But what wonderful little place in the bush, great BBQ beef and Barra every night, great food and their own brand of beer, well worth a visit. A couple of km off the main highway but so worth the detour.
The pub is packed with all kinds of memorabilia and the walls, roof and pretty much any other available space is crammed with donated stickers, hats, shirts, underwear, thongs etc etc.
At the servo there is a collection of vintage cars you can view for a gold coin donation.
What a wonderful little place, we only stopped for lunch but will be back to stay next time we are in NT.
No photos of this I am afraid. Hot springs and a great little campsite with entertainment and a good restaurant. Mataranka Homestead on the edge of Elsey National Park. Lovely place to chill for a few days
Kakadu National Park is an enormous, biodiverse nature reserve in Australia’s Northern Territory. With terrain encompassing wetlands, rivers and sandstone escarpments, it’s home to some 2,000 plant species and wildlife from saltwater crocodiles and flatback turtles to birds. Aboriginal rock paintings, dating to prehistoric times, can be viewed at sites such as Nourlangie, Nanguluwur and Ubirr.
As they did not get alot of rain this year Jim Jim falls was not flowing but there are others
Beautiful Waterfalls such as GunlomGreat Swiming holesReally Steep Climb to the top of this one but what a viewBit of a walk to Maguk fallsColin the Crock
Colin was baby freshie left over from the wet season and couple years ago freshy kept at the Mary River Roadhouse.
We only got to see the south part of Kakadu as we had limited time and lost of km of dirt road to get to the falls etc. Damn, we will just have to go back again soon.
We got to Katherine with the intention of going into Kakadu for the day but turned out to be about 200km away so had a few days exploring locally before we went into Kakadu
Edith Falls
Looks like a nice place for a swim, no salties around.
Edith falls
It was a great little swim and I sat for a while under the waterfall, before swimming back.
Cutta Cutta Caves Can you see the GOT Dragon?
Local legend has it that a giant bat inhabits the caves and every night at dusk he emerges to hunt and scatters the glittery rocks from the cave to make the stars in the sky, the at dawn collects them all again and retreats to the cave for the night.
Kununurra is a small town but is big on facilities with pubs, a country club, shopping center and caravan repair place along with most everything else you will need.
Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle is Western Australia’s largest and Australia’s second larges freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake flooded large parts of the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley on the Kimberley Plateau about 80 kilometres inland from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, close to the border with the Northern Territory.
The primary inflow is the Ord River, while the Bow River and many other smaller creeks also flow into the dam. The lake is a DIWA-listed wetland as it is the largest lake in northern Australia and an excellent example of a man-made lake. Additionally, Lake Argyle, along with Lake Kununurra, are recognised as a Ramsar protected wetlands.
Faith in a bunch of rocks
Tried to find a few waterfalls on the east side of the Gibb River R oad but most were dry so went to Lake Argyle instead.
Wedge Tailed Eagle in all its Splendour
A bit of wildlife hanging around at various campsites.
In the Bungle Bungle caravan park, we took a day to chill and do some odd jobs, washing etc. Good job we did as just after we lect the van to go get the washing off the line we experienced out first Willy-Willy. I know what you are thinking you dirty lot, shame on you! No it has nothing to do with The Sweet. It’s a special type of whirlwind which occurs in the outback, when a swirl of wind picks up wind or sand and spins it around tornado-like. This is very small scale and lasts from about 5 seconds to about 10 minutes.
We heard a chattering noise and turned around to look at the van just in time to see it get engulfed in a cloud of dust and gravel before it sandblasted us for good measure. Last time I help get the washing in I tell you, it was a sign.
Caravan was mostly unharmed
I think we got off lightly, I was talking to a bloke back in Jurian Bay who got a call from his son one morning to tell him that his house just north of Perth had been half-demolished by one, he had lost two bedrooms and his living room, the other bedroom, kitchen and barn were OK though. Did not seem to bother him though said he was insured and happy to live in his caravan in the barn provided he could salvage a fridge for his beer. That’s the Aussie spirit for you as long as you have beer its all good. Man after my own heart.
Giant Boab on the way to the Bungle Bungles. Probably 1200 years old or somewhere close.
The world heritage listed Bungle Bungle Range is located within Purnululu National Park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Purnululu, meaning ‘sandstone’, has long been inhabited by local Aboriginal people, but did not become widely known to the rest of the world until the mid 1980s.
We seem to remember Helen Daniels going on a painting expedition there when Jason and Kylie were the stars of Neighbours.
The road from the highway is about 54km and is the worst part of the trip, the roads inside the park are pretty good by comparison.
Entrance to Cathedral Gorge
Cathedral Gorge is a in the north of the park and is pretty spectacular, photos can’t really get it all in the walls are too high.
Bloody tourists spoiling the shot. I must be more careful this timeLuke I am your FatherThe famous Domes
The Bungle Bungle Range, Purnululu has been listed as an outstanding landscape that is an incomparable natural phenomenon. It reveals the story of its formation over hundreds of millions of years, and helps unlock the story of the earth’s history. Twenty million years of weathering have produced the eroded sandstone towers and banded beehive structures of the Bungle Bungle Range. Dark bands, formed by cyanobacteria, winding horizontally around the domes, contrast with the lighter orange sandstone. Cyanobacteria are single-celled organisms that represent some of the oldest life-forms on earth. These organisms have been found as fossils in rocks elsewhere in Western Australia in rocks that are believed to be up to 3500 million years old.
The cyanobacterial bands are up to several metres wide, yet only a few millimetres thick. The crusts help stabilise and protect the ancient and fragile sandstone towers. The dramatically sculptured structures undergo remarkable seasonal variation in appearance, including striking colour transition following rain
Geikie Gorge is situated at the junction of the Oscar and the Geikie Ranges. The Fitzroy River has carved a 30 metre deep gorge into the remains of the ancient limestone barrier reef that existed here in the Devonian period. You can go on a fantastic boat trip.
When the Fitzroy is in full flood during the wet season it covers the whole national park. Those floods rise over 16 meters up the gorge walls and the continuous rise and fall of the water has left the bottom of the walls bleached white, an unusual sight that makes Geikie Gorge very popular with photographers.
Aboriginal legend has it that the rock above are an old man who could not see well and wandered off and fell into the river, he remains there watching over travelers. You can make out his head, arm and knees.
One of the easiest gorges to see only 15mins from Fitzroy Crossing
Derby itself is a very sparse town with basic shops and services not much to do other than the Spinifex Hotel which was fine by me.
Gibb River Road
This was our first but not last encounter with the Gibb River Road , we drove from Derby to Winjanna Gorge and Tunnell Creek.
Entrance to Winjanna Gorge
Windjana Gorge National Park is one of the Kimberley’s most stunning gorges, with water-streaked walls that rise majestically to heights of 100 metres. The Lennard River runs through Windjana Gorge in wet weather, but forms pools surrounded by trees and shrubs during the dry season. The 3.5km long gorge cuts through Napier Range: part of the ancient Devonian limestone reef that can also be seen at Geikie Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Freshwater crocodiles bask in the pools, while fruit bats and corellas roost in the waterside trees.
Freshies sunbathing 360 Million years ago this rock wall was part of a huge coral reefWalking the bed of the Lennard River
Tunnel Creek flows through a water worn tunnel in the limestone of the Napier Range, part of the 350 million-year-old Devonian Reef system.
Entrance to Tunnell Creek
Jandamarra’s hideout
Western Australia’s oldest cave system, in Tunnel Creek National Park, is famous as a hideout used late last century by the Aboriginal leader Jandamarra. He was killed outside its entrance in 1897.
Roof Collapse
Tunnel through the reef
You can walk through the tunnel to the other side of the Napier Range. The trek runs underground for 750 metres and you have to wade through several permanent pools and return the same way. At least five species of bats live in the cave, including ghost bats and fruit bats, and stalactites descend from the roof in many places. The roof has collapsed through to the top of the range near the centre of the tunnel. Take a torch, wear sneakers and be prepared to get wet and possibly cold.
Broome is a nice little town but not a great deal to see, Cable Beach is nice but was crowded and we went at high tide so no Camels. Phil’s highlight cam with a trip to Matsos brewery where he tried Mango beer, ginger beer, Pearlers pale ale Angry Ranga and a dark lager, all very nice but Pearlers Pale got the follow up pints.
Cable BeachRemember Folks Never Smile at a Crocodile
James Price Point is a bit of a drive on the old Red Dirt Road but worth it beautiful beach surrounded by cliffs and nearly deserted.
James Price PointKeen fisherman to tow their vans 75K on Dirt and stay here, not even a toilet though
I feel that we maybe missed out on Broome a bit, but found it very commercial with lots of souvenir shops and little else to see.
