Western Australia

SUMMARY

Crossed the border into WA and into Kununurra for a week.

Visited Wyndham and a great billabong on the way back to Kununurra.

After a week in Kununurra we back tracked a little to Lake Argyle and did the sunset cruise on the lake.

Then a few free camps, a couple of nights at Fitzroy Crossing and into Derby to do the Seaplane ride to the Horizontal falls – AMAZING!!

Next stop Dampier/Karratha for three nights, then Onslow for one with a few free camps thrown in.

After Onlsow was Carnarvon to get the car serviced and then a free camp and into Kalbarri for a week.

 Next into Geraldton, then Morawa, Mullawa looking for wild flowers.

Then Mt Magnet, Cue and back to Geraldton to get the car looked at and then back to Mt Magnet, Meekatharra and Cue again.

Then Dalwallinu, Moora and Gin Gin

Back to Perth, "Swan Valley and now Forrestfield for Christmas.

THE DETAIL

Crossed the border into WA and then into the Discovery Lake Kununurra caravan park. Boy we got lucky here and got one of the best sites in the park!

Nice backyard!

While here we took a day trip to Wyndham and the first stop here was the five rivers lookout where you can see the Pentecost, Durack, King, Forrest and Ord Rivers merge before heading out to sea in the Cambridge Gulf.

Hard to do it justice with a photo!

We had a bite to eat, a drive around town and then headed back to Kununurra via Parry Creek rd and the main attraction this way was the Marlgu Billabong which is an enchanting place with a nice bird hide and heaps of bird life! It was hard to leave but we had a fair way to go on what was not good dirt road.

Lots of birds here, beautiful spot!

We had a look at Ivanhoe crossing which is blocked off due to the consistent high water level since the Ord River Dam and Kununurra diversion dams have been in place. 

It veers around to the left where it goes out of sight

From the other side of the river

Next trip was out to the Hoochery distillery for a cup of coffee and cake, we didn’t sample their wares as neither of us are rum drinkers, but it was worth a visit.  We also drove out to have a look at the Ivanhoe crossing from the Kununurra side and it is definitely a different aspect!

We also looked at zebra rock gallery, this rock is only found in the East Kimberley section of WA and is quite striking.

After a week in Kununurra we back tracked a little to Lake Argyle Tourist Park and that afternoon jumped on the Lady Durack catamaran for a sunset cruise on the lake. This was great value and the scenery was spectacular.  An interesting point is that because of its vast size the lake is classed as open water and all vessels must comply, the same as sea going boats.

Lots of water

Lovely veiws

Magic at Sunset

The caravan park itself is very nice with a spectacular infinity pool and the typical Kimberley backdrop.

Beautiful pool with magnificent views!

We left Lake Argyle and back tracked through Kununurra to Muluk’s rest area, for two nights, then Mary’s Pool for a night. We had stayed here before and it is a pretty spot.

Next stop was Fitzroy River lodge in Fitzroy for two nights, this is a top spot and very relaxing.

Off again after a couple of days to another free camp called Ellendale [The Lake].  To be honest it is just a small man made dam, but quiet.  John did have to put a rope fence around the van though to stop the cattle from rubbing up against the van.

Left here and back into the Kimberley Entrance van park in Derby for a few nights. From here we were picked up and taken to Derby Airport for a seaplane flight to the horizontal falls.  The approach to the water with very steep turns through a gully was very exhilarating and made sure we were all awake.

The Safety Brief

You can stay overnight here if you want but we didn't.  So had a quick cuppa, and a look around.

Pretty nice spot

Then we were off on their 900 horsepower boat for a ride through the falls.

Was more exciting than it looks here!

The second falls

We had a few trips through the first ones and also he stopped in the middle so we could get a real feel for it, again lots and lots of fun!  We looked at the next set of falls where the gap is even narrower but because they were flowing too fast we did not go through, just a few more trips through the first one.  We then had a leisurely tour up cyclone creek and back to their barge for lunch.  Lunch was Barra and salad and very nice too!

The lunch being prepared

 After lunch we got to swim in a cage next to the sharks and meet Gordon the Groper!

Hard to get much closer!

Gordon the Groper

From the Barge

Then another trip out to the falls and now as it was high tide they were only just moving, so we got to see the difference.

A lot calmer!

Back on the seaplane for a low level return flight to Derby.  We both really enjoyed the day and would recommend it to anyone!

Just one of the magnificent views!

While here we also had a go at catching some mud crab off of the Jetty, but although we got a few they were all undersize, so we had to settle for Barra and chips at the cafe overlooking the jetty.:(

Back on the road and as we want to catch the wildflower season from around Kalbarri on, we decided to make a bit of a run for it.  For us that meant doing about 300 – 400 kilometres a day, whew big drives!! First stop was Stanley Rest area, down the back, next stop was the De Grey river rest area down near the river.  This place was really busy but we still managed to find a nice private and shady spot, again had cattle grazing all around us at one stage.

The De Grey River

 After this spot we had planned to stay at another rest area but they were all a bit too close to the road and not very nice.  We noticed a small track off the road that looked like it headed behind a small hill so we drove in and got a nice spot on the backside of the hill, looking east.  Had the spot to ourselves overnight!

An old HK Holden with an EH in the background

We could see for a long way from our private spot!

Next day we booked into the Dampier Transit Park in Dampier, nice views of the Dampier Archipelago and very cheap compared to Karratha parks, but, we could not connect to water but could fill our tanks.  Also during the night there was a fair bit of noise coming from the Rio Tinto wharf, where they fill the iron ore tankers.  Still for the price and location not bad!!

We also took a drive to look at the old jail in Roebourne and looked at Cossack and Wickham and had lunch at Point Samson.  Had some whales frollicking in the bay while we were having lunch, pretty nice!

Left Dampier and drove towards Onslow, looked at a couple of free camps on the way but did not like them, so continued on into the van park in Onslow.  Decided to stay only one night at $45.00/night.  Not much in Onslow unless you are a mad keen fisherman.  We then drove out towards Old Onslow.  John used to work out here on the Griffin Gas Plant and he was keen to see how much was left.  Crossed the Ashburton River and found the remains of the water pump that supplied water to the plant pretty much all there except the solar panels.  Then we arrived at the entrance to Uralla station and tried to call to get permission to drive in and look at the plant, but only got an answering service.  As we only had this afternoon we drove in the few kilometres anyway, hoping that if someone stopped us John could explain.  Anyway all of the plant is still there including the accommodation minus the power generation plants and the swimming pool.  It was a bit sad for John as it is sort of like visiting a ghost town you once spent a bit of time in.

We then had a look around Old Onslow and headed back home to the van.

Next day we took off towards Carnarvon and stopped at Lyndon River East Rest Area for the night.  This is a good spot even though the river was dry as there was heaps of room and lots of privacy.

Next day into Carnarvon to get the car serviced and catch up on all our chores and then off again, a one night stop on the road and into Kalbarri to start chasing wildflowers.

A Curry and Rice plant near Kalbari

Not a lot of wildflowers around and the weather was not all that nice, we did go out to Hawkes Head and Ross Graham lookouts on the Murchison River, but the road to Natures window was closed for repair, luckily we had already been there so were not fussed.

We left here after a week and headed towards Geraldton but stopped for a couple of days at Linga Longa farm stay near Port Gregory.  This is a nice quaint spot and very quiet.

Then into Geraldton for some shopping, only stayed three nights, mainly so we could pick up our mail, then we headed west to Mullewa and stopped there for a week, again chasing wildflowers but mainly only everlastings etc.

A Dampiera near Mullawa

Next stop was Morawa and here we got to see some orchids, cowslips and wreath flowers. 

Cowslips

 

Orchid

Wreath Flowers

We were planning on going further south but the cold wet weather got to us and we headed north again instead, back through Mullewa to Mount Magnet, for a nice warm afternoon.  Next morning it was back to winter so we headed further north to Cue for a night and then we planned to head further north to Meekatharra, however the car had been playing up, “stalling just after it started first thing in the morning and then taking a lot of cranking to get going and this started getting worse”!  So given where we were we decided to hightail it back to Geraldton where there is a Toyota dealer.

We drove straight through to Geraldton, only stopping to fuel up and one stop to replace the fuel filter as the warning light came on as we passed back through Mount Magnet.  Booked into a nice park near the beach in Geraldton for a week so we could get the car looked at and guess what!!  It started perfectly every morning so figured it was a filter problem and I inadvertently fixed it when I changed the filter.  Anyway we had fun in Geraldton, including buying some fresh prawns for prawn sandwiches, and a feed of fish and chips and a bit of retail therapy.  So after a week and a much lighter wallet we headed off again, this time we stopped just outside of Mullewa and just off the road a bit for a nice quiet night.

Next night was about 60k’s east of Mt Magnet, then into Mount Magnet.  We were planning on going through to Cue but as the weather was nice we decided to stay at Mt Magnet for a week.  Did the tourist drive one day and a bit of gold fossicking for a couple of days, but only found lots of tin and a few old bullets.

Below is the Amphitheater near Mt Magnet, amazing acoustics!!

The Amphitheater near Mount Magnet

 Had a good time though and really enjoyed the bread from the little bakery in town. We then headed up the road to Lake Nallen for a 48 hour stop over and tried some more detecting, this time we found 45cents near the old railway, along with heaps of old bullets and bits of wire and tin. Left here to wander into Meekatharra and book into the van park.

We only stayed three nights here and that was probably two nights too long, nothing here really unless you are a mad keen gold miner or work on one of the mines.  Town has nothing really going for it and is very much a tired old town.

So we left and headed back south to the road into Annean Station and found a spot to camp.  Did some more walking around with the gold detector and generally relaxed for four nights, very peaceful but the last day was a bit hot and windy.

Took off down the road south again and through a short storm with dust followed by rain and popped back into Lake Nallen for another couple of nights.

After that headed back into Cue to do the tourist thing, which we didn’t do before.

Drove out to Big Bell, a  township that survived from 1936 to 1955 and the biggest building remaining is the 1930’s art deco pub which apparently had the longest bar in the southern hemisphere when it was built. 

The remains of the Big Bell pub

We then headed for Walga rock, which is a small version of wave rock but it has heaps of aboriginal art, including a very controversial painting depicting a square rigged sailing vessel with what appears to be some kind of script under it. 

One of the many paintings on the rock

 John climbed the north face for some pretty good views of the area.

From there we visited the “Day Dawn/Cue” hospital which was built in 1895 after the doctor and his wife had worked in a canvas and bough shed for a few years.  There is not much left now but the steps and a few chimneys. It is supposedly haunted?  We continued on to look at the remains of the Day Dawn Township but most of it has disappeared under a gold mine, not much to see really.

We also had a few walks around the town and took some photos of some of the old buildings, apparently Cue was virtually a ghost town and a lot of buildings are still empty but it is now vibrant and a pretty little place for this part of the country.

Cue police station and post office

Off again and back into Mount Magnet for a few days, waiting for the cold and wet weather further south to ease off.  Unfortunately the bakery was closed as the lady running it was not well, so we missed out on some nice bread and pretty good pies!

After a few days here, we headed to a free camp 12k’s north of Payne’s find and spent a few days here. It was a bit cooler and as there was heaps of firewood we decided to have a campfire for a couple of the nights and it was very enjoyable. Barbara even made up some damper which was great.

From here we headed into Dalwallinu Caravan Park for three nights, walked into town and had a look around, they have a very nice visitor centre. However the flies were trying to carry us away so being outside wasn’t a lot of fun.

Next stop Moora and as they had a special for a week we decided to stay for a week.  We walked around town again and also they have a river walk where we got to see some Carnaby’s cockatoos, which are apparently endangered and only found in WA!  There were some nice murals and statues around town so not a bad place, but again, heaps and heaps of flies!!

One of the murals

Left here and headed to New Norcia which is Australia’s only monastic town, run by the Benedictine monks.  We camped next to their oval for $7.00 a night and next day did a tour, which was very interesting with some magnificent buildings with a Spanish design. At one stage there were four schools running here but now the buildings are leased to school groups to use as retreats and training. They have a “retreat” accommodation with a spirituality program which offers “time apart” to renew and balance.

They have a fairly large museum and art gallery and they make fresh bread which is delicious!

New Norcia

 We left there and headed into Gingin as John wanted to visit the “Gravity Centre”, near Gingin. The town caravan park did not look appealing so we drove 19k’s west to Willowbank farm and booked into their caravan park, which is very nice. Free scones jam and cream on Sunday morning as well!

Unfortunately there was some minor problems with John’s Gall Bladder and we couldn’t get to see a doctor in Gingin, so we decided to move down to Caversham in the Swan Valley.  Got to see a Dr and then spent the rest of the day in the Emergency Department.  They finally decided it was too difficult to operate due to changes made to John’s insides after an accident in 1980, so they sent him home with a bunch of antibiotics.

Unfortunately we then  heard that our brother-in-law Ken, had died so we flew up to Gladstone Queensland for the funeral and spent a few days after that, with Barbara’s sister, Pauline, then back to the Swan Valley.

I think I will finish the blog here as we are staying in Perth now till after boxing day, then a couple of days in Boddington to catch up with family and friends then down to Rosa Brook, near Margaret River to spend time with Tracy and Kim and hopefully help out a little on their farm.

Will let you know when we start moving again.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!