Half-lap Day 56: Kununurra

Millie and I woke early when it was still dark and went over to the toilets. It was 4.50am, which to our body clocks was 6.20, so I didn’t bother trying to get back to sleep. Millie went back in the tent and played on the iPad, I had a cuppa and caught up on the blog.

The campground got busy as the sun rose and it was soon a warm, sunny morning. Tony cooked pancakes for breakfast and we ate them in the shade of the trees next to our tent. I had a shower – the best shower I’ve had for weeks, and the first since we left Darwin, so it was great to get all that dirt off my skin and out of my hair. Caitlin and Tony headed over to the pool for a swim, and the other kids joined them once they’d finished playing their game. I spent most of the morning sorting out washing and trying to get the red dirt, and paint spills, out of our clothes – it was also great to have the time to really give everything a good scrub. Once I’d finished the washing I had a quick swim as well, and we went back to the tent to have sandwiches for lunch and get ready to go out.

Without a 4WD we aren’t going to be able to do much of the Kimberleys or the Gibb River Road, which is slightly disappointing (although there is so much else to see, it doesn’t really matter). We had heard that the Gibb River Rd is sealed as far as Emma Gorge, so we decided to go out and check that out. We usually do our walks in the morning, but as the sunrise and sunset are so early at the moment, and the walk was an hour each way (with a swim in the middle) we figured it was better to walk in during the heat of the afternoon, have a swim, and walk out in the cool of the late afternoon. Working backwards from sunset we figured we needed to leave around 1pm – by the time we got going and got petrol and headed out of town it was probably closer to 1.30.

Driving out of town we crossed a bridge that we soon realised was a dam wall – the water was much higher on the left hand side than the right, and the edge of the bridge was lined with the operating machinery for the gates to control the water. It was pretty impressive looking.

The drive out to Emma Gorge was interesting, lots of hills and escarpments, very sparse vegetation. It was exciting to turn on to the Gibb River Rd, even though this is not the really exciting part of it. The road in to Emma Gorge was 2km of dirt, and quite manageable in our car. There was a creek crossing right near the end – as we approached it we saw a small car coming the other way and figured if he had got in we’d have no trouble, and it was fine, the water was shallow and the bottom firm. We packed our bag with everything we’d need for our walk, got our shoes on etc, bought a permit to enter the gorge, and set off at about 2.45. They don’t let people start the walk after 3pm because it gets too dark to get out safely, so we were just in time.

The walk started off along a rocky track next to the creek, then had an easy section of flat dirt track, then for most of the rest of the gorge it made its way over rocks. At first they were small and just like steps, with stepping stones over the creek a couple of times. As we went further in to the gorge the rocks became bigger, and there were a few sections where we had to use our hands as well as feet to clamber over the rocks. Tony went ahead with LiAM and Caitlin, and Millie and I made our way at her pace. The sun dropped over the western edge of the gorge not long into our walk, so we mainly walked in shade which made it much easier. The eastern gorge wall was still in sunlight and looked pretty amazing, very red and tall. Millie was tired and usually has a lot of rests when she walks, but because of the time of day we needed to keep walking. She did really well, and had bursts of energy from time to time and kept plodding along. She’s really good on the big rocks and can easily find the best way to move through them, so I followed her for a lot of the time. We walked near the creek for most of the time and there were some lovely little waterfalls and ponds, and great views of the gorge walls, interesting trees and plants, which got greener and more rainforesty the further we walked, and a fascinating walk all the way in.

We finally reached the end of the gorge where the others were already swimming. The gorge became very narrow at the end, and there was a pool maybe 20m in diameter, with the gorge walls sheer on one side and at the narrower end, and overhanging the water on the other side. The overhanging wall was covered with moss and ferns and water was dripping down from the rocks into the water. On the sheer side and at the very end of the gorge there was water falling in a straight stream from the top of the gorge – not a large waterfall, but a constant stream of water. It was so beautiful and lush looking, definitely worth the walk in to see it.

Millie and I got ready and went in the water – it was too cold for her so Tony got out and sat near the edge with her so I could have a swim. I wanted to go over to where the water was falling in from the rocks – Caitlin wanted to come with me but was nervous about the deep water and wanted to go to a bit near the edge that was still shallow, but that was way in the dark part of the overhang and I was nervous about going in there. We compromised and stayed in the shallow part until we could swim straight out to where the water was falling. LiAM came with us too and the 3 of us swam under the large falling droplets and were surprised at how warm the water was in that part of the pool. Lying on our backs looking up at the rocks and ferns and moss, and water drops, was incredible, like nothing else we’ve done so far. From there we swam to a large rock in the middle of the pool and sat on that for a while, looking at the fish swimming around it. There had been some boys climbing up near the waterfall on the side and jumping in – LiAM wanted to try it but I wasn’t sure how safe it was. He and I swam over there and I said he could try to climb to the first ledge (only 20cm or so out of the water). The rocks were wet and sheer and slippery and he wasn’t able to reach up to get a good enough handhold to climb, so he was happy just swimming under the waterfall. We swam back and under the water at the back of the pool then the 3 of us went back to the shore.

We had a snack and got ready to walk out. We were the 3^rd last group to leave, and one of the other groups passed us not long into the return walk. I stopped to take more photos on the way out as I had more idea of how much time we had available. Tony and LiAM went ahead, and the girls and I walked at Millie’s pace – again, she managed well on the big rocks, and I did too. Normally sloped rocks freak me out, and these were quite slippery, but I felt confident and walked fairly easily. My knees didn’t hurt either, even though there was a lot of stepping up and down off and on to rocks. I guess we’re all getting fitter and stronger the more walking and swimming we do.

We really enjoyed the walk out and it was still light all the way. As we left the end of the gorge the air temperature increased noticeably, it was amazing. It was dark by the time we got to the car but the walk had been done safely and with good vision (one couple we saw panicked a bit that we’d come out so late). We ate sandwiches and had a drink at the car, then drove back to Kununurra. We all loved our walk and our swim - LiAM and Millie had been reluctant but enjoyed what they saw and did, and for Caitlin it was her favourite place so far. Tony and I were thrilled that we'd been able to experience a little bit of what the Kimberleys are like, even if we can't do all of it.

Millie was asleep by the time we got back. We put her into bed, did the dishes and got ready for bed ourselves. Caitlin did some Episode writing/programming on the computer and LiAM played on the iPad until they were ready to go to bed, and everyone was asleep quite quickly.

Half-lap Day 53: Timber Creek -> Keep River National Park

LiAM and I were up well before sunrise (although the sky was getting light) and decided to go back to the bridge to see if we could see any crocodiles – a guy had told us yesterday that he’d seen one near the bridge that morning. It was quite cool and LiAM put his jacket on. We drove down and walked out across the bridge. There was a mist rolling across the water and it looked quite spooky at times. We wandered all the way across the bridge – LiAM had wanted to do that yesterday and we hadn’t gone that far. We saw birds (little wrens and other small birds, and kites and crows) and some fish in the water, and a few logs and sticks and buoys that initially we thought might be a croc. At the far side of the bridge we peered through the gates into the restricted military area, and appreciated the sign that said ‘Do not touch anything you find. It may explode and kill you’. LiAM read all the signs on the gate about live fire and lasers being used etc.

The light was changing constantly as the sun started to rise, and it was so beautiful and peaceful. Great reflections in the water. We were about to head back over to the other shore when I saw a log down towards the boat ramp – but it was moving against the current. I looked through my long lens and while I couldn’t make out the shape yet, it was definitely something swimming. It was headed towards the bridge so it wasn’t long before I could see its scales and basic crocodilian shape – very very exciting. It slowly swam up the river, nearly under the cover of the trees on the edge, and through my lens I could see it swishing it’s tail from time to time. It was so silent, just gliding through the water. It turned towards the centre of the river and then submerged. We were talking about how exciting it had been to see it when it came up again near the middle of the river, parallel to the bridge. In the early morning light the spikes on its back and it’s bumpy head, which was all that was out of the water, looked like a black skeleton floating past. Added to the mist and the distant sound of trucks on the highway, it all felt quite eerie.

He submerged again and we assumed that was the last we’d see of him. We crossed to the eastern side of the bridge to get a good view of the sunrise on the river, and the crocodile came up again, on that side. We could see his wider snout and the definite dark colour of his hide and felt confident that this one was a saltwater crocodile. We were able to stand directly behind him as he swam up the river and could see the clear lines of his back spikes – he was incredible to watch. He swam for a while longer then turned towards shore, but didn’t get out. He turned again and headed across to the other side of the river then started to come back towards the bridge.

A man on a motorbike arrived at the bridge as well as someone on a bike. LiAM started to go over and tell them that there was a crocodile when he realised that it was Caitlin on the bike. She’d ridden up from the campsite and was happy to be there in time to see the crocodile. LiAM told the motorcyclist as well. The croc submerged before he got back to the bridge so we went back to camp.

It was warm enough now for LiAM to take his jacket off. We had breakfast and the kids wandered around camp chatting to people, patting the dogs and watching the birds, while Tony and I started to pack up. The kids found a lady who was selling her paintings on greeting cards. They talked to her for ages and bought a card each. She came over to meet us too and had lots of tips about places to go and things to do on our travels.

When we pulled the peg out of the ground water flowed out of the hole and down the hill. I spent ages trying to find a contact number for the ranger, and eventually rang and left a message. I would have preferred to talk to someone directly but no one ever answered the phone.

It was hot while we were packing up and we decided that it would probably be better to set up in a place that has morning shade, rather than afternoon shade, if we need to choose. We were on our way by about 10.30, and continued west along the Victoria Highway.

We’d been given a tip back in Mataranka that the Keep River National Park, right before the WA border, was pretty special. There were rock formations there which were similar (though much smaller) to the Bungle Bungles, so we thought it would be nice to see them as we won’t get to the Bungle Bungles. Our Camps book said that the road in was rough dirt, so we had almost decided not to go, then we checked on wikicamps and the reviews said that the road had been recently graded and was fine for 2WDs.

We drove into the park and stopped at the ranger station. They had a fantastic display there of all the types of things you could see in the park, and a map of the walks. I was thinking we’d need to do the longer walk, at the furthest campground, to see the beehive rock formations, so we thought we’d camp at the closest campground and drive further the next day. Talking to a couple in the ranger centre they said that the walk at the 1^st campground was beautiful and had lots of those types of rocks, so we figured we might not need to go all the way to the end.

We headed off on the dirt road, which was occasionally corrugated but not too bad. We filled up our water containers at a drinking water station, and stopped a bit further on to collect firewood, then continued on to the campground. There was one sandy creekbed which worried us slightly, but we got through easily. We picked a spot (again, a narrow spot that we needed to back in to) that we thought might have morning sun (there was one better spot, but the car that had gone past us when we were collecting firewood, had set up there).

We unhooked the trailer and put it in place, and got out our chairs, then went and sat in a shady grove of trees to cool down, it was very very hot in the sun. The view was amazing – a large formation of red rocks rising up just near the campground, with lots of smaller beehive rocks in the foreground. There was a large rock right in the middle of the campground too, which the kids used for shade while they played some games and then they climbed it a little way and sat up near the top.

We had some lunch and spent the hottest part of the afternoon sitting and reading, chatting, doing puzzles and so on. After a couple of hours we set up the tent, then the lady we’d met at the ranger station came over and said there was something interesting at her campsite that the kids might like. They had an old termite nest next to their van, and the meat ants were destroying it, going in and out of the nest and bringing out eggs and termites. We could see how big it used to be (spread between 3 trees and as tall as me), now it was just a mound, only 30cm or so high. It was fascinating. We talked to the couple about their trip and ours, and about this area, and the boab trees (we’d seen lots today) and how the indigenous people had eaten the nuts and the seeds.

The sun was getting lower in the sky so we all got ready to go for a walk. Millie was reluctant at first so I said she could take photos with my camera, and once we got started I suggested she look for rocks that looked like animals – she found a camel, a turtle, and a gorilla almost immediately and was happy for the rest of the way. It was a 2km walk through the rocks, and it was magnificent. Amazing rock formations every way we looked, a range of plant life, lots of little valleys, and the big red cliffs, with holes and jutting out bits and interesting features, towering above us. Tony walked ahead with LiAM and Caitlin while Millie and I went a bit slower. There was so much to look at that no one complained about doing a walk or felt that it was long at all. There were places that echoed and the trail led gradually upwards so we were soon looking back across the woodlands of the national park. We were on the highest part of the trail when the sun dropped over the escarpment on the horizon, which looked pretty special. The walk led back down to ground level then through the brush back to camp, with rocks all around us as we went. It was very very cool.

It looks like there's a crocodile climbing the escarpment

Back at camp Tony started to get the fire ready to cook tea. There was a ranger talk scheduled for this evening – we’ve been seeing them advertised at every NT National Park we’ve been to, either talks or guided walks, but have always missed them by a day or so. So we were excited to be here for this one. Tony was just about to light the fire when the ranger arrived – he wanted to use the fire to heat the billy so that everyone could have a cuppa during or after the talk. We were happy to move our stuff out of the way and figured we’d eat after the talk.

The ranger showed us a slideshow and talked about all the different features of the Keep River National Park, and what the rangers’ role is at the park. It was really interesting and he spoke well. The kids asked lots of questions (as did other people – there were probably 30 people there) and he answered them in a lot of detail. After the talk the kids had a hot milo, and chatted to the ranger a bit. He’d been working as part of the crocodile removal team in Darwin until recently, so it was fascinating to talk to him about how they removed crocodiles from Darwin Harbour.

We finally headed back to our tent and had toasted corned beef sandwiches for tea. Caitlin had set up the green tent next to our big tent and moved Millie’s bed in to there for the night. There was lots more room in our tent with only 2 beds (Millie slept on Caitlin’s). Being right next to us she could still hear so I was ready to read Brisingr, then realised that LiAM had fallen asleep while he waited for me to come to bed, so we didn’t do any reading tonight.

Sydney Trip-> Day 1

Having packed the car the night before, we were out of the house by 9.20am which is impressive for us. We stopped off at Ringwood Library to return some DVDs and borrow a pile of audio books to listen to in the car. We made it to the city in plenty of time and after some minor hassles sorting out payment for parking, we were at Caitlin’s audition just before 11.

The audition (for a short film being made by a 2^nd year Uni student) went well and all 3 kids seemed to make an impression. On our way out of the building the alarm went off and the building was evacuated. When we reached the street there were 2 fire engines and lots of firemen so it appeared that it was not a drill. Caitlin overheard someone saying that a hot water pipe had burst. We waited outside for a little while to see if anything exciting happened, and started chatting to the girl who was auditioning after Caitlin. Another lady came over and said she’d overhead me say that we were homeschooling, and that she had homeschooled hers and loved it. The mother of the other auditioner said that she was also thinking about homeschooling, so we chatted about that for a while and exchanged details.

The kids were keen by now to get going on our trip, so we left the excitement of the emergency and started to head north. We stopped in Thomastown for Hungry Jacks (for the girls) and Red Rooster (for LiAM and I) – they were conveniently located next to each other, and sat in the car near a bike track to eat.

Then finally onto the Hume Freeway where we really felt like we were on our way to Sydney. I was quite tired and the kids were happy to have a break from the car, so we stopped after about an hour at Grass Tree rest area. There was a walking trail which we walked around, and saw lots of grass trees that looked more or less like Grug – which was pretty cool. Lots of wattle trees as well, so they collected some wattle blossoms and compared all the grass trees to Grug, and everyone felt refreshed when we got back to the car. After another hour we stopped for a toilet break at Mokoan rest area, and did another short walk – this time just along between some trees and a field, so not as interesting but a good break. The girls needed another toilet break a while later, so we stopped again, and talked to some girls whose car had broken down. It looked pretty serious, nothing simple that I could help with, so we wished them luck and moved on to Wodonga.

We reached Wodonga around 4.30 and everyone was happy to stop for the night. We got a budget cabin at the Big 4 and the kids went exploring (jumping on the jumping pillow and patting the dogs in the dog off-lead area) while I had a cup of tea. It was cold outside (had been all day, a very icy wind blowing) so everyone came back fairly quickly and we played cards for a while, then went out to find a supermarket to get supplies for tea.

I’d promised the kids hotdogs for tea, so I cooked those and fried myself some onion and kabana, and we ate them and then Magnums for dessert. The kids played a superhero/supervillian game for a while, then everyone got into bed and I read Eldest for a while. Caitlin was missing Tony who normally rubs her back before she goes to sleep – Millie moved her sleeping bag into Caitlin’s bed and rubbed her back for her which was very sweet.