rest Area 97 kms on. Came across what we thought was some smoke and it turned out to be a low layer of mist. About 60 kms later as it was becoming darker a fellow flashed his headlights at us and we wondered why. Not much further on there was a Brahman X bull in the middle of the road, a calf on the edge of the road trying to make up its mind whether to cross or not, behind the calf was the rest of the herd chewing their cuds whilst gently reposed on the ground. Suddenly they all lurched to their feet and all but one crossed the road in front of us as we idled waiting for them to clear. The last one just stood there being recalcitrant so finally we edged our way through. Next we encountered some more mist and finally decided it was time to quit and at the next truck bay we pulled in for the night, tucked ourselves into one corner so there was room for any trucks wanting to pull in and settled down. No trucks arrived, in fact
there was very little traffic all night.
We woke to a beautiful sunrise and proceeded down to the overnight stay we were aiming for and were very pleased we stayed in the truck stop. It was on top of the cliffs with no shelter at all and looked very bleak. We headed off towards Halls Creek where we filled the car with diesel and headed for the Purnululu turnoff. The definition of which vehicles are allowed has changed from "off-road trailers" to "single axle, high clearance towable vehicles". We qualified, just as well we had booked and prepaid. We headed off towards the Bungle Bungles.
The road in is divided into three distinct sections. First it is flat and is corrugated, the second section is all about crossing creeks and only 6 of them actually had water, the third section is a bit twisty in places, undulating with some steep inclines and declines.
We registered at the visitor centre and set up camp next to the Oakley’s who were out sightseeing. We lay in bed that night listening to the Dingos howling in the distance.
Next morning the Oakleys were booked for a helicopter flight over
the domes. We chose not to do this as we did it last time we were up but by plane. Instead we headed off to Piccaninny Creek and did the 750 metre Dome Walk and followed up with the 3 km Cathedral Gorge walk. By the end of that we were too tired to do a lookout walk.
As we approached the domes we could not believe the sheer beauty and size of them. They are massive and impressive. I personally found it almost a spiritual experience. Everywhere you turn all you see are beautiful vistas. They are surrounded by what I think are small bloodwood trees currently in bloom with a red flower.
The Dome Walk is short but you wander between a series of the domes and can closely see how they are formed and the range of colours they contain.
The Cathedral Gorge walk was a little more challenging involving steps, even a ladder as well as a lot of rock even sand to walk over. Once you get into the main amphitheatre it is breathtaking. I cannot explain it, the photos will have to do that for me. Even the boys were impressed.
On our way back to camp we agreed it had been a great days sightseeing and a massive amount of exercise for us both, we did 5 kms of hard slog. More especially something we have wanted to do since we saw this place from the air 23 years ago. It was worth the wait.
Next morning we headed off to the Echidna Chasm walk and to follow up with the Mini Palms walk. If we thought the day before was hard the Echidna Chasm walk was tough. It was not far only 2 kms, but that was through a boulder strewn creek-bed the whole way. You had to watch your feet every step because the possibility of going over on an ankle was extremely high. The woman at the information centre recommended to be there are 11:30 - 12:30 during the day to get the overhead sun. Shirley and Dave had done it the day before and said it was standing room only, so we went first. After the sheer beauty of Cathedral Gorge and all the greenery there Echidna Chasm was an anti-climax, but we did go right to the end past all the supposedly difficult
bits of climbing over boulders etc. GMan was encouraging me to step 1 metre out and 1 metre down at the same time. With my length legs, forget it. I only needed help about 4 times so I was happy with my performance. By the time we finished it was only 10am and I wanted a beer not to drink but to pour over my feet to cool them down.
We got back to the car park at Echidna Chasm we met up with some people who had just come from the mini palms walk. They said that the walk was also through a creek bed with boulders, it is a 2 km walk before you get to the gorge which is only 500 metres long and the walk is classed as the 2nd most difficult in the park, so we opted out. We all headed up to the lookout for the sunset which was a disapointment. Our three days here have been mostly overcast and the clouds really marr the sunsets.
We commenced packing up the afternoon before we left and were on the road out of Purnululu by just after 7:15 am. We travel so much
slower than everyone else because we are trailing a full size van. Got back to the main road with no problems at all and met up with the Oakleys, who started later than use but passed us just before the main road, at the Turkey Creek Roadhouse for real coffee and bacon and egg sandwiches, yum yum.
We can proudly say that our little off-road van has proven to be a tough workhorse (except for Chris's bulldust issues) and was the ONLY full sized van at Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) during our stay. Mind you we would not take anything longer in because of the depth and narrowness of many of the creek crossings and definitely not a van which does not have a sculptured departure angle like ours.
We are now ensconced in the Ivanhoe Caravan Park in Kununurra for the next three nights. Off for a cruise on Lake Argyle tomorrow and GMan and I will catch up with Sue and Clive on Tuesday evening.
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Lyn Appleton
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Wow!! Great photos, enjoy