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Before we left Gregory National Park we had a look at the Bullita Homestead which was built here, sometimes devastated by floods and ultimately abandoned. It does make you wonder about the determination of people. Why would you set up a homestead here in the 1800s? The flies are horrible and it’s funny how in some places there are virtually no flies and then you go 200kms and its swarming.
Along the way there were signs about quarantine restrictions and keeping fruit fly and cane toads out of WA. Now we all know that's a crock. When we got to the WA border there was actually a quarantine checkpoint. The guy asked if we had any fruit and veg. Of course we did. We'd stocked up in Darwin. The guy went through our fridge and bags and got all the fruit and veg. I was wondering how long it was going to take to check it all. When he hadn't come back after 20 minutes Becs suggested that maybe that was it. So basically this is the job for vegetarians. The guys is probably still living off our fruit and veg. He's almost as bad as that kid at Rainbow
Beach with the off milk. Not as sullen though.
We also felt it was appropriate to stop off and have a look at Augustus Charles Gregory’s tree. He must have been a major public figure having a national park and a tree named after him. I was stuck behind a road train and two escort vehicles (probably carrying nuclear waste) so I overtook all 3 in one go and just as I reached the end of the entourage the turn off to Gregory’s tree appeared. So I had to slam on the brakes and turn in. Worse still, so did the road train. We’d stopped by the side of the road to discuss our luck and skill at not rolling the Landcruiser when one of the accompanying vehicles pulled over and asked if we were OK. I just explained the adrenalin rush of overtaking two utes and a road-train at 150kph and then doing a handbrake turn in front of them. I think he understood. Now Gregory was a great explorer and innovator. His tree is quite impressive right on the banks of the Victoria River (she had a bit of a run on naming rights as well!).
Kunnunnura proved to be quite a big town so we were able to stop up at Coles which was gray nomad and black tights nirvana. Past the stacks of incontinence pads and cheap black tights we were able to replenish our fruit and veg supplies. There were a few aboriginals milling around the carpark wearing their NRL jerseys. I’ve been looking for a Tigers supporter but most seemed to be Cowboys or Broncos or just wore their Queensland jerseys.
The Kunnunnura Hotel was doing a roaring trade. However we had a major setback. Our drink of choice is the Yalumba 2 litre Shiraz cask. Mainly because it stacks easily, doesn’t rattle and has 2 litres of wine in it. But the hotel didn’t have any. In fact they didn’t have casks at all. Worse still you can’t by cask wine anywhere in the Kimberleys. This is a dramatic step down from Darwin where you were limited to 1 cask per person per day which combined with my Asahi and Bec’s allocation worked out fine. It’s a pity how the actions of a small minority affect the lives of the many.
We stopped at a rest stop where I made friends with the two guys in fluoro who were cleaning it up we had a good chat about how disrespectful people are of rest stops in general, placement of garbage bins and vanners who live in rest stops. We exchanged phone numbers and moved on.
From the turn off to Purnululu it took us two hours to cover the 52 kms to the Kurrajong camping ground. I may have been especially cautious, but when the first thing you come across is a camper trailer with a broken axle it makes you think. They really should ban them! The escarpments in the national park are spectacular and especially at sunset which had Becs nervous about setting up. We found the camp ground which is very nice with soft grassed areas.
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