Penquin Island

Pelicans and their chicks

June 4,  2011

I'm determined to try to catch up with my blogging, been so long since I've written anything but I'll try to recreate stuff from my calendar.

Drove out to Penguin Island today, not far from Perth.  This is where the fairy penguins nest, they're also called "little penguins."  Just a small island with lots of nesting birds including gulls and pelicans.   As we were leaving on the ferry back to the mainland, a sea eagle swooped down and grabbed a pelican chick.

Fairy Penguins

Kimberley Trip continued

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Our last day in Broome, we borrowed bikes from our B&B and rode down to Gantheaume Point, to walk along the beach.  Saw the coolest rocks, jokingly named the Bingle Bingles after the much larger Bungle Bungles.

From there we rode into town for lunch and then up to Cable Beach to take a camel ride, before heading off to the airport for the flight back to Perth.

camels on Cable Beach

our camels

All in all a great trip, hated to see it end, so glad to have had the chance to see the Kimberley's , even if we didn't see everything we expected to see.  But we got to explore some places off the beaten track, that few people get to see, so it was all good.  We had a great group of traveling companions and our guide bent over backwards to show us some amazing sights.  Looking forward to the next trip.

Kimberley Trip continued

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Our last day on the tour and we drive to Mimbi Caves,  an awesome place, where we meet up with an aborigine named Robby.  He talks about the dreamtime, which is the aborigine's explanation for the creation of the world, and includes stories of how the rivers, oceans, mountains, etc were formed.  He spoke of their culture, and showed us lots of different tools and several plants that are used for medicines, in rites and ceremonies, etc. 

Robby with boomerang

rocks on the walk to the caves

The cave is totally unimproved - no lighting, very rocky and hard to navigate.  We have to wear hard hats and carry a torch.  The cave is huge with lots of tunnels and rooms going off in all directions and there is a small lake at the end.   Some bats fly overhead and scare the pee out of several women, but it is an awesome place, and not on many of the tour itineraries.  

lizard rock art

This was our last stop and we will be late getting back since the itinerary was completely changed around; so instead of getting back to Broome by 5:00pm it will be 8 or later.  

While we're driving Wayne tells us about some of the obscure drinking laws still in affect in Broome.  He  says he recently walked into a drive through bottle shop to buy a case of beer.  He was told however that he could not walk in, as it was a drive through only, so he had to have a car.   He said he just took the clerk outside and pointed to his car parked down the street, and then he said it was o.k. to sell him the beer.

At another indoor bottle shop, he went in, bought something, but then noticed a sign saying that only 1 purchase per day per customer was allowed.  He asked the clerk,  "So you mean if I come in later I can’t buy anything else?" and the clerk confirmed that in fact, that was the law.  So Wayne, said, "Does that mean there is nothing to keep me from buying a whole bunch of alcohol the first time?" and the clerk agreed that yes, in fact, he could buy as much as he wanted, so long as he bought it all at once.   

Kimberley Trip continued

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Breky this morning was at 5:30 am, ugh, and yet we all still managed to be on the bus and ready to leave 20 minutes early.  Bill and I have learned that no matter what time breakfast is set for, it will be over and cleaned up by then, since some of the people on the tour expect the kettle to be on as soon as they get out of their tent, even if it's only 5 o'clock in the morning.   Poor Wayne says we are killing him, he never stops running, since he has to deal with all the food, load the bags, tents, swags, etc.   We had lunch at a rest stop and saw the coolest spider web in the loo, it looked just like a sewing machine criss cross stitch.  Wayne said it’s called a Blanket Stitch Spider we we all agreed it was aptly named, but then he admitted he made it up.

From there we drove to Old Halls Creek, an old gold mining town, with a cemetery, some very old rusted automobiles and some giant termite mounds.  

lots of termite mounds

old rusted out auto

Then it was on to China Wall, a gorgeous spot with pools, flowers and a wall that looks man made but is completely natural.  

China Wall

pool at China Wall

We headed back to the Halls Creek caravan park, but some of the group spotted an entire front yard full of Sturt's Desert Pea, complete with a cute puppy, so we got out to take pics and walked the rest of the way back.

Sturt's Desert Pea

We had dinner at the local pub, very good thai food but it took nearly 2 hours to get served.  Someone bought Wayne a card and we all pitched in with a healthy tip, since he did such a great job showing us as much of the Kimberley as he could, considering the fact that most of it was still closed or under water.  You realize just how isolated you are when we found out there are only 2 gas stations in town and both are sold out of diesel fuel.  Wayne says the chance of a tanker truck coming in during the night is very small, so he makes arrangements to meet up with his wife the next morning, to siphon fuel from her truck into ours.  She is also a guide with the same company and is leaving the following day for a week long trip in the Kimberley.  But in the morning Wayne remembers there is a tiny little station on one of the side roads, and sure enough it has diesel, so we are saved.  Ah, the daily unknowns of the outback.    

Kimberley Trip continued

Monday, May 23, 2011

Before leaving camp we checked out a local artist's exhibit and bought his catalog, an amazing talent but his paintings were quite expensive.   Wayne checked again with the office and the Gibb River Road is still closed, so we drove to Home Valley Station.   On the way we stopped to look at the Pentecost River crossing, which not long ago was 20 meters (60 feet) above normal levels.  Seeing all the debris at the top of very tall trees still made it hard to imagine the water being that deep and extending as far back as it did.

Pentecost River

From there we drove to Bindoola falls, an absolutely gorgeous spot that Wayne had never been to before.   He's been trying to find places to show us since the normal itinerary is not available, and this was one of the undiscovered gems.   There were 2 big waterfalls and lots of smaller ones, that several people went into to cool off.  Bill and I hiked to the bottom to get pictures of both falls together. 

Bindoola Falls

sloughing lizard

At the campground that night there were so many frogs - in the sinks, showers, everywhere.  I was taking a photo of this frog in the sink, when I noticed the little baby frog's head sticking up out of the drain.  He tried to grab a beetle that walked right over the drain, but it was so big it ended up pushing the baby frog back down the drain.  Poor little guy.

frog and baby

There was a sign in the bathrooms, warning about snakes, but we didn't see any, just lots of frogs and insects for them to eat.

Kimberley Trip continued

Sunday, May 22, 2011

This morning we drove to Zebedee Springs, with just a short walk to the hot springs.  There were lots of pools and the water was nice and warm.  

Zebedee Springs

Afterwards we drove to Amalia Gorge, with a 3 hour hike (roundtrip) to a waterfall.  There were some pretty scary places with very narrow ledges, and lots of scrambling over rocks.  In one spot a big rock stuck out over the trail, and the only way to get past it was to sit down and shimmy on your butt across the rock ledge.  At times I asked myself, "why am I doing this?," but the falls were worth it at the end. 

hike along creek

pool at half way point

hiking back

falls at Amalia Gorge

After lunch we have the option of another, much more challenging hike, or a cruise up Chamberlain Gorge.  Our entire group, except for Bill, Wayne and the youngest woman on the tour, opt for the cruise, and the hike turned out to be pretty strenuous - glad I missed it.   At one point they had to hold all their gear above their heads and swim across a pool, and there were lots of steep rocks to climb.  

Bill on El Questro hike

The Chamberlain Gorge River cruise on the other hand turned out to be extremely sedate, the boat went very slow and we did not go far.  

Chamberlain River Gorge

We saw a rock wallaby and lots of fish, and were served champaign and fruit - quite civilized. 

rock wallaby

An old aborigine named Buddy, told stories about his work mustering horses, working on the ranch for many years, etc.  Interesting to hear how things were done years ago.  

Buddy

Dinner that night was at a nice restaurant, and it just happened to be our anniversary.    

Kimberley Trip continued

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Today we drove to the Prison Boab Tree, a huge tree that was hollow inside, and used to hold prisoners overnight while transporting them across the country.  From there we drove to some caves to see the rock art paintings, then stopped at this lily pad pond.

rock art

lily pond

water monitor

From there we drove back into Wyndham, then on to 5 rivers lookout, through the port, and then on to El Questro.  We hiked to the waterfall at the end of Emma Gorge, and it was very rocky.  A few people dropped out along the way, and there were some minor injuries.  But the hike was beautiful, and several people swam at the waterfall pool at the end. 

hiking Emma Gorge

Emma Gorge Falls

At the end of the hike we stopped into the pub for a $10 beer, but it was worth it because it was sooooo hot!  For the next 2 nights we have another upgrade, which turned out to be a really nice room, with a shower and everything!  Definitely worth it after today's hike.

Kimberley Trip continued

Friday, May 20, 2011

Today we took off for Kunanurra to get groceries and gas, and had time to shop a bit and look through a very large Aboriginal art gallery.  When we stopped to buy some beer, one of the ladies in our group saw this aborigine, named Mark, carving this boab pod and ended up buying it from him.  He was happy to pose for photos and seemed very proud of his artwork, which he carved using only a butter knife. 

Mark, with carved boab pod

Since the towns out here have such a problem with Aborigines drinking, only “lite” beer is sold before 5:00pm.  It’s only 3.5% alcohol content instead of 4.4 – 4.7%.  We stopped in Wyndam and then drove on to Digger’s Rest, a real, working outback station.  They have 100,000 acres, lots of horses and 8000 head of cattle.  

Digger's Rest

Some of our group opted to go with a couple of the drovers to see where the movie “Australia” was filmed, described as being “just out the back”.   Others went horseback riding and we and several others went with “Old Bill” on an outback walk.  Old Bill was not very talkative on the walk but as I’m writing this he’s telling tales and reciting poetry round the campfire, to a captive group.  He's been working on the ranch for over 40 years, and towards the end of our walk he kept stopping to listen.  Someone asked him what he was listening for and he said, "For the dogs barking so I can find my way back to the ranch."  We were in good hands with Old Bill.

Old Bill

As I'm writing my blog the owner is here talking about their 3 working dogs, and she says when they had 700 goats they really needed them, but now they’re down to only 60 so the dogs have become lazy and just want to sleep on the bed all day.

We drove down to another river crossing that was closed, and will probably not reopen at all this year, there is so much water still coming through.  Well, tomorrow Brekky is at 5:00am – ugh, so need to sign off now.

Ivanhoe River crossing

    

Kimberley Trip continued

Thursday, May 19, 2011

It’s going to be hot today, since it didn’t cool down much at all last night.   Doubtful it got below 70 degrees.  Went for a hike while some of the group were out on a lake cruise.  We've got some free time before we leave for our flight, so trying to get on the internet and check emails, but so far no luck with getting it to work.

Lake Argyle in the morning

Our flight over the Bungle Bungles was in an 8-seater, and lasted for 2 hours.  It was amazing to see such beautiful country, and Lake Argyle is so massive it took us 25 minutes to fly over it from end to end.  

Lake Argyle from plane

Bungle Bungles from afar

Bungles up close

from plane

The Bungle Bungles were awesome, like gigantic beehives, striped all the way around.  

We also flew over the Argyle Diamond Mine, the largest in the world.  

Argyle Diamond Mine

There were so many of us taking the flights that day that we ended up getting back later than expected, so it was already dark when we got to the campground, and we had to set up the tents in the dark.  They go up fast though so no big deal, and except for the guy in the next tent snoring like a bear, we slept well.  

There were these little green tree frogs all over, and also the cane toads, but we kept the zipper up on the tent and didn’t get any inside.

green tree frog

cane toad

Kimberley Trip continued

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Brekky was at 5:30am, so that we could get an early start on our 10-hour drive today.  Stopped for tea at a very pretty place, and a huge flock of corellas flew over.  

corellas

Another quick stop for sandwiches at lunch time and we made it to Lake Argyle just before sunset.  Had dinner in the little restaurant there and a chance to talk with Wayne, the guide, throughout dinner.  He spoke with one of the road workers today and he said they are still hoping to reopen the Gibb on the 20^th, so we are keeping our fingers crossed.   There is still 3 feet of water covering the road in spots, and our vehicle can accommodate that, but the problem is the unknown damage done to the road underneath all the water.  The crews were out today, walking through the water and tapping the road with sticks, to see how muddy it is below.  If they don’t reopen the Gibb we miss out on all the gorges and waterfalls, so everyone is hoping for the best.  All the 5 day trips were canceled, since that covered only the area that is closed, so I guess it’s a good thing we opted for the 9 day trip. 

Toward the end of the drive today, the scenery changed dramatically and began to look a lot like Arizona after a lot of rainfall. It is very green and the contrast against the red rocks is dramatic.  Wayne says all this green is very unusual, and won’t last long.  There are only 2 seasons here, the wet and the dry, and May is the beginning of the dry.

Lake Argyle at sunset

Tonight is another one of our upgraded nights in a safari tent, although this one has no bathroom, and is very basic.   But at least I got a shower and was able to wash off all the mosquito spray, would love to take a walk outside but then I’d have to put the spray on again, so I’d need another shower.  There is a new, much worse strain of the Ross River Virus, carried by mosquitoes in this area, and Bill keeps getting emails from his office, warning people that are up here doing surveys of the need to keep the mossies off.

Tomorrow the majority of the people on the tour have opted to take a small airplane flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles, since they are still closed.   So at least we will be able to see them, although I doubt the photos will be very good.  We’ve decided to skip the optional lake tour, and go hiking instead.  Two days of sitting on the bus with no exercise is getting to us, we really want to get in a good walk tomorrow, and Wayne and several others want to go along.