Parry Creek Farm Stay

We left the Lotus in Kunnanurra & headed for The Gibb River Rd ready to rough it for a few nights. First night in the tent was at Parry Creek south of Wyndham.

Now have I mentioned the insects? For 1 hour after sunset we had pin head size insects that I have never seen before landing everywhere, inside my bra in the food.. you name it! When the little buggers decided it was bedtime we enjoyed the balmy evening in our little camp spot.

The wetlands around here are world famous & bird watchers from all over come to do photograph & bird watch. You can tell a bird "twitcher", they wear fawn or khaki shirts & pants, floppy hats, carry binoculars & have a a camera with lenses that nearly need a trolley to get around.

The scenery around here varies from scrub, grasslands & wetlands. The escarpments in the distance are a glimpse of what is to come as we head further west into the East Kimberlies

The scenery around here varies from scrub, grasslands & wetlands. The escarpments in the distance are a glimpse of what is to come as we head further west into the East Kimberlies

 

 

A boab tree silhouetted against the sky with controlled burn off fires in the distance. In the dry season NT & WA burn the bush land with " cool" fires to avoid "hot" uncontrolled fires decimating the country.

 

Needless to say we didn't go for a swim!

 

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Kakadu to Kununnurra

Stopping in Katherine to top up the credit on the Ipad SIM card we were happy to find delightful girls in the Telstra shop willing, happy & helpful. Not a bit of "attitude" between them unlike Telstra at home.

A quarantine stop on the WA border where the fridge was depleted of any fruit & veg by an officious customs officer. Honey & sugar cane are also confiscated.

This is our overnight stop at a free camp on the Victoria H'way. Parked beside us was "Mum n Mia" , a bus we had seen in Mareeba Rodeo Campground last year "Mia (Me a) is now travelling solo, I think "Mum" no longer around. As vast as this country is there are travellers covering thousands of kilometres each year.

A quarantine stop on the WA border where the fridge was depleted of any fruit & veg by an officious customs officer. Honey & sugar cane are also confiscated.

After passing through flat grasslands the landscape ahead was broken by red cliffs climbing out of the ground.similar to Kakadu but somehow different.

This is part of the Gregory National Park.

We are now entering country the famous Durack family pioneered becoming cattle farmers over thousands of acres. We passed by stations bearing famous names, such as Kidman Station & Gregory Downs. Some of the homesteads still stand but others have been ruined by time & cyclones. Paddy Durack reserved the 2500000 acres(1011714 hectares) on the the unmapped Ord River in 1880. He then drove cattle from his Qld property to WA commencing in 1883 with 7500 head & arriving in 1885 with less than half the count. The pioneering holdings of this family came to an end in 1980 after enduring cyclones, drought & low cattle prices.

The bottle trees (Boabs) are becoming larger & more numerous with the shapes varying from tree to tree. Beware ... There will be more photos to come, I love these trees , they are fascinating sculptures of the outback!

Arriving at Kimberleyland caravan park we were lucky to score a site by Lilly Lagoon. Not a bad spot for happy hour?

A bit of excitement the first night with one of the workman nearly rolling his ute into the lagoon while reversing off the boat ramp. He jumped out pretty quick & all ended well with a tow out by the tractor.

 

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Nourlangi & Yellow Waters in Kakau

Lots more cave paintings in this part of Kakadu, in fact some of the best art work is found in this section of the park. There are over 5000 art sites in the park.

" In Dreamtime painting, use special paint, ochre, blood. Come back with that feeling. Ceremony painting is not for everyone to see. Top business you cant see it. Go through your body & give you knowlege. Dreaming. You might dream. Good one". Bill Neidje Bunidj Clan

The walk around the rocks which were used as shelters by the aborigines was beautiful. Lots of over hangs towering above you as you walk through ... sandstone & conglomerate rocks in all colours. The conglomerates were mixes of fist size quartz in some instances.

Another beautiful walk in this section is Nawurlandja Lookout. A 600mt walk up a moderately sloped rock face brings you to the top of the rock providing panoramic views across the wetlands to the escarpment.

Everywhere you look there are amazing rock formations in varying colours. Loved this big flat rock where we had morning tea.

Reluctantly leaving the excellent facilities at Jabiru campground behind we moved to Cooinda in the Yellow Water Wetlands. We booked a sunset cruise at the Warradjan Cultural Centre & the abundant bird life, resident crocs & stunning reflections on the water made for an interesting trip.

Our guide, Lionel, who grew up in the area had a wealth of knowledge on the plant life & the change of seasons. He had a great passion for the land & the pattern of life as the Kakadu landscapes undergo changes with the coming of new seasons. The knowledge of the sign posts when each season moves to the next of the six seasons is fundamental in the life of the Bininji/Mungguy people, as the type & location of food supply changes.

 

Now the insects, have I mentioned them? At the instant of sunset the mosquitoes commenced their kamikaze flights & once again "lights out" was the best option as the insects found their way inside the van.I swear they come through the screens as minute bugs & immediately multiply by the thousands.

Despite the insects the visit to this part of Australia has so much to offer from the panoramic landscapes to the understanding of the life of the indigenous people as they roamed & lived off the land. I think for me the affinity the aborigines have with the changes in the plants & weather patterns & the importance these sometimes subtle changes have on their daily life has been something that I now know was more complex than I realised.

 

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Mitchell Falls

Up early with the sun & the usual "crow call" alarm clock ready to make the trek in to Mitchell Falls. Not sure what we were in for after the walks in to Emma & El Questro however the walk was relatively easier if not as scenic. Still, there were some nice spots & a few wild flowers in bloom.

 

 

 

Arriving at the river above the falls we walked across in knee deep water over some uneven rocks.. Luckily I stayed upright &, not mentioning any names, but not all of us were fortunate to stay dry.

This photo is a group from the cruise ship " True North" who had helicoptered in from Kalumburu. The ship goes from Wyndham to Broome as well as other cruises throughout the year to Spice Islands, New Guinea, Southern Ocean amongst other destinations.

 

The falls were pretty spectacular but as always photos don't do it justice. In wet season it becomes one major fall with so much water cascading through, the tiers of the falls are buried underneath the massive volume of water.

 

Nothing is truly remote any more & while we had no Internet or phone connection we did have the opportunity to get helicoptered back to the campsite by the ferry service run by Slingair. Every 15 minutes they have a chopper bringing tourists in & out.

We sat in the back, well strapped in as there were no doors. It was a bit of a weird experience looking out in to mid air as the chopper circled & you were on a lean towards the ground with only space between you & the ground.

A six minute flight & we were back in camp. Much preferable to a two hour walk in the heat!

Just a couple of more photos from our vantage point.

I am sitting here writing this the following day after our walk. We packed up ready to move on, thinking our only worry was the trip out with no spare, no such luck we are now trying to organise RACQ to collect the car after it failed to start this morning. Tony has spoken to little chicky babe on the 13 11 11 using the Rangers satellite phone to be told to "Fill in the forms & put in the post......." *^{¥####¥

Hopefully over the next day or two before the food & water runs out we will have a truck from Kununnurra here to salvage us from the failed operation.

This will be another story!!

 

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