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.