The Bungles

Hi everyone who is still following along! Thanks for reading. We are currently at Fitzroy River Lodge in Fitzroy Crossing, West Kimberleys, Western Australia. We had a huge day in the Bungle Bungle Range yesterday. I learnt that they are not the Bungle Bungles as I had been calling them for years- that would be a double plural. So they are either the Bungles or the Bungle Bungle.

First, a word of warning. The road into the Bungles is rough. Not technical 4WDing rough, just lots of corrugations. lots of up & down and lots of twists and turns. We averaged about 40km/hour and all the kids felt car sick. It didn't make for a particularly pleasant journey in but it was only just over an hour to the Visitor Centre at the start of the National Park. Because it was twisty, you couldn't skim over the corrugations like you can at 80km/hr. We made it and it was worth it, however next time I come back here I think I'll be doing a helicopter flight in! it was like a rollercoaster ride for over an hour that I couldn't get off and was forced to do again a few hours later.

Like I said, it was all worth it though as the Bungles are just like the photos- spectactular.

It was hard to believe that Europeans only 'discovered' them in the 1980's. We got up SUPER early as the temps have been getting into the high 30's by mid morning and that is just too hot to walk, especially with the girls and with no waterholes at the end to cool off. So at 6am we set off from Bungle Bungle Caravan Park and hit the road. We stopped off to have breakfast along the way and was at the start of the Cathedral Gorge track around 8am while it was still relatively cool. It was an amazing place and we took our time with Chris taking some great photos and the girls and I building sandcastles. A couple we had met at a few locations over the last week were there and they are talented singers who sang a beautiful Aboriginal song that reverberated around the Gorge. I recorded it on my phone but doubt I will have the bandwidth to upload it at the moment. When I get back home I will share it.

Walking into Cathedral Gorge

Cathedral Gorge

We are the tiny people in the bottom left corner!

After Cathedral Gorge, we drove to the other end of the park to take a look at Echidna Chasm. When choosing where to go, we have to realise that the girls only do well with short walks so we look at those around 2-3km return. Anymore and we end up carrying a grumpy bunch of kids and it's no fun for anyone. Thankfully,most places have plenty of great walks close to the car parks. Echidna Chasm is also only around 2km but it was getting hot by the time we arrived there, even if we did leave camp at 6am! A little way in Sophia was complaining of a headache and Caitlin needed the bathroom so we turned back to the airconditioned car while Chris & Sam continued on- the photos look great so one day I'll have to get back there in my chopper!

Echidna Chasm

Thats it from me. See you next time!

El Questro Wilderness Park

El Questro was one place we had been looking forward to and we had a great few days there. It is a massive operation- it’s over 1 million acres so as visitors we only see a tiny portion of it. It is on the Gibb River Road but on the sealed section so not hard to get to. The main camping area is 16km from the main road and it’s well maintained but with a  couple of water crossings to make it interesting. Only 50cm so well within the limits of our car and trailer. We booked into a private campsite about 2km away from the main area. We had a gorgeous spot by the river (very shallow at the moment with no crocs!) and had the place all to ourselves. There are no facilities at the private campsites so the porta-potti was sitting in the great outdoors under the stars!  There are 26 private campsites by the river and we were in the Sea Eagle campsite which I thought was very appropriate as we come from Manly-Warringah territory. 

The river by our campsite- our own little patch of paradise at El Questro

 

Snapper dusted in flour & fried in butter- gourmet camping food!

It doesn't seem to be logical to me that we paid more money for a site that has less facilities but I guess serenity has a price! We visited Zebedee Springs, a natural thermal pool with water at 28-32 degrees. We’ve visited a few hot pools now on this trip and they are always lovely first thing in the morning before it gets too hot. These ones were more rocky and cascading than the others and the kids loved getting their mask & snorkels on and exploring.

 

Exploring Zebedee Springs

 

Beautiful

Then we tried out a few 4WD tracks so Chris could get the car into low ratio and do what it’s been designed to do- go off road.
 

Pigeon Hole Lookout at El Questro

On one of the drives to the Jetty we spotted a 'private road- no access' sign which we then worked out led to the fancy Homestead. If it was just me I probably would have driven in and had a good sticky beak but my fingers and toes have never looked more filthy in all my life and I certainly wasn't looking 'Homestead' ready! Also the three grubby kids may have been a giveaway that we were actually staying in the campground.... 

On the third day I got up early to do the El Questro Gorge walk. It’s only a couple of kilometres  but the kids were well & truly over walking after a couple of small walks so I did it on my own- much quicker and easier that way without having to drag an unwilling pre-schooler in the heat. It was nice doing it early before it got too hot and before the crowds (by crowds I mean 5-10 other people- my perspective on what is crowded may have changed as the Kimberleys has one of the lowest populations per square kilometre in the world). The walk was rocky but nice and cool because of the high gorge walls on either side. I was the first person to walk in that day so I had the unfortunate task of breaking a few cobwebs too. The other first for me was driving through a water crossing. I have never done that before and I was in the car on my own so Chris wasn't there to guide me but I did good! No dramas, the car and me were both fine ;)

Heading back out of El Questro we pumped the tyre pressure back up and hit the road heading south. We had to do a minor detour back into Kununurra to do some jobs like renew Chris's drivers license which we hadn't realised expires mid way through the trip, pick up Caitlin some new thongs/flip flops and use the phone & internet to pre-book our accommodation at Cape Leveque north of Broome where we are heading soon. Next stop- The Bungles!

Lake Argyle & Kununurra, WA

Off the next morning to the Western Australia border- exciting as a new chapter of the trip begins! After passing through quarantine (where we had to hand over our honey- we had already eaten all our fruit & veg) we took the turn off to Lake Argyle. This is one of our favourite stops so far. What a magical spot. The Lake Argyle Resort was also one our favourite campgrounds - highly recommended. They have an infinity pool that looks over the Lake and a lot of people come just to see the pool, but the rest of the park is also fantastic. The staff are really friendly and the owner and his family are always chatting to everyone which creates a great atmosphere. There is a beer garden area that had a great singer/songwriter/guitarist playing for a couple of hours. Caitlin was in one of her extrovert outrageous moods so she hit the dance floor on her own so she got a few songs played just for her. One of my favourite things is to sit in the warm air, with a cool drink in hand, listening to some good live music- paradise! We loved it here. The pool lights up with multi-coloured lights at night too so if you every get a chance to visit the Kimberleys, try to visit Lake Argyle. They have cruises on the lake but we did our own thing and drove over the dam wall to have a look around. It was quite an engineering feat to create the dam in the early 70’s. It is now the largest man- made lake in Australia (during the wet season).  We also popped in to the Argyle Homestead which was home to the Durack family who were pioneer farmers through out a lot of Australia and especially the Kimberley. It was interesting to see the home and the girls enjoyed seeing all the old memorabilia. Lake Argyle was a fun stop and we are glad we took the detour. Next it’s off to Kununurra and El Questro Wilderness Park.

Needs no caption- this is one great swimming pool (but freezing cold). Not bad for a caravan park!

 

Listening to great live music at Lake Argyle Resort

We planned to head to Kununurra for a brief stop so we could fill up with diesel, restock the food with fruit and veg after quarantine and so I could work for an hour or two (internet coverage is rare in this neck of the woods) . It turned out to be slightly longer due to troubles with our auxiliary battery in the car. We had noticed it had been playing up and not recharging itself while driving- leading to the fridge not keeping cool enough- essential while camping in the middle of nowhere- can’t have warm milk and warm beer! Anyway through the power of Google we found the guys at Kununurra 4WD & Spares as they were the ARB distrubutors. ARB put in our dual battery system only a few months ago. They were very helpful and after a lot of detective work, managed to fix the problem (just a loose connection) and we were back on the road. For a while there, it looked like it might be more serious and I was getting out the NRMA card to see what we were covered for as we thought we may be stuck in Kununurra for a while. Thankfully, all sorted and on our way to El Questro. A few hours later than planned but better than a few days!

Darwin to WA Border

The kids were really looking forward to Darwin with its water parks and Wave pools and SHOPS! We only had two nights there and we hardly saw the campsite. We went to Leanyer Recreation Park in the morning for a swim and waterslide- all free thanks to the YMCA. Then to the shopping  centre to stock up on supplies and get the girls some easy summer clothes (I packed far too many warm clothes and not enough summer). Sophia is reading about a book every 2 days at the moment so she got a massive Enid Blyton tome with multiple books in one that should keep her occupied for a week or so.  Then off to the city centre to vote as we have no idea where we’re going to be on election day so easier to get it done early. Then a couple of hours at the wave pool on Darwin Waterfront, then finally Mindil Beach Markets for dinner, sunset on the beach and a wander around the eclectic and very cool markets- it was a huge day but a good one.

Darwin Water Park at Leanyer

 

Mindil Beach Sunset

The next day we were off to Litchfield National Park, about 90 mins south west of Darwin. The great thing about this park is the main attractions are all so close together so no driving all day to get between them. The downside is it’s very popular with day tours and can be busy in peak season. But the benefit of camping in the park is that after 4pm, the day trippers all leave and you are only sharing the place with a small number of like-minded campers. As it’s not getting dark to 7pm, you still have plenty of time for a quick dip in the waterholes. Wangi Falls campground was good and close to everything, but you have to get it early. We got there at 2pm and nabbed one of the last spots. Those grey nomads start their day much earlier than us! It’s much easier for two people to pack up a van than get 5 people in a camper ready to move!

Wangi Falls

We visited Florence Falls and Buley Rockpool the next morning- a nice part of the world. We planned on a 2 night stay but as we had stayed an extra day in Kakadu we thought we would get back on track and start to head west. The humidity was increasing in the Top End and the Kimberley’s & WA coastline was starting to call our name.

Florence Falls, Litchfield NP

Massive termite mounds in Litchfield. Amazing creatures!

The next night was in Timber Creek on the Victoria Highway near the Gregory National Park. Another night where we planned a National Park camp but ended up in a commercial caravan park equipped with internet coverage and hot showers! Oops, that is happening a lot ;) The campsite was fine other than the fact it was Saturday night and some locals were having a enjoyable but loud night at the local tavern. Not to worry, they stopped eventually. Driving through Gregory National Park was very scenic with towering red cliffs and a large river running close to the highway. If we were on unlimited time, we may have spent more time in this park.

Gregory National Park

"Gregory's Tree" carved by the expedition team that came through in 1856. The boab trees are awesome.

Next stop- Western Australia!!

Kakadu- Part 3

Kakadu is obviously well known for Aboriginal rock art that is thousands of years old. The two best locations are Nourlangie & Ubirr. We visited both. Ubirr is the most spectacular. It also has a great lookout after a short rock climb that gives you 360 degree views of the surrounding area- quite spectacular. Cahills Crossing is near Ubirr. It is the border between Kakadu and Arnhem Land. When the tide changes the crocs come out to catch the fish that jump over the crossing. It's fun to watch the crocs fishing for their lunch.

Ubirr Rock Art

The five of us

Sophia at Ubirr Lookout- 360 degree views of surrounding area

Cahills Crossing where the crocs fish



this one got lucky!

For the past 10 days we have been travelling with a lovely family from Melbourne. After only a short time we have become great friends and we will miss them on the rest of our journey (they have longer on the road than us so are travelling slower- lucky things!) Their kids are similar in age to ours and we have enjoyed hanging around the pool together after a day sightseeing and enjoying a quiet beverage or two (or three, four etc) in the evenings. Thanks Ben & Deirdre- stay in touch and we’ll see you one day soon. You are welcome to visit us in Sydney anytime. Sophia also says she hopes Cleo's foot is better.



The gang

Kakadu- Part 2

Twin Falls

Our day trip to Twin Falls was an adventure. It is a 4WD track that has a river crossing. Our very first river crossing! The Prado did great- no dramas. It was 1 hour on a dirt road, then another hour on a single  track 4WD road, then a short boat ride through the gorge, followed by a rock scramble before eventually arriving at a very beautiful waterfall and waterhole. It reminded me a bit of the movie ‘The Beach’ in that it seemed like a hidden treasure that was hard to get to and not many people experience . We stayed for a while before heading back and doing it all in reverse. It was a really hot day and the only downside of the place is that you can’t swim there.

 

Here we go!

 

no turning back now

 

Can't see any crocs which is always good ;)

 

That was fun!

 

Greeted by another gorgeous gorge



a bit of a rock scramble

 

Twin Falls

 

Precious Caitlin

 

Us!

Well that was part 2 of Kakadu. There is still one more instalment. Will post again soon.

Kakadu- Part One

When planning this trip, I was trying  to work out where to go and what to see. To be honest, the photos of Kakadu didn’t really grab me. Distances between sites seemed large and I wasn’t really sure if it was the place for us- the whole Kakadu or Kaka-don't thing. But being a World Heritage Area and one of the most well known National Parks I thought it would be silly to come all the way to NT and not go there- well thank goodness we made that choice as it’s been one of the highlights of our trip so far. It is a spectacular place with a  lot of history and ancient culture and the scenery is amazing. We had planned to stay at one of the many National Park campgrounds but most of them are a long way from the highway and also alcohol free. No big deal usually but at 37 C degrees we really felt like a cold beer at the end of the day! Also, there is no swimming in most waterholes so we thought somewhere with a pool would be essential. So we stayed at Gagadju Lodge Cooinda which was a great place to camp. Large shaded sites, a large resort pool and a bar restaurant that would be showing the Bledisloe Cup- enough reason for us to check in and relax. Our Melbourne friends were also there which meant friends for the girls and good company for us too. What was originally going to be a short stop dragged into 4 days as the lure of 'stay 4, pay 3' won us over! 

The day after we arrived we went on another cruise- this time Yellow Water cruise on the floodplains and wetlands of Kakadu. It was a sunrise cruise so a very early start but well worth the wake-up call. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves…..



The very first photo of the day- first saltwater croc. A sign of things to come.



The mist on the water before the sunrise

 

We were on a boat like this one

 

Magic sunrise

 

 

The sun is up and new day dawns

 

'What you lookin at'

 

This is Big Kev. He's the only adult male in this stretch of water as they are territorial and he rules this part of the river. He's over 4 metres long and was seen last week eating a wallaby....

 

Sophia and Big Kev

 

A female croc- small by comparison but still up to 3 metres.

So that was our Yellow Water cruise. One of the highlights for sure. It was also followed by a buffet breakfast- who doesn't love a buffet breakfast! Part 2 of Kakadu coming up soon.

Katherine Gorge/ Edith Falls (Nitmiluk National Park

After Mataranka, we drove the short trip to Katherine. We didn't stay in town, but in Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park about 30kms out of Katherine. The campsite isn't your usual National Park campsite but a commercial tourist park with a gorgeous pool surrounded by a resort bar & café. Not exactly doing it too tough here. It was a close walk to the Nitmiluk Visitor Centre and also the area where the Katherine Gorge boat cruises leave from. We would have loved to kayak the gorge instead of doing an organised cruise, but they don’t allow under 5’s and you have to be over 12 to paddle yourself which ruled our family out for that one. Maybe one day when the kids are older because it looked like a lot of fun.  The cruise was beautiful and as much as we are not usually fans of group tours, you do get a lot more information and it puts things in perspective when you hear the background of the place from a tour guide. The gorge is spectacular and we had front row seats on the boat so Chris got some great photos. This was also where we saw our first croc on the trip- a freshie. We learnt the difference between a freshwater crocodile and saltwater crocodile. Apart from their different snout shapes- a freshie is timid and will swim away from you while a saltie is aggressive and will swim towards you. Not exactly the way I wish to find out which is which!

Katherine Gorge

 

After the cruise we had a short drive to the north side of Nitmiluk NP- Edith Falls. We were lucky to find one of the last spots in the popular National Park campground that was walking distance to the lower pools of Edith Falls. Here we had a refreshing swim with our new friends from Melbourne, who we have travelled with for the last week or so. Then back to camp for BBQ dinner and a few drinks with friends while the kids played together in the grassy campsite- bliss! Next stop- Kakadu!


The beautiful Edith Falls, Nitmiluk NP