9 to 13 June - Kununurra

9 June – a quick walk to see an aborigine ‘eagle catching’ shelter then we had to check we’d eaten all our fruit before passing through quarantine (had to give up some honey – not Anne!) then to WA & on to Kununurra where we set up camp & caught up on domestic chores. Barra Burger for dinner – very good.

Eagle trap

10 June – an early start, mainly due to the other early bird campers making a racket. First up was a walk to Kelly’s Knob - Kununurra lookout, then Zebra Rock Gallery (very old & unusual striped rocks made into art pieces, jewellery etc), fed some fish in the Kununurra Lake while slurping a mango smoothy, then visited a few tropical fruit farms to stock the larder. Next stop Ivanhoe Crossing (the old Ord River road crossing now closed to traffic but not fishermen on foot – seemingly with no fear of crocs?), next we visited the Hoochery Rum Distillery for some samples (the choc/coffee flavoured version was pretty good), next to the Sandalwood factory (perfume, shampoo, moisturisers etc) and finally a few walks in the Mirima National Park – another mini Bungle Bungles – quite spectacular.

Everywhere we go up here we meet hordes of grey nomads – mostly very nice but I wish I could meet more youngies like myself??? 

Cat fish at Zebra Rocks

Ivanhoe Crossing

Mirima National Park

Mirima National Park

11 June – off to Wyndham. First stop, Five Rivers Lookout which has a spectacular view of the Cambridge Gulf, the mud flats & the 5 rivers entering the Gulf. Wyndham is primarily a port with many road trains going to & from the Port. There are 16 (4 trailer) road trains worth $1mil each working for the local iron ore mine. They do about 4 trips each per day travelling to & from the mine (about 140kms). Wyndham also has a “Big Croc” in the main street, some strange Dreamtime Statues badly in need of repair & a giant Boab at the caravan park. Other than that, the town has not much to excite a tourist though we did buy a kilo of prawns for $20 direct from the trawler.

On the way back to Kununurra we stopped at “The Grotto” where we walked down 140 stone steps to a natural amphitheatre surrounded by cliffs with a deep pool at the base. Anne had a swim but I chickened out. Pretty groovy place though & would be more so in “the wet” when water cascades into the Grotto from several sides.

Five Rivers Lookout

12 June – Wow! What a great day. A bus ride to the Durack Homestead (moved here after the lake filled), followed by a dip in the “infinity pool with a view” at the resort (at least Anne did – too cold for me). Next was a catamaran ride on Lake Argyle (19 times the size of Sydney Harbour but the dam wall is quite short - check google if you want more of the million other stats). It was an amazing ride with spectacular scenery (again), we had a dip in the lake (me too as the water was 25 degrees) followed by a terrific spread for lunch including BBQ catfish from the lake & plenty of beer & wine. We then changed boats for a cruise down the Ord River. Truly awesome!

During the day we saw croc’s (many), rock wallaby’s, euro’s, sea eagle, a lonely jabiru (lost his mate a few years ago & still builds his nest in the same place every year & waits – very sad), osprey, jacana’s, darter’s, cormorant’s, pelicans etc etc. We passed through dry areas, tropical sections and rocky sections with high red cliffs. The tour finished with a beautiful sunset for Anne & an incredible fly past of millions of flying foxes - a truly remarkable sight.

Ord River

Ord River

Flying Foxes over Ord River

13 June – Off into the air today. Took an 8 seater plane along the Ord River route north from Kununurra to Wyndham & the Cambridge Gulf. We then followed the coast with a brief detour to the King George Falls – pretty speckie. We landed at Kalumburu (a small indigenous community) for lunch & checked their museum & art gallery before inspecting the wreckage of two WW11 aircraft bombed by the Japanese by mistake (they meant to bomb the then secret air force base at Truscott).

Then a fly over the spectacular Mitchell Falls, the Cockburn Ranges, Home Valley Station and El Questro Station before returning to Kununurra. Arrived back tired & stiff but very happy. Celebrated with a drink & meal at the Pumphouse restaurant.

King George Falls