Day 241 – 10 Aug 09

Very pleasant campsite at Durack River crossing. On the east side there is a bank about 20 metres high which overlooks a large pool and on the west side there is a large area of sandbanks with lots of trees. I decided to stay on top of the bank and stay clear of the mozzies. I pulled in past the first parking area and went to the second and set up. I must get into the habit of doing a bit of exploring before deciding on a site. After I set up, I went for a wander and the next area along was absolutely beautiful.From the photos, the river looks like it's full of water, but it is deceptive. The crossing itself is actually bone dry. The water is in the form of pools although having said that, they're bloody big pools. Some great bush walking in the area. I went downstream about 4-5 km's and there was plenty to see. Sometime I'll do this road again and I'll plan for a week or more at each stop and do some serious hiking.
Two nights at Durack River. I could have stayed longer, but I’m running out of bread and milk. I have plenty of supplies, but I do like fresh bread and I can’t stand that UHT milk. I have about 4 litres of UHT for emergencies and some tins of evaporated, but I prefer fresh milk if I can get it. Got to the Kulumburu junction about midday and had to finally make my mind up whether to head for the Mitchell Plateau or not. Travellers have told me that the road is a goat-track the other side of Drysdale, and a couple of people have told me that there is not all that much water because it is so late in the season.

Had some lunch and decided to push on through to Barnett. I tell you what, you see some amazing things out here in the bush. I hadn't gone more than 5 km's from the Kalumburu turnoff and there, on the side of the road, was a couple of (I presume) backpackers having their "wicked" van being winched onto a tilt-tray truck. First, I wonder who told the poor buggers they could do the Gibb in a crappy van, and second I tried to do a mental calculation of how much it was going to cost to carry the van through to Derby. I got to about $20,000 and gave up.

I hadn't gone more than 2 or 3 km's further when I spotted the strangest traveller I have seen this whole trip. According to people I spoke to later, his name is Klaus and he has been wandering around the area for many years. I admire his initiative, but I think he could pack some washing powder in that van, he was absolutely filthy, and I think the camels smelled better than did Klaus.

Just before Mt. Barnett, I made a side trip where a sign indicated “Barnett Gorge 3 kms.” That’s not far, I thought. Took me half an hour. The track was really, really rutted. I spent most of my time with one wheel on the centre hump and the other in the scrub. It would appear to be not maintained at all, and after a wet season, it resembles a creek bed rather than a track. Anyway, finally got the 3 km and pulled into a parking area and spent half an hour wandering around a pretty scabby creek. There was a rock wall about 2 metres high on one side of the creek so I supposed that was the “gorge”. Note to Travellers: There is a gorge, but it is a further two km on. A sign would be a nice thing or a correction to the original sign. The gorge is FIVE kms from the road. So I missed it. Oh well, something for the next trip.

When I got back to the main road, I noticed I was down to a quarter tank, so I thought I’d fill up from the jerry’s. A kindly 4wd pulled up and asked if I was OK, and I explained that I was just topping up. He asked me If I new that Mt. Barnett roadhouse was only 30 km ahead and when I said I did, he gave me a strange look.

Arrived at Mt. Barnett and what a hole! Diesel was close enough to $2 a litre and was I glad that I had jerricans at $1.35 a litre. Bugger! They didn’t have any bread or fresh milk, so looks like I’m on the UHT for a while. Yukkkk!.

Stopped at Galvin’s Gorge, and, while it was very picturesque, there was not a great deal of water flowing, so I’m glad I didn’t make the trek up to the Mitchell. There were hordes of red-tailed Black Cockatoos and a beaut water monitor chilling out.

The road from the Kalunburu Turnoff to Mt. Barnett was VERY corrugated, but west of Barnett it has been excellent. I have been sitting on 90 kmh most of the time so I will make it through to March Fly Glen tonight.

Day 239 – 08 Aug 09

Five nights at Pentecost River and to tell the truth, I could have stayed there until my supplies ran out, but I need to push on.

Drove through to Durack River on the recommendation of a chap at Penetecost. Crossing the Pentecost River was no problem. The water was only about 500mm deep but the bottom was rocky so I had to take it really slowly to avoid bumping things around in the van too much. I learnt from a previous creek crossing where, when I opened the van afterwards, it looked like it had rolled over!

The road between Pentecost and Durack was reasonably good. A lot less washaways, so I was able to sit on 80kmh and even out the corrugations. Arrived at Durack and, as advised, camped on the East bank overlooking the river. The crossing itself was just a mudhole, but downstream the river was full and wide. We’re still fairly close to the coast at the crossing, so, even though there were no signs warning of crocodiles, I didn’t bother with swimming – I’ll leave that until later on.

Firewood was very scarce close to the camp areas, but I went for a walk along the river for a couple of kms and found plenty further away. Only trouble is, it takes me three hours to collect enough firewood to burn for two hours. Hardly seems fair somehow.

Day 234 – 03 Aug 09

Headed for Wyndham to take a squiz from the Bastion, or Five Rivers Lookout. Just about gave the Kia a rupture pulling the van up the hill. The intercooler air temperature reached 130degC which seems a bit excessive, especially as I had the intercooler fan fixed under warranty in Darwin. I’m not sure how hot the intercooler air is supposed to get, but 130 seems a bit high. I will look into it further when I get back to Perth.
Somebody mentioned that diesel prices were lower in Wyndham than Kununurra, so I took a punt and planned on refuelling in Wyndham. Just as well - 25c a litre cheaper! I filled the tank and the jerry’s so I should have enough to get me to Derby without filling up on the Gibb, unless I decide to go up to the Mitchell Plateau.

Pulled up tonight on a roadside rest area overlooking the Pentecost River underneath Mt. Gibson. What fantastic scenery. IMHO there is no better scenery in Oz than the Kimberley. The road from the bitumen to here (past El Questro) was pretty rough, lots of corrugations, and washaways. The washaways every 200-300 metres, means that you can’t get up enough speed to take the sting out of the corrugations. I hope it’s not like this all the way across.

Plenty of firewood around, so a lovely campfire each night. Only two or three other travellers each night, but very pleasant, willing to sit down and have a yarn around the fire.

Day 231 – 31 Jul 09

Three days at Saddle Rock, no more wankers luckily, but limited opportunities to do any decent bushwalking so headed on to Kununurra.

This place hasn’t changed at all, although it’s only 6 or 7 years since I’ve been here. From what I understand there has actually been quite a change with the closure of the sugar mill and subsequent shutting down of the sugar cane plantations, but the difference is not noticeable in town.

Stayed at the Hidden Valley C.P. as I did last time. I looked for a Top Tourist park and noticed on the website that there are hardly any in the North West, even in Broome which is a surprise. Only plan to stay for three days, do the washing, charge the batteries etc. ‘cos I’m getting toey for the Gibb River Road.

While you're in Kununurra, don't miss Hidden Valley unless you're going to visit the Bungle Bungles. The rocky prominences are exactly the same structure as the bungles but only 10% of the size. Also while I consider rock climbing to be the province of raving lunatics, I do like having a "scramble" up rock features like this.Important Note: If you are travelling south from here, DON'T buy fuel in Kununurra, take a small side trip via Wyndham (which is worth a visit anyway) and buy your fuel there at least 25c and sometimes 35c less than Kununurra.

Day 228 – 28 Jul 09

Stayed at Limestone Creek for three nights and then headed west. Had a bit of a break at Victoria River where they're building a new bridge. It boggles the mind to think that the river can rise from its low level to the height of the bridge overnight. I remember coming through here in 1969 when there was no bridge at all, just a ford across the river and if you got caught by the river rising, you could be stuck for several weeks.
Had another small break at Timber Creek. Just past the town is a road leading to a lookout. It is well worth the visit. There is a great view from the top of the ridge. Note: there is a 4WD track leading onwards from the lookout, but I found out the hard way that it doesn't go anywhere, so give it a miss.
Stopped at a roadside rest area called Saddle Rock (for obvious reasons). A very picturesque campsite, but again, crowded as hell by about 4:30 or so. I know some of these travellers can get a bit up themselves, but this guy wanders over at 5:30 or so, with his glass of chardonnay in his hand and asked how long I was going to run the generator. It’s half-past five, mind you. I told him that I intended to run it until about 7:30 and you would have thought I said midnight! Gee, he said, can’t you shut it down now? We’d like to watch the sun go down in peace. I felt like telling him to go and take a running jump, but managed to restrain myself.

Day 225 – 25 Jul 09

Well, Darwin is behind me and I’m on the road again. I can’t believe how much Darwin has changed since I left in 1973. I admit that it’s 36 years, and a cyclone virtually destroyed the place, but the changes are so wide-spread. I’ve been to Adelaide and Melbourne and Brisbane which I also haven’t been back to for about the same time, and at least those places are recognisable, but not so Darwin. I would have expected that the city centre itself, which was not so affected by cyclone Tracey might have retained some of the buildings and ambience, but it is all totally changed. Oh, well, what’s the saying? You can never go back again – so true.

The weather was very pleasant, being dry season, although there were a couple of humid days towards the end of my fortnight’s stay. I got a chance to get out-and-about a bit during the time, but I left the “touristy” things for another time. It has been school holidays while I have been here and everywhere is jam-packed. The locals get a double dose of holidays because of the weather. Every Caravan Park was chockablock and the numbers of tourists up here at the moment is unbelievable. I plan to spend the southern winters in the top end for the next few years, so I’ll try to do Kakadu, Litchfield etc at a better time.

Headed down the Stuart to Katherine and ran into a fellow Grey Nomad working as a checkout chick in Woolies. I was on the way and it was late in the day, but took the time to say hello.

Camped tonight at a roadside rest area called Limestone Creek. One thing I have noticed about the rest areas in the NT, they are very well maintained. They often have toilets and water tanks and the contractors even drop off a load of chopped firewood when they come in to empty the bins. However, as a result they are very popular with travellers and if you don’t get in early, you don’t get in. In general the rest areas are a lot smaller in area than some of the WA ones, but there are still 40 or 50 vehicles a night try to cram in. At one area, the vehicles were packed so tight that people couldn’t put their awnings up. I have got into the habit of taking off fairly early in the mornings and only travelling 150 – 200 kms, so that I get to the next area by midday or so which gives a chance of getting a nice site.

I Apologise

I'm sorry that I have been so slack in keeping this blog updated. I have been out of communication range for much of the time, but that's not a real excuse for going 104 days without posting. To tell the truth, I have been enjoying myself so much doing absolutely nothing that it has been simply too much bother to keep updated. Seeing I've just had a birthday, I have made a resolution: I promise to keep the blog updated every week - even when I'm out of range, I will ghost write the weekly page for later updating. Incidentally, I think the way I am setting out the entries may be a bit confusing, jumping forward and then going upwards, so I am going to change the style so that each entry goes in reverse e.g. October 14th October 13th October 12th etc. I think it will make the blog easier to read, after all, that's how the archive stores the posts anyway. I will bring my travels up-to-date over the next week or so and try to get every thing in order.