Young James the pilot gave us the safety talk about the small 4-seat helicopter; I chose the right side behind him and grabbed his headset. Offering to ‘drive’, he said ok but I would also have to do the commentary! A very cold wind blew in with the doors open and I wondered if I […]
Talk about rough! 70km of twisty dirt road through Mable Downs and Purnululu, across creeks and rivers, up steep ridges….. I was feeling a little ill, but Hilary gave up half way ie we had to stop for 5 minutes. Fortunately the small Park entrance has travel pills and she improved, but didn’t eat the […]
An easy 250km drive to the Bungle Bungles, through the coastal ranges, climbing several hundred metres to the plain just before Warmun. The Road House is a good shady spot for lunch.. The Bungle Bungle Caravan Park is 1km off the highway on Mabel Downs Station. Everything is transportable; power is by diesel generation, and […]
Triple J radio run various Ord River cruises in 60-seat shallow-draft launches from a small harbour a few km west of town on Lake Kununurra. One can also bus to boat on Lake Argyle, and return down the gorge to town, or, as we did, boat 55km up to the Argyle wall and back. Only […]
Wyndham is another town that has seen better days. It was established as the port for the mines to the south at Halls Creek. Goods were transported along a cobbled road by Afghans with camels – a graveyard is that’s left of them. The old town is squeezed between the steep Bastion lookout on the […]
The iconic Gibb River road can only be driven in a 4×4, due to the river crossings and rough dirt surface, dusty now but muddy in the wet when it is almost impassable. The rentals offer limited comfort eg sleeping in a tent on the roof, or renting a plain 4×4 and spending nights in […]
The Argyle Dam is a short drive from Kununura. Built in the early ‘70’s to add extra water to irrigate the large area below the Kununura dam, and to provide some hydro-electric power. It covers a vast area, to a maximum depth of 60m; waves can form in strong winds. This included much of the […]
Leaving Mary River, the flat landscape was similar to yesterday, but it became much more interesting after Warmun; hills, valleys, and smaller cattle stations, taller and more numerous trees. Both Halls Creek and Warmun are small towns that supported mining, and the cattle drives, where the cattle were herded to the ports from the inland […]
Today we drove our longest day, 575 km from Broome through Fitzroy Crossing, and on to Mary Pool. The long straight road crossed a mostly flat monotonous plain with areas of open grass or small trees, only relieved by the occasional Boabs. But all was pleasantly green owing to the late rains. Our first stop […]
The camels are sometimes on the beach at 8am; I planned to catch the early morning light on them with the sea backdrop, but not today. We took the bus into the older part of the town 20 minutes away. First stop was old Chinatown, a series of iron-clad shops along the streets and lanes […]