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| OUR BIG TRIP MARY & OLI GOING AROUND AUSTRALIA |
KIMBERLEY - Page 1
17 August 2007, Friday
Sunburn and sleeping does not work very well and some time adjustment difficulty in addition meant a 4 am wake up for me.
Well done - stupid German and sun - hmmmm. Today we wondered around town and visited the Information Centre in
Kununurra. So far, we have experienced some really bad Information Centres and some which are quite o.k. - they all can not
compete with the one in Kununurra. The ladies we dealt with were just fantastic and all around helpful. We were impressed!
At the end we also have to add the Big4 "Ivanhoe Resort" to this list of Kununurra specialties. We changed our mind and just
booked into a cabin for all 4 nights in Kununurra. They shuffled around everybody else, so we only had to move once during
our stay - again fantastic! We start to like Kununurra very much - nice little town with very friendly and helpful people. We also
booked our car and trailer for service at Top End Auto Electrics and Mechanical Repair for Monday - great! After that, we
made a big decision... we already decided before our trip started that we will spend some money to fly over the Bungle
Bungle formations in a helicopter, but now we also had the offer to do a tour of the Argyle Diamond mine including the Heli
flight over the Bungles - hmmmm it took a while but at the end we decided that we only live once and now - so f&%#$ the
money and get on with it (sorry for the language). We booked the flight from Kununurra to Argyle Diamond Mine and Bungle
Bungle Heli flight for Sunday - GREAT !!! We won't tell you how much it was - you might think we are out of our mind - but this
is what a once in a lifetime trip is all about - ONCE !!! After spending all that money we went to the rock art places in
Kununurra working with special rock from the Kimberley region - for example Zebra rock. We bought a few small pieces and
some raw material for us to try our own luck with carving and sanding/polishin when we are back home. Great stones and
only found in the Kimberley region. Before the end we just made it to Kelly's Knob Lookout to see the sunset over Kununurra
and that is where the only pics were taken of the day.
18 August 2007, Saturday
The visitor centre told us that we should have a drive up to Wyndham and have a look around the area including the Ivanhoe
Crossing, Prison Boab Tree and some gravel roads along the way. After changing cabins and having a look at the market in
town we went towards Wyndham on the old road. This means you have to cross the Ord River at the Ivanhoe Crossing. This
is a famous river crossing which has been featured in many 4WD magazine articles. We just missed a tour bus crossing the
causeway - well that means we just drive through. The difficulty of the crossing is not the depth - the Ord River has a dam
and therefore quite constant flow around the year. The issue could be the speed of the river flowing across the causeway
and obviously a heavy tour bus does not fall into our category of vehicle. So we went quite slowly after seeing others
crossing it and it was a piece of cake. However it does feel strange seeing the river flow down the causeway on your side
and trying to keep the car going on top of the causeway - just a funny feeling - do not think too much what would happen if
the car slips... The old Wyndham Road was corrugated in places and we tested the car again before we are heading down the
Gibb River Road in a few days. We came to a chimney which was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by Boab Trees -
which also grew on the cliff face. After that we came Marlgu Billabong - a heaven for birdwatchers. We saw only a few until a
huge amount of Whistling Ducks took off around the corner from us - impressive. From here we went to Wyndham not
knowing what to expect. We came into town and looked like a ghost town until we saw all the cars parked at the horse race
track - Wyndham Race was on and everything was closed in town. We had a look at the Dreamtime Figures in the park and
the Five River Lookout and off we went again - quite disappointed about that little town with lots of history. We did not feel
like entering the races and maybe missed out. From here, we took the King River Road to see the Prison Boab Tree. This tree
was used in the early days when the police picked up prisoners from Halls Creek to bring them to the judge in Wyndham as a
stopover before heading onwards to Wyndham the next day. Quite an impressive tree in size. From here we went back to the
Highway and home to Kununurra. Now, we are waiting for the big day tomorrow to see the Argyle Diamond Mine and the
Bungle Bungle Heli Flight - should be great. Pics below and on next pages from the days events.
17 August 2007, Friday
Sunburn and sleeping does not work very well and some time adjustment difficulty in addition meant a 4 am wake up for me.
Well done - stupid German and sun - hmmmm. Today we wondered around town and visited the Information Centre in
Kununurra. So far, we have experienced some really bad Information Centres and some which are quite o.k. - they all can not
compete with the one in Kununurra. The ladies we dealt with were just fantastic and all around helpful. We were impressed!
At the end we also have to add the Big4 "Ivanhoe Resort" to this list of Kununurra specialties. We changed our mind and just
booked into a cabin for all 4 nights in Kununurra. They shuffled around everybody else, so we only had to move once during
our stay - again fantastic! We start to like Kununurra very much - nice little town with very friendly and helpful people. We also
booked our car and trailer for service at Top End Auto Electrics and Mechanical Repair for Monday - great! After that, we
made a big decision... we already decided before our trip started that we will spend some money to fly over the Bungle
Bungle formations in a helicopter, but now we also had the offer to do a tour of the Argyle Diamond mine including the Heli
flight over the Bungles - hmmmm it took a while but at the end we decided that we only live once and now - so f&%#$ the
money and get on with it (sorry for the language). We booked the flight from Kununurra to Argyle Diamond Mine and Bungle
Bungle Heli flight for Sunday - GREAT !!! We won't tell you how much it was - you might think we are out of our mind - but this
is what a once in a lifetime trip is all about - ONCE !!! After spending all that money we went to the rock art places in
Kununurra working with special rock from the Kimberley region - for example Zebra rock. We bought a few small pieces and
some raw material for us to try our own luck with carving and sanding/polishin when we are back home. Great stones and
only found in the Kimberley region. Before the end we just made it to Kelly's Knob Lookout to see the sunset over Kununurra
and that is where the only pics were taken of the day.
18 August 2007, Saturday
The visitor centre told us that we should have a drive up to Wyndham and have a look around the area including the Ivanhoe
Crossing, Prison Boab Tree and some gravel roads along the way. After changing cabins and having a look at the market in
town we went towards Wyndham on the old road. This means you have to cross the Ord River at the Ivanhoe Crossing. This
is a famous river crossing which has been featured in many 4WD magazine articles. We just missed a tour bus crossing the
causeway - well that means we just drive through. The difficulty of the crossing is not the depth - the Ord River has a dam
and therefore quite constant flow around the year. The issue could be the speed of the river flowing across the causeway
and obviously a heavy tour bus does not fall into our category of vehicle. So we went quite slowly after seeing others
crossing it and it was a piece of cake. However it does feel strange seeing the river flow down the causeway on your side
and trying to keep the car going on top of the causeway - just a funny feeling - do not think too much what would happen if
the car slips... The old Wyndham Road was corrugated in places and we tested the car again before we are heading down the
Gibb River Road in a few days. We came to a chimney which was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by Boab Trees -
which also grew on the cliff face. After that we came Marlgu Billabong - a heaven for birdwatchers. We saw only a few until a
huge amount of Whistling Ducks took off around the corner from us - impressive. From here we went to Wyndham not
knowing what to expect. We came into town and looked like a ghost town until we saw all the cars parked at the horse race
track - Wyndham Race was on and everything was closed in town. We had a look at the Dreamtime Figures in the park and
the Five River Lookout and off we went again - quite disappointed about that little town with lots of history. We did not feel
like entering the races and maybe missed out. From here, we took the King River Road to see the Prison Boab Tree. This tree
was used in the early days when the police picked up prisoners from Halls Creek to bring them to the judge in Wyndham as a
stopover before heading onwards to Wyndham the next day. Quite an impressive tree in size. From here we went back to the
Highway and home to Kununurra. Now, we are waiting for the big day tomorrow to see the Argyle Diamond Mine and the
Bungle Bungle Heli Flight - should be great. Pics below and on next pages from the days events.
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Kellys Knob Lookout for Sunset
In the background - nice colours.
A fire in a sugar cane field - somebody said that is part
of the harvesting - hmmm, no idea! and went out quite
quickly.
of the harvesting - hmmm, no idea! and went out quite
quickly.
The end - not such a great spot for the sunset, but a
nice ending to the day. Panoramic shots below.
nice ending to the day. Panoramic shots below.
A Campertrailer going through the Ivanhoe Crossing.
Quite a long way and a fast flow - about 0.35 m deep.
Another car going through and a pelican on the rocks.
The second crossing - not as violent as the first one.