Thursday 30 June 2016

Half-lap Day 59: Kununurra

Caitlin and I were up early as we needed to be at the horse place by 7am. The others were up when we left and happily waved us off. Caitlin was extremely excited (and pleased that her jodhpurs still fit her – she’s grown so much since we left home that there was a chance they’d be way too small). We drove out to the Yeehaa ranch, and the owner met us at the gate. He was very friendly and welcoming, and I felt quite comfortable letting Caitlin go on a trail ride with him. He introduced us to his 2 workers, young men who’d been through the training program he runs, helping boys get an agricultural certificate. It felt like a fantastic place.

Caitlin rode an appaloosa called Dollar. They ride Western style here, which she hadn’t done before, but she adapted quite easily. The boys took her out on the trail, and I chatted to the owner then sat under a huge boab tree and read my book until she came back. She loved the ride, they trotted a lot, and rode to the river and along the base of a big rock called Elephant Rock (although she didn’t see the elephant side). When they got back they had a bit of time left and tried to get the horses to canter in the arena – her horse was more interested in coming over to look at me instead… She dismounted and while the boys put the horses in the stalls we chatted to them about the training program and riding and rodeos etc. It was a really lovely morning and Caitlin had a great time.

On the way back we called in at Coles to get a few more supplies, and then to the op shop to get a jumpsuit Caitlin had seen the day before. Back to camp where we had a bit more breakfast and then Tony and the kids went for a swim, while I got ready for our day out. After they came back we had a bit of lunch and then headed out of town.

Our first stop was the Zebra Rock Gallery – with zebras being one of Millie’s favourite animals it was too cool to pass up. The zebra rock is only found in this area of the world, each rock has unique markings, stripes or blotches, and look so incredible. When we got there we met 2 dogs in the yard, and the owner introduced us to them. We wandered through the gallery and looked at all the different types of rocks, some shaped like animals, some just pieces of rocks. We made our gold coin donations and took a piece of bread each down to the jetty where we were able to feed the fish – catfish again, so many that they formed a kind of carpet on the top of the water. As we walked down to the water one of the dogs (a kelpie like dog) came with us, and headed straight into the water, he kept swimming through the group of fish and scattering them everywhere, it was hilarious. There were archer fish there and if we waited long enough without throwing any bread in, the catfish would move away a bit and the archer fish would come in and shoot their streams of water at us – we all got squirted and then happily gave them our bread. The girls used their bread up fairly quickly, LiAM was very frugal with it and spent a lot of time patiently waiting for the archer fish to come in, he really enjoyed it. There was a great view along the river of Elephant Rock – it really did look like an elephant.

Back up on the lawn near the gallery, LiAM and I played totem tennis. Caitlin bought a mango smoothie (it was $8!!) and we all shared it (the gallery is on a mango farm). Millie browsed the rocks trying to decide which one to buy. One of the dogs came and sat between Caitlin’s legs, he really seemed to love her. Millie eventually decided, and the owner gave each of the kids a small piece of zebra rock for free. We went out the back and talked to the corellas and cockatoos in cages there, and met a couple from Silvan (not far from our place). We played some more totem tennis, had a play in the playground, browsed the gallery again and eventually tore ourselves away – such a great place to hang out.

We drove from there up to Wyndham, past a lot more cool hills and escarpments. The land around the hills is very dry, lots of boab trees, kapok flowers and some gums, all quite spread out, with straggly grass in between. We drove across a huge flood plain – a very wide flat area that had a creek or two through the middle of it, that would flood completely in the wet. As we approached Wyndham we started to see large areas of mud flats – dry, flat, white areas leading to a bit of green foliage on the edge of the rivers. In the wet I suppose all those mud flats would be under water.

The buildings in Wyndham looked very old and fairly rundown. There was an old hospital that looked like it was falling apart, later we saw a newer hospital building. There were several rehabilitation centres and a sobering up hostel. Lots of the houses had bars on the windows, or were boarded up. We drove through town, reading a few of the historical signs, then continued on towards the wharf. There were some old trains on display, and lots of discarded machinery around. We could see a wide expanse of water to our left, which would be the gulf that leads up to the Timor Sea. We reached the wharf area and saw a large conveyor belt leading out to the ships, and some large ships anchored in the water. There were mud flats on either side of the road and it felt like no place we’d ever seen before. We drove back to the foreshore once the wharf road became unsealed (it felt pretty desolate out there, the least bustling port we’ve seen). There was a community jetty which we walked out on, and were amazed at the speed of the water flowing underneath. The tide must have been going out and the water was swirling past the jetty at a fairly alarming rate. Anything that got dropped in there would be out of reach very quickly. The water was slightly choppy and there was no clue as to how deep it was. There were mangroves along the edge of the river and we could see where the waterline had come down a little recently. The end of the jetty was a pontoon that could float on the water no matter what its level. There were a few people fishing out there, and we hung out for a while, watching the water and imagining what might be in there.

On the way back to the car the kids found a large dead fish, LiAM examined it quite closely. We drove back through town and up to the Five Rivers Lookout. The view was phenomenal. We could see the 5 rivers (Ord, Forrest, King, and two others) which empty into the gulf here, all winding through the flood plains between the escarpment and Wyndham. Each of the rivers was flanked by a large expanse of mud flats, especially the Ord. It was cool to think that yesterday we were swimming in the lake that feeds the Ord, and we’d fed fish in it early today. To the north there were more mountain ranges on either side of the gulf. There were a lot of people up at the lookout, and everyone was blown away by the view, which was made extra beautiful as the sun set. One guy I was talking to said it was the best thing he’d seen so far, in part because it was unique. Tony and I had said the same thing, that this place was like nothing we’d ever seen before.







We prowled up and down the walkway of the lookout, watching the sun set from different angles. Once the sun was down we got out our stove and boiled some water for cup-a-soup and cup-a-noodles. A couple of other families stayed up at the lookout and had dinner as well. The sky continued to get a darker orange before finally fading to black, it was gorgeous, and the rivers kept changing colours as well. We could see fires burning out on the flood plains of the Ord river, which became brighter as the night got darker. We had a lovely picnic dinner and eventually packed up and headed back down the hill.


We stopped once on the way home for a toilet stop and marveled at the stars – we were a long way from any sort of light source so the stars were extremely bright. We got back to the tent around 8pm and quickly got ready for bed, everyone was exhausted after 2 huge days. We read Inheritance for a while, and closed all the tent windows, it was quite cool (17 degrees), then went to sleep fairly quickly.

Half-lap Day 58: Kununurra

Our plan was to leave for our Lake Argyle Cruise at 6.30am – with the sun coming up around 6, that wasn’t a problem. We all had a quick breakfast, and packed swimmers and sunscreen and snacks, and drove out to the lake, about 70km from Kununurra. The road in from the highway wound between tall rocky hills with scrubby brush. As we got closer we caught a glimpse of the Ord River down in a valley, then spots of blue as we saw the lake.

We pulled up at the Resort/Caravan Park and they said to wait outside for the bus. We had a bit of a wander and looked out over the lake – so big and blue! – and at the infinity pool at the resort – the water flows over the edge so it feels like you are actually swimming right up to the mountains and the lake. The kids browsed the gift shop and Millie bought a curly straw with a crocodile on it.

The bus came (with people already on it from Kununurra – that would have cost extra) and took us down to the boat ramp. We had a view of the dam wall as we drove, then the bus went down a steep (13% grade) road to the boat, we all got out of the bus and onto the boat while the driver reversed back up part of the road, turned around, and reversed down again so the bus was ready to go when we got back.

After a quick safety talk and letting us know that there was a toilet, as well as tea, coffee, biscuits and water available at all times on the cruise, we set off and went around the first point to see some wallabies. They were quite small and extremely agile, leaping around on the rocks in huge bounds. The driver threw some food onto the rocks and a couple of them came down close to the boat – the kids were so excited and the wallabies were very cute.

From there we went around closer to the dam wall – a very impressive structure, made of a clay core and then rocks (no concrete). The dam was built in the late 1960s to give a permanent water supply to the farmers in the Ord Irrigation Area – the Ord River before that would dry up a lot in the dry season. Now it is at a constant level year round and provides enough water for everyone in the region. The lake is 21 times the volume of Sydney Harbour – really massive. The islands throught the lake are the tops of more of the hills like the ones we drove through coming in. Some are just little rocks sticking out of the water, some are still massive hills in their own right.

We went to the deepest part of the lake (42m at this point), seeing a freshwater crocodile on the shore along the way, and heard a bit about how they’d decided where to put the dam wall. Then we moved on to some of the islands, where we saw several crocodiles and the boat was able to get quite close to the shore where they were sunning themselves. A couple of times one of the crocodiles slid into the water – so silently and gracefully we wouldn’t have noticed it move if we hadn’t been looking at it. The boat moved around into a little bay where we are able to feed the fish – holding out bread above the water so that the archer fish could shoot it with their little jets of water (lots of fun and something I’d been so keen to do ever since I heard about it) and dropping bread into the water for the archer fish, catfish and black bream. At one point I was standing and taking a photo of a freshwater crocodile and the driver sneaked up behind me and grabbed my leg. I shrieked and fell onto the seat – everyone thought it was pretty funny.

We continued further into the lake, and soon came to places where we couldn’t see any land in a couple of directions. During the tour we covered a quarter of the lake’s distance and we didn’t ever see the ends even on the horizon – it is massive. We cruised past a male jabiru standing on his nest up on top of a little rocky island, and saw lots of pelicans, cormorants, kites and other birds. We saw a wallaroo on one of the islands, much bigger than any wallaby we’ve seen anywhere up in this northern part of Australia. Before the dam was flooded, people came up and removed as many of the animals from the hills as possible, with some of the bigger hills that would become big islands, they left the animals as their island would be big enough to sustain a population.

The lake was so massive we couldn't see the end of it
Cruising to a few more parts of dam we learnt more about the history of the area and the farms that were here before the dam. People made cups of tea as they felt like it, and the kids had several biscuits from the tin. LiAM also had a cup of tea. Millie got her fingers jammed in the toilet door – she had indents in both sides of her fingers and they swelled up quite quickly – luckily I had my first aid kit with me and a bit of arnica and strapping helped them to feel a bit better.

Caitlin had been worried about the idea of a swim as part of the cruise – on the shore of one of the islands would feel risky because of the crocodiles, but swimming out in the deep part of the lake would feel scary because of the unknown nature of all that water below us. This cruise stopped in a deep part – around 22m deep – for us to swim in an area safe from crocodiles –they don’t come out that deep. Tony was the first person in off the back of the boat. Caitlin was still unsure and I suggested she just jump in and climb straight back out. Once she’d done that she felt more comfortable and was able to go back in. They provided pool noodles so we could hang on to them and feel even safer, not having to worry about the depth of the water. About half the boatload went in for a swim (there were only 10-12 other people on the cruise). LiAM went in and loved it and I joined them – the water was beautiful temperature and it was amazing to be swimming in this large lake with all the rocky mountains around. Millie was unsure about whether she wanted to swim or not. She ended up sitting on the top step of the ladder and putting her feet in, and she was happy with that. LiAM was the last one out of the water when it was time to get back in the boat, he really loved the experience.

We heard a bit more history of the area then headed back to the boat ramp and back onto the bus, which took us to the resort again. We all loved the cruise and were happy that we’d chosen this one instead of paying more for the sunset one. The driver was funny and friendly and so knowledgeable about the area (and the owner of the cruise company).

Back at the resort we wandered around and looked at the views a bit more. We enquired about the day use fees – they were $25 for the family, which felt like a bit much to pay just to use the pool, as cool as it would have been. Millie was extremely disappointed when we decided not to swim there – I forgot that she hadn’t swum in the lake and so was really wanting a swim, and it was such an incredible location. I do wish that we’d just spent the money and let at least Millie use the pool.

Looking at the Infinity Pool and Lake Argyle
After we looked at the view and explored the grounds for a while – and saw a helicopter take off on a scenic flight, and dip excitingly down into the valley immediately after takeoff – we drove down and over the dam wall, which was pretty incredible. There was a picnic area alongside the Ord River on the far side of the wall, so we sat in the shade at a table there and had some lunch, then the kids and I went for a wander down to the river where some people were fishing. They soon left and we had the area to ourselves. There was a great view of the base of the dam wall and the outlet pipes, and along the river between the very tall cliffs. We watched the river and the fish in it for ages, then LiAM discovered lots of tiny little frogs jumping around on the edge of the water, which kept us fascinated for a while. Eventually the sun got too much for us and we headed back up to the car. On the way out we drove back down to the river’s edge so Tony could see the view and the frogs – LiAM caught one and as he was showing me it jumped into the car, it took us a little while to get it out.



We drove back into town and went to the op shop, catching it just before it closed. LiAM bought a water bomb set – with a bottle and spray nozzle to fill up the water bombs, and the girls and I found a t-shirt each. Tony checked at the post office but his wine still isn’t there. We went around to Target because LiAM wanted to get more of the cheap Skylanders – he and Millie bought some each, Tony found a t-shirt, I bought more swimmers for myself and LiAM as ours are starting to disintegrate, and we bought more of the cheap bags of lollies, great for in car snacks. We also went to the discount store next door and got some paints (Caitlin wants to do more dot painting), snorkels and masks to replace the 2 of ours that have been broken, and a box of cup-a-noodles at a third of the price we can get them, on special, at Coles.

After our very satisfying shopping trip we went back to the caravan park, and I asked if anyone wanted to head in to the National Park to see if we could get up to the top of the rocks and see the views. Millie wasn’t keen, and I’d been a little way in the day before, so Tony went with Caitlin and LiAM. Millie and I went for a swim, then went back to the tent to play some games. The others were gone until after dark, then went straight to the pool to cool off. They had made it up to the lookout and seen a cool view across Kununurra – the path to the lookout was a long walk through the National Park from our tent, so it had taken them quite a while and they were pretty tired.

 Back at the tent the kids played on the computer for a while. We had pasta, bacon and pesto for dinner, and Caitlin was very keen to get to bed quickly as she was getting up early for a horse ride in the morning. We went to bed and started to read Inheritance, until Caitlin fell asleep in her tent.

Half-lap Day 57: Kununurra

It was a windy night which can make it quite tricky to sleep well, especially with the windows open. The nights are warm here – not hot and sticky like in Darwin, but warm enough to easily manage with the windows open and maybe using a blanket in the last few hours before dawn.

I was up early and spent more time in the camp kitchen on the the computer, catching up on blogging, email, bills and sorting out some stuff with Telstra (always a fun job, and even more so when I’m on holidays!!! I did get a credit on my bill for their mistake which was cool, but they haven’t yet figured out how to fix their mistake….)

The others had a quiet morning at the tent, playing games and having breakfast, and wandering over for a swim when they got hot. Tony had put up one side wall of the annex so we now had shade along the edge of the tent for most of the morning.

Tony went in to town to see if his wine has arrived at the post office (it hadn’t – he arranged for his work to send a case up and we’re hoping it arrives before we leave) and to vote in this Saturday’s election – we don’t know where we will be on Saturday, so decided it was easier to do an early vote while we had access to a polling station. We had some lunch then Caitlin, Millie and I went back over to the pool – it was so lovely in the water on a hot afternoon. We were about to have a race when another girl and boy got in the water and asked if Caitlin wanted to play. They decided to join in our race, and then we all played tiggy (chasies). Millie can’t stand up in much of this pool so she got on my back and we were a team. Chasing the kids in the deep end, with Millie sitting on my back – extremely hard work, I was exhausted and needed to take lots of breaks which the kids thought was pretty funny. LiAM joined us after a while, and then we formed teams (boys, girls, and Millie and me) and kept playing until I really needed to get out and rest. It was fun.

Tony came over to the pool so I left everyone there and I went into town, to vote, and have a browse around the shops. I really do like wandering around the towns we are in and getting a feel for them, rather than just being a tourist. Target had shelves and racks of items on clearance, and I was able to get some new swimmers and clothes for some of us, and some more Skylanders, all for around $2 each. I walked around to Coles and browsed some of the souvenir shops on the way, grabbed a few groceries then went back to the tent. I’d enjoyed my browsing but felt pretty flat overall – a bit worried about where we’ll be able to stay when we reach Broome (it will be WA school holidays) and whether we’ll catch up with our friends who we want to see – too much thinking ahead can up my anxiety quite a bit.

When I got back the kids were playing with their new friends from the pool (who are on their second lap around Australia) and Tony was relaxing at the tent and thinking about dinner. I decided to go for a walk in the National Park, one of the paths to which was about 20m from our tent. I checked with the kids (they’d talked about coming with me when I went) but they were happy staying with their friends, so I went for a quick wander around the big, red rocks that we’ve been looking at for the past few days. The track I took was little used and the spinifex was sticking out over the path in a lot of places – I didn’t have long pants on so my legs got quite scratched and irritated. I found a larger path and explored it a bit, then another smaller one, which gradually led up between two of the large mounds of rock. I climbed for a way but the light was fading, and the path was getting rockier and narrower. I saw something slither or scuttle under a rock – I only saw the tail so not sure if it was lizard or snake… I got a few cool photos of the view of the rocks and felt like I’d gone far enough in this light, so headed back to camp, feeling a little more relaxed.



I rang my sister and had a good chat to her and felt much better again. We had a delicious dinner of steak, mushrooms, cream and potato. The kids played with their friends a little more after tea, while Tony and I looked at more of the things we can do while in Kununurra or en route to Broome, then we headed to bed and read Brisingr – and reached the end! We’ve been reading this book since early this year and it’s been wonderful, and very exciting to finish. On to book 4 tomorrow night!

Monday 27 June 2016

Half-lap Day 56: Kununurra

Millie and I woke early when it was still dark and went over to the toilets. It was 4.50am, which to our body clocks was 6.20, so I didn’t bother trying to get back to sleep. Millie went back in the tent and played on the iPad, I had a cuppa and caught up on the blog.

The campground got busy as the sun rose and it was soon a warm, sunny morning. Tony cooked pancakes for breakfast and we ate them in the shade of the trees next to our tent. I had a shower – the best shower I’ve had for weeks, and the first since we left Darwin, so it was great to get all that dirt off my skin and out of my hair. Caitlin and Tony headed over to the pool for a swim, and the other kids joined them once they’d finished playing their game. I spent most of the morning sorting out washing and trying to get the red dirt, and paint spills, out of our clothes – it was also great to have the time to really give everything a good scrub. Once I’d finished the washing I had a quick swim as well, and we went back to the tent to have sandwiches for lunch and get ready to go out.

Without a 4WD we aren’t going to be able to do much of the Kimberleys or the Gibb River Road, which is slightly disappointing (although there is so much else to see, it doesn’t really matter). We had heard that the Gibb River Rd is sealed as far as Emma Gorge, so we decided to go out and check that out. We usually do our walks in the morning, but as the sunrise and sunset are so early at the moment, and the walk was an hour each way (with a swim in the middle) we figured it was better to walk in during the heat of the afternoon, have a swim, and walk out in the cool of the late afternoon. Working backwards from sunset we figured we needed to leave around 1pm – by the time we got going and got petrol and headed out of town it was probably closer to 1.30.

Driving out of town we crossed a bridge that we soon realised was a dam wall – the water was much higher on the left hand side than the right, and the edge of the bridge was lined with the operating machinery for the gates to control the water. It was pretty impressive looking.

The drive out to Emma Gorge was interesting, lots of hills and escarpments, very sparse vegetation. It was exciting to turn on to the Gibb River Rd, even though this is not the really exciting part of it. The road in to Emma Gorge was 2km of dirt, and quite manageable in our car. There was a creek crossing right near the end – as we approached it we saw a small car coming the other way and figured if he had got in we’d have no trouble, and it was fine, the water was shallow and the bottom firm. We packed our bag with everything we’d need for our walk, got our shoes on etc, bought a permit to enter the gorge, and set off at about 2.45. They don’t let people start the walk after 3pm because it gets too dark to get out safely, so we were just in time.

The walk started off along a rocky track next to the creek, then had an easy section of flat dirt track, then for most of the rest of the gorge it made its way over rocks. At first they were small and just like steps, with stepping stones over the creek a couple of times. As we went further in to the gorge the rocks became bigger, and there were a few sections where we had to use our hands as well as feet to clamber over the rocks. Tony went ahead with LiAM and Caitlin, and Millie and I made our way at her pace. The sun dropped over the western edge of the gorge not long into our walk, so we mainly walked in shade which made it much easier. The eastern gorge wall was still in sunlight and looked pretty amazing, very red and tall. Millie was tired and usually has a lot of rests when she walks, but because of the time of day we needed to keep walking. She did really well, and had bursts of energy from time to time and kept plodding along. She’s really good on the big rocks and can easily find the best way to move through them, so I followed her for a lot of the time. We walked near the creek for most of the time and there were some lovely little waterfalls and ponds, and great views of the gorge walls, interesting trees and plants, which got greener and more rainforesty the further we walked, and a fascinating walk all the way in.

We finally reached the end of the gorge where the others were already swimming. The gorge became very narrow at the end, and there was a pool maybe 20m in diameter, with the gorge walls sheer on one side and at the narrower end, and overhanging the water on the other side. The overhanging wall was covered with moss and ferns and water was dripping down from the rocks into the water. On the sheer side and at the very end of the gorge there was water falling in a straight stream from the top of the gorge – not a large waterfall, but a constant stream of water. It was so beautiful and lush looking, definitely worth the walk in to see it.

Millie and I got ready and went in the water – it was too cold for her so Tony got out and sat near the edge with her so I could have a swim. I wanted to go over to where the water was falling in from the rocks – Caitlin wanted to come with me but was nervous about the deep water and wanted to go to a bit near the edge that was still shallow, but that was way in the dark part of the overhang and I was nervous about going in there. We compromised and stayed in the shallow part until we could swim straight out to where the water was falling. LiAM came with us too and the 3 of us swam under the large falling droplets and were surprised at how warm the water was in that part of the pool. Lying on our backs looking up at the rocks and ferns and moss, and water drops, was incredible, like nothing else we’ve done so far. From there we swam to a large rock in the middle of the pool and sat on that for a while, looking at the fish swimming around it. There had been some boys climbing up near the waterfall on the side and jumping in – LiAM wanted to try it but I wasn’t sure how safe it was. He and I swam over there and I said he could try to climb to the first ledge (only 20cm or so out of the water). The rocks were wet and sheer and slippery and he wasn’t able to reach up to get a good enough handhold to climb, so he was happy just swimming under the waterfall. We swam back and under the water at the back of the pool then the 3 of us went back to the shore.

We had a snack and got ready to walk out. We were the 3rd last group to leave, and one of the other groups passed us not long into the return walk. I stopped to take more photos on the way out as I had more idea of how much time we had available. Tony and LiAM went ahead, and the girls and I walked at Millie’s pace – again, she managed well on the big rocks, and I did too. Normally sloped rocks freak me out, and these were quite slippery, but I felt confident and walked fairly easily. My knees didn’t hurt either, even though there was a lot of stepping up and down off and on to rocks. I guess we’re all getting fitter and stronger the more walking and swimming we do.

We really enjoyed the walk out and it was still light all the way. As we left the end of the gorge the air temperature increased noticeably, it was amazing. It was dark by the time we got to the car but the walk had been done safely and with good vision (one couple we saw panicked a bit that we’d come out so late). We ate sandwiches and had a drink at the car, then drove back to Kununurra. We all loved our walk and our swim - LiAM and Millie had been reluctant but enjoyed what they saw and did, and for Caitlin it was her favourite place so far. Tony and I were thrilled that we'd been able to experience a little bit of what the Kimberleys are like, even if we can't do all of it.

Millie was asleep by the time we got back. We put her into bed, did the dishes and got ready for bed ourselves. Caitlin did some Episode writing/programming on the computer and LiAM played on the iPad until they were ready to go to bed, and everyone was asleep quite quickly.