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| Red Dog of the North-West |
Karratha and Dampier
We spent the 4th and 5th of May exploring the mining and export towns of Karratha and Dampier. Now 1600km north of Perth, the landscape here is amazing; it looks like a huge dumptruck has tipped mounds of scarlet red rocks everywhere, then dotted them with spinifex and Sturt Desert Pea. All of the houses are covered in red iron ore due to the massive trains that come up from Tom Price to the docks to be unloaded for export. Some of the trains are over 2km long! There were four huge container ships docked while we were in Dampier, quite a sight!. We also visited the Woodside visitor and information centre where we learnt all about the North-West Shelf ventures of the offshore rigs that drill for oil, gas and condensate. This was a fantastic centre, and the kids had a great time filling in the questionnaire's in order to get a pencil case and drink bottle.
We visited the Red Dog memorial, the famous roaming red kelpie of the north-west, who has had a movie and several books made about him. We then visited Deep Gorge in Dampier, where there are over 40000 Aboriginal Petroglyphs, the most prolific Aboriginal rock art site in the world! We walked alongside the creek at the bottom of the gorge, and by the end we were saturated with rain. We backed the van up at the base of the rocky hills here and bunkered down for the night.
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| Exploring Deep Gorge, Dampier |
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| There were so many amazing petroglyphs |
On the 6th May, we left the coast for the first time in weeks, and drove 150km SE (90km off road) into the Millstream Chichester National Park. The Chichester Ranges on the drive out here were amazing, huge red rocky mountains. We followed the Rio Tinto rail line most of the way here, passing 8 trains, with the kids counting how long it took us to pass one - 80 seconds!. There was much excitement when we did our first river crossing of the Fortescue River, where it was about 12m wide, but only 6inches deep! We wound into the Miliyanha campground within the National Park. During our 4 days here we visited the restored homestead, built in 1920, where we learnt lots about the pioneering days at Millstream, and also loved the tourist radio channel that was on a loop with info about the area. The campsite was quite flat and open, and backed onto bushland behind us. We followed the Murlamunyjunha Trail (say that 10 times fast), a 7km trail, first on our bikes, then we had to ditch them in the bush when we came to the steep and rocky Fortescue erosion zone. This is the area that is basically wiped out each year when the river bursts its banks in wet season, and it was hundreds of metres wide. The kids have done a fantastic job with all of the bike rides and walks, in pretty hot fly-blown conditions!
I had an amazing Mother's Day while we were here. The kids took great pride in making me cards, precious works of art, photoframes, and breakfast in bed! We purchased phonecards from the camp hosts to use the public phone at the homestead to ring our Mum's - we miss you so much!! We visited the cliff top lookout overlooking the Fortescue River, then went to Deep Reach Pool for a swim. While here we caught some Silver Cobbler (catfish) on lures - Tyson was so excited he was shaking! I had my mother's day treat when I caught the biggest one! We then headed up Snappy Gum Drive to a lookout over the ranges and the river, where it was my turn to do two river crossings - lots of fun! Looking out over the rugged, spinifex covered ranges, you wouldn't know that a lush little oasis of creeks, lillypads, and animals was hidden just behind the homestead.
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| Chichester Ranges |
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| Our first crossing at Fortescue River |
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| Overlooking the Fortescue River |
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| The Fortescue erosion zone |
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| Small foot crossing - such a tranquil area |
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| Trav, Tys and Nat took the fresh plunge |
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| My catch of the day! |
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| My first crossing! |
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| Nat very excited by the sunset! |
On the 9th May, we took the 150km Rio Tinto permit road further inland to the little oasis that is Tom Price. The landscape here is almost prehistoric looking, with the towering Hamersley Ranges, then Tom Price nestled amongst them. The town had a nice family feel to it, with kids everywhere on bikes and scooters, and lot of mums and babies (there are only two TV channels here). It is very well supported by the huge influx of workers to the Rio Tinto mines and other contracted companies here. The dollars that literally come out of the ground here is unfathomable. We stayed 3 nights at the Tom Price Caravan park at the base of giant Mount Nameless (it also has an Aboriginal name that is several syllables). This mountain is the largest mountain accessible to vehicles in WA. The view from the top was breath taking, looking across the ranges, the town, and the main mine site. We were lucky enough to catch up with the McGlynn crew, Boompy Martin, and Grant Nicholls (who is living 80km south of here at Paraburdoo) while here, with Leanne even offering to have the kids one night so Trav and I could go out to tea by ourselves. We tried to pretend to be reluctant, then took her up on the offer! The kids had their first bubble bath since January, and Leanne kicked Tyson's butt at Just Dance on the Wii, while Trav and I had a nice night at the local Thai restaurant.
Our highlight while staying in Tom Price was going out to Hamersley Gorge, part of the Karijini National Park. This was indescribable. The steep descent into the bottom of the gorge was framed by hundreds of waved layers of purple, red, orange and blue rocks. We jumped into the very cool water at the base of a little waterfall, then spent a couple of hours scaling the waterfalls, into the next rock pool, with the kids sliding down the smooth slippery rocks, into the pools below. It is such a surreal place, and we had to physically force ourselves to leave.
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Rio Tinto train coming out of Tom Price, carrying $2.6M
worth of iron ore in each load! |
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| Part of the Hamersley Ranges |
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| At the base of Hamersley Gorge |
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Taking the fresh plunge! There were hundreds of little catfish
swimming around our legs! |
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| Almost a perfect circle, the Spa Pool |
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| Looking downstream from the top of a waterfall |
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| Stunning waterfalls |
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| Tys and Nat conquered the gorge! |
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| The gorges are virtually hidden from sight. |
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| Prehistoric landscape |
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| Tom Price township, from the top of Mount Nameless |
We headed out to the Karijini National Park, where we stayed four nights at Dales Campground. Again, the rugged land here is such a contrast to the hidden, lush landscapes that lie at the bottom of the gorges. It is impossible to put into words the shear size, beauty and wonder of the creeks, pools, gorge walls, rock formations, falls, and wildlife we saw while visiting here. You will just have to look at the photos, then come see it for yourself! We were so proud of the kids during our walks into the gorges. They conquered two class 5 walks (class 6 requires a permit to abseil and rock climb areas further on from the end of the class 5 section of the gorges), including climbing down ladders, scaling rock faces, wading in freezing water, and navigating through fast flowing falls in narrow sections of the gorge. They did an amazing job! Karijini is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing places we have been to so far. Go there. End of story.
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| Circular Pool, Dales Gorge, from the lookout |
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| Ollie making his way down into Dale's Gorge |
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Tys and Nat admire the falls and rocks that look like they
have been laid there perfectly. |
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Trav and Nat take the freezing plunge,
Circular Pool |
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| "My skin feels like it's burning!" |
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Tys and Trav try to steal the warmth
from the water coming off of the rocks |
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| Paradise! |
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| Fortescue Falls |
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Tys had a birds-eye view from the top
of Fortescue Falls |
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Tys and Trav bravely take another plunge into Fern Pool,
look out for the Olive Pythons, they love this pool! |
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| From the top of the gorge looking over the falls |
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Sunset at Dale's Campground, Karijini National Park. We saw
three Dingoes during our time in this area. |
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| Falls at Kalamina Gorge |
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| Kaliamina had flat rocks at the base, much easier walk. |
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| Skimming pebbles into the creek at Knox Gorge |
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| The colours were stunning! |
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| Knox Gorge was extremely deep |
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| Along an easy section we stop for a quick cuddle! |
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| The kids admiring the view below, like little mountain goats! |
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The gorge came to a narrow section that is only passable by
abseiling beyond this point. There were falls that dropped
away another 40m below this area. |
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| Trav dwarfed by the gorge walls |
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| Knox Gorge from the lookout |
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Trav helping the kids in the first section
of Hancock Gorge - our first class 5 trail. |
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| "You alright back there?!" |
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Tys talked Nat through a lot of tough areas, like this fast
flowing stream we had to wade through. |
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We felt like we were the first ones to
ever discover these places, it is so peaceful! |
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| Kermit's Pool at the end of Hancock Gorge |
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| Nat and Ollie enjoyed sliding along the slippery rocks! |
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| I wasn't in for too long! |
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| Trav taking the plunge from the ledge above us ! |
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| Tys amongst the beautifully coloured rocks |
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| Tys has a crack at everything! |
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| A rare family shot... |
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| Ollie did well, negotiating Weano Gorge |
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| Surreal... |
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This is handrail pool, so called as we had to cling to the handrails
that help you walk right through the middle of the waterfall you
can see, then down the rock face. This one made me a bit nervous. |
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| Still smiling at the end of a big day! |
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| Trav launched himself from that ledge too... |
After tearing ourselves away from Karijini on a very wet day, we rolled into South Hedland for a couple of nights, 300 km north of Tom Price, back on the coast. Here we spent some time site-seeing; the Rio Tinto Salt mines, the huge BHP Biliton Iron-ore crushing plant, and the massive export Port at Port Hedland. The kids had a great time exploring on the tidal flats, where they get 8m tides here. They found hermit crabs, crabs and starfish. No swimming here though - croc country. We haven't let the kids near the water since we left Exmouth!
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Rio Tinto Salt mines - notice the road train. All are
three and four trailers long up here. |
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| Exploring the tidal flats |
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| Huge tides here... |
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| "Has anyone seen Ollie?" |
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| The massive Port of Port Hedland, looks spectacular lit up. |
We decided to break the long journey from Port Hedland to Broome by stopping for a few nights. We stumbled upon Cape Karaudren, a shire run nature reserve, where we were able to park the van on the high shore overlooking the start of 80 mile beach. The kids thought this was heaven on earth. Everytime the huge tides went back out, we would go exploring on the flats, where there were dozens of octopi, fish, and corals of fluro yellow, green and orange. Turtles would also rest in the shallows, and Trav and Ollie even gave one old turtle a hand as he was stuck in the mud. We chiselled oysters off the rocks, eating them as we went. We also fluked the staircase to the moon phenomenon. This occurs when the full moon rises, casting its reflection over the tidal flats, creating the illusion of an illuminated staircase - I'm pinching myself again...
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| Low tide at Cape Keraudren as seen from our annexe |
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| The octopi would squirt water at you as you walked near them! |
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| High tide - the clear, blue water was devine. |
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| Staircase to the moon, I captured a little bit too late |
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On the road to Broome - I will never curse having to
tow the van again! |
Our next stop just at the end of 80 mile Beach, 140km below Broome, was Barn Hill Station. We had had this place highly recommended, but we were a bit disappointed with the exhorborrant prices and beach access not so good, especially compared to where we had come from. Nevertheless, it was beautiful coast, and everyone staying here was friendly.
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| Braham Cattle wander through the campsite |
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| It was a popular fishing spot |
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| Natalie, the sand artist |
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| Barn Hill's 'pinnacles' |
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| "How's the serenity?", stunning sunset at low tide |
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| Still trying to reel one in... |
Broome
We arrived in Broome on Monday 22nd May and spent a beautiful week here, hanging out waiting for the Gibb River Road to open. The weather was stunning while we were here - 30 - 32 everyday. We spent the time exploring the streets of Broome and Chinatown, with all of the little corrugated iron shopfronts, visiting the waterpark at town beach, and having a ball on Cable Beach (listed by Lonely Planet as being in the top 5 beaches in the world), kilometers of flat, white beach, home to the many camel trains. We visited Gantheume Point, where the stark contrast of the deep red cliffs give way to the azure blue waters that make Broome famous. Here we saw casts of dinosaur footprints; unfortunately the real footprints in the rocks are only visible at very low tide. For the kids, their highlight was visiting the Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park. They loved holding baby crocs, watching the croc feeding and listening to the guided tour and other animal feedings.
Broome has a pretty laid-back feel to it, but with lots of tourist attractions to keep anyone busy. We met up with Helen and Col Alvey, and Mark and Kirsten - we went to the Broome races - they were great fun! Was very nice to see familiar faces from home! While we were at the races, Oliver tapped me on the leg and quietly informed me "Hey Mum. Saltwater Cowboy is paying $5!" - we are teaching them so much on this trip...
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| Relaxing in the pool at Broome Caravan Park |
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| The kids loved the camels - can you spot Helen and Col on them? |
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| Sunset at Cable Beach - I don't think you could ever get sick of it! |
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| The council runs a free water park. Ollie loved it! |
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| Nat having a blast! |
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| Look out - Tys has a weapon! |
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| Dino prints at Gantheume Point |
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| Mucking around on Cable Beach |
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| Entering Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park |
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| His legend lives on!... |
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| Ollie was keen to get his hands on a little Salty |
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| Nat wasn't keen to hold one, but braved a feel of their tough skin. |
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| Tys loved handling the croc! |
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| Brave Trav! |
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| They might have been small, but they were very strong! |
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| This is as close as you will ever get kids! |
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| The feeding frenzy was awesome to watch. |
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| Alligators jumping for meat. |
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| Up close and personal! |
Derby
We left Broome on the 29th May - the day they opened the Gibb! Very excited. We pulled into Derby, 220km down the road, for an overnight stop and to get final supplies for the trip. As we got closer, we spotted our first Boab trees and thousands of termite mounds (we were later to discover that they would follow us thoughout the NT, in varying shapes and colours). We stopped to check out the Boab Prison Tree, used to house prisoners around the time just before WWII. Derby is a pretty uniqe town. It's quite small, set back a few km's from the sea as they get the largest king tides in the Southern Hemisphere here - up to 11m! The water in the ocean here looked like pure mud - very bizarre. There are lots of mangrove lined creeks, and when the tides receed, huge inland wetlands are left - full of saltwater crocs that love the warm environment there. There were a lot of local Aboriginal people selling carved boab nuts, and we purchased a pretty cool one from a fella by the name of Hec Bent. We tried our luck fishing off of the jetty, but the tide had started to receed, so we only got little fish.
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| Boab Prison Tree |
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| Ollie is loving all of the frogs here! |
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The jetty is built on huge stilts - when there is a king tide
the water comes up over this jetty! |
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| Catching anything mate? |
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| The kids with Hec Bent and our carved boab nut |
The Gibb River Road
We spent two unforgettable, magical, fun and exhausting weeks crossing 'the Gibb', a remote 670km off-road track that goes right through the heart of the Kimberley's. This is right up there in our favourite places. The Kimberley area is a vast landscape full of contrasts. As we drove along through bush, spinifex and boabs, I often felt like we were in an African savannah. Then there would be water running along the edge of the road, and lush pandanas-lined creeks and gorges!
After such an unprecedented wet season in the top end, much road damage had to be repaired prior to opening the roads. Most places the roads were great, with the exception of an area right in the middle, and the very busy El Questro resort area at the Eastern end.
During our time on the Gibb we did approximately 80 creek and river crossings, camped on the edge of rivers and in station stays, walked kilometers, swam and jumped in waterfalls, fished for Barra, saw countless crocs, birds, snakes and lizards, and saw some of the most stunning scenery in Australia.
We were also fortunate enough to meet up with an awesome couple (who we had originally seen in Broome), Brad, Sacha, Paige and Eva Cooke, who we had the good fortune of travelling the Gibb with. What an amazing place to travel with such great friends!
Again, words and pictures will not do this experience any justice, but I will try. Put this on your bucket list people...
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Our first morning on the Gibb -
chopper muster! |
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Windjana Gorge - was a reef system
during the time of an inland sea being here.
We would often be woken during the night here
by howling dingoes and the 'woof-woof' of
the barking owls. |
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| Crocs sunbaking - we could walk right up to them! |
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| Meandering along the sandbar of Lennard River in Windjana Gorge |
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| He's trying to trick us - that's not a logodile! |
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We did a day trip (380km round trip) into Fitzroy Crossing.
Here we are at the old crossing - obviously impassable. |
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We took a ranger guided boat tour down Geikie
Gorge while in FC |
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All freshies, or Johnsons, in the Fitzroy River - but they
do get Bull Sharks and Saw Fish! |
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| Exploring Tunnel Creek - it was pitch black in some places |
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The kids did a great job wading through the water -
it was a bit freaky not being able to see when we had to swim! |
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Rock art at the other end of the tunnel. The tunnel was used
by Jandamarrah (Aboriginal leader) as a hide out; his story
has been made into a film. |
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| Nat at the other end of the tunnel |
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| The old girl and Eddie Expanda made it across mainly unscathed! Phew! |
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| Ollie and his new mate Eva! |
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| Nat and her new mate Paige! |
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| Sunset through the red dust... |
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| The Bathy and Cookie crew ready to conquer Manning Gorge |
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We had to swim across the Manning Creek, putting our bags and
cameras in styrofoam boxes, then walk about 1.5 hrs to the falls |
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The walks were always pretty hot across
the top of rocky escarpments |
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| We were rewarded for our efforts... |
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| The falls were very refreshing! |
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| Tub time Trav! |
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| WOO HOO! |
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| Brad delivering more boxes for our swim back! |
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Tys trying to spear fish at Bluebush - a part of the Fitzroy River
that runs through Mornington Wilderness Camp |
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He keeps waiting for me to fill up the water bottle at the river's
edge - give it up Trav! |
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| Sir John Gorge |
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| We were never short of entertainment! |
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| Our site at Mornington Wilderness Camp |
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| The flat-topped ranges were stunning |
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| Adcock Gorge - so lush, with the palm and pandanas lined creek. |
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| An 8 fingered hand painting. |
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We had beautiful Galvan's Gorge to
ourselves for a while. So peaceful! |
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| Tys loved the waterholes! |
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Barnett Gorge was one of the toughest ones to access - both
by car through black marsh, and a long, high escarpment walk. |
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The swimming holes in Barnett Gorge were
perfect for the kids! |
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| There were a series of little waterfalls to explore. |
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| We had to cross, camp and fish on the actual Gibb River! |
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| Tys reeling in a catfish at Ellenbrae Station! |
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| Our lucky charm - he always got something! |
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Crossing the Durack - we were a bit disappointed as they had filled
it in with rocks only the day before so was only at 300mm! |
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The amount of water still flowing through here
was incredible! |
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| Durack Falls |
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| Tyson's prize Barra - 59cm! |
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The boys at Home Valley Station -
a welcome green oasis after so
much red dust! |
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| The girls made the most of the pool at Home Valley |
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| Ollie is always collecting something! |
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| Crazy cats (with the Cockburn Ranges behind them). |
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| Tys excited by another sunset opportunity... |
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| The kids loved the horses and donkeys at Home Valley |
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| 3 little Bathy's |
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| Crossing the Pentecost River at about 650mm deep. |
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Crazy motorbike dudes - there are salties in there!
The Falcon ute there had to be towed out. |
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Sacha's awesome find!
We were feeling pretty patriotic! |
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| The stunning Cockburn Ranges |
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I fell in love with the boabs -
they are so iconic of the Kimberleys |
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| At Emma Gorge, part of El Questro Station |
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| Tys is always a trooper on the walks! |
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Ollie found a warm, spring-fed pool
at the end of Emma Gorge |
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| Trav was brave - it was icy! |
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Tys lapping up the warm, croc-free
swimming to be had at Zebedee springs |
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| The Bathy and Cookie crew |
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We did it!! 1600km of dirt without major incident, seeing and
experiencing the most unforgettable sights!! Yee ha! |
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| Woo Hoo! |
Kununurra
We spent a week, from 13th - 20th June, dusting ourselves off in the pretty town of Kununurra. The town is built on the Ord River that was dammed in the 1960's for irrigation, so it's a huge produce area.
We spent our time here visiting the Lovell Gallery, which is home to the 16m long Bungle Bungles painting, visited different waterholes, fished, visited the Zebra Rock gallery, fed hundreds of catfish, visited the local markets, and caught up with Brad, Sacha, the girls, and Brad's sister Bron at Kelly's knob lookout.
Our highlight was being lucky enough to be taken out to Legune Station by Bron, which is just on the NT side of the WA NT border. It was here that Trav caught his first Barramundi!. It was another unforgettable day - the station is just over 1.65 million hectares, and runs 35000 head of Braham cattle; we saw a muster on our way in. As the sation is so close to the sea, and after a massive wet season, some of the paddocks are virtually wetlands, with thousands of Magpie Geese, Brolgas, Ibis' and Pelicans everywhere. It was an awesome sight. We also saw our first saltwater crocs in the wild here too. It felt like very iconic NT scenery.
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| Fishing at Ivanhoe crossing - this will be closed to traffic for a while! |
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Natalie with a tree planted by her favourite
author, Alison Lester, at Celebrity Tree Park. |
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Overlooking Lily Creek Lagoon, an inlet off
of Lake Kununurra |
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| Tys at the caravan park, on the edge of Lily Creek Lagoon. |
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| The Ord Valley from Kelly's Knob |
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| Entering the NT! |
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| Brad and Sacha - very keen! |
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Trav was one happy camper with
his 69cm barra! |
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| Our first saltwater croc in the wild. |
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| A brolga in full flight |
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| Brolgas on the 'wetlands' of the station |
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| The 'saggy' looking Braham cattle |
The Bungle Bungles
We stored the van in Kununurra and spent a couple of nights tenting it to explore the spectacular Bungle Bungle Ranges of Purnululu National Park. We arrived in the dark after taking 2 hours to do the 50km track in, and set up our tent in the Kurrajong campground. We sat under the brightest, clearest milky way I have ever seen, listening to the dingoes howl across the creek - what a surreal life we are leading!
The sheer size of the Bungle Bungles has to be seen to be believed. It left me feeling dwarfed by the size and power of mother nature. The northern end of the park was home to the huge Echidna chasm, while the southern end of the park showed off the more iconic dome-shaped Bungle Bungle Range. I was thoroughly in awe of this place, it is indescribable.
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| The first sight of the ranges |
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| Ollie scoping the scenery - always on the lookout for wildlife |
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Our camp setup - I won't whinge about the van after sharing
this tiny tent with the whole family! |
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| Echidna Chasm - can you spot Tyson? |
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| A rare family shot inside the chasm |
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| It's a long way up - up to 250m in places! |
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| Ollie cheating! |
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| Looking out over the creeks and bushland of Purnululu |
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| Classic Bungle Bungles - it was amazing! |
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| Inside Cathedral Gorge - we felt like ants! |
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| Is that rock stable? |
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The smooth-rock creek bed of Piccaninny creek that winds
through the ranges. |
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| This was breath-taking, literally. |
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| Black dingoes in Purnululu |
Lake Argyle
We ventured out to Lake Argyle on our last day in Western Australia. Here we visited the Lake Argyle Museum, built in the original homestead of the true pioneers of the Kimberley's, the Duracks. This was the most impressive pioneering museum I have seen; I love learning about the pioneers - they were very industrious!
We then drove to the lookouts over Lake Argyle. This is the largest man-made body of water in the Southern Hemisphere, and was formed by the damming of the Ord River in the 1960's. It holds more then 10700 gigalitres! We drove across the dam wall, and had a look at the picturesque Ord River winding its way between rocky mountain walls - it was a beautiful area.
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| Lake Argyle - the tip of the ice berg seen here |
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| They have a lot of faith in this wall! |
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| Beautiful Ord River |
After spending almost 5 months and 14000km in Western Australia, we are ready for our next adventure in the top end, the Northern Territory!!
