Day 27 – 29th July – Monday – Darwin to Kakadu
An early morning trip to the airport for Leanne as Ruth and
Bill’s flight departed from Darwin Airport at 7.15am. An emotional good bye at
the airport, as it has been so lovely catching up and spending time with Mum
and Bill! Now to back to our family adventure, today we are heading to Kakadu
and we are looking forward to the cultural experience it has to offer.
We have decided to make Cooinda Resort, near Yellow Waters
our base for our time in Kakadu. This park has been recommended by several
people. We will then do day trips around Kakadu from here. Kakadu offer many
free Ranger guided activities which we were told are excellent. Once we were
all set up we went for a quick swim in the amazing pool and then headed off to
our first ranger activity. We went on a guided walk and sunset look out in the
Nourlangie Region. This was a great way to start our time in Kakadu.
Abbey at the guided walk tour in the Nourlangie Region.
That evening we enjoyed playing cards; this has been
something the children have enjoyed doing on our holiday, especially after
poppy taught them some card tricks and poker!
Day 28 – 30th July- Tuesday – Kakadu (Yellow Waters)
Today we decided to go exploring at Maguk Swimming hole. We
were going to go to Gunlom, but our camping neighbours told us about Maguk,
which was a lot closer and meant to be a great swimming spot. It was about a 50
minute drive and to Vin excitement at least 10km was off road driving. It was
quite a decent walk and climb to the water hole, but it was worth it. There was
a beautiful water fall and a great swimming hole. It wasn’t crowded either;
with only 4 other groups of people there swimming. Vin and Abbey enjoyed
swimming out the waterfall and snorkelling, while Leanne and Riley were happy
paddling on boogie boards across the water hole. Riley was a bit anxious about
crocodiles! Overall a great spot to swim, however we still contemplated going
onto Gunlom, but it would have taken us over an hour to get there and it was
getting late in the afternoon.
Beautiful scenery of walk at Maguk.
Back to Cooinda, where Abbey and Riley couldn’t wait to go
into the pool! The pool at the resort was a high light for them. That night
Riley and some boys he met had fun looking for lizards; however we had to spoil
his fun as we wanted to go to a Ranger Activity. There was a Slideshow at
Mardugal Campground on Kakadu’s Wildlife. The Slide show was interesting but we
would have been more comfortable if we took chairs as we didn’t the slideshow
was outside and therefore we had to sit on garbage bags on the ground. His
presentation was an interesting insight into the many creatures and animals
that live in Kakadu. Unfortunately the Rangers projector ran out of power
before the end of the presentation!
Much to kids’ disappointment no time for cards tonight as it
was about 9pm by the time returned from the slideshow.
Day 29 – 31st July- Wednesday – Kakadu
An earlier start today as we were going to Nourlangie Region
for the Ranger talk on the different art sites. We had to meet at the first art
site by 9.20am and it was about a 45 minute drive from our camp. The ranger,
Christine was very informative and told us many interesting facts about
Aboriginal Culture. There was a lot of Aboriginal rock art around this area and
we were lucky to have the ranger to tell us the stories behind the art work.
Once we left Nourlangie we went to Jabiru for lunch. There
was not much in Jabiru, but 2 things created some excitement were the yummy
bakery and having phone reception! On our way back to Cooinda we stopped at the
Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre. This centre gave us information on Kakadu
from a local perspective as the Baininj tribe share their culture and important
aspects of their life. We enjoyed looking at the pictures, exhibits and reading
the information that related to these. It was a very educational experience for
all of us. There was also a gift shop and Riley selected a hand carved
boomerang to buy as a souvenir. Outside the gift was an Aboriginal Artist painting
didgeridoos. Vin started talking to the artist whose name was David. David then
played the didgeridoo for us and asked Riley to play along with him on the
tapping sticks! Riley thought this was pretty cool.
Riley playing with his new friend David!
It was time to head back to camp for a well deserved swim.
At the pool that afternoon we met a couple from Wollongong. They had a 4 year
old son who enjoyed playing with Abbey and Riley. That evening we headed down
to Yellow Waters, which was along a short drive to see the sunset, WOW it was
sensational!!!!! Back to camp and time for some evening cards to top off
another great day at Kakadu.
The kids at the pool at Cooinda- Kakadu!
Sunset at Yellow Waters! Beautiful!!!
Day 30 – 1st August - Thursday - Kakadu
Another early start as we were going to Ubirr, which is
about an hour’s drive north. Once again there was a series of talks with the
ranger at different rock art sites. Today we met Ranger Annie who was very
knowledgeable. The first Rock art talk was about the Rainbow Serpent, which
explains about the Aboriginals beliefs on creation and kinship. When we were
walking from one site to another Annie found a green ants nest, the Aborigines
use these green ants for medicinal reasons. Annie collected some of these ants
ant wiped part of the ant onto the kids tongue. Abbey and Riley said it tasted
really sour. The Aborigines’ would make a mixture with these ants to help heal
coughs and chest infections. After the talk we climbed to the Ubirr lookout,
this was amazing! You could see the several different lands which make up
Kakadu (stone country, woodlands, and wetlands).
Riley and Dad in car going across to Arnhem Land (crocs in water)!
After this we went to Merl Camp Ground to see traditional
Aboriginal painting. Abbey and Riley were really pleased when we arrived when
they saw their friends from Shepparton, Abbey and Lochy, also doing this
activity. There was a ranger there are 2 Indigenous artists too. It was really
fascinating watching them paint! Abbey and Riley were given some cardboard to
have turn at Aboriginal painting.
Day 31 – 2nd August - Friday – Kakadu to Lake Argyle
After an exciting time at Kakadu it was time to leave for
our adventures in WA. It was to be a long day of driving but with the
excitement of getting to WA, it was all going to be worth it. After leaving
Kakadu, travelling at the legal limit of 125km Vin noticed the petrol gauge was
heading down quicker than the k’s to go to Katherine. Uh Oh, but fortunately
with some intelligent driving- drafting behind another caravan at 90, we made
it to Katherine with 5k’s on the gauge. How Vin likes to push it to the limit!
After an 8 hr drive
we arrived at Lake Argyle (Western Australia we have arrived!). We’d had to change our clocks 1-1/2 hrs backward
which at least gave us some more day time after a long drive, however this
meant the sunset was happening at about 5pm-bizarre. Lake Argyle was beautiful,
everything Kerry D had told me and more. She hadn’t warned us how freezing the
infinity pool was going to be though. Pretty amazing all the same, what a
view!!! Also a nice caravan park, where we sat and watched the sunset before
watching the footy on tv at the caravan parks bar. A great win by North over
the Cats.
Day 32 – 3rd August - Saturday – Kununurra
Early morning for Pancakes at Lake Argyle barbeque for Vin,
Abbey and Riley. After breakfast we packed up as it was a very windy morning.
We were only heading to Kununurra which was a short drive so we did some
sightseeing at Lake Argyle. Firstly we went to a 4wd lookout where we had our
first plays with the tripod, followed by a trip down to the Dam Wall. Very
spectacular!!! If it hadn’t been so windy we’d have loved to have done a cruise
as it was spectacular.
Lake Argyle Dam- spectacular!!!
We arrived in Kununurra about lunch time for setting up
camp. We were lucky to get a powered site at the Discovery Park which had a
sign stating it had no sites available (just lucky I guess). After setting up
Leanne dropped off Vin and Riley to watch the footy at the Kununurra Pub while
they did some grocery shopping (wow- what a difference holidays make!). Well it
certainly was worth it with a great win to the Tigers over the Hawks.
After the footy we went to a few local attractions- Kelly’s
Knob and Mirima National Park. We had an eventful evening venturing to the
local rodeo. Quite an entertaining evening with bull riding and horse riding on
display- which was entertaining and a learning experience for the kids about
country entertainment, and hobbies for
them (including an eye opener with a buck- deciding to do a nudey run through
the ring!). A great day had by all- GO TIGERS- Finals bound at last!
Night at the Rodeo!!!
Day 33 – 4th August - Sunday – Kununurra
A long day ahead of us today with many hours of driving to
see some of the local attractions: Wyndham, El Questro and the Grotto.
First was a trip to Wyndham, stopping along the way at the
Grotto. The Grotto looked very impressive, however due to the magnitude of our
day we didn’t walk down to it. (There also didn’t look to be much water down
there). At Wyndham, it seemed like a bit of a ghost town! We ventured up to the
5 Rivers Look Out which was quite spectacular! We met a couple of ladies at the
lookout who use to be locals and we learnt quite a deal about the history of
the town and why it’s such a quiet town now. About the biggest highlight of the
place was the constructed Big Croc on the entry to town which was constructed
by local TAFE students.
Photos from the Five Ways- Wyndham- amazing!!!
We left Wyndham, heading back for our small venture along
the Gibb River Road to go to El Questro-Station/Gorge. The station was a very
impressive area where lots of people camp and many tours operate from. There
were a few water crossings to get there and then even a couple more hairy ones
to get to the El Questro Gorge. An enjoyable but tricky walk to get into the
gorge, however the actual swimming hole half way along was a little
disappointing (very small), however still very picturesque. A nice day, however
in hindsight people say Emma’s Gorge was nicer, although it had its challenges
with a more challenging walk and the water was suppose to be very cold.
This night after having dinner rang Dean who is the Principal
at the Catholic School in Halls Creek to try and organise a visit,
unfortunately he was in Perth although he certainly said it would be ok to
visit which was exciting for us.
Day 34 – 5th August - Monday – Halls Creek
After heavy deliberation as to where we were going to go and
what helicopter flight we were going to do we stopped off at Turkey Creek
(Warnum) to do the flight. Our helicopter flight to the Bungle Bungle’s was
spectacular, nerve wracking and very exciting for all. We did it through the
company Heliworks and it was a 45 min flight- 24 min return flight and 20
minutes over the Bungles. Vin who was the most excited about the Bungles
decided the flight over it was enough, as it was rumoured to be a tough drive
in there, and another Gorge (which the kids were a bit over by this stage)!
Hence we drove on to Halls Creek.
Upon arriving at Halls Creek Vin decide to drop in to Warlawurru
Catholic School, to meet Christine, and ensure that it was going to be ok for
us to visit a class the next day. We luckily caught her in the office. She
seemed somewhat reluctant to have us in her class (she also hadn’t heard from
Dean about our visit!), however eventually deciding that she would have us,
encouraging us to be there by 7-40am the next morning.
We went to the dust bowl of a caravan park, which was
nothing to be excited about. However the shop at the park was amazing- it had
everything you could want (car seats, jewellery, bikes, groceries, and anything
else you could want- even sour straps for the kids). We quickly ventured once
set up to watch the Sunset at Moola Bulla Lookout (which Kerry D recommended).
Quite a picturesque scenery- thanks Kerry.
Day 35 – 6th August - Tuesday – Halls Creek to Fitzroy
Crossing
Wow this day was something Vin had been looking forward to
and it certainly didn’t disappoint! Early morning rise and all- we managed to
get there on time for the start of the school day, 7-40am. We then sat with the
school group while they had prayer time, which was well prepared for connection
to the community. The children from the Senior and Middle school went off to
their classes while we stayed with the Infant school p-2.
Unbelievable shop at reception at Halls Creek. Absolute dust bowl but a shop to die for!!!
After being introduced Miss Christine told us to go and
listen to a variety of children around the room read. For all of us we were
quite impressed with their levels of literacy. All of us then were directed for
little activities, this certainly was the best time, not just for Vin but for
all our family we enjoyed the experience of working with these children. They
certainly embraced us and in particular some of the young girls were taken to
Abbey (Cassie even saying that she wanted to be a white fella like my sister
Abbey)! After an hour in the class Miss Christine wanted to rid of us so the
children would settle down, so after prolonged farewells we headed to go and
see Caroline’s Pool which is the local water hole- very nice!
We returned to pick up the van and pack up before our 3 hr
drive to Fitzroy Crossing. We arrived there early afternoon where we booked in
at the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge- wow a nice change- grass, tennis courts and
plenty of space. Soon after setting up the Ellis clan returned which was
exciting for our kids seeing Lachie and Darcy. A relaxing afternoon had by all,
playing tennis and having a swim in the freezing pool. A fantastic, rewarding
day with relaxation to boot!
Day 36 – 7th August - Wednesday – Fitzroy Crossing
Made an early start today, said good bye to the Ellis again
as they were moving onto their next destination and we were going to Windjana
Gorge National Park and Tunnel Creek. Windjana Gorge was about 130km away and
100kms of that was corrugated road! The drive was an experience itself and the
children enjoyed the dips in the road. When we arrived at Windjana it was
already very hot, but luckily part of the walk was in the shade. This gorge is
famous for its fresh crocodiles and in particular how close you are able to
walk next to them. Vin and Abbey were the more game (silly) ones who walked
really close to the water’s edge and where the crocodiles were sunny themselves
on the river bank. Riley become more game as the walk progressed and stood
close enough to get a few great photos. However Leanne was happy to be the
photographer and keep her distance, not wanting to tempt fate. We stayed at
Windjana Gorge for a picnic lunch before heading back to explore Tunnel Creek.
Mummy, Abbey and Riley in the splendours of Tunnel Creek!
Tunnel Creek was about 30km from Windjana and you had the
walk through the cave to reach the other side. We needed take our torches as
part of the walk was in total darkness! We also had to wade across water at
different stages which was very cold. Part of the walk had the sun shining
through holes in the tunnel roof, which made it such a picturesque walk. We all
braved the dark to complete the walk, even though there was one stage when
Leanne was ready to turn back! No Crocs found on our walk as they have been
known to hide out in the tunnel! Some were disappointed about this, weren’t
they Vin!!! But others felt very relieved.
Back into the car and time to take on the corrugated road
again! On returning to the park the children were very keen for another hit of
tennis. We have all enjoyed having a tennis court, as this is the first park we
have stayed at that has had one!
A tiring, but great day!
Day 37 – 8th August - Thursday – Fitzroy Crossing
Decided to have a quieter day and stay around Fitzroy
Crossing. In the morning we played tennis again and then hung out at the pool.
Today was going to be a warm one reaching 36 degrees. After lunch we headed
into town for a look around and saw the famous Fitzroy Crossing Inn, not somewhere
we would have taken Abbey and Riley, Vin and Leanne were not even brave enough
to get out of the car to go and have a look!
Then drove down to Geike Gorge, which was very enlightening
as the rotunda there had pictures and information about the water level during
the Wet Season. Some years the water level has risen to 2m above the rotunda’s
roof. This was very hard for us to imagine! We went for walk down to the Gorge,
which was lovely. One returning to the park we went to have another hit of
tennis and found our friends from home, The Beans had arrived and were on the
tennis court. It was great to see them again! That night after dinner The Beans
came around for a catch up and both families shared their recent travel
stories. The children enjoyed playing cards and spotlight. Tomorrow, time to
move on again, we are really looking forward to our time in Broome.
The Bean and Snell kids having some fun at our caravan at Fitzroy Crossing!!
Day 38 – 9th August - Friday – Broome
Time to move on again, we are very excited about going to
Broome as we are catching up with a mate (Blackas) who Vin went to school with,
Marty (Vin’s Brother) and Nic will also be arriving later in our stay for a
holiday. We are also excited because this is going to be our longest stay
anywhere yet, so a lovely break from the travelling and setting up the van! Also
the 4 families travelling from St. Louis are going to all be staying at the
same caravan park, so we are looking forward to catching up with them too!
Fires along the roadside on way to Broome- a little freaky!
We stopped on the way a Willare Raodhouse to stock up on our
meat supplies as we had been told by other travellers they sell really great
cry vac meat. Then it was full steam ahead for Broome. Due to arriving a day
earlier than our booking, Vin’s mate, Blackas and wife Lea kindly let us stay
the night at their place. We set our van up in their driveway and they both
quickly made us feel very much at home. How strange it was to be sitting in a
house for a change! That evening Vin and Blakas caught up on “old times”, we
played billiards, went for a swim and watched the footy on tv. E watched Saints
v Hawks, Blackas is a mad Saints supporter too. Abbey was in her element playing with their
new puppy, Missy, while loved playing pool with Lea and their youngest son
Mitch. This was a really enjoyable night and a great way to start our time in
Broome!
Day 39 – 10th August - Saturday – Broome (Cable Beach)
Woke to a beautiful sunny Broome morning and had to pack up
the van again a head down the road to Cable Beach Caravan Park. Lea and Blackas
offered Abbey and Riley to stay, while we went to set up. They were both very
happy about this as Riley was watching the Match Centre for the WAFL Under 19’s
Colts as the Blackley’s eldest son, Matt plays for East Perth. Riley was in his
element filling in Lea in on any stat Matt received during this game! Also
Abbey was more than happy to stay and play with their puppy Missy, she was
trying to teach her to shake hands.
Leanne giving Vin a fresh shave! Wow suddenly she likes it short!!!
Riley watching some local footy with his new footy top- The Towns (Broome- Blackas Team!)
Once we were set up at the caravan park, we went back to get
the kids and finished watching the end of the Tigers v Brisbane Game (how
exciting watching Foxtel). After we watch tigers win again, we went to watch a
local game of Footy. Blackas and his youngest son are involved with the Towns
Football Club. They gave Riley a Towns Footy top to keep, he thought this was
fantastic! It was great to watch a local game, which had many Indigenous
players and even one footballer played in bare feet! However, we missed the
start of the game and unfortunately didn’t see Blackas, who was the Town’s
Runner receive his first red card from the umpire (so he says)!!!!
Abbey loving playing with Missy the dog!!!
Back to the caravan park and time to touch base with the
families from back home. We caught up with2 of the families (The Atkin’s and
The Henry’s) for a drink.
Our greeting party at Cable Beach Caravan Park!!!
The other family (The Beans) were arriving tomorrow.
