18th June 2013

17^th June 2013

If You read my last written post 9^th June I was wondering how long we would be stranded in Halls Creek, as it turned out parts were sourced in Kununurra on the Monday and arrived in Halls Creek Tuesday getting us underway Wednesday, all history now. We drove to Fitzroy Crossing and settled into a large caravan park on the northern side of town. Fitzroy Crossing is serviced by a fair sized IGA store and I didn’t see much more than that, alarmingly the heavy steel gratings covering any and all openings plus the immensely strong steel framed security doors at the shop front are testament to the behaviour problems all too prevalent in a lot of these remote settlements, most of it fuelled by alcohol, you just don’t go out at night.

We got underway at a reasonable time the next day and before continuing south joined a short morning boat tour of the Geikie Gorge approximately 24kls west of the town, good value for money and a very enthusiastic and informative guide.

Travelling on south through an ever-changing landscape from flat savannah scrub to good cattle grazing country we turned off the Great Northern Highway and continued into Derby, it was Thursday 13^th June. Friday we had a quiet day, did a bit of grocery shopping and looked around town. One of the amazing things to see is the phenomenal rise and fall in the tide something like 11metres between low and high water, one tide per day. We were in luck, on Friday night there was fund raising mud crab racing , what a hoot and for $10 we got half a hot mud crab (must have cooked the losers), the biggest meat pattie I’ve ever seen, a lovely fresh hamburger bun and an assortment of some of the best salad I have had for yonks.

Saturday 15^th June we took one vehicle and drove 140kls up the Gibb River Road to Windjaner Gorge National Park and then onto Tunnel Creek. As far as gorges go we have seen more impressive ones but it was still interesting. This area was once a coral reef and walking under overhanging formations you can look up and see numerous fossilised shells imbedded in the rock, so in fact you are looking up at the sea-bed from below it, if you follow what I mean.

Another point of interest is the huge number of fresh water crocodiles sunning themselves on the river bank and sand bars looking like a scene out of an early African jungle movie (eg Tarzan). A lot of people think they won’t hurt you as they are fish eaters but when you see those teeth, I wouldn’t want to push my luck with them. Although I was photographing them from about 3m.

 

Another 30kls further on was Tunnel Creek, here the four us with our little LED headlights on entered a small crevice in a rock wall that opens up into a limestone cavern with a creek running through it and winds its way through the mountain for about half a kilometre. Pitch black and wading sometimes through water up to your crotch, it was all good fun, interesting and at times a bit spooky. In a couple of locations sunlight pours through where the tunnel is exposed to the outside world creating a rather attractive effect.

Sunday 16^th we were picked up by bus at 2:15pm and taken out to the local airstrip where we boarded a float plane (also has little wheels) and flew out across the beautiful Buccaneer Archipelago and circled the phenomenon known as the horizontal waterfalls, then we landed on the water and transferred to a series of moored pontoons forming a large accommodation platform, entertainment area, fish feeding platform and catwalks for the seaplanes to secure to.

We had time to be welcomed, drop our overnight gear into our rooms, have a very quick cold drink and don life jackets to climb on board a 600 horse-powered rubber ducky, all straddling a cushioned seat like a gymnasium horse and hanging on for dear life to a handle bar in front while some maniac hurtled us through the gaps in the rock formation that create the horizontal falls. Basically its like charging into a violent washing machine, just like some crazy showground ride no person in their right mind would go on and all the time the noise of the power house engines were drowned out by the screams, laughter and yahoos of those of us on-board, (the youngest being about 54), what a blast.

Time has caught up with me so I must close for now. We are actually in Broome and leaving in the morning, not sure where we are going and if we will have internet connection for a while but suffice to say eventually I will bring you up to-date and add more photos.