Saturday 24th September

Hi Everyone,

We have just got to lovely Broome and I am typing away looking at the beautiful view of Roebuck Bay...heaven!

Day 32 to 34  Kunanurra
Day 35 to 36  Bungle Bungles
Day 37 Mary River
Day 38 to 39  Windjana Gorge
Day 41  Broome

The drive across to Kunanurra was spectacular. Coming through Victoria River really gave me the WOW moment

We drove past Coolibah which I think is the property that Keeping up with the Jones' was filmed at.

As you couldn't take any fruit, seeds, vegetables into Western Australia, we were sitting like two Criminals at the rest area to the side of the Quarantine station having our last salad sandwich to use up the salad items we had left. It felt like we were trying to eat the evidence!

We ended up at Lake Kunanurra Caravan Park which has a magnificent view over the lake aand also its own resident crocodiles that come to the waters edge!

Next day we drove up to Wyndham which is about 100 ks away as it is the most northerly town in WA. Not much there, but it did have a good lookout that would be spectacular after the wet season as you can see where 5 rivers leave from the outlet

That evening we went on a Sunset Cruise on Lake Argyle, which is just huge and it is man made.  The scenery was magnificent as the ragged ranges changed colour as the sun went down.  At sunset, we had drinks and nibblies and you could go in for a swim.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

The next day was our day of luxury, this was our "bucket list" item for the trip, flying to the Bungle Bungles, then a helicopter ride, then flying to the Argyle Diamond Mine, a tour around the mine then flown back to Kunanurra.

We got picked up and taken to Kunanurra Airport. There was another couple from France and a lady from Perth and the pilot and we all fit into this tiny plane, a Cessna 206. this plane was tiny and we squeezed in like sardines, 3 rows of 2 people.

It was bumpy over the ranges and I don't think I let go of Paul's knee most of the time! The best bit was landing as I could see over the Pilot's shoulder

The helicopter flight over the Bungles was awesome as there wasn't any doors to the helicopter. I don't know how many times I pulled on my seat belt to make sure it was secure!

We then got back into the plane to fly to the Argyle diamond mine. They manage to collect about 12 kilos of diamonds each day, which is amazing. The only way you can get into the mine is by this tour as the public are not allowed into the mine. We had lunch at the Workers Mess area and had a fantastic buffet lunch

Then a flight back to the Airport and we were all a bit tired. I think it was from the lack of oxygen in the little plane.  But without fail, on every holiday Paul manages to bump his head, and yes he walked into the Plane's wing, it is a good thing his head is as tough as a coconut!

Next day we drive to the Bungle Bungles and the temperature is starting to rise to about 36 degrees. We ended up at a free campsite across from the road into the Bungles and stayed 2 nights and met Brian & Rosemarie from Perth who have been on the road for 2 years and Olivier and Sandra from France who travelling around Australia in a little van.

As you needed a 4 wd to get into the Bungles as it is very rough and slow going (it took us 2hrs each way to complete 77ks), Olivier and Sandra came with us

We stayed the next night at Mary river which is a great free campsite. About a dozen of us ended up chatting around a campfire and exchanging stories.It is just so friendly as everyone has the same thing in common, life on the road and where should you stay and what should you see next! 

The next morning we awoke to a lost dog which wouldn't leave the toilet block. Paul went up to see if it was waiting for it's owner, but it was on it's own.  Every one was worried as it looked like someone's pet. A lady walked around the campsite and asked if anyone was going to Fitzroy Crossing as they had just come from there and there were posters around town about a lost black and white Kelpie called Meg. I went to put a rope around her neck and lead her to the car and she was so scared of other cars that she had to stop walking and nearly knocked my leg over leaning into me, but a couple of cuddles later we got to the car and Paul lifted her into the car as her back legs were very shaky...poor girl.

 We drove the 200ks to Kitzroy Crossing and pulled into the Caravan Park and I was just about to ring the owner, when the owner of the Caravan Park came running out, have you found Meg?  It seems that her owners were on their way to Kunanurra and stopped with their other dog for a pitstop (about 30ks from our campsite) and a car drove in and scared Meg into the Bush. They tried to find her for 3 hours without avail. She had been in the bush for 5 days, it was lucky that she survived! Anyway I spoke to the owner and he was eternally grateful and wouldn't let Linda the Caravan Park Owner let us leave without something, so Paul scored a carton of Beer.  Linda took her home and she finally relaxed and started drinking water and came and found us at the Information Centre to let us know, so we were very happy.

We then drove to Windjana Gorge on a very corrugated road, it took us 4 hours to complete about 100k road, because about 5 ks in the caravan decided to separate itself from the car when we went through a slight floodway. It seems the spring in the locking coupling on the towhitch had gone weak and the vibrations of the corrugations unlocked the towhitch. A 2 tonne caravan digging itself into the ground stopped us pretty quickly, it was a good thing that we were driving slowly out of the floodway

Luckliy no damage was done and Paul was quite calm about it (he is my mr fixit) and we were back on the road within half an hour, although doing it slowly. It was mind numbing, that I fell asleep twice!

Windjana Gorge is spectacular!  Next morning we left about 8am to walk the 7km track which took us about 2.5 hours.  We walked through the sandy riverbed and through trees, but it was great to see all the Freshwater Crocodiles on the riverbed, the noisy Corellas & the Fruit Bats

We got back about 10.30am and it was already 36 degrees. It was so hot. As they had lovely bush showers,which were lovely and clean and when you had your shower you had a view of the Gorge and a lovely breeze!

That afternoon we just laid on the bed and had a wet teatowel on the window and spraying each other with a water bottle, to try and keep cool as the temperature got up to 40 degrees. the evaporation technique worked wonders!

We then drove to Broome and we are going to stay here for the next week. We have a beautiful campsite right on the waters edge. Not bad for $34 a night!

Saturday 17th September

Hi Everyone, I have to keep looking at the phone to see what day it is, you tend to lose track, which is so relaxing. And I can't seem to remember more than a day ago, so I am glad that I am writing things down in the journal.

Days 27 & 28 Darwin
Days 29 & 30 Litchfield National Park
Day 31 Gregory National Park

The first couple of days in darwin were so muggy from the humidity, we didn't do much bet get cranky! Or maybe that was just me! Paul tried to catch some fish in the Darwin Harbour on a Fishing Charter, but only caught a couple of undersized tiddlers.  We went to the Mindil Markets twice as the food is so good and cheap (I can highly recommend the green pawpaw salad, absolutely wonderful and refreshing) and the Parap Markets on the Saturday morning. The sun setting over Mindil Beach was fantastic

We went on a cruise on the Corroboree Billabong which is about 90 minutes East from Darwin towards Kakadu. We saw heaps of Freshwater & Saltwater Crocs, Jabiru & heaps of birdlife. We saw plenty of anglers trying to catch the elusive barramundi, but by what we hear, they are a pretty hard fish to catch. The Afternoon was great and we got so close to the Crocs, but being in the security of the boat. We had lunch nested in amongst the Lotus flowers.

Then we left Darwin to head down the road to Litchfield National Park. We were lucky that we got there before midday as we managed to get a bush camp at Wangi Falls (which only has about 30 spaces) as the grand cost of $13.20 per night.  Paul went for a swim in the Falls (I am still a bit of scaredy cat of the water) and in the afternoon, we just watched all the cars go by our campsite looking for a free spot. We felt very lucky!  There are so many huge black cockatoos around, that they are noisy, but they strip all the trees with their strong beaks.

I ventured in for a bit of dip at 6.30pm to cool down a bit. But this was on the safety of Paul's shoulders! I was kind of alright, until I realised how dark the water was and when we got into the middle there was small bubbles coming up from the bottom and after my croc cruise the day before, i know that bubbles come from crocs! Well I nearly walked on water to get out and that was enough for me. But I knew that there wasn't any crocs in the waterhole!

We ended up putting the netting outside the van as the Mrach flies and Bush flies were starting to get to me

Even though it can get warm, it seems that there is always a lovely breeze and it cools down at night, so we can manage to get a good night's sleep.

Next day we did the tourist drive and went to Greenant Creek, Tolmer Falls, Buley Rockhole & Florence Falls. But the best was the Rockhole, even I sild across the rocks on my bum and got into one of the lovely holes to cool off

We ended up going down a 4wd track (20k return) and again on red corrugated dirt, to go and see the lost city, it was great at the end, but the batter terminal came loose and we could only unlock the car and nothing else worked. It is a good thing that Paul knows alot about this car, so he did a process of elimination and finally got it sorted. What an afternoon!

We then left Litchifeld to head back to Katherine, to head west to the WA border. We ended up at Gregory National Park at a Free camp, but the flies and midgies were unbearable.

As no one else was around, Paul started practising his technique on the didgeridoo, to me it looks like he is pumping up the tire, as he is full of hot air....did I really type that!!!

There were so many midgies coming in that night to the LED light, that I had to completely shut the van up and start frying them with the Tennis Racquet Zapper. It sounded like a thousand electric shocks zapping the midgies!  All for a good nights sleep!

Saturday 10th September

I can't believe how quick time is going, the days seem to be speeding past. It is a good thing that I write things down daily as I can't remember what happened this morning let alone yesterday....

Day 18 to 20 Ayers Rock Resort
Day 21 Alice Springs
Day 22 Attack Creek (on way to Katherine)
Day 23 Daly Waters Pub
Day 24 Katherine
Day 25 & 26 Darwin

It was a fantastic drive to Yulara, the scenery seemed to change all the time. Even though the drive time was nearly five hours we stopped at the Erldunda roadhouse and had a true Aussie lunch of Chiko roll & Caramello Koala!

There is so much burning off on the land at the moment, not sure if it is the local people or the land owners or the fire brigade, but all  you can see is charred trees, but at one stage we did drive past a bit that came very close to the road

We finally got to the resort and felt a bit funny asking the porter to take the ARB ffridge to the room, but it was full of frozen food and we needed power to keep it frozen, so it came with us!

We decided to have a nice meal that night, and it was probably one of the nicest meals that I have had, but $160 for a meal for 2 and 2 glasses of wine was a  bit expensive...so needless to say we only had a continental breakfast then next day ($28 per head) and then went to the local IGA store to buy a bowl, milk & cereal!

Next day we went to the Olgas and decided to go on 2 walks, one to a lookout and the other to a Gorge. They were both sensational. It is hard to explain, but I wanted to keep stopping and just listen to the silence and to the birds! You can actaully feel the peacefulness of the place.

We spent the afternoon beside the pool and it is quite warm in the sun, so we thought we would go for a dip as the sign said "pool temperature 24 degrees'" well it was absolutely freezing, enought to turn you blue! I was in and out in 2 minutes flat.

That night we went to the Sounds of Silence Dinner, what a treat!  We knew that this was going to be one of the highlights of the trip and we weren't disappointed. The coach picks you up from  the hotel and drops you in the desert about 5 minutes away and you are with about 100 people having a drink & canape and watching the sun set over the horizon and you are watching Uluru and the Olgas in the beautiful setting

We were then taken down a path and tables were set out with candles and linen and we sat with people from sydney, Texas and the UK. We chatted and drank and ate all night, the buffet was sensational and had kangaroo & barramundi and all salads and then the piece de resistance the dessert buffet and Port!  By the time Paul had consumed 2 glasses of champagne at the start of the evening, then a couple of red wines, he was in fine form with his international audience at our table. He was having a joyous time and so was I laughing at him (sorry with him). the night ended with a Story teller and showing us different stars and we toddled back to the bus (through the red dirt) and back to the hotel with very full bellies!

Next Day we went to Uluru (Ayers Rock), we got there for 8am in the morning and it was cold and windy, it was about 7 degrees, we needed to have our jackets on.

It took us about 3 hours to walk around the 9.5 kms the base of the rock, but well worth it. It seemed to change the whole time, grassy areas, to scrub and beautiful different flowers all the way around

The next day consisted of mainly driving, we drove nearly 650 kms from Yulara to Kings Canyon as everyone said how great it was. Well we were disapponted, maybe because of what we had seen the last 2 days??  We ended up taking a 4wd track to cut down on some of the km's and it was a bit of an experience. It was about a 100k road and it was mainly red dirt and some corrugation, it was a good thing that we didn't have the van (it was left at the caravan park at Alice Springs) and Paul had good driving skills, he got us through safely, but another couple didn't, we made sure that they were ok as they had a puncture in their tire.

Then we started the drive from Alice Springs North, it was pretty boring, i think because we had already travelled the road?? and it took us about 7.5 hours to travel about 570kms. We tend to drive at 90kms p/h so we get more mileage from the fuel.  We ended up at a free campsite and we can definately feel the difference in the air temperature, it is starting to get muggy!

 Next day we get to Daly Waters and head to the famous Pub, there is not much at this place except the Pub and the famous Beef and Barra Meal for $28. The Pub is full of business cards, signed shirts, bras, knickers and there wasn't much wall space left. It was really quite nice and we stayed the night next to the Pub, at the pricely sum of $14, so we didn't have to walk far after having a couple of beers.  They had a busker on called Chilli and he recited bush poetry and a couple of songs, which really made the night, we dropped a couple of gold coins in on the way to the van

Next day we stopped in at Larrimah to stop in at the Local Devonshire teahouse (outback style). Fran came out in her t shirt and thongs, she was a true character and she made us a good cup of coffee (mine in a Truck advertising mug) and lovely scones with jam and cream. She then sat down with us for a chat, she was good fun and we had a sense of her personality by the time we left!

We stopped at Mataranka and went to Bitter Springs for a quick dip. The water was so clear it just looked beautiful and it was a balmy 32 degrees

And then went on to Katherine, which wasn't too much. It was too hot and muggy and we had a quick walk around and the local indigenous people were all handing around the pub and boy oh boy some of them sure do smell!  We ended up staying at a Caravan Park as there isn't any free sites between Katherin and Darwin!!

The drive to Darwin is aobut another 4 hours (surprise surprise) and it is pretty much a boring drive as there is not much to see. the scenery changed to scrub and that was about it.  We didn't even get to see our Kytes and Eagles hovering over the roadkill!

We finally got in to Darwin and went straight for the Information Centre. The trouble is it is right in the middle of the CBD, we couldn't even park the van anywhere so drove right out and found a caravan park and we will stay here for about the next 4 days (if I can stand the heat)