We crossed into WA and had now reached our primary destination… the Kimberley!
Kununarra is the first town you reach crossing the border from the NT into WA and it was our base for a few days enabling us to explore around this lovely water rich town and beyond.
Kununarra is home to Lake Argyle and related waterways supporting massive agricultural production and tourism. More on Lake Argyle later but we like this town.
The Kimberley is renowned for its remoteness and scenery and with WA having lifted all of its severe covid entry restrictions, the Kimberley was very very popular this year and had forced us to book many activities and camping areas up to 12 months earlier.
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| The area covered in this post is highlighted in yellow |
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| The specific locations 'In the Kimberley' we describe in this post are shown above |
We had a great location in a caravan park overlooking Lake Kununarra with everything we need nearby including easy access to Ivanhoe Crossing causeway famous for crocodiles and being able to drive across depending on water height.
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| Tour boat departing after dropping off guest directly in front of where we were camping in Kununurra |
We both drove back and forth across the causeway, including with the drone following and enjoyed the sunset over the constant flowing water. There were new crocodile warnings here after one had taken a dog off the crossing a few weeks earlier. The causeway is also popular for fisherman trying to catch a barramundi.
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| Enjoying sunset at Ivanhoe Crossing |
Near Kununarra we visited a rum distillery for a tasting and a sandalwood plantation, learning how they are both protecting and mass producing this famous aromatic timber, using it to produce very popular products.
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| This kingfisher was a regular visitor near our camp at KununurraMitche |
One of our pre-planned bookings was to take a flight in a small aircraft across the very remote Mitchell Plateau doing a flyby of the famous Mitchell Falls, a very popular destination for tourists. In 1990, we had driven ourselves towards the falls, leaving our van at Drysdale cattle station before venturing on and not seeing another car or person for 3 days. We never did quite reach the falls, hence this trip.
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| View of Kununurra after take off |
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| Mitchell Falls from above |
The flight over the countryside was impressive along with numerous large bushfires burning out of control in very rough, inaccessible country. When we reached the falls we did multiple circles over the top of them in both directions so all four of us got good views, before landing on a very rough and rocky Mitchell Plateau Airport dirt runway.
Our pilot on multiple occasions had told us that we would be flying to and over Mitchell Falls BUT afterwards “was when the real fun starts” and to put all this into context, below is a picture of our actual flight path to Mitchell Falls and beyond.
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| Actually flight path over the Mitchell Plateau |
He was correct and after a cautious take off from Mitchell Falls avoiding the large rocks on the runway, we headed further north over extremely remote country you would not want to get lost in.
The flight was spectacular, especially when we reached and did another multi circular fly over King Edward Falls with 2 large boats anchored below them and another boat heading towards them from the sea via the narrow river/gorge sliced into the rocky countryside.
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| One of 2 large boats anchored at the base of King Edwards Falls - see video for more |
After our circles we flew to the ocean and dropped down to just 175 metres above the coast to follow it, swerving from side to side looking for basking crocodiles on the sand or turtles in the very clear water. The scenery including coastline and islands was simply stunning and it continued all the way back to Kununarra. It was a great trip.
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| An island plateau |
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| Flood plains and sand flats near the Kimberley coast |
CLICK HERE to watch video of Kimberley flight
Everything is big in the Kimberley, including Lake Argyle, part of the original Ord River irrigation scheme designed to use huge wet season rainfalls for agricultural purposes.
Lake Argyle normally has a surface area of about 1,000 square kilometres – around 18 times the size of Sydney harbour (and it can hold 10.7 billion cubic metres of water!) but with a big wet season and full floods, the surface area doubles to over 2,000 square kilometres.
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| Short eared rock wallaby at Lake Argyle |
They run tours on the lake and we elected to do a sunset boat tour for a few hours exploring various parts of the coast and islands. We enjoyed watching short eared rock wallabies, a large freshwater crocodile who came for a close look at us and then schools of archer fish who squirted water into our faces… very amusing.
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| The colours in the Kimberley are beautiful |
For 2 hrs we scooted back and forth at high speed across the lake through gaps between islands, learning much about the lakes size and history, thinking we had travelled a long distance but in reality, we hadn’t!
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| 2 hours zipping across Lake Argyle but we didn't cover much of it... it is HUGE |
To watch the sunset our boat skipper stopped the boat seemingly in the middle of the lake, land a long way from us in all directions and announced it was time for a swim.
Over the side we all went into surprisingly warm water, many of us clutching foam ‘noodles’ so we could float more easily. The skipper then started yelling, “who wants a beer” and if you put your hand up, he nonchalantly threw a can towards you.
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| Islands and scenery during tour on Lake Argyle |
My can of beer landed in the water close to me and disappeared below the surface into the dark water… waiting… waiting… before it popped back to the surface. It was very different floating around in a large lake enjoying a cold beer. Other people had bubbly in plastic cups and shortly thereafter dips and biscuits were also floated out to us on esky lids.
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| Enjoying a sunset swim and a beer |
CLICK HERE to watch video of Lake Argyle tour
From Kununarra we drove north to stay for 2 nights in Wyndham, enjoying views from the Five Rivers lookout above this slowly dying town of 700 people, formerly famous for huge crocodiles feeding off the offal flowing from a large abattoir which is now closed.
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| Views at sunset from Five Rivers Lookout looking down on Wyndham |
We were also in Wyndham due to its proximity to the Gibb River Road and Elquestro, both popular for the more adventurous. The Gibb River Rd is a mecca for 4WD enthusiasts wanting to test themselves on a usually rough, corrugated dirt road with a reputation for being very hard on cars, vans/trailers and drivers.
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| Not all vehicles survive their drive in the Kimberley, this one has a broken chassis and was trucked out |
The Gibb from the Wyndham end is sealed to the entry into Elquestro and then dirt, first to Zebedee Springs, our first stop for yet another soak in warm water but now amongst palm trees... click on video link below
It was very pleasant apart from some underwater leeches who took a liking to me!
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| You can camp next to the creeks at El Questro, just be croc aware |
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| There is some beautiful scenery at El Questro |
After crossing a few rivers we climbed our way to a few of the lookouts in Elquestro searching for a view over the Pentacost River. The best lookout however was closed for a private function so thanks to the drone, we were able to capture the view we were hoping for.
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| Quite a view from one of the lookouts we reached |
Same theme as everywhere, El Questro was exceedingly busy with very few campsites available and people going all over the place. Must admit to being a little disappointed with it all, again for us having become very commercial and large.
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| Bar area at El Questro |
CLICK HERE to watch video of El Questro
After about 3 hours of driving from Wyndam, we arrived at a caravan park just outside a world heritage area now known as Purnululu, but previously known as the Bungle Bungles, where we would stay for 2 nights. Next morning we did a 70km drive taking 2 hours into this magnificent part of the world, and yes the road in was rough with multiple creek crossings.
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| Taken during our drive into Purnululu towards its famous 'bee hives' |
There are a few popular walks to do in amongst the famous ‘bee hives’ of Purnululu, the first being Cathedral Gorge an amazing place to simply sit and admire the massive circular semi domed natural structure encasing everyone in their embrace.
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| Yes... Cathedral Gorge is big |
At the other end of the park is Echidna Chasm a long narrow but very high gorge which gets even narrower the further into it we scrambled.
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| Emerging from our Echidna Chasm hike - see video link for more |
That night back in the caravan park it rained very heavily resulting in Purnululu being closed to visitors driving in next morning because all the creek crossings were in flood.
We had a helicopter flight booked for 8:30am for the first flight over Purnululu and whilst our pilot was keen to go, we had to wait a few hours till the low clouds had lifted and then we were off, the rains causing the dark tones in the massif to get even darker.
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| The actual flight path our helicopter took over Purnululu |
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| Waiting... waiting... waiting |
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| Flying towards the massif as the rain clouds recede and lift |
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| Due to heavy rain the previous day, we were very lucky to see a waterfall in Purnululu |
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| Everywhere you look there are amazing shapes and colours to enjoy |
It was spectacular!
CLICK HERE to watch video of travelling in & over Purnululu
Having left Purnululu and after another overnight free camp, we were due to visit Tunnel Creek & Windjana Gorge Nat. Parks, but all roads were closed, again due to those recent rains and flooding, so after a quick search using Wikicamps, we found a free camp called Lake Ellendale, located on a cattle station.
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| Lots of budgies enjoyed the water of the lake |
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| Campfire overlooking Lake Ellendale |
We stayed 2 nights, surrounded at times by cattle, one especially we called ‘Daisy’, who loved sticking her head inside any van if doors were left open. It was hot, so the lake provided some quick relief if you were prepared to trudge through its muddy bottom to reach deeper water.
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| Daisy saying hello |
Derby is a well looked after town with 2 main caravan parks. We stayed in the smaller indigenous owned park and were soon confronted with the underbelly of an issue common throughout the Kimberley.
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| 3 Tawny Frogmouths asleep in Derby caravan park |
“Lock everything away at night and lock your car and van” we were advised by the manager of the park. Very young indigenous teens roam the night looking for things to steal, especially cars and share photos on social media between themselves where points are earned for what they do, highest points being earned if they ram a police car.
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| Derby's prison boab tree is believed to be 1,500 yrs old and was used to house prisoners during long trips |
Whilst fishing with some indigenous men, they expressed their total frustration concerning uncontrolled youth and also advised us to sleep with our car keys, cars being a favourite target for these 12-14 year old kids.
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| Did manage to catch a mud crab in Derby |
Our tour was cancelled, an immediate refund provided and despite the disappointment, we felt very sorry for all those people injured and unable to continue their travels whilst we still could.
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| Coastline near Broome |
Broome has changed significantly and is now a good size city of over 11,500 but it swells enormously during tourist season with many people arriving from Perth and staying for months.
The caravan park we selected at Cable Beach for our 5 day stay had over 400 sites, lots of washing machines and a huge but very cool swimming pool we used frequently in the heat. We had booked this 10 months previously and were glad we had because it was chockers (full).
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| Tourists come to Broome for scenery like this |
The location was excellent because we could easily reach the famous Cable Beach to drive its stunning white sand length, swim without worrying about crocs, watch beautiful sunsets and yep, observe those beach camel tours.
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| Sunset camel tours along the beach are very popular |
Broome has a large numbers of cafes, pubs, restaurants and the equally famous open air picture theatre where we watched the latest Top Gun movie with actual domestic flights coming into land over the top of us into Broome Airport.
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| Enjoying the white sand and blue waters of Cable Beach |
Outside Broome and further along the north on the coast and reached by dirt and sand tracks is a location called Coconut Wells we had heard of. You must visit during low tide in order to access the rock pools exposed amongst quite jagged rock formations.
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| Sitting in rock pool at Coconut Wells near Broome |
CLICK HERE to watch video of experiences around Broome
North of Broome lies the Dampier Peninsula, now more easily accessible due to the recently sealed all weather road to its tip. Before reaching the top, we decided to stay at Pender Bay for a few days after negotiating a muddy dirt road but being met by the beautiful red cliffs lining the coast.
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| Bit of mud on track on way into Pender Bay |
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| Red coastline of Pender Bay during sunrise |
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| Shower facilities at Pender Bay |
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| Moonrise across the beach during stay at Pender Bay |
Gloria & Pete had continued to the top of the peninsula, setting themselves up at an indigenous run camping area on the coast called Gumbanan where we joined them. The locals were fabulous and generous, spending time with us sharing stories about their culture.
Very early one morning we all made our way to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm where we joined others and boarded a boat waiting in the carpark. This boat had wheels and transported us first across mud into the water when the wheels retracted and we continued further to high speed boat we all transferred onto.
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| Boat used to take everyone to the high speed tour boat |
It was a wet, bumpy sprint across the ocean, weaving amongst small islands, in a race against tide times… why, we were racing to reach Waterfall Reef.
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| Actual route taken to view Waterfall Reef and islands |
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| Water cascading off the reef |
Before returning to shore we sped again amongst more islands as the huge tide continued falling, causing the ocean to churn and twist, including catching us briefly in a whirlpool when the boat stopped to allow us to experience this phenomena.
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| You can see how high the tide reaches on the rock |
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| The Milky Way and sunset from the campground at Gumbanan |
CLICK HERE to watch video of Dampier Peninsula experiences
There was one last destination all four of us stayed at located about 100 kms south of Broome called Barn Hill, located on a cattle station and a very popular place to stay, again overseeing a beautiful coastline and ocean. They even have a lawn bowls rink established here for tourists to enjoy.
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| Walk to beach from Barn Hill campgrounds |
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| Wonderful formations on the beach at Barn Hill |
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| Open air showers (and toilets) at Barn Hill |
Our time in the Kimberley with Gloria and Pete had now come to an end as we parted company, they returning north for their extended trip back home and us thankful for their very enjoyable and fun company during many interesting experiences.
CLICK HERE to watch video of 'In the Kimberley' experiences
CLICK HERE for more 'In the Kimberley' photos
We continued further south as we journeyed ‘From of the Kimberley’ but that is a story for the next post.
Till then… go well!
Well done. Looms fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAwesome trip to remember
ReplyDeleteFinished it. Just don’t test my knowledge.
ReplyDeleteCallan