August 2024 – great life – retired got nothing on

13. Great Life lapping Australia 2024

Kununurra NT

A common occurrence on our trips is to meet up with friends in out of the way places. Today was no exception as we noticed that a travel agent roommate of Lyn’s was coming to Kununurra while we were in town. We met up with “Betty” at the Wild Mango Cafe. (Yes, their Mango smoothie becomes a favourite of Lyn’s)

You will wonder why a photo of a pump and one of legs under the motor home. Before we left for the Wild Mango, we thought we’d empty out of Darwin water by doing the washing. Problem became that our water pump burnt out. Thanks to some wonderful angels next to us, at the cost of a slab of coke, we are able to continue but with a slightly different way of using our tank water.

While in this town, there’s much to see and do. It was time for a two hour flight over Lake Argyle and beyond to the Bungle Bungles. Lyn is an experienced small plane flyer but gets nervous leading up to, and during a flight. Her saviour is travel sickness tablets and the exit door on our arrival.

From altitude, Lake Argyle is an expansive lake in the middle of a drought location in northern West Australia. However, the wet season (average 800mm) changes the landscape considerably with so much water in just a few short weeks. Back in the 1970’s, the Australian government decided to harness this water to do three things: one, to use the water for a hydro power station to supply electricity to the towns around Kununurra, two, to supply those towns potable drinking water, three, to create an extensive region of irrigated farmland for fruit and vegetable crops, and large scale agriculture products like cotton. After some failures along the way, the authorities are still not sure what’s best to do.

Beyond Lake Argyle is the Bungle bungles. This region was “found” by accident when a movie making company were looking for a somewhat different location for their movie – they landed on what has become a national treasure. We were on a fixed wing single engine aircraft known as a “caravan in the sky”. I’d advise a helicopter flight from the Warmun Roadhouse would be so much more enjoyable as you can get down into the valleys to experience the effect of layers of rock that make the bungles what they are.

The Bungle Bungles

We managed to get away from Kununurra by 7:30am. Another long day of travel in the outback of WA is very hot – it reached 44 degrees today, but no rain and beautiful blue skies. Ahead of us we came up to a caravan that had a yellow number plate with the text “Happy Wife – Happy Life”. Now that must be Earlene and Rod’s van as that was her motto given in her wedding speech.

We had a late warning from our son that his eldest son was to be baptised in the afternoon in Kew, so we hurried on to our rest area at Mary Pool Campground, a quiet spot beside a dried up river during the dry season. After setting up and getting the starlink set, we managed to watch, in the middle of nowhere, our grandson’s baptism; how great is that.

Leaving early in the morning again, we found a breakfast stop a couple of hours down the highway. Would you believe there we found an Electric Car charging station – no, there was no diesel generator supplying power, but two rows of solar panels nearby, at last. I’m not sure many cars will reach the spot too often as it was around 500km from Broome. Lyn also had some work to do and was able to use the picnic table shade to keep cool.

We had heard that Fitzroy Crossing was open after the floods destroyed the bridge a couple of wet seasons ago. The new bridge is there to stay for a long time and the road works nearby indicate that a large ‘nomadic’ campground is being created. We stopped on the side of the highway to put the drone up for some overhead shots of the landscape.

We had a diversion this afternoon. In selecting our night rest area, we read that the Ellendale Station Lagoon was a short 6 km drive beyond the Ellendale Rest Area. We called into the rest area to find a number of appropriate spots; it was good. But the remarks on the Station Lagoon wiki camps info said there were friendly cows at the lagoon and we thought “what better way to spend a night than with friendly cows?” Through the farm gate we drove, yes, lots of cows but no other campers. I was walking ahead while Lyn drove following me. I was looking for a spot which enabled us to move out quietly in the morning. Found a spot, so we drove into the area. But with the car and motor home jack knifing we just couldn’t get past some shrubs. (You can’t reverse the motor home with a car in tow, it won’t happen) I thought I had brought a pruning saw just in case. But where was it? After searching all the obvious storage bins, we had to resort to the small tomahawk axe. Chop, chop, chop, for 20 minutes, we finally made enough room to complete the Uturn. Fortunately, we were not other campers entertainment for the afternoon. And back to the rest area for the night. (Sorry, we didn’t take any photos of our ordeal – you would be laughing more than we did)

After another very hot night, we moved on towards Derby. Our breakfast stop today was at a very interesting giant boab tree. Large and leaf bare, it still provides filtered shade to a degree, to passers-by on their great adventure across Australia. Apparently, this giant boab has something so special about it that you have to give credits when whatever is written about it. On delving into the details that are mentioned, I find that there is nothing peculiar about this tree listed, other than to mention the credits. (Oh dear! I hope I haven’t contravened any said copyright.)

The Kimberley area is a kind of separated wonder of West Australia; it feels like you are in a different world – there is very little dense vegetation even though you are in the tropics. There’s an extension of the red dirt that west Australia is made of; a rusty red dust that infiltrates every nook and cranny in your caravan or motor home. Our motor home has an exhaust fan in the step well that sucks out the air to prevent the red dust coming into the living quarters. It works hard and is very effective.

After long stretches of road, some over 15km straight, we come to Derby town. Derby is famous for enormous tide variations with up to 12 meters being common. We took a quick drive out to the jetty and wharf to watch the rushing tide for the day.

Flight to Horizontal Falls

We have an early pickup transfer to the Derby Airport where our seaplane is waiting for us. There is a 40 minute flight to enjoy on the way to Horizontal Falls. The view is great and sparse. Being the dry season, the wide rivers are dry, waiting for the coming of the rains in November/December. Our pilot gives us some great vision of the horizontal falls from above before landing and transferring us to the jet boat which takes us through the first falls and stops short of going through the second; we are not allowed through due to a bad accident a few years ago. That venture doesn’t happen anymore.

After the exhilarating pass-throughs, and a morning tea, our guide for the day takes us on another venture to see a few crocodiles on the shore of an island. Apparently, a whale beached itself and crocodiles have been eating it for food. There is also a cage to take a swim on the pontoon, and blind sharks have been attracted to the cage to be fed and viewed by the staff and visitors.

The flight back to Derby was another exhilarating experience from above. Below was a colour display of the ocean; truly memorable and a highlight of our lap of Australia so far.

Broome is a very popular mecca for West Australian residents; a bit like Cairns for Eastern Australian residents. Lots of 4WDs pulling large caravans fill the campgrounds replenishing supplies before hitting the “real” roads of the Kimberley region. Our campground has a pool which is popular at the end of yet another hot day of driving.

Friday we had a few shops to visit and a quick tour of the town. We checked out the famous Cable Beach and noticed many 4WDs along the beach. That vision made our minds up to pick up an awning from Mitre 10 for the Suzuki to wear the rest of this lap. We intend to “beach-hop” all the way down the West Australian coast and around to Esperance (that’s nearly 4,000 km. This makes our ‘equipment’ fit and ready now.

The next post will probably start on a beach. lol

12. Great Life lapping Australia 2024

Leaving Darwin

I try to have something to talk about when setting up my weekly posts. The problem with last week was there was nothing to talk about that hadn’t been mentioned before. I’m sure you were happy to find something else to be interested in after the exciting Paris Olympics closing ceremony (we didn’t watch either the opening or closing ceremonies).

How good is this? We washed the outside of the motor home and the Suzuki before departing Lee Point for Katherine and West Australia. The inside of the motor home looked like it was ready to sell. Lee Point has been a good place to stay with our own en suite and an almost constant sea breeze throughout the day and night, making it pleasant in the Darwin climate at this time of year.

Driving in Australia can be very hot. We expect our journey in the next week or two to take us through temperatures in the low to mid 40 Degrees Celsius. With that in mind, our driving needs to start soon after sunrise and be done by mid-day. Once we turn right at Katherine, the traffic becomes sparse as we venture and find our first camp spot beside the highway. There are a few stops along the way for long distance travellers and we find one called Limestone stopover. There are over 20 rigs parked around ‘the red dust bowl’ of a camping spot.

Second Day on the road towards West Australia

The second day on this part of our adventure, starts with long straight stretches of open highway, the speed limit in the Northern Territory is 130kph, but the configuration of our rig means we have to keep around 100kph; kind of boring at times with concentration required to make sure you hear the beeps of the speedo indicating “Over the 100kph limit”. The countryside changes along the way and we feel we are entering a new zone of foliage. The Victoria River is coming up and we take a longish stop to enjoy the change of atmosphere with the river winding its way to the ocean somewhere.

Victoria River and beyond

It seemed that the Victoria River region and campsite would be a good one to take time out, for 2 or 3 days; but we can’t, as we have made bookings in Kununurra for a river cruise. We found an appropriate spot at Saddle Creek Rest Area. The starlink came out so Lyn had a good internet connection to do her work. How good is that? Working at a very remote location and doing a booking for a client to visit Europe in six months time; very much a mobile travel agent – and a Grey Nomad at that.

On into Kununurra

Meals can be an interruption to Lyns lifestyle; adjusting involved itineraries from remote locations, taking pics, enjoying the driving or the scenery as it goes by. Lyn would be the first to say that I never put pressure with the topic “when are we getting a meal?” I consider myself to just be and ’emergency cook’. Lyn does very well despite the high temperatures when the gas cooker is on the go, in 35 degree heat.

The day we arrived into Kununurra was Lyns birthday, so after set up, it was down to the local shop “Pink Rocks” shop to choose a gift. I hope you think it’s cute too. How different, a boab tree pendant!

Ord River Cruise

The following day it was my birthday, so Lyn organised a six -hour cruise on the Ord River. It turned into a ‘birthday I shall not forget’. We had just boarded the little boat (with two V-8 out board motors) and I stood up and side stepped into the aisle, to take a picture. The worst thing was I took a step backwards into ’empty’ space and down I went. I ended up with a bruise in my left butt cheek and a few broken ribs on the right side. Breathing is always difficult with broken ribs so “careful, careful” is the way to go. That put a ‘dent’ in the day but thankfully another older guy got down and helped me up while Lyn called “what are you doing down there?”.

The Ord River is the water that comes over the spillway of Lake Argyle, one big lake indeed. We flew over it a couple of days later and on to the bungle bungles. It is very impressive.

There was a wealth of wildlife that live along the river banks and in the trees. We notice the ‘freshie crocodiles’ which are a little less aggressive than their relatives, the ‘salty’. We stopped and watched a’kite’ bird sitting on its nest in the high branches, and a ‘darter’ looking into the sky to impress others she was a branch in a tree while warming her eggs. We also stopped to view a colony of fruit bats and learn that a lot of their natural work is cross pollination of plants to breed more of the same kind.

Over 300 of the 760 species listed in the Australian Atlas of Birds can be found in the Kimberley, which includes birds of prey. The Lake Kununurra wetlands and Ord River are a haven for birds and easy to explore. (JJJ Tours)

Kununurra is an interesting town. It was built because of the work done on Lake Argyle to set up a large agricultural region; there is high rainfall during the wet season which may as well benefit the agricultural industry in Australia. They have tried cotton at first but the sprays caused a lot of problems. Interesting, we met up with a couple in Queensland who were agronomists and they have ‘invented’ a way to enable the cotton industry to flourish using a system using treated seed to eliminate pests and unwanted disease in the cotton harvest.

Next week, we will be travelling towards Broome.

11. Great Life lapping Australia 2024

Darwin out and about

George Brown Darwin Botanical Gardens

Tropical flowers are always a draw card to garden lovers. The botanical gardens in Darwin certainly have some beautiful blooms this last week. Amazingly, even the photos app on my phone knows the names of the peculiar ones – what a benefit. There’s a few different areas to enjoy with the tropical orchids not flowering en masse at present. Since we visited last year, an interesting sculpture has been created with a crocodile featured devouring a few unfortunate fish; nature owns its own way of survival.

Museum and Art Gallery of NT

Not being a museum chaser, I was impressed with the layout and displays in the Art Gallery. Lots of extensive illustrations of how things have happened in the Northern Territory over the decades past. The section on the Cyclone Tracey disaster that hit Darwin on Christmas Day in 1974, was well displayed and explained. Darwin certainly got hit quickly and at phi-nominal force and speed. (Well worth a visit if you haven’t been to Darwin.)

Cullen Bay

This little bay appears to be the rich people’s Mecca in Darwin. Classy yachts and water edge homes are well cared for. We arrived in time to see the one and only lock in the NT helping a yacht into the upper level marina.

There is a lock keeping in bay, all the posh yachts at a marina.

Views around East Point

Mindil Beach Sunset Market

I must admit to visiting the market three times this trip to Darwin. The last visit, I was hoping to pick up a very colourful shirt for a friend turning 80 soon. The second visit to the market seemed to have better shirts – this time most were not so good, so no present going his way – for now. I had a foot and leg massage and Lyn had a neck, arms and back massage. Dinner was the “food in your hand as you walk” with the meal ending with cream and churros.

Darwin Military Museum

This war museum has managed to keep its grandest gun in good but not working order. It still stands in the same location it fired bombs to the Japanese airforce, as they attacked in 1942. Other weapons and memorabilia are well displayed too. I spent a long time reading the accounts of the Jews at the time of Hitlers nasty form of power. I left a penned comment “may there never be another leader again of any country, to be so greedy and inhumane”.