After 22,000km's, three border crossings, two tows, and zero haircuts, we're almost half way through our lap! It's been phenomenal to say the least, and I think the more of this beautiful country we see, the more thankful we are that we decided to stop talking about it and actually do it.
When we told our families about our plans I think there were a few mixed emotions; my sister was horrified that I would be using a shewee and Luke's mum was worried about our lack of mechanical skills. So to be able to have them come up and meet us, and really get a feel for how we've been living and how amazing Australia is, was such a great way to celebrate our (almost) half way point.
Broome
We spent a week in this little oasis with my parents and my sister, living it up in one of Cable Beach's many resorts. Plenty of food, cocktails and Heinekins were consumed and I'm pretty sure I put on about 5kgs. We did a few touristy things; the camel ride (which went past the nudist beach), Guentheame Point (where we only found the fake dinosaur footprint), and Mum and Ness splurged on the Horizontal Falls boat trip (whilst Luke, Dad and I went to the pub). The best thing really was hanging out with everyone though. The air conditioned room and bed was just a bonus!
Luke's parents arrived for the last couple of days of wining and dining in Broome, in which even more Heiniken was consumed, before we took off for the Gibb River Road. I was looking forward to a detox, but I knew that wouldn't be the case!!
-> Cable Beach, Broome
-> Sunset Drinks
Derby
We left Broome, my family, and the comforts of the resort, and headed straight for Derby aka the Gateway to the Kimberley. The main activity here was our flight over the Horizontal Falls which included a stop in at Cape Leveque for morning tea and a swim. This natural wonder of the world truly was wonderful. I could never really get my head around it, but once you're up here and see how vast the tides are and the sheer force of all that water movement, you can understand how such a phenomenon exists.
-> Horizontal Falls
-> Horizontal Falls
-> Horizontal Falls
The Gibb
The next day we actually started driving on the Gibb which was a momentous occasion. We'd heard a lot of differentiating stories about the road conditions and were prepared for the worst. But we have a new rule handed on to us by Mr Bob - a bad road is one where you feel like you're not going to make it. We never felt like that once on the Gibb so we considered this a blessing!
Our first stop was Mornington Wilderness Camp which is part of the Australian Wilderness Conservatory. After a 90km driveway you get to a campsite with toilets, showers, a restaurant and bar. We were all in awe that something like that could be in the middle of the bush. We enjoyed a few nights here, exploring the swimming holes and Sir John Gorge, where we saw a crocodile AFTER we'd been swimming. Luke assured me it was a freshie.
The next stop was Mt Barnett Roadhouse via Adcock Gorge, another beautiful swimming hole with a picturesque waterfall. You're going to get sick of me describing all of these stunning places so I'll just let the pictures do the talking! Mt Barnett is where you camp to get to Manning Gorge (a labouring walk in the hot sun where at one point you have to get in a boat and pull yourself across the river) and is also one of the few places you can get fresh fruit and veg. Unfortunately all they had available was a capsicum, so tuna and capsicum wraps it was!
The next few days saw us at Drysdale River Station (for the famous Kimberley Burger) and then heading up to Mitchell Falls. I think this was the highlight of the Kimberley trip for most of us; not only were the actual falls breathtaking but the walk in was equally spectacular. Well worth the 2 hour drive in on the 50km road!
El Questro was last on the itinerary for the Gibb (via Ellenbrae for their famous scones) and it definitely lived up to expectations; beautiful gorges, walks, horrible 4 wheel drive tracks with spectacular views, and of course the all you can eat BBQ. I feel like I'm talking about food a lot in this blog..
-> Sir John Gorge
-> Manning Gorge
-> Little Merten Falls
-> Boab Tree
-> Rainbow Bee Eater
-> Zebedee Thermal Springs
-> Champagne Springs
-> Mitchell Falls
-> Torquoise Pool, Emma Gorge
-> El Questro Gorge
-> Emma Gorge
-> Pentecost River Crossing
Kununurra
We finally made it to Kununurra for our last week with Luke's parents. They all went on a barramundi fishing tour up the Lower Ord River while I sat by the pool at the caravan park (fishing isn't my forte). Luke will say this was his second favourite thing in the Kimberley - catching a 79cm Barra. Steve was the winner of the day though, hooking in a whopping 83cm! Apparently he ended up on the floor of the boat trying to reel this thing in!!
The following day was when all our troubles started. We had two consecutive attempts to get to the Bungle Bungle NP, both in which we broke down and had to get towed back to Kununurra. I won't bore you with the mechanical details, mainly because I don't really understand, but we are now back on the road and cruising along. Fingers crossed. I personally blame Debbie who said the night before "I can't believe you guys haven't had any car trouble yet".
-> 83cm Barramundi
-> Big Saltwater Croc!
-> 79cm Barra
Lake Argyle
We decided the universe didn't want us to see the Bungles so we opted to spend our last two nights relaxing in Lake Argyle. And what a beautiful spot to do it! The famous infinity pool was a touch cold, but the sunset cruise was a massive winner with an endless supply of middies!! It was actually really interesting too, learning about the history of the Durack family who herded over 2,000 cattle across from Queensland back in the late 1800's and then how they came up with the idea to build the dam wall. The amount of water in the lake while we were there was 28 times more than Sydney Harbour. Safe to say we only cruised around 1/4 of it.
-> Lake Argyle Infinity Pool
-> Ord River
The Tanami
Sadly the time came to drop Luke's parents off at the airport and say goodbye. We were so glad they could do this section of Australia with us, it's something we will remember forever. Especially breaking down in Turkey Creek and meeting 'Chook' the local mechanic! But it was time for the next part of the adventure.. Crossing the Tanami! We met up with our traveling troopy friends Vicky and Jamie in Halls Creek to embark on this great desert. They kindly offered to keep us company on this 1000km dirt road where there are brumbies, cattle, and road trains at every turn. This is when it really started to get cold for us too; dropping down to negative digits overnight. We managed to stay warm with fires and thermals and got the whole thing done in two days!
Now for the NT...
Stay tuned!
Love Luke and Maddy
(Chapter 6 written by Maddy)