Chris, Julie and James - Yakanarra and back in seven weeks

2012 Trip Diary

Day 3 – 02 June
First opportunity to sit down and write something despite it being the third day. We are taking seven weeks for our family trip, two adults and five and a half year old, up to the Kimberly. Towing a Cub camper trailer with with a 2008 Nissan Patrol ( with the famous 'inherited' roof box). Plans are roughly week and a half up on the inland route, four weeks in the Kimberley with a bit of time visiting family at the Yakanurra Community, and then week and a half back down the coast road. T Day one, headed off from York at about 0930, passing through Northam and then stopping for morning tea at Gomalling.
Julie drove through to lunch at Dalwallinu, and remembers thinking that she was driving too far to the right and should concentrate more on keeping away from that side. James liked the silos at all the wheat belt towns. We were headed for a campsite just north of Paynes Find and had an hour left to travel when things came unstuck.
What happens when you have four wheels on a Patrol and lose one? Scary stuff. Fortunately we were all safe and the car was upright and off the road when the skid came to an end. The satphone was invaluable as we were outside mobile coverage. RAC rang back shortly afterwards saying that a tow truck would come south from Mt Magnet and would arrive about two hours later around 6pm.
As we waited by the road, several people stopped to see if we were ok. With the car only on three wheels I guess it was pretty obvious something was wrong. I managed to get the trailer unhooked (extra jack and jack stand also worth bringing along) before the truck arrived just after dark. We had to get the trailer up onto the tilt tray and then onto the tow truck trailer before we could then get the patrol up onto the tilt tray. All up about an hour’s work. James went to sleep in the bed in the tow truck cabin, Julie had her first stay in a tuckie's bunk, while I spent the two hour trip to Mt Magnet wondering how the wheel had fallen off.
We arrived at Mt Magnet about 2200 and Macca (the tow truck driver ) called ahead to organise a room (donga) at the cabins. Ian the manager came and met us with his ute and ferried us down to the accommodation and even cooked us some dinner at the kitchen.
Friday morning I went to the mechanics and told them the story and then went up with Todd to have a look at the car (still on the back of the tilt tray). I was very relieved when they said that provided they could get parts up from Perth overnight the job could be done on Saturday morning. Macca then unloaded the Patrol out the front of the mechanics. Tex got it on the hoist and had a good look. It seemed that two of the studs had sheared and the others had come loose, although in what order he couldn’t be sure. The mechanics also said they had seen six Patrols lose wheels.... We were very lucky. Skip ahead a few weeks to Kununurra and the mechanic there said he had seen 20 Patrols which had lost their tyres!!
We spent most of the day back at the donga while I tried unsuccessfully to make an insurance claim and sorted out the RAC roadside assistance. We got James’ bike off the trailer and he enjoyed riding it around the cabins. The whole accommodation was an old work camp which Ian had bought about ten years ago and converted to cabins. Simple, but comfortable, with shady lawns and bougainvillias. At least we could get our washing done. And we kept having Red Dog knitting flashbacks!
Sat morning we walked up to the mechanics to see if the parts had come in. I was very relieved to hear noises coming from the workshop. I helped Tex bleed the brakes, and he explained to me how to re-install the wheel studs if there were any more problems. We were so grateful that he had come in on sat morning, particularly given Monday was a public holiday.
We got the car back about midday, and I then went up to Maccas yard to collect the trailer. It was all locked up and he wasn’t answering his phone. Fortunately I was able to get hold of his assistant Shirley, whose husband also worked there, and was able to get the trailer down off the back of the tow trailer.
We finally headed north at about 1400, and after stopping to check the wheel nuts at Cue, passed through Meekatharra hoping to get to Bilyuin Pool. Unfortunately daylight was fading and we were starting to see several dead kangaroos by the roadside and a few cows wandering around as well. We pulled up at 25 Mile Well about 20 minutes before sunset. Apart from the proximity to the constant trucks on the highway it was a good spot with plenty of room and although several other people were also camped there we were able to find a spot off to ourselves.
Beautiful sunset and campfire and suddenly it all seemed worth it.
We finally have our first camping night of the trip. James liked helping with the fire and we talked about all the animals we saw today; Emus, feral goats and cats, lots of wedgetail eagles and a few cows. Starting to cool down now, but we are all rugged up in our sleeping bags.
Should be able to get to Newman tomorrow.

Day 4 - 03 June
Cold crisp morning, but very nice not to have everything covered with dew. Took us about 2 hours to get packed up and moving by 0930 but I’m sure we can improve on this. Relatively easy drive ahead. In the morning we saw lots of kites and wedgetails – amazing how big these are when you see them by the side of the road devouring the remnants of a kangaroo or wandering cow . Stopped for morning tea at the south branch of the Gasgoyne River. Not flowing, but amazing birdlife around a deep pool. Egrets, finches, crested pigeons, even a king fisher, with several kites circling above. Unfortunately the amount of rubbish left lying around was very disheartening.
Again, the radio was useful to hear from the pilot vehicles ahead of the trucks, some of which took up the whole road and needed everyone to get off. The oversize loads have to stop moving at sunset, which means there is a fair bit of traffic during the day. Lots of empty trailers heading southbound.
Lunch stop at Kumarina Roadhouse 160K south of Newman. Easy afternoon drive saw us into Newman caravan park about 4pm. Probably will head to Karajini tomorrow.
Summary: - Successful day, finished with as many wheels attached as we started.

Day 5 – 04 June
Hard to believe we crossed the tropic of Capricorn yesterday, just south of Newman. Five degrees this morning at 4am when James needed to go to the toilet. Got away from Newman Caravan park at about 1000. Filled up at the BP ($170) on the way out of town. Radio usefull when road was closed because of a truck roll over. Very different country compared to yesterday. Very nice drive through the cuttings between the ranges. Saw a dingo trotting along the road - James quite excited. it also gave us something new for the I Spy game

Got into Karrajinini park just after 1300. Very hot setting up tent in afternoon sun. Checked out the visitors center then walked down into Fortescue Falls and Fern pool just before dark. Lovely cool spot for a swim. Would have loved to have been there at lunch time. Julie timed her nature swim well.
Unfortunately fires are banned throughout the park. We have two bags of firewood we carried from York. I’m a bit worried we will end up carrying them all the way to Yakanarra.

Day 6 - 05 June
Nice this morning not to have to pack up. Went in to the visitor centre at Karajini and then drove out to Weano gorge. We got a good look at another dingo (D-I-N-G-O) by the side of the road. Many of the tracks down into the gorges are quite tricky and so we have to be very careful of where we take James. We would love to come back and explore some of the other gorges when James is a bit bigger. Tragic case here a year or so ago where a father died after saving his five year old son who had slipped through under a fence. We were still able to find a very nice pool at Weano gorge for a swim at lunch time. About 90km of driving around on fairly rough corrugations, so a good test for the car as well. There were a few sorry travellers who had found out that ordinary cars do not take severe corrugations very well. James did very well walking up and down the steep stairs on the tracks. Very difficult to get good photos because of the contrast between the shaded and sunlit sides of the gorges.

Day 7 06 June
Hard to believe it’s been a week since our fateful first day. Fortunately, things have only improved
Light rain on and off all morning meant that we abandoned our plans to head into Kalamina Gorge for lunch. We had a bit of a catch up morning around the camp. Pancakes for breakfast. James did some schoolwork and Mummy had a bit of a sleep in. Unfortunately we still suffered a mechanical problem when James had a puncture on his bike. We will be heading to a bike shop in Port Headland for a patch kit. We hear there is a good bicycle mechanic at Yakanarra if all else fails.
Despite spending the morning around the camp, it was very nice to see the bush after the rain. We have already had good use from our Australian Birds book purchased at the visitors centre. Julie saw two pigeons trying to lure her and James away from their nest. Despite the showers during the day we went out in the afternoon for a walk along the rim of Dales Gorge. Again very nice after the rains. Leaving Karajini for Port Headland tomorrow feeling that we have only had just a taste of what is here in the park. Hopefully we will be back again soon

Day 8 – 07 June
Packed up this morning at Karajini. Managed to stay mostly dry after some light showers overnight. Julie drove through to the other side of Auski Roadhouse. Scenic drive down through the Chichester Ranges onto the coastal flats into Port Headland. Arrived at the Cooke Pt caravan park at about 2pm and headed into town for a late lunch. Three sandwiches and drinks came to about $50! Interesting to see how the Port Area is really winding down whilst all the development is going on at South Hedland. Finally feels like we’re in the tropics. Very noticeable difference in temperature and humidity between here and Karajini, despite it only being a few hundred kms away. Julie worked the laundry trying to wash out all the red dirt from Karajini. Sure there will be much more to come.


Day 9 - 08 June
Left Port Hedland at about 0930 thinking we would probably get to eighty mile beach caravan park. Amazing how all the trucks just seem to have disappeared, and have been replaced by caravans in both directions. Clearly most of the holiday traffic is sticking to the coast road which comes in at Port Headland. There was also a noticeable increase in greenery. Passed the turn off for Eighty Mile Beach at about 1100 and decided to keep going to Sandfire Roadhouse for lunch. Lots of peacocks there and our first lot if mangos. Julie drove after lunch til Stanley Rest Area about 230km south of Broome. We then decided that if we only had a bit over two hours to Broome we might as well keep going. Took closer to three. Whilst we made it to Broome at about 1830, driving into the setting sun along unfenced roads with the windscreen constantly being spattered by midges is not an experience I'd wish to repeat. In hindsight, we probably should have called it a day at Stanley or left earlier from Port Hedland. Three full days at Broome now to soak off some of the red dirt. Julie think she will get all the red dust out of every last nook, cranny and toenail edge just in time to go to Yakanarra.

Day 12 - 11 June (Broome)

End of a nice long weekend in Broome. Nice break from driving. Broome seems bigger every time I visit. When I first came nearly 15 years ago on Patrol Boats, it still felt like a frontier town. The changes are amazing. Saturday was spent pretty much just relaxing around the hotel (2 Brm apartment at Sanctuary very nice - good recommendation by Mum) Sunday morning we went to Cable beach for breakfast after I say how nice it was when out for a morning walk. Then went down to Gantheume Pt to look for dinosaur footprints. Instead found a family of Ospreys nesting in the light tower. Morning tea consisted of a coconut that I found on the way home from cable beach. James very excited about opening it up but not too keen on the taste of either the milk or the flesh! He has had fun with a few kids his age whose family is staying at the hotel while their father was at a conference. Sunday afternoon we went out to the Malcolm Douglas wildlife park. Quite impressive without being over the top. Big difference I expect to Australia Zoo on the Gold Coast! Today was busy going to town to stock up for the next part of the trip, although we managed to get James a camel ride this afternoon. Early start tomorrow. Long drive all the way to Mum's.

Day 13 Tuesday 12 June
Long day after early (for us) start from Broome just after seven. Got to Wilare roadhouse for a late breakfast, unfortunatley at the same time as three tour buses did as well. Julie drove from Wilare into Fitzroy Crossing. Unfortunately the Nookanbar ford was still a bit too deep to cross so we had to go the long way around through Fitzroy. Stopped for about five minutes to check out a big wedgie (eagle, not underpants) The road through to Cherebun station had been recently graded and was in better condition than the back roads through to York. The next leg through to Yakanarra wasn’t quite so good with a couple of sandy creek crossings and bulldust holes. Overall it wasn’t too bad, and the new hitch on the trailer proved its worth. Got in to Yakanarra at a bit after 4pm just before sunset. Beautiful colours on the St Georges ranges.

Day 14 Wed 13 June
James went to School with Miss Shaylyn
Lunch at the home maker centre
Chris did airport shuttle runs

Day 15 Thursday 14 June
Met Flying doctors at the airport
Packed up car
Left with Gramdma and Grandad for camp out on Fitzroy River about 1400
Sunset camp on riverbank. Julie made good damper

Day 16 Friday 15 June
Five minute fishing in river with James.
Long walk to waterfall. Not a high drop but flowing very fast. Like a washing machine in bottom of falls. Chris went in to check how deep it was and then after finding it well above head height jumped in onto a rock about 30cm under water. Lucky to escape with a badly sprained ankle. Sore drive home to Yakanarra. Continues Chris’s proud history of accidents when camping by creeks. Saw three brolgas flying over Fitzroy river and two on the ground on the drive back home. Car went well through creek beds and bulldust holes.

Day 17 Saturday 16 June
Chris hobbled aroundthe house.
Julie worked on assignment
Grandma took James to school to play lego.
Just before sunset we drove out to Gap Bore, only a few ks out from Yakanarra. On the way there we saw three brolgas, and lots of smaller finches hanging around the water at the stockyards.

Day 18 Sunday 17 June
Julie worked hard on her assignment
In the afternoon, Chris and James went with Grandad and Grandma out to Old Cherbun station further upstream on the Fitzroy River. It was nice for a swim and also to explore around the ruins of the old homestead which was abandoned due to continued flooding of the river. Once again, the satellite phone proved its worth with a vital phone call from the black soil plains to see if Julie had put the lasagne in the oven for tea!

Day 19 Monday 18 June
Julie did some more work on her assignment. No school today for James as it was a student free day. We went back to the classroom to pack up the lego for Monday. We waited for the mail plane to come in and then helped gramdma sort out all the mail. In the afternoon Chris tested how his ankle was healing up by mowing the firebreaks in Grandma’s backyard.


Day 20 Tuesday 19 June
James was back at school today, although this time in Miss Kitty’s class. He has really enjoyed fitting in with the other kids, and having lunch with everyone at the homemaker centre. Julie was able to celebrate after finally getting her assignment finished. Chris helped grandad hang some curtains in one of the teachers house. In the afternoon we drove into Fitzroy Crossing, mainly because Grandad was leaving tomorrow morning, and so had a shorter drive, but also to collect the new wheel for the car which was supposed to have been trucked out from Broome (according to a phone call yesterday) To put it mildly Chris “wasn’t happy” when we arrived at the freight yard at Fitzroy only to discover that it hadn’t been put on the truck, and the next one doesn’t come through for another week.

Day 21 Wed 20 June
Today we were supposed to be packing up for three days camping back out at the Fitzroy River. Unfotrunately overnight at Fitzroy crossing Chris fell victim to the Yakanarra plague - very nasty gastro which had been doing the rounds. At first I blamed it on a dodgy dim sim from the Roadhouse but later had to recant. Julie and James went to Geike Gorge while Chris spent the morning throwing up. Julie drove all the way back to Yakanarra with only a couple of “comfort stops” for Chris along the way

Day 22 Thur 21 June
Another day on the couch for Chris (Just as the ankle was getting better!) recovering from the plague. James had a great day at school as two people from Scitech were visiting and conducting a program with all the kids. Just before sunset we drove out to Munganumpi Swamp. We were able to find the spring feeding the pools, but didn’t hang around too long after Chris heard feral pigs rooting around in the bush. Quite a spectacular sunset through a large dust cloud which had blown across from the East.

Day 23 Fri 22 June
With Chris now feeling better we headed back out to the river. No troubles finding our way again however much of the area had been burned out since we were there a week ago. This time we had our pick of camping spots and found a nice sheltered area down by the riverbank out of the strong winds. Two freshwater crocodiles were sunning themselves on the sand bank that we had swum from last week. One was quite large – probably about 2.5m. Julie spent a long time with the binoculars making sure that they were freshies and not salties! Chris still stayed pretty close to the river bank when going in for an even dip after the crocodiles had left the sandbank and headed into the water. We went fishing for about half an hour but due to a very strong wind (also a convenient excuse) we didn’t get anything.

Day 24 Sat 23 June
We were woken this morning by a helicopter as it seemed that GoGo station was mustering. The cows had kept us awake overnight over behind the dunes. We went for a walk down the river a bit to check out the old ford. Our friendly crocodile was back on the sandbank again. Unfortunately on the way back Julie fell victim to the plague, and then James as well. Chris packed up camp whilst Julie and James rested in the shade. It was very disappointing to have to cut our stay short again, although it proved to be the right decision. On the way back to Mum’s (about an hour and a half) Chris started getting bad stomach cramps which continued to worsen over the evening. We were in a pretty sorry state when we got back to Yakanarra, but at least we had somewhere with a bathroom and a couple of couches for us to convalesce. Although we had to leave early, camping by the river by ourselves will probably be the highlight of the whole trip. It was almost the perfect campsite in every respect. I doubt we will find anywhere as good for a long time.

Day 25 Sun 24 June
Got to watch lots of Thomas the Tank engine (again!)

Day 26 Mon 25 June
Chris was well enough to go in to Fitzroy to (finally) collect the wheel which had come in (only about a week later than it should have). This meant we could head straight for Halls Creek the next day. Quite a long return trip solo but we finally have a second spare tyre again. Our health woes continued as James had a bout of croup overnight. The evenings have been quite cool, getting down to 7 or 8. Not looking forward to heading back south!

Day 27 Tue 26 June
After two weeks at Yakanarra we are on our way again. We ended up staying a bit longer than originally planned, mainly due to the dreaded plague, but it was great to get to know everyone there a bit better, and James certainly enjoyed himself at school.

After about an hour and a half (bit slower with the trailer) we turned right on the Great Northern Highway. We stopped at Mary pool for lunch and were very glad we weren’t staying overnight. There would have been about 30 caravans there, beside a small pool which you couldn’t swim in anyway. An excellent substitution for a caravan show, it was the complete opposite of our peaceful camp at the Fitzroy River, and came as quite a shock. With James’s croup the night previous, and night temperatures still getting down below 10 degrees, we thought it prudent to pay a visit to the Halls Creek hospital. After seeing the big signs about what they charged if you were not eligible for medicare, we were very glad we had the card with us! By then it was getting dark as we headed out towards Old Halls Creek hoping to find a campsite at Caroline Pool. Unfortunately we were too late so we poked along a bit further to the “Lodge” . The term is applied very generously and we could almost hear the music from The Good Bad and Ugly as we drove into a junkyard with a couple of dodgy looking caravans and an angry dog. We kept driving and turned around heading back into Halls Creek (fortunately only about 15 minutes) While Chris set up the trailer at the Caravan Park, Julie and James went and got Pizza – and it wasn’t even Saturday! This also proved to be useful for more than dinner. While they were there, Julie picked up a pamphlet about Purnululu – which said you had to book! First we had heard about that. Our short foray down the Duncan Road had prompted us to reconsider doing the whole length. This would mean we would need to go to Purnululu on the way north and then come home via the Duncan road. Which meant we would be there the next night, and it would have been without a booking.... A very long drive in for a day trip.

Day 28 Wed 27 June
While we waited for the DEC office at Kununurra to tell us if a site was available, we repacked the trailer and car so that if necessary we could leave the trailer behind at the entrance to Purnulu. All the information said that only high clearance off road camper trailers could get through. Although ours is a heavy duty model, and has an articulated hitch, it could not really be considered a full off road camper. If necessary we would just take the car in and camp in the tents. Fortunately we were able to get a booking, and the next problem was filling up with fuel. Should have been simple with three petrol stations in town however two were out of diesel. The queue on the third was about 500m long. Eventually we filled up and it was only about an hour and a half to the turn off to Purnululu. After having carried our second bag of firewood all the way from York, it was a bit disappointing to have to drop it at the entrance to Mable Downs station in which the park is situated. We had both read that firewood was not available in the park, but is seems that the rules had changed and bringing in firewood was now prohibited. We got to the first creek crossing and were pretty hesitant. We waded through and the water was a bit over Chris’s knees. Right on the edge of what we thought was Ok for the trailer. We disconnected the trailer electrics and sprayed everything with WD40. Fortunately the engine kept running all the way through, although the winch on the front would have copped a bit of water. Fortunately that was the deepest crossing, and after all the hype, the road was actually in pretty good nick. There were certainly some steep gullies and we used low range a couple of times coming out of some of the creeks, but the actual road itself was probably better than the section between Cherebun turn off and Yakanarra. It took about two hours to cover the 53km. Just about every car we passed coming out had grey nomads, most of whom had scowls on their faces and barely bothered to return a friendly wave. The only exception was a bunch of German guys in a 4wd Wicked van who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. One old fart decided to stop right at the top on the opposite bank of a creek we were about to cross leaving us no room to get past him on the other side. When I asked if he could move back a bit he got even more grumpy! Maybe we should have just side swiped him. I wonder if such people are really enjoying their holiday. For many it seems like they’re on a mission to get things done before they expire! We got to the campsite at about 1500 and were very impressed. Heaps of room on flattened grass and plenty of untreated water for washing courtesey of a bore. The only disappointment was that the fire places were all in one central area, and not near the actual campsites, still it was pretty good overall. Karajini was nice, but we do not miss the red dust.

Day 29 Thu 28 June
We headed out at about 9am to go and have a look at the appropriately named Mini Palm Gorge. The first section along a dry pebbly creek bed (about 1.5km) was quite exposed to the sun and James was feeling the heat quite a bit. (Hardly surprising as it was now about 1100) Fortunately things cooled off a bit in the gorge and he quite enjoyed squeezing through the narrow gaps. It was unusual vegetation for an arid zone – remnants from a wetter period. After lunch we went to Echidna Chasm and had the pleasure of being overtaken by a tour group – ah the serenity! I have never heard people talk so much bullshit in such a small space (and that includes submarines) Still, we had the patience to wait for them to pass and were able to enjoy some of the peace and quiet, if only until the next group arrived. Chris’ frustrations at trying to take photos in gorges continued as a sequel from Karajini, particularly given he had left the camera baseplate for the tripod at home. I think that good photography has a bit in common with fishing – if you’re serious about doing a good job with either, best not to have a five year old running around! Although it was warm during the day, overnight temperatures are still very chilly. As soon as the sun goes down the jumpers come out. We were able to use our shower tent and the 12 volt shower for the first time (Chris is definitely getting soft as far as camping goes) 1 billy of hot water in a bucket of cold gives a warm shower of about 3 minutes. Better than you get on a submarine according to Chris. Sad to have to pick up cigarette butts in the gorges.


Day 30 Fri 29 June
Today we headed to the Southern end of the National Park to go and have a look at the Bungle Bungles – the famous beehive features the park is renowned for. As we approached the carpark, Chris’s heart sank as we saw two tour buses pulling in ahead of us. Somehow though we managed to avoid the worst of the crowds and almost had Cathedral Gorge to ourselves for lunch. The half a dozen others still there in the heat of the day were also pleased to have scored a lull in the traffic. They were nice and quiet, so Chris did not mind so much that they were also a ‘tour’! They were four people who had flown up from Broome, the pilot and a private tour guide. Not sure how much that would have cost, but probably less than forking out for the Patrol and petrol! We were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t do the 15k overnight walk up to Picaninny Gorge, but with James really feeling the heat again after only about half an hour out of the sheltered area, it was never really an option. One day we may come back and do it. There would certainly be no tour groups up there. Quite different rocks and vegetation in this part of the park. Amended our travel plans again in order to fit in Julie’s scenic flight request, from Kununurra back over the region. Fully booked for the next few days , so going to El Questro first now.

Day 31 - Sat 30 June
Hard to believe we’ve been away for a whole month. It has just flown. Also more disappointing is the fact that we’re now well and truly at the back half of the trip. It would be wonderful to turn right at Kunanurra and go through to Darwin and onwards but we’ll just have to leave that for another time. We broke the record for departures this morning with wheels up at 0815! (after some effort the night before) The drive out from Purnululu was a little easier with the sun behind us in the morning and also having some knowledge of the road conditions and water levels ahead. We would have passed at least twenty cars coming in. .
As Julie said – we see less traffic on the back road to York. We stopped at Doon Doon roadhouse for lunch and had to fully open up the trailer as one of the sliding doors had jammed open. Much to Julie’s disappointment we kept going past the Argyle diamond mine – She already has one on her left hand anyway! Very fortunate for Chris that children under twelve are not allowed on the mine tour We were treated to some fantastic scenery as we came down off the plateau into the Ord valley. The ranges were truly magnificent, and then it was back onto the gravel for the Gibb River Road into El Questro. Massive roadworks going on as we hear they are planning to seal the road all the way in. That could cause trouble when 2WD rock up and can't cross the first ford on the actual property. After our peaceful camps at the Fitzroy River and nice quiet spot at Purnululu the packed campground at El Qestro was quite a shock. A live band was not really on our list of criteria for a good camping spot either! There would probably be close to 100 caravans and campers squeezed into a couple of acres. We later learned that there are “private campsites” down the river – no doubt for an additional fee. Still, James liked being around other kids in the main area and the private sites have additional croc concerns.

Day 32 – Sun 01 July
Once we got over the initial shock of the sheer numbers at El Questro we were able to find some good things to do in some very scenic country. Hard to believe it’s someone’s back yard – it really should be national park, but then as James said where would the cattle go? We had a great swim and play in the Pentecost river which flows past the camp ground. Hard to believe we were the only ones in, and no, it wasn’t because of the crocs! The main campground is very much like a caravan park and as during the day everybody heads out to explore all the gorges and hills, the campground is actually pretty quiet. After lunch we drove out to Elquestro Gorge. The well prepared track notes for the walk failed to make mention of the 50m long and about 45cm deep river crossing on the drive out ! Still we made it through – lucky not to have the trailer on this time, and were rewarded with a wonderful walk up a creek at the base of the gorge. Unfortunately it was getting late in the afternoon and as Chris didn’t want to do the creek crossing in the dark, we turned around earlier than we would have liked to. We got back to the station in time to explore down the river a bit past the “private campsites” and were back in time for James to get in a good half hour of bike riding around the campsite. Chris couldn’t face up to leftover mince and instant mashed potato for the second night in a row so we sucumbed to commercialism and had a nice meal at the restaraunt. Surprising that they don’t do counter meals at the bar because there is a lovely outside dining area and I think many people would baulk at the elevated restaraunt prices when a steak and chips would probably do fine. It was very nice food though.

Day 33 – Mon 02 July – El Questro
Started off with a helicopter flight out over the station. Bit pricey bu well worth it and they did not charge for James. Fantastic way to see the the gorges and a lot less bumpier than a 4WD! James was thrilled to see a saltie in the Chamberlain gorge. It was also the closest Julie got to the private chalets at the Homestead. We then joined a tour group for a swim at Zebedee Springs (thermal and fantastic) and then after lunch went on a boat ride on the Chamberlain Gorge. Because the main boat had been overbooked, we went with one of the guides in a tinnie towed behind the main boat. It was very interesting to find out more about how the place operates.

Day 34 - Tue 03 July
One of our shortest travelling days today. Hard to believe that El Questro is promoted as wilderness when it is only an hour or so drive from Kunanurra, especially givem they are in the process of sealing the road up to the turn off. After speaking with a few eastbound travellers at ElQuestro we have decided to head home via the Gibb River Road. Will spend the next couple of days at Kununarra stocking up and getting the car ready. Looking forward to checking out Lake Argyle.

Day 35 – Wed 04 Jul
Early start this morning (up at 0430) for a flight down to the Bungle Bungles. We left Kununarra just after sunrise at 0600 and flew down over Lake Argyle, then down to Purnululu. We landed at the Belburn airstrip for about half of the passengers to disembark for a couple of days at the tourist camp. We stayed in the plane and were back in the air banking over the gorges and hills. Certainly a lot more to the range than we were able to see from the gorund. Also a great view of the Tanami desert down to the south. By 0830 we were back on the ground at Kununarra again and headed back to the caravan park for a bit of a rest. It was a strange feeling that we had been to the Bungle Bungles and back before morning tea time.

Day 36 – Thurs 05 Jul - Kununurra
Spent the morning at the shops stocking up for the next leg to Broome. Have pretty much decided to head down the Gibb River road. All the reports seem pretty positive and water crossings are quite low this year. After shopping we headed out to check out Lake Argyle. Julie was very impressed with the horizon pool at the caravan park where we stopped to buy lunch. We had a nice picnic at the dam outfall. Highly recommend the sandwiches. Quite amazing how such a small dam holds back enough water to create its own tides, qualifying it as an inland sea. Chris would love to come back and explore it with a sailing boat – long road trip up from Perth though! For the sake of a photo we drove out to the NT border – the only time we’ve done something just to say we’ve been there. Unfortunately it also marked the turnaround point for the trip, although James is pretty happy that every day travelling from now brings us closer to Safety Bay. He has been fantastic , travelled well and quick to make new playmates when kids are about, but he is missing his friends. We had a quick detour out to the TFS sandalwood plantation, but unfortunately no free cup of coffee at the cafe, despite being registered investors.

Day 37 – Fri 06 Jul Gibb River Road
Relatively early start today as we were unsure of what sort of speed we’d make good down the Gibb River Road. Very big difference between 50km /h and 80km/h over the course of the day. We made it to the El Questro turnoff without too much trouble with the exception of one idiot who tried to overtake us in a dust cloud while we were behind a caravan. The full transcript is not suitable for publication but needless to say we weren’t too impressed, nor was the car coming through the dust the other way! The first big obstacle for the day was the Pentecost River, and after all the hype, it was no real difficulty at all. The bottom of the trailer didn’t even get wet! As we climbed up from the river, there were fantastic views of the Cockburn (like the sound) Ranges behind us. We had aimed to get to Ellenbrae Homestead on our first day on the road however the road was in very good condition and we were there before lunchtime. The sections of bitumen on the steeper parts actually caused more frustration than assistance, as we had to keep stopping to come out of 4wd. In the end we just stayed in 2wd. The next river was the Durack, and again, also of no trouble. We stopped for lunch at Dawn creek and found that the drain plug on the water tank in the trailer had snapped off – most likely collected by a wayward rock, and we had lost 60l of water. Fortunately we still had plenty available in jerry cans, so it wasn’t too much of a problem, but shows how anything not protected can be vulnerable to stones. Julie drove for the afternoon. At times, the road was so good we were at 90km/h – about what we normally do on the bitumen with the trailer. After all the talk about the Gibb River road, it was presenting very little difficulty. Certainly parts were corrugated, but it might as well be named the Gibb River highway – when we stopped for lunch there would have been a car passing at least every ten minutes. As the afternoon progressed we toyed with going all the way through to Silent Grove. We would be arriving there after dark, and choose against heading west into the sun. We turned off at the Barnett River Gorge track, not quite sure of how busy the campsite would be, but knowing if it was too bad we could go on to the roadhouse about 30km further down the road. Julie did very well negotiating the roughest track we have taken the trailer on this trip. The 3km took us about half an hour, but we were rewarded with a nice campsite near a creek and only one other family there. We poked around for a bit trying to find the gorge but as it was getting darker, we left the exploring for tomorrow. The kids enjoyed playing with James in the creek while we got set up.

Day 38 – Sat 07 Jul – Barnett River
Nice not to have to pack up this morning. Thought we would probably go down to the river for a bit and try and find the gorge which was only about 500m away. We headed to the creek with the other famiy. James new friends had built boats out of sticks and leaves and wanted to race them down the river. We mucked about for a couple of hours then wandered upstream to find the gorge. There was a fantastic swimming hole but we were still a bit unsure about crocs so we left the swimming for the time being. The Barnett river flows into the Hann river which in turn flows into the Fitzroy, well upstream of Fitzroy crossing, so theoretically there should be no worries. Walking out from the gorge for lunch, we passed a tour group heading in with bathers and pool noodles, so if it was good enough for them (and their insurance campany)....It was a great swim. After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon down at the river at the deep pool, and then back down at the rapids for James. It really was a great spot and we decided to stay for a second night. Several cars came and went during the day, and three other groups stayed for the night, which really was about the maximum for the campsite. We were all well spaced out and there was no impact from anyone on anyone else (except maybe for James riding through other people’s camps!). Julie made the most of having a fire by making her signature fruit damper, which was also appreciated by some of the other people camping. Not sure what the Dutch and Swedish guys really thought of this bread cake. We were now faced with a difficult choice. We had booked a motel room in Broome in three days time so we could either stay here for another day or keep heading south to Silent Grove. In the end we decided that we would head off the next day. It was unlikely that we would find Silent Grove as good as this spot but we also wanted to see the King Leopold ranges and stop off at a few more of the gorges along the way.

Day 39 – Sun 08 Jul – (Not So) Silent Grove
We reluctantly packed up in the morning and headed back up the rough track (20min to cover 3km) to the Gibb River Road. It was only a short drive to the Mt Barnett Road house where we refuelled (2.05 a litre). The road conditions were not quite as good as yesterday, being quite stoney in places. There were plenty of ripped up tyre carcasses serving as a reminder of how easy it would be for things to come unstuck. We had hoped to stop at Galvans Gorge for lunch but as we drove past the car park it seemed that about 20 other people had the same idea. We decided to push on for about another hour through to Silent Grove where we hoped we could have a swim anyway. When we got there we were a bit disappointed. It was very busy – showers and wheelchair accessible flushing toilets probably indicated the amount of use the campsite gets. Also to our disappointment, the swimming hole was 10km drive up the road at another Gorge. It was very tempting to turn around and head back to yesterday’s spot. Still, we needed to keep heading South west and as Julie pointed out , it was still better than the Derby caravan park. When we unhooked the trailer, the brakes were very loose. Hopefully the cable had just slipped and needed to be re-tightened. Unfortunately it was a bit worse. On both sides the clips holding the brake pads in had worked loose allowing the pads to rattle around in the callipers. One of the pads had completely fallen out, and on the other side the pads and calliper were both badly chewed out. Chris spent an hour before dinner crawling around to under the trailer to remove the loose pads. We now have an unbraked trailer (should still be under the weight requirements) and hopefully we can get new pads and callipers in Broome. As the water supply for this camp is drawn from it, you can’t play in the nearby creek. However it was a very pretty walk into a small gorge as we tried to find the headwaters.

Day 40 – Mon 09 Jul Bells Falls
After James did some schoolwork we made a picnic lunch and headed off for the 10km drive to Bell’s Falls. With the carpark there something akin to Rockingham Shopping Centre on a Saturday morning it was hard to believe that we had driven over 5000km to a “remote” spot in the heart of the Kimberley! After a short walk we were down at the top of the falls. It is a lovely spot. Although it was very busy we were still able to have a good splash in the river. James enjoyed watching a water monitor swimming between rocks along the edge of the water. We then climbed down to the base of the falls and were able to find a shady ledge under a rock overhang to have lunch. After a swim in to the falls we climbed back up to the top pool and spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around in the water. Although it was much busier than the Barnett River, things quietened down a bit after lunch and we had a great time. When we got back to the campground James was able to find another kid his age. He has found that letting other kids ride his bike is a great way to make new friends, and while I whinge and moan about how many other people are at the campgrounds, particularly now we have hit the school holiday crowds, James has never been short of a playmate. We were tempted to play some of his singalong songs tonight, ‘Give me a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees...’ to challenge the loud music being played by a group of people near by ! Still, the camp quietens down quite quickly in the evening as everyone is probably as worn out as we are. It was a bit of a hike back along and back up from the gorges. We had a bit of a surprise when we realised that we were a day ahead of ourselves. Spent the evening packing up ready to head off early for Broome and suddenly twigged that the reservation was for the day after tomorrow.

Day 41 - Tue 10 Jul
Left silent grove and headed back to the Gibb River Road for a stunning drive through the King Leopold Ranges. We were dissapointed when we got to Leonard River as there was no sign of the Ice Cream man grandad had told us about from last year. We had planned to only go as far as Derby but decided to turn left and head to Wiliare for lunch instead. The wattle flowers were amazing on this stretch of road as we completed out Kimberely circuit, passing the turnoff to Fitzroy Crossing.

Day 42 - Wed 11 Jul - Broome
After a full month in the Kimberely it was time for a snappy maintennance period. In just over 24hrs we were able to complete the following:
Re-Fuel
Oil Change (Thanks garry at tropical motors)
Repair to damaged water tank pipe
Replacement of both trailer brake callipers and pads
Repair to stone chip in windscreen
Car wash
Six days worth of dirty washing
Food shopping for the trip home
Play for James at the water playground
Dinner at the Japanese restaraunt in town.

If only submarine port visits went this well!
Heading south tomorrow. Aiming for somewhere around Port Headland.


Day 43 – Thurs 12 Jul – Broome to Port Hedland
With all our work complete, we headed off from Broome after breakfast and reluctantly turned south onto the Great Northern Highway. The Sandfire Flats really does seem to mark the divide between the Kimberely and the Pilbara. After having parted with a small fortune at Port Hedland Caravan Park on the way up, we were keen to avoid the town this time. When we were heading North, the De Gray River had looked like a very nice spot with only a couple of caravans camped by the river bank. It was amazing the difference that a month had made, this time there were about 50! We continued on as it looked like there was a bit of a roadside stop on one of the maps. We didn’t have our hopes set to high, but found an old gravel pit with heaps of room and hidden from the main road by a large rocky outcrop. It was actually a very nice spot to spend the night, and only about 50km north of Port Hedland.

Day 44 – Fri 13 Jul – Millstream Chichester National Park
We pulled in to South Hedland briefly to get fuel – the cheapest of the whole trip so far at $1.58. The service station also had the most expensive toasties. $7.80 each and they weren’t even that good. Talk about a two speed economy. We kept heading south, getting in to new territory when we passed the junction for the Great Northern Highway where we had come up from Newman five weeks ago. We had a fantastic drive down a good gravel road to the Millstream Chichester National Park – much less traffic than the Gibb River ‘Highway’! The views were spectacular as we headed in to Python Pool for lunch. Unfortunately there was a health department (Julie’s Section!) warning about no swimming. After seeing the stagnant green pool, it was easy to see why. The repairs to the water tank on the trailer were taken out by a stone again and we lost another 50l of water. Will definitely have to extend the guard around the tank. After lunch we continued over the Chichester Ranges. As we passed the railway from Tom Price to Karratha we saw a massive iron ore train. Three engines, 250 wagons – over 1km long. James was very impressed! We arrived at Crossing Pool campsite at about 3pm and there were only two spots left (10). We decided to stay, and the last spot was taken shortly after our arrival. The large pool on the Fortescue River was cold and deep but fantastic for rinsing off the dust at the end of the day – just needed to dodge the droppings from the hundreds of corellas perched in the trees above the river bank.


Day 45 – Sat 14 Jul – Millstream
This morning we walked for about 3km across the river and up to the old Millstream homestead. It was fantastic to see the crystal clear spring flowing through the native palm trees – the only place in WA native palms can be found outside of the Kimberley. An amazing contrast to the harsh arid Spinifex country surrounding the homestead. After we walked back Chris did a few sums and we figured out we could probably afford to have one more day here. Five four hour days or four five hour days and one extra one to relax here, near the water in relative warmth? No brainer ? In the afternoon, we went for a drive to Deep Reach pool, a previous camping area but now day use only, and then continued back to the homestead to take some photos. The pretty wallabies there probably think that the watered lawn is heaven. It is colder at nights now. Thermals and beanie for James and inside sleeping bags for us. Back to winter camping. Somebody was playing heavy metal on their car stereo so Chris responded with Tie-me-Kangaroo-Down at full volume. Nothing like a bit of Rolf Harris to shut everybody up!

Day 46 – Sun 15 Jul – Millstream
Our last day where we didn’t have to pack up and drive in the morning, so just had a quiet day around the crossing pool campsite. It is very pleasant here. James enjoyed riding his bike around the loop track. Long pants for everybody today : ( But got a little warmer in the afternoon. After watching the turnover, we have concluded that 10 -12 am is the best time to grab a spot here. Any earlier and the later sleepers have not left yet and much later and the small campsite here is full.

Day 47 – Mon 16 Jul – Millstream to Lyndon River
All good things must come to an end, and with the clock for our trip home run out we packed up and headed out through the Pilbara along our last real stretch of dirt road to Pannawonica. After topping up on fuel (subsidised thanks very much by Rio Tinto) we rejoined the Northwest Coastal Highway, having bypassed Dampier and Karratha. We continued southwards, stopping for lunch at the Ashburton river. After lunch we passed the turn off to Exmouth and Coral Bay. It would have been great to spend a bit of time down that way, but we had made the most of our time up North. We made good time and reached a rest area on the dry Lyndon River at about 3:30. Fortunately it was not too busy and there was plenty of dirt tracks for James to ride around on. After we had set up there was still a bit of daylight left, so we headed off down the dry river bed to search for water – why? Because we could! We only had to dig down about half a meter. James was very impressed! We weren’t just making it up.

Day 48 – Tue 17 Jul – Lyndon River to Nerran Nerran
We were only about 200km north of Canarvon so it was a easy run this morning. We went into town to grab some fresh veges, and grabbed some take away lunch and headed down to a playground on the foreshore which James enjoyed. After lunch we headed on, hoping to get to the ruins of the old town of Gladstone on the edge of Hamelin Pool at Shark bay. Unfortunately when we got to the turn off the road was closed. As we continued south, Chris awarded himself a packet of smarties for spotting the first sheep, although this was disputed by James who claimed that he had actually seen the first sheep some time ago but just hadn’t told anyone! The rules were changed so that the sheep had to be seen by all three of us for it to be a legitimate claim! Fortunately we still had enough time to make it a bit further south to another rest area at Nerran Nerran about 200km north of Geraldton. Again, we were able to find a relatively quiet spot away from the main area, although it was still pretty close to the main highway. After James had gone to bed and we were sitting by the fire, we were visited by a very quiet but bold black feral cat. He(or she) was quite small and seemed in pretty good health (knees seemed Ok pete!) It slunk in very quietly right past where Julie and I were sitting by the fire and started sniffing around the esky where the leftover chook was. It even put its front paws up on the table to see if there was any food. It was obviously used to people camping and was not troubled by our presence at all. Shame I didn’t have a rifle.

Day 49 – Wed 18 Jul – Nerran Nerran to Sandy Cape
As we had come about 150km further yesterday than we had planned, we had a bit of time up our sleeve in the morning. Although it was going to be just another travelling day, we really noticed the change in landscape. About 50km north of the Murchisson river we saw the first cultivated wheat crops – the lush green a stark contrast to the gold and brown of the Pilbara spinefix. The beautiful Brahman cattle of the north have given way to the Angus and Herefords, with sheep also now becoming more common. (no more smarties though) We went straight through Geraldton and stopped for lunch (again at the park) at Dongara, where we also found the cheapest fuel of the entire trip so far. After lunch we turned off the Brand Highway and continued along the coast road. Very nice drive along the dunes passing through the small towns. We throught we would probably get to Jurien Bay, but about 15km North we “discovered” the Sandy Cape Recreation Reserve. We traded red desert sand for white beach sand, and were fortunate to find a quiet spot just one sand dune back from the beach. Tonight is our last camping night of the trip as assuming all four wheels stay on the car, we will be at Grandma and Grandad Phelps’s at York tomorrow night. Hard to believe our trip is almost over.

Day 50 – Thu 19 Jul – Sandy Cape to York
After a very cold night we had a relaxing breakfast sitting up on the sand dune looking out over the ocean. Although it seemed like we were almost home, it was actually about 5hrs driving to get to York. After out late start we headed down the coast road to Lancelin then turned inland at Guilderton. Even over the course of the day the change in scenery was quite dramatic as we went from the coastal scrub up into the bush in the hills, then the rolling farmland of the Avon valley. We passed through the same intersection at Northam where we turned right up the Great Northern highway six and a half weeks ago, and arrived at the farm just before sunset. It was very nice to not have to set up camp, have dinner cooked for us and hot showers for the first time since leaving Broome.

Day 51 - Fri 20 Jul – York to Home
Not really a section worth writing about but included just for completeness. James was very excited to find the car and camper trailer covered in frost this morning. Very glad not to have been camping out last night. We helped grandad feed the sheep this morning and then headed home along the back roads, having effectively bypassed the city and the freeway traffic
Now begins the task of getting red dirt out of everything, fixing up all the little things on the trailer and car, and somehow getting back to a “normal” routine. We have had an amazing trip with its ups and downs. Fortunately, the dramas of the first day now seem just a memory. At least things didn't get any worse!

A few stats:
Distance Travelled: 8986km
Fuel: 1426l
Avg consumption: 15.86l/100km

We have learned a few things on our way.
There are two types of people to be found in the Kimberley. The first, the people who call the place home, who live and work through the dry and the wet, get around in troopies or landcruiser utes, who know the really good fishing and camping spots, and who have earned the right to them. These people know what it means to be truly remote. The second group, in which we are included, are the blow in tourists who turn up for a few weeks or months when the weather is good, see a glimpse of what the place has to offer and then go back home telling all their friends that they have seen the Kimberley. They can be identified by overloaded 4wds with heaps of extras they’ll never use, towing all manner of trailers and caravans. They congregate around fireplaces and caravan parks talking like they’ve been there for years and are somehow experts on road conditions and rivers. They talk about having “done” this road, or that track, about how tough it was or how easy they made it through. Although we are part of this group, we feel very privileged to have had a small chance to see what it’s like to live and work up north.