Kununurra _ Saying goodbye to the Rippons

Tuesday 11 June 2013 - Wednesday 12 June 2013

The drive between Home Valley and El questro was incredibly rocky and rugged and we also had to cross the mighty Pentecost River.  When we made it to the end of the Gibb River Road we drove to Wyndham to meet the Rippons at the Five Rivers lookout.  From this lookout  you can view the Ord, Forrest, King, Durack and Pentecost Rivers that merge with the Cambridge Gulf.

 

The Five Rivers lookout

We spent our last night with the Rippons at Parry's Creek farm tourist resort where we enjoyed an evening swim and pizza from the restaurant.  The boys had fun cane toad hunting and managed to catch 21 cane toads. The next morning Craig went with some of the Rippons to the Billabong down the road to view all the early morning bird life that frequented the area.

The next day we drove to Kununurra in convoy with the Rippons and we checked into the Ivanhoe van park, where mum and dad were waiting for us.  The Rippons came over to the van park for lunch and a swim before it was time to say goodbye.  This goodbye came a little earlier than we expected and it was very sad to leave them once again.  Now, for the rest of the trip we were on our own.

 

 

'Saying Goodbye'

 

Derby and Gibb River Road

Friday 7 June 2013 - Tuesday 11 June 2013

As Nick and Belinda were leaving Broome at the same time we decided to do a car swap with the kids.  Sophie came with us and Lachlan went with the Pinks.  We swapped the kids back at the roadhouse after which we went our separate ways. The Pinks took the turnoff to Fitzroy Crossing and we kept driving towards the Gibb River Road.

On our way we passed through Derby which has the highest tides in Australia, with the peak differential between low and high tide reaching 11.8 meters.  We tried to get to the wharf in time to see the run in tide but unfortunately just missed it.  However while we were there, we couldn't resisted a feed of Barra and Chips for lunch.






We also stopped at the Boab Prison Tree which was used as a lock up facility in the 1890s for prisoners who were on their way to Derby.

                                                 Boab Prison Tree

 

On departing Derby we commenced our journey along the 600 odd kilometre Gibb River road.  That night we stayed at March Fly Glenn and met a family with two young girls ,Courtney and Cassy. All the kids had fun playing spotlight around the camp site.  The next day we went with them to Bell Gorge and had a swim at the falls.  The walk in was around 40 minutes in the heat so a refreshing swim at the bottom of the gorge was just the ticket.

 

 

 



That afternoon we arrived at the Manning Gorge camp ground and the kid immediately recognised the camper trailer of Thomas and his family who we had originally met at Eighty Mile Beach.  Thomas, Adam and his friends had fun swimming in the lagoon and having a row in the boat that was needed to get across the river.

 

The next morning we packed up early and made our way towards Home Valley Station, stopping on the way at Ellenbrae Stations for a scrumptious Devonshire tea.  We arrived at Home Valley just after lunch.  We had such a good time there when we stayed there 9 years ago and wondered if the same young family were still running the place this time around.  We were amazed to see the difference.  There was now a huge kids playground, a bar and grill and a resort style swimming pool.  There were also numerous activities such as hele fishing, sight seeing tours and horse rides. 

 

It had become way more commercial than it had been 9 years ago where the couple who ran the place back then prepared a home cooked roast for the 10 or so travellers who were staying there.

 





We met two girls from Darwin - and they decided to sign up for helefishing.  We watched their helicopter take off the next morning and they came back later that evening with a 79cm barramundi.  That night they paid a small fee for the chefs to cook the Barra and indulged in a delicious feast.

 

The next morning we went to visit their bush campsite by the river and enjoyed the sunrise over coffee.

 

 

                                                                             Home Valley Bush Camp on the Pentacost River

 

 

We drove up to the Cockburn range lookout one evening to take in the sunset. We marvelled at the brightness of the Moon and Venus which were lined up next to each other in the evening sky.



 

 

 

I took a horse ride that was supposed to be for 2 hours and turned into 4 hours. As there was only a small group riding the stockmen decided to extend the ride and it was a fantastic way to see the Kimberly landscape.  When we arrived back Craig had packed up the camper and we decided to have lunch at the restaurant before departing.

 

 

Leaving Broome and Cape Leveque

Monday 3rd June 2013 - Friday 7th June 2013

On our last night in Broome Craig went solo to the Ice House concert at Cable Beach.  He enjoying sitting under the stars listening to all the Ice House classics.

 
The next day we decided that we'd go to Cape Leveque seeing as we missed it on our last trip.  We took our camper and although the track was quite corrugated we made it to Middle Lagoon with little trouble.  When we got there we went for a bit of frisbee throwing and swimming in the clear waters that backed onto our campsite.  The kids soon got out though as they had been stung by something in the water that they thought may have been jelly fish. 

We met a family from Derby, who camped there every year, and we played a bit of beach cricket with them. 

 

We took a drive up to the top of Cape Leveque and after paying $5 per person we were allowed to explore the beaches of Kooljamon. 

  

 

 

 

On the way back we visited the Whalesong Cafe where we marvelled at the changing colours of the ocean while enjoying coffee and cake from the deck.

 

That night it started to rain slightly and as we had heard it was pouring down in Broome. We decided we should head back from Cape Leveque the next morning in case it rained heavily and the road became impassable. 

   

The trip back was very hairy as the rain set in...before long we were driving through a "river".  There was many a time where I thought we might get bogged although Craig did exceptionally well and we made it to the end of the 130km dirt road.  Here we encountered two other Canberra cars, which had also drove the in the crazy conditions, and we came to the conclusion that us Canberra people must be the only ones silly enough to attempt this drive.

  

We eventually got back to Broome and we heard that the Cape Leveque road had been closed about 30 minutes before we got back. Thank goodness we made it or we would have been stuck at the Cape for about 5 nights. 
 
Craig and Adam went to the Divers tavern that night to sample their famous lamb ribs and watch the State of Origin. They were the only New South Wales supporters in the room and they were very happy as New South Wales won that game.

It  poured all night and the camper got soaked so we spent the next day washing and drying almost everything we owned.

 

  A wet Cable beach van park

 

 

 

 

 

Broome (Catching up with Grandma and Grandad)

Sunday 26 May 2013 - Sunday 2nd June 2013

When we arrived in Broome Grandma and Grandad were already there.  The kids hung out in their van for a little while and then we went across the road to Divers Tavern to watch the North Melbourne game.  Unfortunately North lost by one point so we didn’t really have a very happy Craig.

Steve, who we had met at Tom Price, organised a table at the Mangrove Hotel to watch Staircase  to the Moon.  As we had pre arranged this reunion in advance with many of the families we had met on the road we ended up having a table for ten adults and lots of kids.  We arrived around 4.00pm, just in time for happy hour where we were able to buy Corona and lime served in buckets of ice for $5 per  Corona.  We had a brilliant night catching up with all our new found friends that we had met at various points in our travels. 

 

 

 

Staircase to the moon                                                                               

 Mif, Michelle, Tash, Belinda and I had a girls day which involved an hour long massage followed by a trip to Matso's Brewery for lunch.   We were all very impressed with our massages - and were all super relaxed by the time we hit the brewery.  The food at the brewery was fantastic and we sampled a number of their speciality beers including their famous chilli beer. 

The boys got their turn and went on a fishing charter the next day where they travelled 40 miles out to sea.  The highlight for Craig was catching a Spanish Mackeral.  It was hard work though as the boys had to get their fish in quick to avoid them being eaten by sharks.  The Spaniard made for some tasty meals in the days to come.

 

We spent two nights catching up with friends over drinks and nibbles while we watched the sun set over Cable beach.  Adam, Kai and Grandma also took an afternoon camel ride along cable beach.

 

 

 

 Sunset at Cable Beach

 

 

 

 

 

Craig, Dad and I spent a day at the races where I was able to buy a bargain dress for $50 reduced from $180.  We spent the day with Nathan and Steph and Mif, Darren and the kids.  Afterwards Craig and I headed out on the town and got a late night pizza.

 

 

 

 

Eighty Mile Beach and Port Smith

Thursday 23 May 2013 - Sunday 26 May 2013

As we drove along the Shay Creek road we did not see another car for roughly 130km’s.  When we turned onto the Great Northern Highway we realised quite quickly it was important to have our CB radio on the truckie channel to stay safe, as there were so many road trains and wide loads that frequented this highway. 

We arrived at Eighty Mile Beach and set up at one of the many campsites in this huge van park. 

Eighty Mile van park

 

We took a walk onto the beach and the kids were amazed at all the huge sand dollars and shells that covered  almost all areas of the sand.  We watched the sunset and chatted to our new friend Mif who was from Ulladulla.

 

Sunset on Eighty Mile Beach

 

 

 

Early morning moon setting on Eighty Mile Beach

Fishing at Eighty Mile Beack involves waiting for the last 2 hours of the run in tide - something that most of the people staying there do.  Armed with a tide chart the boys set up their rods in preparation for fishing the next day.

Craig and Adam drove down the beach with high hopes of catching a fish seeing as this was a very popular fishing spot.  The younger boys and I walked down the beach for a couple of km’s to find them.  The wind was so strong I had sand blowing in my face the whole way. Unfortunately the wind was no good for fishing and there were no fish caught despite about 80-odd people peppering the water with juicy baits. 
 

That afternoon we went to Mif and Darren’s van to watch the AFL and Craig announced that he was going to go for a fish that night.  A few people told him not to bother but he did it anyway.  Although Craig did not catch anything that night the only other guy "silly enough" to fish at night managed to hook a 20 pound Jew fish.  He ended up giving Adam a few fillets as Adam had talked to him the day before asking him how his fishing was going.  It was such a generous gesture from a stranger and we enjoyed a beautiful feed that night.

 

We went around to say goodbye to Mif, Darren and their kids Archie and Rosie.  As they had packed up and were leaving the same time we decided to travel to Port Smith together.  After we set up at the van park we took a drive to the lagoon.  To get to the water we had to wade through lots of mud and the kids played “dodge the mud crubs”.

The next morning Mif made us all some scrumptious pancakes and afterwards we packed up to head to Broome.

 

 

Port Smith

Marble Bar

Wednesday 22nd May - Thursday 23rd May 2013

After being told by many a traveller that the Marble Bar pub was well worth a visit we decided we should put this place on our itinerary.  Marble Bar is also well known for it's extremely hot weather and set a world record of most consecutive days of  37.8 °C or above for 160 days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924. Due to Craig's interest in weather we also thought that this was  a good reason to visit.  We took a very scenic dirt track to Marble bar with many abandoned mines along the way and spectacular scenery of red mountain ranges and mounds of rock.  We stopped a few times to take in the scenery and snap a few shots.  We did not pass a single vehicle for the whole 150kms!
 

 

 We arrived at Marble Bar and had lunch at the pub where we met a couple of locals who were very inviting and happy to welcome visitors. The vibe was good so we set up at the local van park and walked back to the pub, which was only around the corner.  Kai enjoyed playing music on the juke box, Lachlan practiced his handstands inside the pub and Adam had a go at darts.  We chatted to a few locals (including the photo bomber below) and the local doctor.  Another told us the quickest way to get to Eighty Mile Beach. It was a lot more scenic than the 'blue road' through Port Headland and would cut off about 200km's of driving.   Interestingly the pub's chef was from Thailand and we were told that the Thai dishes were a specialty around these parts and we had to try them.  Craig had the Thai green chicken curry for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Price and Karijini National Park

Wednesday 15 May 2013 - Wednesday 22 May 2013

After Exmouth we were going to meet the Rippons at Cape Range.  After waking to a very rainy day and checking out the camping websites of Cape Range, to find that all the camping areas were full, we decided to head inland to enjoy some different scenery and definitely some less windy weather.

We drove to Tom Price, which is WA's highest town located 747 m above sea level. We met Bill, Sal and Bridget for lunch in the local shopping square and that night the boys met some new friends in the van park, Kai and his brother Finn. The next morning we met Kai and Finns parents, Steve and Lotcha and they invited us over for a cappucino.  Both families took a drive up the four wheel drive track of  Mount Nameless and enjoyed the view of the town and mines below.

At the top of Mt Nameless 

 
When we arrived at Karijini we visited the camp hosts who allocated us a spot in Kangaroo loop, they also gave the kids ranger activity books to complete so they could earn their junior ranger badge. When we got to our spot we recognised our neighbours van which belonged to Nathan and Steph, who we had met at a rest stop on the way to Tom Price.  That afternoon we took a walk to Circular Pool.  The walk was rated as a class 5 walk, which meant that some parts were very steep and rugged, and the boys coped extremely well. On the way we encountered many lizards which were basking in the afternoon sun. When we arrived at Circular pool we all enjoyed a very refreshing swim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circular Pool

 

The next day Adam’s mate Ryan and his family arrived in Kangaroo loop and set up camp across from us.  We also caught up with Sal, Bill and Bridget again who were camped not too far from us.  We took a walk with Bridget to Fortescue Falls where  the kids had great fun sliding down the slippery slopes into the water.  That night we had a BBQ with Ryan and his family.

 

The kids checking out their walk from the top of the gorge

 



 

Sliding down the slopes of Fortescue

 



The next day the Rippons arrived and we took a walk along the bottom of the Gorge starting at Circular Pool through to  Fortescue falls  and ending up at Fern Pool.  The track along the gorge was a lovely shaded walk and we had a swim at all the stops along the way. 

 

The pool at the bottom of Fortescue falls

 

We took a drive out to Joffre Falls before attempting a very challenging walk to Handrail Pool.  Part of the walk required us all to swim a water crossing that was too deep to walk.  My kids were amazing and swam across with dad, whereas I attempted to scale the rock wall without falling in.  It would have been alot easier to swim but I am not a big fan of swimming in water where I cannot see what is below me.  We then had to scale a steep hand rail down the side of the waterfall to get to the pool.  Adam, Kai and Craig even went a little further and swam in the dark cave at the end of the walk.

As a few other families including Richard and Rachel and Steve and Lotcha were also camping at Karijini we all had a big group BBQ. We all brought along our meat and communal salads and had a wonderful time sharing our travelling stories.  When we left Karijini the kids become honorary Karijini junior rangers.

 

 

 

The kids table