Western Australia First Leg

Western Australia - First Leg

Monday 2nd June 2003

Well here we are, it is 9:00 am Monday the 2nd of June 2003, and we are all packed up and ready to go. The Jayco 22 ft. Westport caravan is stocked up with a variety of canned food and the 39 litre Engel is packed with food and drinks, we even packed the popcorn machine, the pancake pans, and the bread maker.

Now the caravan (Sunshine) is hitched to the Toyota Land Cruiser which we call (Cruiser), the stabilizer bars are in place, the towing mirrors are set and adjusted, and all the family are around to farewell us, Ike and Sandra (my cousin and my wife's sister) just arrived with their caravan, they are going to accompany us with their caravan throughout the whole trip, and we are on our way, leaving Perth the capital of Western Australia and the family, and heading North via the Coastal Brand Highway (1).

After an emotional farewell from all the family and friends, We arrived at the Ampol Roadhouse in Cataby, (about 163 KM from Perth) at 12:30 PM, and after we had lunch we continued on to Dongara which is a small town boasting for its Crayfish industry, here we stopped for a breather and continued on to Geraldton arriving at the Belair Big 4 Caravan Park at 5:00PM. The Park was clean and with lots of shady trees and not far from the city centre. Geraldton is a lovely, clean and well-planned City 424 kilometres from Perth with a population of about 23,500 and is the key port of the Midwest region. One of Geraldton main attractions is its warm, dry climate, and the town has become known as “Sun City”. It is Mecca for sun lovers ( and we loved it), with its long white beaches and the unpolluted waters of the Indian Ocean attracting surfers and swimmers (and Fish) from all over Australia. Next morning we took our time in getting up ('cause we needed a damn good rest). We stayed in Geraldton for one week, During which we went touring the Lobster factory, we took lots of pictures, and learned a lot about this very rich industry. We visited the museum, the old Gaol and the HMAS Sydney War Memorial, which were all wonderful. Another day, we packed our lunch and went for a whole day trip to Dongara and Port Dennison about sixty four kM South of Geraldton, and what a lovely beach side town this place was. Another day, we went touring around the rest of the places, like the Point Moore Lighthouse, Saint Francis Cathedral and then we finished the rest of the day at the lovely and quiet little town of Greenough (Greenuff) which lies on the banks of the Greenough River about twenty five kilometres from Geraldton where we spent the rest of the day relaxing and sightseeing.


HMAS Sydney War Memorial Geraldton	St Francis Cathedral Geraldton	Point Moore Lighthouse Geraldton


At the mouth of the Greenough River	Geraldton Old Gaol	At Port Dennison Dongara

Monday the 9th of June

We arrived here at Kalbarri at one o'clock in the afternoon, and after checking in at the Murchison Park caravan park which is central, on the water front and is a Big4 full of shady trees. Kalbarri is a small holiday town where you will find all the elements that make for a relaxed and restful holiday; marvellous scenery, pleasant climate good fishing swimming and sightseeing, the coastal gorges south of the town are both colourful and dramatic. The vividly banded cliffs, which rise metres out of the turquoise seas, have been shaped into intricate patterns by wind and weather. We spent four days in Kalbarri. The First two days, we went to the Blue Holes: this beach area is protected by the departments of fisheries and environment, and fishing or shell collection is not allowed, so as to protect the corals and the fish that lives there. Then we went on to Wittecarra Creek, then to the Red Bluff, then on to the Mushroom Rock, then to Pot Alley where we climbed to the top of one of the hills, and what a magnificent views we had from there, it was really breathtaking, then we took the track down to Pot Alley Gorge, then we went on a tour of the Rainbow Jungle, which is a man made breeding jungle for parrots (which was well worth the ten dollars per person), the place was so natural and full of Australian parrots species, we took lots of pictures and had an afternoon snack in the little cafe. On the last day, we took it very easy relaxing outside under the awning sipping on the Turkish coffee and deciding what are we going to do in the afternoon, until we came up with the idea of having a game of Putt Putt (mini golf), so after lunch we took a bit of rest, and then off we went walking to the mini golf which was about twenty minutes walk from camp, and after we had a game, and don’t ask who won, I decided to let them have another game, so they can practice to challenge me next time.

Friday the 13th of June

On the road again heading North to Denham. After we travelled about two hundred and forty five kilometres, we stopped at the Overlander Roadhouse for a refuel and a rest, and then we took the turn off for a further one hundred and thirty kilometres drive, arriving Denham at about three thirty in the afternoon. After we checked in at the Seaside Tourist caravan park, we sat for the afternoon cuppa enjoying the magic views because our site was high and facing the beautiful Denham bay. The weather was cool but comfortable. Denham is a lovely seaside town, derived its name from Captain H.H. Denham who charted the whole of Shark Bay in 1858. Pearling, once was the most important income earner, declined during the depression but now has been re-established at Monkey Mia. Today the main industries are tourism and fishing. We stayed in Denham for three days. We spent the whole of one day at the foreshore of Monkey Mia National Park and resort which is about twenty nine kilometres from Denham, we walked around a lot, and had lunch and bought some souvenirs, and watched the dolphins coming to shore, the weather was warm but very pleasant. Another day we took off from the morning and spent it sightseeing around Shark bay, we went to Shell beach which is about forty kilometres from Denham, this beach is one of two beaches in the world which is full of sea shells, you walk on sea shells instead of sand and you get the feeling that you are in a different world. After spending about an hour here we moved on to the whalebone bay and that was something different, and after we climbed the cliff we went around the boardwalk at Eagle Bluff and took lots of pictures ‘cause the sceneries were something that makes you feel that you are in heaven and that is not exaggerating. After that we toured around few other places of interest learning more about the history of the area.

Monday the 16th of June We left Denham in the morning, back to the Overlander, refuelling then heading North to Carnarvon "crossing the 26th Parallel", arriving at the Carnarvon tourist centre caravan park at four o'clock in the afternoon. After checking in and setting up camp we treated ourselves to a well-deserved cup of Turkish coffee and a smoke and then retired for the day. The caravan park was clean and tidy and very close to the town centre, a matter of fact was only within a short walking distance. Every Wednesday evening the hosts at the park, put up a dinner with a game of Bingo to all the caravaners (well done hosts, it was a great night), and guess what, I picked up two of the three prizes worth forty bucks. Carnarvon is a beautiful town with a population of about 9000 people, and is almost as famous for the climate as it is for bananas. The plantations extend for sixteen kilometres along the banks of the Gascoyne River. Besides bananas and mangoes, beans, tomatoes, melons, stone, citrus and tropical fruits are grown here. During our one week stay, we visited the Railways Museum, the Lighthouse, the Prawning Factory, the Airport, the Fishing Harbour, the Fishing Market, Babbage Island, the One Mile Jetty and the Banana plantation, where we had delicious home made frozen chocolate banana and mango.	The 26th Parallel Sign On Highway (1)
Besides sightseeing and relaxing, one afternoon we decided we must try our luck in fishing. So off we went, we bought some bait, we prepared our sandwiches and drinks, and headed to the prawning jetty, which is only a short distance away from camp. We tried and tried very hard to con a fish, but it was as usual, all in vain until Sandra and Marica managed to hook up a couple of good size Silver Bream, by that time it was late in the evening, so we decided enough is enough and returned to camp, off course Marica and Sandra had a lot to boast about, and Ike and myself had no choice but to endorse the new champions. And that's how we ended our tour of the Gascoyne region, the first phase of our trip, so as to prepare for our departure to the Pilbara region.

Monday the 16th of June

We left Denham in the morning, back to the Overlander, refuelling then heading North to Carnarvon "crossing the 26th Parallel", arriving at the Carnarvon tourist centre caravan park at four o'clock in the afternoon. After checking in and setting up camp we treated ourselves to a well-deserved cup of Turkish coffee and a smoke and then retired for the day. The caravan park was clean and tidy and very close to the town centre, a matter of fact was only within a short walking distance. Every Wednesday evening the hosts at the park, put up a dinner with a game of Bingo to all the caravaners (well done hosts, it was a great night), and guess what, I picked up two of the three prizes worth forty bucks. Carnarvon is a beautiful town with a population of about 9000 people, and is almost as famous for the climate as it is for bananas. The plantations extend for sixteen kilometres along the banks of the Gascoyne River. Besides bananas and mangoes, beans, tomatoes, melons, stone, citrus and tropical fruits are grown here. During our one week stay, we visited the Railways Museum, the Lighthouse, the Prawning Factory, the Airport, the Fishing Harbour, the Fishing Market, Babbage Island, the One Mile Jetty and the Banana plantation, where we had delicious home made frozen chocolate banana and mango.

The 26th Parallel Sign On Highway (1)

Besides sightseeing and relaxing, one afternoon we decided we must try our luck in fishing. So off we went, we bought some bait, we prepared our sandwiches and drinks, and headed to the prawning jetty, which is only a short distance away from camp. We tried and tried very hard to con a fish, but it was as usual, all in vain until Sandra and Marica managed to hook up a couple of good size Silver Bream, by that time it was late in the evening, so we decided enough is enough and returned to camp, off course Marica and Sandra had a lot to boast about, and Ike and myself had no choice but to endorse the new champions. And that's how we ended our tour of the Gascoyne region, the first phase of our trip, so as to prepare for our departure to the Pilbara region.


Carnarvon Town Centre	Old Lighthouse Carnarvon	The Blowholes Carnarvon

Saint Mary's Star of the Sea Carnarvon	Gascoyne River Carnarvon	The Old Printing House Carnarvon

Monday 23rd of June 2003

We left Carnarvon at nine thirty in the morning, heading to Coral Bay. The weather was cool and sunny, Ike and Sandra were ahead of us but keeping in touch thru the CB radio, and we were supposed to meet them at the Minilya roadhouse for lunch and refuelling, but unfortunately we must have blinked and missed that bloody roadhouse and we kept going and told them that we missed the place and we going to meet them at the rest area just before the turn off to Coral Bay, so we caught up with them there and after we had lunch we carried on to Coral Bay where we booked to stay for three nights, but when we arrived there we were told that there is no fresh water at the park and that we have to use the salt water available, so we decided against it and instead we thought we’ll carry on to Exmouth where we had a booking as well, but before we left we went for a tour around the bay, took some pictures of the beautiful place and we went on our way to Exmouth. We arrived at the Cape Range caravan park at about four thirty in the afternoon, and after we checked in and organized our camp we went for a quick trip around the place until it was time for dinner. The caravan park was clean and tidy, the surrounding was muddy, it had swimming pool but not very clean, in general the park was not well maintained. Exmouth with a population of about 2500, is situated on the North West Cape, in 1967 was established as a support town for the Harold E Holt naval communication station, a joint Australian and USA governments venture. Despite being hard hit by tropical cyclone Vance on the 22nd of March 1999, Exmouth is back in business and better than ever, it is also on the record books, with wind gusts of 267 KM/H recorded at Learmonth by the Bureau of meteorology, it has a perfect weather all year round with no wet season.

During our one week stay, we visited the Kalis prawning factory, where they process approximately 1,000,000 Kg of prawns annually, and then the Shot hole Canyon at Cape Range, and what a place this was, we climbed op the hills and took lots of pictures of the magnificent views surrounding us. Another time we went on a full day tour to the Ningaloo Marine Park, the lighthouse and the to Yardie Creek, where we had lunch and a long walk along the Creek and the beach. Wednesday come and here we are all ready with all the fishing gear and the comfort equipment, sitting by the water trying our luck. One hour past while Ike was having an uninterrupted snooze, Sandra yells out “it’s a big one Ike come and take it off the hook for me”, and then Marica yells out “another one”, and myself, well I managed to pick up few useless and undersize ones which I ended up chucking them back in the water, and poor Ike was blaming me for his bad luck, anyway this went on until nine o’clock in the evening, when we called it a night and after cleaning the fish and blaming “bad luck”. On the last day, we wandered around town for a while until we ended up at the Exmouth Pub where we had some cold ones while watching the Eagles thrashing North Melbourne on the wide screen.


Yardie Creek at Exmouth	The fish "WE" caught that night at Exmouth	Coming down the Canyon at Shothole Canyon

Collecting Pebbles at Exmouth	Showing The Pebbles Exmouth	Pebbles Under Water At Kailis Exmouth

Monday 30^th June 2003

At nine thirty in the morning we left Exmouth and set off to Onslow, stopping for lunch and refuel at Nanutarra Roadhouse. We arrived Onslow at about three o’clock in the afternoon, we checked in and booked for one week at the Ocean View Caravan Park, situated at the end of the main street in the town centre right along the beautiful, clean and peaceful beach. The park was well set out, clean and close to the town centre, the Hosts were very welcoming, friendly and helpful, which made our week's stay a very pleasant and comfortable. During our stay, we visited the Old Onslow Town site, travelling along the rough road on the banks of the beautiful and scenic Ashburton River. Here we saw the remains of the old Police Station, the Gaol and the Cemetery. Another day we went for a tour of the Spinifex Termites, and what a nature's miracle these are, built from mud with a pyramid shape and well planned design by these wild ants, we were all amazed by the wonderful work of these small insects. After spending sometime walking, admiring and photographing, we went to visit the Onslow aerodrome and then the Ashburton Race Course. Another day we went touring around town, taking memorable pictures of the town, we went to visit the Onslow Salt mines, the main industry in the town, and then drove for about six kilometres to Four Mile Creek, a beautiful and peaceful picnic area. Off course I must mention the day we went fishing and without a word of lie, us men were unlucky, but the ladies were again the champions. And that's how we spent our time in this beautiful, clean and quiet town of Onslow with a population of only about 790 people including us, you'll feel like you're in heaven.


Onslow Main Street	What you see at the Caravan Park in Onslow	Spinifex Termite Mounds Onslow


On the Boardwalk Onslow	Fish Laughing at Onslow	Old Onslow and Cruiser

Monday 7th July 2003

We left Onslow with lots of memories and headed to the City of Karratha, we stopped at the Fortescue River roadhouse for lunch, we did not refuel because they do not sell gas, so after lunch we continued our journey arriving at the city of Karratha at about three thirty in the afternoon, and drove straight to check in at the Pilbara Holiday Park where we had a booking, and behind the desk there was this big, round faced, short and fat lady they call Thelma Brown, who told us that she cannot give us two sites close to each other, and that we are holding back all the traffic and that we have to make a decision immediately 'cause she is too busy ,take it or leave it, so after a bit of a heated discussion we decided to take it before "she’ll kick us out", after all the caravan park was a BIG 4 and we are members with the chain. Karratha is the largest and best serviced town in the Pilbara, it was established by Hamersley Iron when the port of Dampier and it's massive ore-loading facility outgrew its available land, and it is central to the surrounding towns. During our two weeks stay in Karratha we visited the North Shelf Gas Project in Dampier, we also toured around the historic towns of Roebourne, Cossack, Wickham and Point Samson, enjoying every bit of history each of these towns had to offer, from old buildings to museums etc. We really enjoyed the peaceful and relaxed atmosphere of Karratha, Dampier and these small but beautiful towns.


The Moon in Karratha	Looking Down on Karratha	At Cattral Park Karratha

John and Marica Point Samson Tavern	St Peter Church Karratha	The Main Street Roebourne

Honeymoon Cove Point Samson	A Picnic on Dampier Beach	Locomotive on Display Wickham

Monday 21^st July 2003

We left Karratha via the North West Coastal Highway (1) heading to Port Hedland, and after travelling 120 km, we reached Whim Creek, which is a roadhouse and hotel. It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, so we spent a couple of hours to rest, we had lunch and few cold ones, and then continued our journey for another 130 km to Port Hedland, arriving here at three in the afternoon, and went straight to the Cooke Point caravan park where we had a booking, and checked in. It was a lovely park right on the waterfront, very clean with all paved sites a swimming pool etc. Port Hedland, with a population of about 15000, relies mainly on mining, while the extraction of , tin, copper, gold and manganese brought prosperity to the region over the years, it was the discovery of the rich body of iron ore in the 1960s in the hinterland that saw the huge development of Port Hedland and its surrounds take place. Much of what relates to mining here is on a massive scale: the machinery is huge, and the BHP Iron Railroad carries the world longest, regularly scheduled trains, bringing the ore from outlying mining sites into the port. Another important mineral extracted from the land is salt, and the large white piles of it stands against the landscape, waiting for shipment overseas. We stayed here for one week, during which we went on a tour at the BHP Billiton iron ore, and it was very interesting to see how the iron ore is produced, transported from the mines with wagons 3.7 kilometre long pushed by four powerful engines and then shipped to the world, amazing what a big industry this is. Another day we went to Finucane Island which about twenty kilometres from Port Hedland, it was very enjoyable trip and we collected lots of mineral stones and guess what, it was a very windy day and mom’s hat flew off without her knowing, and on the way back she realised it was missing, so Sandra insisted that we go back and look for it, and so we did and found it lying on the rocks waiting for us, offcourse mom and Sandra were very happy, and so were “WE”. Another day we spent it sightseeing around town, including a stopover at St Cecilia’s Church, then we went to the outdoor museum displaying all the old rail engines and equipments, we took lots of pictures, then we went to see Murv’s chair and we met Murv himself, Murv is an old pleasant world veteran who has set up a chair for people sit and enjoy the views from opposite his house, and displayed a notice board with his photo’s during the war, we had a good chat with him and took a video of all that. Another day we spent most of it relaxing around the swimming pool, then in the afternoon, we went fishing at the harbour and came back with two good sized fish. And that's how "the time run when you're having fun".


Fishing at Port Hedland	A wheelbarrow displayed at Port Hedland	At Finucane Island with her Hat

Monday 28th July 2003Jetty

We left Port Hedland heading north on Highway (1), and after travelling 115 km , we stopped at Pardoo Roadhouse, it was midday so we had lunch and decided to take Ike's advice and the night here, and we were not disappointed, the caravan park was absolutely magic, clean spacey and comfortable, with unsuit showers and toilets, a tavern and a restaurant, and what’s more it was the start of the Eighty mile beach reserve. Next morning we woke up early so we can be first in line at the Eighty mile beach so we can get a powered site, since they don’t take bookings, first come first served, must be a very popular park, we’ll find out later. Next morning we started early. and after driving for about fifty kilometres on sealed road, and twelve kilometres on a very rough gravel road, (and after we had a bit of a rowel with Ike, because of the rough track and his car), but eventually he calmed down and we managed to reach the park in one piece, and what a park it was, like an oasis in the desert but right on the beautiful and unspoilt Eighty Mile Beach, off course we were all very impressed. Luckily we were the early birds, cause within ten minutes of our arrival, the queue behind us was about a mile long, so we waited until the overnighters checked out, before we checked in, and then just managed to get two side-by-side sites in a shady spot. The next day as we were discussing fishing over a morning Turkish coffee session, an old guy passed by carrying all the latest fishing gear, so Ike couldn’t help but ask him where he is going and what kind of fish he is expecting to catch, so he said: “mate I’m going Wishing and to be honest with you I don’t have a “F….N”clue of what’s in there I’m new in this game”, so we had a good laugh. In the afternoon we went four wheel driving on the beach to collect shells, we travelled along the wide and flat beach for about thirty or forty kilometres, having fun and collecting beautiful and unusual shells until sunset, and how wonderful that was, mom managed to grab a couple of good shots of that. Next day we spent the morning touring around the park, and in the afternoon we went back four wheel driving and collecting shells, I tell you, you never get sick of it, we had great fun walking and taking memorable photos until sunset when we went back to camp to get ready for the long drive to Broome via Sandfire.


My Footprints at Eighty Mile Beach	Sunset at Eighty Mile Beach

Friday 1st august 2003

We left Eighty Mile Beach at eight thirty in the morning, so as to get an early start to the long trip to Broome, and surprisingly the rough gravel road when coming into Eighty Mile Beach was graded the day before and it was reasonably smooth all the way to the main road, “That made Ike happy”. After driving fifty-four kilometres we arrived at Sandfire roadhouse, unfortunately we were too early for the well talked about pub, so we refuelled, bought some refreshments and snacks, and then went around checking out the caravan park, and were not impressed at all. At about nine forty five, we left the roadhouse heading to the town of Broome. On the way we stopped for lunch at rest area. We arrived Broome at three o’clock and checked in at the Tarangau caravan park, nice and clean park close to the popular Cable Beach, we sat up camp next to each other, had an argument with mom while unhitching as usual, cause she always direct me while she is hiding behind the van and she expect me to be a magician and see her, never mind we always make up shortly after when mom cools down. Then we had our afternoon coffee and then we went to the town centre and had dinner at McDonald, and then around town a bit and back to camp. Broome is a beautiful town, situated at the southernmost tip of the Kimberley region of Western Australia, has an ideal climate which makes it attractive to a 100,000 tourist a year, so you can see they can’t all be wrong. Broome has always been famous for it’s “Pinctada Maxima” pearl shell, which produces some of the world’s finest pearls, add to that, Cable beach which is one of the world’s most famous beaches, with its white sands and turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean and King tides which play an important part with anglers. During our two weeks stay here, we spent one day at Roebuck Bay beach relaxing. another day we went to the visitors centre, then to the beautiful Divers Hotel, where we had some refreshments, then to Cable Beach when we caught up with my brother, his wife, his son and his wife, and spent the evening together chatting and drinking and watching the beautiful Broome’s Camels and Sunset, and listening to Bills exciting fishing stories. Another day we went for a tour to Point Gantheaume, which is about eight kilometres from the town centre, this is a scenic area of red, craggy cliffs, providing a magnificent contrast to the beautiful waters of the Indian Ocean, and that spot had very interesting rockery formation and lovely views, and that’s where you can see the dinosaur footprints at low tides, and also Anastasia’s pool, built from sandstones by a former lighthouse keeper for his arthritic wife Anastasia. Another day we went walking to Willie Creek Pearl Farm showrooms, and after browsing around the most expensive pearls “$99,000.00” for a necklace, we thought they were very nice but we don’t need them at the moment, then we watched a film about pearling, then we went walking to the Cable Beach Resort where we sat around the pool area bar and had few drinks while enjoying the luxury of the resort and its lovely atmosphere. Another day we went shopping and came back with some new fishing gear and prepared for the night’s fishing adventure. Seven o’clock came "The best time for fishing we were told", and the jetty, here we come, we sat on the picnic chairs with the esky next to us trying to catch something, but in vain, until we learnt from one of the workers on the jetty that the tide just bottomed up but unfortunately soon we have to move out because that ship you see over there is going to load some cattle to Indonesia, and as usual that’s the time we started to feel the fish biting but instead of fishing we got busy watching the ship mooring on the jetty and then these huge road trains started coming in and the cranes and fork lifts started unloading the cattle, in fact it was four of them road trains chock a block with cattle, and they managed to unload all of the cattle onto the ship and we were amazed how many that small ship can fit in. So you can see what a Wishing night we had. Another day in the morning we went to the Local Saturday market place, we spent about two hours browsing around, there was nothing special worth of buying except for that delicious Pure Mango whip Ice Cream, it was the best, so natural and so tasty. We left the market and went straight to the races so we can get there early and pick a nice spot, and so we did, and after lunch the first race started so we invested nine dollars on a three trifecta tickets and we won and got back eight bucks, not bad !! Next race we invested six dollars on two trifectas and what do you know we got back twenty-one dollars, good hey! and from then on we could not make ends meet, but never mind the atmosphere was great, there was lots of shows going round and lots of people too, no wander “it was "Broome's Cup Day". So that's how we passed our time in Broome.


Broome's Roebuck Bay Beach	Sunset On Broome's Cable Beach	The Tide Flowing In After Sunset At Broome

A dance Show At Broome's Races	Broome's Historical Museum	Feeding The Horse In Broome

Point Gantheaume In Broome	Point Gantheaume Lighthouse Broome	Point Gantheaume In Broom

Friday 15th August 2003

Got up early and packed up for Derby, our first stop was Willare roadhouse, a lovely place, service station, licensed restaurant, caravan park and a sparkle swimming pool. After we had a snack, we continued to Derby and arrived at two thirty, we checked in at the Kimberley Entrance caravan park, the caravan park was clean and well designed, the ablution block was very conveniently located, and the showers were tops, the town was tidy and the shops, the Post office and the bank were within walking distance from the park and the hosts where very pleasant and welcoming, so we booked for one whole week. Derby lies on King Sound on the Indian Ocean, and is 225 km North of Broome with a population of about 5,000. It has Australia’s highest and lowest tidal range and the second highest in the southern hemisphere, it is also famous for its Boab trees, Botanic gardens, the jetty, the old gaol and for being the start of the famous rugged Gibb River Road. During our stay we went around sightseeing Derby's places of interest, and one of the most fascinating was the Boab tree prison which was about seven kilometres drive, it was a huge Boab tree with an opening, where the police used to imprison the natives for punishment, another time we went for a test drive on the first few kilometres of the rugged Gibb River Road which was initially constructed as a Beef Road to transport cattle from the surrounding stations to the ports of Derby and Wyndham, the Gibb River Road spans about six hundred and sixty kilometres from Derby to the junction of the Great Northern Highway, and only four wheel drives are recommended for the journey, we made few stunts driving up and down this rugged and remote terrain imitating the Leyland Brothers and took lots of memorable photos. On the way back to town the weather was getting a little warm, so we decided to stop at the King Sound Resort Hotel and have some refreshments. Another time we visited the Library and the Botanical Gardens. Our stay in Derby was a very relaxing one and we enjoyed the fishing atmosphere and the walks around the town jetty.


Boab Tree Prison Derby	Leaning Boab Tree Derby	In Front Of The Boab Tree Derby

The Fishing Atmosphere On Derby's Jetty	The Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park	Dellasale Catholic Church Derby

Friday 22^nd August 2003

We hitched the caravan and got going early on our way to Fitzroy Crossing. After a couple of stops for rest and lunch, we arrived at Fitzroy River Lodge Caravan Park at about two thirty in the afternoon, and after checking in for three nights, we went wandering around town checking it out. Fitzroy Crossing is a small town where the Fitzroy River passes through town, the river was very low, but surprisingly enough, still had some water in it at this time of the year. The main residents of the town are Aboriginal people, they were peaceful and friendly and they still enjoy their old traditions. The Caravan Park we stayed in is very big, green and shady surroundings and very clean ablutions. It has a pub and a restaurant but no swimming pool. we took a boat tour to Geikie Gorge, and that was magnificent.


A Crocodile Sunbathing Geikie Gorge Fitzroy	Geikie Gorge Fitzroy Crossing	The Landscape At Geikie Gorge Fitzroy

Monday 25th August 2003

Arrived at the Halls Creek Caravan Park at about one thirty in the afternoon, we checked in for three nights at the Halls Creek caravan park. After settling down, we went for a walk around town since town was close by the caravan park, we bought some bread and some fruits then walked back to camp, and that was another good exercise. Halls Creek was the first Western Australia’s gold rush site, It is a primitive town with a population of about 1600 mainly Aboriginals. Although the town is very remote, surprisingly it had lots of history and interesting places to offer us, for example: We travelled along Duncan road (very rough gravel and loose stones) heading to the Old town of Halls Creek, we stopped to see the Old China Wall. China Wall is a sub-vertical quartz vein, protruding from the surrounding surface, resilient and resistant to weathering, remained as the surrounds eroded away. We walked along the wall for a while, admiring the wonders of nature and taking some memorable pictures. Then we travelled on to Caroline Pool, and we walked along the banks of this natural waterhole, the walk between the natural rockeries was very pleasant. Then we went on to the Old Halls Creek, these are the ruins of the Old Town of Halls Creek, which was built by Charles Hall and John Slattery in 1885, after the discovery of Gold. The ruins consist of remains of the Post Office’s crumbling wall and a small cemetery. There is also a Lodge and caravan park, where we sat and relaxed under the shade of the pergola, and had some ice cream and refreshment, and that was great to be able to find something like this in the middle of nowhere. Another time we went for a picnic to Palm Spring, which is about 47 kilometres out of Halls Creek, we arrived there to find an oasis in the desert surrounded by palms and eucalyptus trees, with a fresh water spring running down from the surrounding hills. We walked around and then sat for lunch under the shade of a eucalyptus tree, sipping on and icy cold beer and enjoying the views around us. After lunch, we went on for another three kilometres in to the Sawpit Gorge, which was another heaven in the desert, with magnificent rock formations and running water. We spent most of the day there, and then we returned home. After a short rest, we walked to town and done a bit of shopping, took some pictures, then we walked to the Comfort Inn for some refreshments then back to camp to pack up and get ready for the morning trip to Kununurra.

At SawPit Spring - Halls Creek

The Mighty Cruiser Halls Creek

John In Heaven - Halls Creek

A picnic to Palm Spring, which is about 47 km out of Halls Creek, we arrived there to find an oasis in the desert surrounded by palms and eucalyptus trees, with a fresh water spring running down from the surrounding hills. We walked around and then sat for lunch under the shade of a eucalyptus tree, sipping on and icy cold beer and enjoying the views around us.

After lunch, we went on for another three kilometres in to the Sawpit Gorge, which was another heaven in the desert, with magnificent rock formations and running water. We spent most of the day there, and then we returned home.

Thursday the 28^th August

Left Halls Creek about nine o’clock in the morning heading to Kununurra, the last town in Western Australia. After travelling for about two hundred kilometres, we stopped at Turkey Creek Roadhouse for a rest and refuel, by the way the price of gas was a ripping “92 cents a litre” "comparing it to Perth price of 35 cents a litre average", then we carried on to Kununurra arriving at the Ivanhoe Village Caravan Resort at about three thirty in the afternoon and checked in for two weeks. The caravan park is a five star tropical layout, full of shady green palm trees, a restaurant and a bar with a clean and sparkle swimming pool, we rated it the best we came across as yet. The staff were all pleasant and helpful, the caravan sites had ample room, and above all it was only 600 metres from the town centre. Kununurra is an Aboriginal name meaning “the meeting of big waters”, has a population of 6000. The town is on Lake Kununurra on the Ord Rivers, and is the Kimberley’s gateway from the East. It offers access to an enormous variety of unique and colourful Kimberley’s adventures. The vast Lake Argyle together with the year round flow of the Ord River released from the reservoir, not only irrigates the agricultural land but provides a major tourist attraction, in the midst of the already magnificent scenery of the Kimberley.


Ivanhoe Crossing Kununurra	Lake Argyle - Kununurra	Lake Argyle - Kununurra

Zebra Rockz Gallery Kununurra	Zebra Sculpture Kununurra	Zebra Rockz Gallery Kununurra

The Grotto Entrance Kununurra	There Is No Shortage Of Water In Kununurra	Down The Grotto Kununurra

Hungry Crocodile Wyndham	Ivanhoe Caravan Park Pool Kununurra	Crocodile Asleep?? Wyndham

During our stay in Kununurra, we went to the Ivanhoe Crossing but we could not cross the river, because the water was flooding over the road bridge, and what a spectacular sight that was, we took lots of pictures, then we went to the Rockz Gallery and Mango farm where Mom bought herself a necklace, a bangle and a set of earring, then we treated ourselves with delicious frozen mango, then we moved on to the Barra-Barra Bananas and tropical fruit farm, and treated ourselves again with chocolate coated frozen banana and mango and we sat in the garden by the pond munching on them, then we bought some bananas and rock melon. We went to lake Kununurra where the Zebra Rock Farm is, and visited the Rock Art Gallery and workshop where they cut and polish those "Zebra look alike" stones, then we sat outside in their garden by the lake and had lunch, and the lady from the farm generously offered us a delicious water melon, which went down very well, then we wondered around the lake feeding the fish and then into the Rock Gallery where we saw the many different shapes of the Zebra rocks cut and polished to perfection by the artist owner of the farm, then we wondered around their gardens where they kept a variety of talking parrots, proud peacocks and colourful birds. Got invited to dinner by Mick and Rima (relative of ours), where Rima prepared a delicious variety of dishes, and they were excellent. Mick is the Sergeant in charge of the Police station in Kununurra and the surrounding area. On his day off he took Ike and myself on a boat ride with his runabout along Lake Kununurra and the Ord River, while the ladies stayed behind with Rima, the weather was warm and we enjoyed the ride very much, especially when we were cruising alongside the banks of the Ord river where everything was green, and Mick was pointing out all the up market mansions and the best spots for catching the Barras, we drank lots of beer, and that was great of him, we enjoyed it very much (thanks Mick and Rima). Another day we went all of us on a tour of the local Police Station where Mick works and he took us around the whole operation explaining to us how things are done and how hard it is to deal with the public. Another day we went to Wyndham which lies on West Coast of Western Australia and about 100 km E of Kununurra, visited the Crocodile farm and went for a guided tour, it was fascinating, then we went up the high lookout and had a 360 degrees view of the town and the surrounding area, then into the Wyndham hotel where we had a delicious meal of Barramundi chips and salad. On the way back we stopped and visited the Grotto which was a water hole down at the bottom of a very steep and rocky valley but it was well worth seeing. And that wrapped up our Western Australia tour and looked forward to the next phase of our trip, which will be the Northern Territories.

Goodbye Western Australia and Hello Northern Territory