WYNDHAM / Sea At Last!

In the end we couldn't get out of Kununurra too soon - not because of any problem with the town so much as the backpackers in our caravan park keeping us awake all night, the grey nomads with their caravans packed in shoulder to shoulder on all sides, and a bit of a sense that we hadn't come all this way just so we could hang out in a town and drink coffee all day.  So we gave up our plans to spend Mel's birthday relaxing under a tree, packed ourselved up, and hit the road.  [actually, to be more accurate, Gav did the packing up.  And in his eagerness to prove that he was a big boy who could do it all by himself he successfully reversed the car into the camper trailer.  Happy birthday darling.]

We set out through the East Kimberley - vast dry open ranges and distant gorges.  We'd heard of a little out-of-the-way place called Parry's Lagoon where we could camp, and we found it down a corrugated road not far from Wyndham, a little tumbleweedy sort of a town on the coast.  Parry's Lagoon was one of the great finds of our trip - nothing spectacular, but a quiet little campground run a couple who cooked up homestyle meals for us (such a relief after some of the crap we'd been eating!) which we shared with a select group of companions, including some very sincere bird-watchers.  They (the bird-watchers that is) would say things like: "we got 60 this morning" and "that one's a Yellow-Tinted" and "have you seen any Gouldians?".  They were far more interesting than drunken backpackers, and we even got in a bit of bird-watching ourselves: Plumed Whistling Ducks, Brolgas, Grey-Crowned Babblers, a Brown Goshawk and our very first Mistletoebird - among many more.

We stayed 3 nights at Parry's and used it as our base for exploring Wyndham and some of waterholes in the area.  It's an area I'd be happy to explore some more one day - the landscape feels a lot like central Australia, but with stunning little water-filled oases tucked away here and there.  And, or course, The Sea.

The photos:
 / five rivers lookout at Wyndham
 / Old Wyndham
 / The Wyndham train
 / Emma Gorge lower waterhole
 / and higher waterhole
 / reflections in The Grotto
 / a Kimberley sunset

MIRIMA NP / the mini-bungles for mini-adventurers

     

  

KUNUNURRA TOWN / pretending like we're in the big smoke

  

  

  

Our last night in NT was spent at the Victoria River Roadhouse. We picked a spot away from the highway, amongst some trees, and made use of the good facilities. Heading towards WA we had a time change ahead. It would be Saturday morning so we decided to use the time change to our advantage and head to the markets in Kununurra before setting up camp there for a couple of nights. 

The temperature was definitely warming up for us, but Kununurra looked so green and vibrant, the markets held under the trees in a park in town. We browsed, brought fruit and veg, ate fruit ice cream and then headed to a cafe we had heard about - Wild Mango. The coffee was good (even the decaf!), as was the food, and we were happy to be here. 

About the photos - 
/ Wild Mango coffee
/ The appearance of a tiny baby bump and brunch
/ Time at the beautiful park by the Lily pond, birdwatching (beware the poo!)
/ The Lily pond has a huge, old Boab
/ Time spent drawing, this is a Double Barred Finch. 

Things to note:
- Crossing the border there is a quarantine - no fresh fruit or veg, seeds or some nuts. Make sure you've eaten your food! They will make you open up things. 
- We camped at Hidden Valley Caravan Park. The shady sites are cool but some are teeny, tiny. The vibe is a little bit strange with the mix of grey nomads and long-termers. Next time we'd stay by the Lily pond.
- Mirima NP (Hidden Valley) is described as the mini-bungles. It has beautiful rock formations, is right next to town and is 'mini' so easy walks and bird-watching. This is where we first spotted the finches I was drawing.
- Kununurra has a decent Coles, a good cafe, a pool, Target, several options for camping, and good asian next to the visitors centre. El Questro has their own centre in between the visitors and asian.
- The Pump House is a restaurant just out of town, on the Ord River. DON'T GO ON TAPAS NIGHT (Sunday)! It's much better any other night of the week with the full menu. 
- Like most places in the Kimberley, things get quiet in the 'wet', the markets have finished now and I think El Questro is closed for the season. 
- We also went out to the Zebra Rock Cafe for a change of scenery. Fresh mango smoothie was good, menu fairly basic and straightforward.

GREGORY NP

One magical afternoon spent wandering up and around the escarpment at Gregory NP. Spying bright flowers and a little rock wallaby. Funny attempts at self-timer photos. Gav looking like he's about to hop off the rocks. Late afternoon sun in the grass. 

We stayed the night at the roadhouse just 5 km's before the Escarpment Walk. The NP can be explored by 4wd and looks like it would be pretty amazing. 
 

NITMILUK NP / Katherine

Highlights: 
- Cool water swim 
- Sunset overlooking the gorge
- Canoeing up the second gorge
- Spotting a freshwater crocodile

Not-so-high-lights:
- Bed hair and ridiculous selfies (me, not Gav - I think he is a spunk!)
- Large crowds and noisy boats on tour down the gorge
- Overnight canoe trips being booked out
- Being part of the dusty towing line up at the camp ground

Nitmiluk is a beautiful and sacred place. This beauty is a bit compromised by the touristy set up here. If we had been able to get away on an overnight canoe then I'm sure we would've had a different experience but we were glad to at least canoe the second gorge - it was stunning and much more peaceful. 

Gav was hoping to spot a Freshie and had just about given up when I glanced back over my shoulder to see quite a big one sunning itself on the rocks. Sadly, it looked like it had some fishing line coming out of its mouth and something attached to it's foot too...I hope it was ok. 

ELSEY NATIONAL PARK, NT

When we reached this place we breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

 It signified the end of our long, long drives and the beginning of Part II of our on-the-road holiday. It also felt like an oasis after having been through the centre. We had resurfaced on the other side. 

Elsey NP is off the main road. It's a spacious place with lots of different places to camp, without feeling like you are packed in like terraces in the city. Facilities are good. The river is beautiful for swimming, fishing, birdwatching and sitting by. We only paused here for an afternoon, one night and the next morning, but we really did like it. 

It was a full, or near-full, moon that evening so we went down to the river to see what we could see. The air was fresh and it was pretty magical. That is, WAS pretty magical before the camels started making their terrible racket, that is. Have YOU heard a camel? At the West Macs we'd heard crazy stories about camels (like when it's dry they've been known to go in to communities and damage taps and air conditioning units) so I was just a little bit disturbed by the thought of our lovely moonlit walk turning into a horror film scene where we are jumping in the river to escape the camel stampede. So, my imagination might run a little wild sometimes*... 

 The last photo is of the only place we stopped in Mataranka - the petrol station. But the town looked like a pretty nice place to stop for a bit if you had more time. We were on a mission to get to Katherine town for supplies and then head on to the gorge (Nitmiluk). 

Hot tips for travellers: 

- Bitter Springs. We didn't get there but apparently this is the nicest, most natural-like spring around Mataranka. 
- Note the above regarding Elsey - it's a nice place. 

 * You might have read my dingo ramblings from our night  at Ormiston Gorge...