Alice Springs

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Geo: -23.7004, 133.881

Hello from Alice Springs

Well here we are back in the Alice so we have officially done a lap of the western half of Australia.

We left Broome on 5th Aug and travelled to Derby (222Km) and stayed at the Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park where we had the largest site since leaving home, could have parked two of us on it.

Visited the Prison Boab Tree which is reputed as being used to house aboriginal prisoners just outside of Derby. Visited an Art and Culture centre and the local Art Galleries to check out the paintings and Boab Carvings.

Saturday night we attended the Mud Crab Races held at the fishing club where you could purchase and name your own mud crab. The announcer was hilarious picking on everyone for the name they had given their crab and where they had come from. It was a very enjoyable night capped off by a $10 bbq consisting of sausages, rissoles, salads and half a mud crab.

Played in the 9 hole comp on Sunday on the all grass course in excellent condition with majestic Boab Trees scattered throughout the course, the Horse Racing Track runs through the middle of the course so the Golf Course is closed when there is a race meeting, very inconvenient for the golfers twice a year!

We decided to tackle the notorious Gibb River Road so the tent and esky were loaded into the Silverado and we drove the 90Km bitumen section then another 140Km of the dirt section to Silent Grove Campground and set up for the night. Another 10Km in and we were at Bells Gorge, hiked in 1.5Km and were presented with a beautiful swimming hole and waterfall. We were warned by many people on their way out that the rocks into the swimming hole were very slippery including one girl hobbling out, we saw her husband here in Alice and found out she had snapped a toe in half. We slid on our bums into the very cold water for a refreshing swim and then slithered out across the slippery rocks like beached whales (we were unfortunate enough to see other beached whales exiting the falls too!!!!). Had a few drinks around the camp fire with two couples and their young children before retiring to the luxury of the 3 man tent for the night.

Next morning we drove about 60Km back along the dirt and turned off for another 23Km to Winjana Gorge. The rock formation of Winjana Gorge is the remains of a coral reef from millions of years ago and is predominantly white except where it has been stained black from water and lichen. The water holes at the base of the gorge are home to hundreds of freshwater crocodiles which could be seen basking in the sun all around the edges. Walked along the banks of the river until we came across a colony of thousands of fruit bats hanging in the trees above, very noisy and extremely smelly. We were told that if you are here at sunset the bats fly down to the water for a drink and the crocs have learnt to wait in the water and snap a snack or two, apparently it's a spectacular sight.

It's another 32Km down to Tunnel Creek where the water has worn a tunnel through the rock to form a 750m tunnel. On with the reef shoes and grab the torch to walk through knee deep water in some places. Amazing Stalactites can be seen hanging from the roof of the tunnel. Even spotted a small freshwater croc living inside the tunnel. Tunnel Creek is famous for being the hiding place for Jandamarra an aboriginal who had worked with the police as a tracker for many years in the late 1800s and eventually shot a police officer to release some of his tribal prisoners, he was eventually shot and died near the entrance of the tunnel.

From Tunnel Creek it was about 145Km of dirt back to the bitumen and then another 90Km to Derby, the Silverado handled the at times very corrugated Gibb River Road with no problems.

We left Derby on 11th Aug and travelled to Fitzroy Crossing (264Km) and stayed at the Fitzroy River Lodge Caravan Park, on the way in to the park we came across one of the couples we had met in Bells Gorge. Had a relaxing time here including a boat trip on the Fitzroy River along Geike Gorge which is part of the same ancient coral reef as Winjana Gorge. The Fitzroy River is not the longest in Australia but in the wet season it has the largest rate of water flow, capable of filling Sydney Harbour in 12 hours. The gorge is very spectacular and the rock faces change colour as the sunsets which we experienced when we walked 4.4Km along the river bank late one afternoon.

We left Fitzroy Crossing on 14th Aug and travelled to Larrawa Station Stay (144Km) for a night which was very basic but had clean showers and toilet facilities. Walked down to the dry river bed and had a number of horses visit the campground late in the afternoon.

Left Larrawa Station on 15th Aug and travelled to Halls Creek (152KM) which is a very run down dry dusty town with not a lot to offer. Unhitched the van and spent the afternoon driving out to Sawpit Gorge, Palm Springs, Old Halls Creek Town Ruins, Caroline Pool and China Wall. Although these sites were worth seeing we wouldn't stay at Halls Creek again. (The Caravan Park had a fence topped with barbed wire and the gates were closed nightly – no more needs to be said!).

Left Halls Creek on 16th Aug and travelled to Kununurra (359Km) and stayed at the Kimberley Land Holiday Park and what a spectacular drive it was with massive ranges and rock formations along the way. We stopped at a small place called Doon Doon for lunch and witnessed two wild stallions having a face of about 100m away. The caravan park is right on the edge of the lake and our site had a view of the lake between the row of vans opposite us. The lake had a few resident freshies plus wonderful birdlife. Took a drive out to see the Sandalwood Factory, Hoochery Rum Distillery and the Ivanhoe Crossing over the Ord River. Another day was spent walking through the Mirima National Park which is a mini version of the Bungle Bungles.

We had intended to visit the Bungle Bungles on our way to Kununurra but there was a bush fire near the entrance to Purnululu National Park so they had closed it until the fires were contained. So we forked out for a 2.5 hour flight from Kununurra up Lake Kununurra over Lake Argyle then weaving through the Bungle Bungles back over the Argyle Diamond Mine out over El Questro then along the Cockburn Ranges to Wyndham and back up the Ord River to Kununurra, amazing views everywhere you looked. Caught up with Alan and Lyn who had moved into our caravan park and had a meal with them at the Pump House.

After our previous successful journey on the Gibb we ventured off to explore it from the other end, again with the tent. We drove out to Wyndham via The Grotto to the Five Rivers lookout, here you can see where the King, Pentecost, Durack, Forrest and Ord Rivers flow into the Cambridge Gulf a sight well worth seeing. Ventured into Marlgu Billabong where we had lunch at the bird observatory spotting many varieties of birds and a large Salt Water Crocodile about 100m away from us. From here we headed back towards town and then turned onto the Gibb River Road and headed for Emma Gorge. It's a 1.6Km hike to the pool over very rocky surfaces so it takes a bit over an hour to get there. What a great swimming hole with a nice sand/gravel entrance to the icy cold water which is surrounded by cliff faces covered in ferns with spring water trickling down on the far side of the pool. Very relaxing and beautiful floating around on your back looking up at the cliffs and ferns. Hiked back out and headed to El Questro Station Campgrounds along the dirt roads and through a couple of shallow river crossings. Set up the tent as the light was fading and settled in for the night. Next day we ventured off to Zebedee Springs and found a small pool to sit in and soak for an hour or so in the warm water flowing down taking in the views of the palms and ferns that thrive in this environment. Then it was down the road a little further to Amalia Gorge and a 1.7Km hike over very rocky and challenging terrain which took 2 hours to get to the swimming hole. We were the only people here and could hear a number of people coming only a short distance away, so waited for these backpackers to arrive and let them test the waters before we went in. We both managed to slip on the rocks and land on our bums on the way in, once again the water was cold but very refreshing after the long hot hike in. It's a very large swimming hole with a large cliff face where during the wet a wide high waterfall would be seen. Dried off while eating our lunch and hiked back out and saw our first snake in the wild, it was a harmless Green Tree Snake but he wasn't happy to see us and stared long enough for a few photos before taking off across the water. Drove home to Kununurra after another successful trip on the Gibb. We have heard many horror stories from the Gibb River Road with destroyed tyres, damaged rims, broken springs, collapsed batteries etc etc, clearly they are all driving the wrong vehicles!

Went on the 55Km Ord River Cruise from the Deviation Dam to the Ord River Dam Wall and back taking in the sights along the way. I knew nothing about the Ord River Irrigation System and rightly so since part one the Deviation Dam was completed in 1963 and was designed to allow the full flow of the Ord River during its peak in the wet season and slow the flow in the dry and divert water into the irrigation channel feeding the black soil land leases on the Ivanhoe Plains. They first planted Cotton and Rice but the Cotton was destroyed by disease and the Rice was eaten by the Magpie Geese in the second season, the main crop now is Sandalwood which causes mixed emotions as it's not a food source which is what the scheme was intended for but at $100,000 a tonne its grown on more than 50% of the land.

The Deviation Dam maintains the 55Km section now known as Lake Kununurra at a constant level and fresh water is continually flowing from Lake Argyle providing a pristine environment for flora and fauna to flourish, it is the one of the few places where human intervention has actually improved the environment. Before the dams the Ord River was reduced to a handful of water holes during the dry season. A population of approx. 5000 fresh water crocs has grown to approx. 25000 and the crocs here are on average about a meter longer than anywhere else in Australia. Lake Kununurra also has an abundance fish, insect and bird life.

Another day was spent walking up to Kellys lookout for views across Kununurra then out to the Zebra Rock Factory and out to the Deviation Dam.

We left Kununurra on 28th Aug and travelled to Lake Argyle (72Km)

The Infinity Pool at Lake Argyle overlooks the lake and is most likely the most photographed pool in Australia and rightly so the view is breathtaking but so is the water at about 19 deg C. You get in, take the bloody photo before you freeze, and then out into the warm sun to thaw out.

The Sunset Cruise on the lake is both amazing for the views and the information gained.

The Ord River Dam is 300m wide at the base and 330m across the top and is a clay based wall covered in rocks, it was built to handle an earth quake as it's close to a fault line and was completed in 1972. It took 3 years to build using the natural resources from nearby, and they estimated it would take 8 to 10 wet seasons to fill but it only took 3 seasons. At its normal full capacity which is about half way up the wall Lake Argyle holds the equivalent of 18 Sydney Harbours with a surface area of approx. 900 square Km making it the second largest manmade lake. If it were to fill to max flood mitigation level it would hold more than 84 Sydney Harbours, if the wall was to completely collapse they estimate it would take more than 4 years to empty the lake. At the base of the dam wall is a hydroelectric plant producing 30 Mega Watts enough to supply Kununurra and Wyndham with all their power needs and 80% of the power for the Argyle Diamond Mine, this also ensures a constant flow of water into Lake Kununurra. All this pristine fresh water stored up and flowing along Lake Kununurra and none of it is used by the town, its water supply is sourced from bores near the Deviation Dam because a town's water supply cannot be taken from an irrigation channel which is technically what Lake Kununurra is.

Lake Argyle now covers most of what was once Argyle Downs Station originally settled by the Durack Family in the 1800s. The original homestead built in 1895 from limestone blocks was dismantled during the construction of the dam and rebuilt on higher ground and used as a museum dedicated to the Pioneering Durack Family. It was Kimberly Durack who had the vision and drive to promote the building of the dams for the irrigation system.

We left Lake Argyle on 31st Aug and travelled to Victoria River Roadhouse (318Km) which is very dry and dusty suitable for an overnight stay only.

We left Victoria River Roadhouse on 1st Sep and travelled to Katherine (192Km) and stayed at the Big4 Katherine Holiday Park.

Drove out to Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park and did the loop walk up to the lookout in the first gorge. Went to the local markets. Drove out to Cutta Cutta Caves for the guided tour through the caves, a surprising thing to find in the middle of nowhere and only accessible during the dry as they flood with water in the wet.

Went out to Edith Falls and did the 2.8Km hike up to the top pool and around back to the lower pool.

Top pool has a small water fall and it's only a 50m swim up to the fall in the cool water but the water coming over the fall was surprisingly warm, very relaxing. The lower pool is much larger with a 150m swim across to the fall. Both very spectacular and a place we would visit again when passing through this way. The couple next to us in the caravan park were from Cronulla Beach, we got along well so had drinks together each night and walked to the Katherine Hot Springs one day for a relaxing soak in the warm water.

Visited the Katherine Museum which was one of the best remote town museums we have experienced with excellent displays and information on the history of the area and its characters.

Went back to the gorge for a long hike intending to get to Butterfly Gorge, we decided to go the long way via Pats Lookout, Southern Rock Hole and Jeddas Rock, it was 39 deg and possibly not our best decision. The views from each lookout were spectacular but there are long walks in between over very rough rocky terrain making it hard slow going with nothing to see. When we reached the entrance to Butterfly Gorge we were completely worn out so decided to head back to the visitors centre which was still 4Km away (it was a 3.5Km return trip into Butterfly Gorge). We arrived back at the visitors centre at 2.30pm and sat down for lunch after hiking 12Km. Caroline did mention that she was never hiking in 39 degree heat during the middle of the day again!!! We found the parts of Katherine Gorge we visited very underwhelming compared with the beautiful Gorges we have been to in WA.

From Katherine we travelled (112Km) to Bitter Springs to catch up with Ian and Mandy where we spent 3 nights. Had a great time here relaxing and having many laughs about our journeys to date.

Each afternoon we would walk to the springs and float down them along with dozens of other campers. Very relaxing and natural environment. Drove down to Mataranka Hot Springs one day only to find they have been concreted with steps into them so it's like a big swimming pool, not how we remembered them from the 1980s.

On 12th Sep we left Bitter Springs and drove to Bonney Well Rest Area (660Km) for an overnight stop.

On 13th Sep we left Bonney Well Rest Area and drove to Alice Springs (425Km) to stay at the Big4 Macdonnel Range Holiday Park again. The weather from Derby through to Bitter Springs has been in the 30s every day with nights from 20 to 26 deg so it was a rude shock when it was 7deg the first night here and 19deg and raining a couple of days later. We have had more rain here in Alice than we have seen since leaving Brisbane. The up side of the rain was seeing the Todd River flowing for two days and driving through 300mm of water on the crossing on our way to golf, a sight many don't experience as it only flows 3 or 4 times each year.

Last time we were here we did most of the tourist sites around Alice so this time we are mainly relaxing and playing golf every second or third day. We did drive out to Rainbow Valley hoping to see some wild flowers and were presented with an array of colours and shapes of flowers as we walked through the valley and the rock formation is also very impressive.

The main reason for being in Alice now is to participate in the Australian Masters Games in the golf which starts on Sunday. We are looking forward to catching up with Garry and Kaylee who arrive on Saturday and are also participating. Alan and Lyn have also arrived in Alice and Alan managed a late entry to also participate in the golf.

It is finally warming up this week and is back into the 30s and looks like staying that way throughout the games to our delight but maybe not for those coming from the winter down south.

We have ridden our bikes into town a few times along the banks of the Todd or simply relaxed around the van when not playing golf.

All the Townie supporters out there will be happy to hear that there have been no failures for quite some time.

On the way from Bonney Well to Alice we stopped for a toilet break at the Barrow Creek Roadhouse where I walked around the car and could hear air leaking from a tyre. The right rear on the Silverado was leaking at the tyre valve probably caused by the weight of the tyre pressure sensor flexing it when at speed. Packed the valve so it couldn't move like I had done last time this happened re inflated it and headed off but it was still leaking slowly so stopped about 40Km down the road and replaced it with the spare. The first day in Alice we needed to go shopping to replenish our supplies and visited Bunnings to purchase parts to extend our grey water hose so there was no time to get the valve replaced. Next morning the front right tyre on the car was flat as we had picked up screw in it while driving around the previous day. Had to ride the bikes to Supercheap and buy a repair kit to plug the screw hole before I could drive it to a tyre place to have all the valves replaced with short valves to reduce the flex and hopefully prevent the problem occurring again. Some of you may recognise the name Barrow Creek as its near where Peter Falconio was murdered in 2001, the pub at the roadhouse has newspaper memorabilia on its walls.

After the games we will be leaving Alice on 17th Oct and heading straight for Brisbane with overnight stops so should be there on 23 or 24th Oct in Time to catch up with friends and family before boarding a plane to Edinburgh on 4th Nov.

We are very excited to be spending time with Nicole, Anthony, Aela and the new addition to the clan due shortly after we arrive. We will be in Scotland for 4 months and have planned a trip to Germany for 9 days to visit the Christmas Markets. Kate will be joining us in Edinburgh for a week at the end of Jan and then we will all travel to Madrid and Barcelona together for a week before she heads back home. Caroline and I will most likely spend some time in Italy after Barcelona.

Hope this finds you all fit, well and enjoying life

Kym and Caroline

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Photos

Derby Golf Course 1
Par 4 - Land your drive between the two Boabs in the distance

Derby Golf Course 2
Second shot over the 5 fingered Boab onto the green

Derby Golf Course 3
Good looking Boab and Golfers

Gibb River Road
The notorious Gibb River Road !
Napier Ranges in the distance.

Winjana Gorge 2
Locals basking in the sun

Winjana Gorge 5
Thousands of these Fruit Bats nesting in the trees along the banks of the river.

Winjana Gorge 6
You could walk up to about 3 meters away before they would take off into the water.

Comments

[Jeanette Payne]

Just loved the journey through all the gorges, the lakes, dams etc and are very happy that none of those many crocs didn't want either of you for their dinner!!THANKYOU Kym. An amazing trip. Love it