So, this is winter.... 'not happy, Jan'

Saturday 31^st August 2013

Hello folks,

Well, winter has arrived and hit the travelers like a bombshell. We have been freezing cold, drenched to the bone, hailed upon and have been driving with 20 metres of visibility in front of us with a 35km side wind whilst towing a camper- scary!!. And that was just the first day! So this must be why all theses WA’ers head north every winter- smart move!!

But let’s back up a bit and pick up the story from my last blog- Monkey Mia. Yes this place is the proverbial rip off. Everything was expensive and there isn't an awful lot going for this place except for the dolphins (and I am now 100% against them feeding the dolphins every day too!!)

Again, we called ahead to book in here and guess what? The only caravan accommodation left was a “beach front site for $64.00”!!! Oh my happy aunt- $64.00. Up until now the most expensive overnight cost on this whole trip was $54.00 at Port Hedland, and we privately complained when we booked this one too. The reason it’s expensive at Pt Hedland is that most of the people staying in the caravan parks are permanents that get an accommodation allowance from BHP, Rio Tinto and the like, so the caravan parks here can charge what they like knowing the people aren't out of pocket. No such luck at Monkey Mia- they've got a captive market and are greedy, especially when you also take into account you have to pay a fee to enter the grounds as it is classified as a National Park. Most overnight costs on this whole trip have been around the $35/night mark so this one was just a wee bit excessive.

Had we looked at the map a bit closer though, we would have realized that Monkey Mia (MM) is only 25km from Shark Bay/Denham and we could have done MM as a day trip. But I must admit that once we got here, the place wasn't so bad. The ‘beach front site’ was huge and we were literally right on the beach- not even a path in front of us and the amenities were good too (always a good indication of a half decent caravan park, so we have learnt!). 

The view from our 'beach front site'

We also had the most divine late afternoon drinkies, sitting down with a bottle of champers and some cheese and biccys watching the most special sunset with an uninterrupted view of the ocean. OK, $64 for that was a bargain!

The $64.00 sunset, with champagne and cheese & biccys!

 As soon as we were set up at MM, we headed down to the beach and saw the 3^rd (and last) dolphin feeding of the day- the 10.45am feeding. The ranger talks about the dolphins and how they ‘live in the open sea and do not always come in to be fed’. One dolphin though started getting fed by the rangers when it was too young and is now 100% reliant on the feedings. The ranger admitted that this is wrong and that they now do not feed the young ones until they are 2 years old and have been weaned off their mother’s milk. But to see this one dolphin nudging the rangers leg as she was doing her talk demanding fish was so wrong and unnatural. This dolphin has also not kept her babies, leaving them to fend for themselves too early and not being a mother to them. The ranger also said that most dolphins get scratches and marks on them from fighting to get food out in the ocean, but this one dolphin has no marks on her at all. The fact that some of these dolphins don’t forage and hunt for food, which is a natural ‘survival of the fittest’ defense mechanism, is just wrong. Human intervention has made this a false feeding environment, and it is done so people can ‘feed a dolphin’ and ‘be close to a dolphin’. What’s also wrong is when the time does come to feed the dolphin (and you are selected individually out of the crowd, which the day before us was huge- 228 people!!), the ranger says quite emphatically DO NOT PAT THE DOLPHIN. And of course one person did while we were there, and the dolphin freaked out. The lady was lucky the dolphin didn't attack her.

The dolphin feeding stats for the last week (above) and the dolphins- mum & bub (below)

So on we traveled  The next place we visited was Kalbarri and it was on the way here that the winter gods made themselves known. This was where we got the squall that gave us minimal visibility, strong side winds (very scary while we were driving with a camper!) and we got soaked when we set up. Welcome to winter!! And to think that the day before we had snorkeled at Monkey Mia (where there is 0% visibility and nothing to see- another negative thing about MM!!). So do I hear you all saying “yes happy travelers, it is still August and it is still winter down south- it had to happen sometime so stop complaining!” But it is such a shock after 78 days (yes I just counted it!) of beautiful warm, sunny weather.

Kalbarri- the dramatic coast

All around the town of Kalbarri is the Kalbarri National Park. Sadly half of the park was closed for road work/improvements so we decided to look at the coastal points of interest instead of the inland points of interest. The coast was a lot like the 12 Apostles/Great Ocean Road coastline but we did see some whales cruise past, which was good, but too far away to take any photos of!!

The happy travelers

 Next place to visit was Geraldton and we both hope to never visit this place again! As soon as we arrived at the Caravan Park, we didn't like the place. We got lost looking for our site which is never good, but the caravan park map was disgusting and the roadways had all these arrows everywhere giving the impression it was one way- oh, it was awful!! Then the heavens opened up and it did not stop raining and blowing a gale for the whole 24 hours we were there. To visit the loo was like having a shower in your clothes. You tended to hold on until you were ready to explode so you didn't have to visit to the loo too many times! Not a happy camper!

The following morning as we started packing up the rain was not too bad, but then it bucketed down. We have a Jayco camper that you wind up the main part of the camper and push out the 2 beds at either end. These beds are covered with a canvas awning but as you pack up, the canvas folds away on top of the beds leaving the mattresses exposed until you push them in over the camper section. This is normally done within minutes, but on this particular morning (and again the following morning as we were leaving Jurien Bay) the mattresses, sheets, floor and anything else near the opening got saturated. And I mean saturated. The towel I was using as a cover (along with a tarp) was a wet as it would have been if I washed it and did not spin the load! And it happened on 2 consecutive mornings. I just wanted to cry on the second morning- everything was so wet!!

But on each occasion I was able to get everything dry as I hung it on the clothes line in each caravan park and the wind basically dried everything in about an hour! But I had a full set of queen sheets, 2 mattresses (double and queen), 2 tarps (that go over the mattresses if it is wet or dusty travel ahead), a sleeping bag, 2 floor mats, a towel and our 2 big parka jackets that were all saturated and on the line!! When we arrived in Perth (after leaving Jurien Bay), I just wanted to head home. But we are here now, in Fremantle, at a caravan site with an ensuite (yay!), and the weather is still really bad, but I am dry so I am happy.

On our way from Jurien Bay to Perth we did visit the Pinnacles National Park. This place is very eerie, and with the dark, cold, blustery weather it made it even more gloomy. You can't see the sandstone pinnacles from the road. They just pop out as you go around this corner. And there are heaps of them- everywhere! Check out the photos!!

Yesterday we visited the Fremantle Markets and walked from our caravan park down to the beach. It was blowing a gale and I’m sure the beach was lovely, but I couldn't see a thing as the sand was biting my face so I stood there with my hands over my eyes!! Today I have done a load of washing (should be my last until we get home- yay!). Anthony has rotated the Prado tyres and also the camper tyres. We did look at going to the footy tonight as the Crows are playing West Coast, but the cheapest tickets we could get were over $50 each, so I think we’ll just watch it on the TV!! Tomorrow we are going out to lunch with the Bradshaw’s, a family who the Morcom’s have known since forever. Actually Rosemary (the Mum) went to Sunday School with Beryl (Anthony’s Mum) so the friendship goes back a long, long way. It’s been ages since Anthony has seen the kids, who are similar age to Anthony, so it should be a good, gossipy get-together. The restaurant we are going to is called Char Char Bull, so it sounds interesting (it’s actually a steak house and we are both sooo looking forward to a nice big steak!)

We leave Perth/Fremantle on Tuesday morning and have decided not to do the southern area below Perth, but will instead head east towards home. It will take us 4 days to cross WA and the Nullabor, having us arriving back in Adelaide by this time next week (next Saturday!!).

The trip has been fantastic and not once have we wanted to go home (until Geraldton and the rain). We have met the most amazing people, seen the true beauty of the Kimberley’s and the WA coast, visited the most brilliant, special places and have swum/snorkeled in the most pristine waters. I have continued to be in brilliant health (and traveled far and wide to keep my medication regime as normal as possible), we have both lost weight, have stayed married and have celebrated a milestone birthday in the most amazing way. We head home with many special memories and with the feeling that we have really had a ‘bloody good holiday'. It has been 3 fantastic months- the best we can remember!

Julie flying over the Horizontal Falls!!!!

Thanks for reading my blogs and we hope to catch up with you all really soon.

As someone on late night TV used to say: 

“good night everybody”.

Love,

Anthony and Jules xxooxx

Anthony flying over the Horizontal Falls!!

We're in the sunshine!!

Thursday 15^th August, 2013

Hello Family and Friends,

Well it’s the two wondering travelers- sun tanned, relaxed and “happy-little-vegemites-as-we-are-on-the-bitumen”. Sorry to harp on about this but it is such a different ride when you are on a lovely smooth surface. You can actually read your book instead of making small talk with the other people in the car. Oh, that would be Anthony!!

On dirt you can’t do anything, other than hang on, and to read a HEMA map that has smallish writing and is about 10 x A4 in size, well that was like doing calisthenics sitting down!! But that has all changed as we are now on the bitumen. Yippee! OK, I’ll stop now!!

We are currently at a place called Nanutarra Road House which is on the North West Coastal Highway. This morning we left Karijini National Park and tomorrow we will be in Cape Range National Park, right on the coast. It was too far to drive from one place to the other in one day so we have split it here and this is just like every other Road House in the world- not flash. There are trucks going past all the time so it’s not all that quiet and the amenities are very basic, although there is a flushing toilet and a shower and you don’t have that in National Parks so I shouldn’t be too picky. A little while ago I spied some washing on a line so I went and asked where the washing machines were. This Irish lad (who I could barely understand until my ear twigged to his accent) showed me where they were. I asked how much and he said nothing. Well all of a sudden my little bit of hand washing went BIG- the queen size sheets and pillow cases, all the towels and everything that was dirty. This was way too much of a good opportunity. Most caravan parks charge $4 a load and the wash is not that good. This load looked great as I hung it on the line a little while ago. Some one is smiling on me, or is it that I smell bad!?!

Port Hedland 

parks & harbor

Since my last blog at 80 Mile Beach, we have spent 2 days in Port Hedland (where we had the Prado serviced) and 4 days in Karijini National Park.  Karijini is the most beautiful National Park (NP). There used to be 2 separate camping grounds here, but one has been converted to an Eco Resort which is run by some of the local Aborigines and is now very expensive. We decided to spend 4 days in the ‘Dales’ camping area and would just do one big day trip to the other end of the NP so that we could still see everything that there was to see. It worked out really well as we did stuff in the mornings, relaxed a bit in the afternoons, watched TV then went to bed. And not packing up, moving and setting up every day was also a bonus!!

Circular Pool, Karijini

Layer upon layer...

Fern Pool- Dales camp ground

Dale Gorge walk

The gorges, walks and swimming holes at every place in the NP are just gorgeous, but the water is really cold, so we didn't swim here! It really is like a hidden gem in the middle of the outback.

Thursday 22^nd August, 2013

Hello folks, I’m back. Sorry about the “break in transmission” but we have been a bit busy!!

A train from Port Headland heading to Newman- whoa!!

After our one night at the Nanutarra Roadhouse- one night was enough!- we headed to Exmouth then around to Cape Range National Park. Now this place is superb- terrific camp sites, pristine beaches and brilliant snorkeling all the way along the coast. Boy, did we have fun here!!!!

We booked in online (while we were in Pt Hedland) which was great as the place was fully booked out. As soon as people leave in the mornings, any unbooked sites get snapped up at 8am in the morning, which until this year was at 6.30am in the morning!!! But this place is sooo popular. As we drove out after our 3 night stay, it was about 8.30am when we passed the Ranger’s “check in hut” and there were 13 vehicles waiting to get a site. Book on line my friends, it’s easier!!

 

Kurrajong- by day and night

We stayed at a camping area called Kurrajong and it, along with the camp hosts John and Christine, were just lovely. Anthony and I would go snorkeling on the reef, which was just in front of our camp site, every mid-morning and afternoon. On our first snorkel we saw parrot fish, angel fish and black and white nemo’s. It really was just like swimming in an aquarium as there was so much to see.

A place to clean your fish!!

One morning we headed to nearby Turquoise Bay where you can “drift snorkel”. You put your towel and stuff on the beach then walk about 400 metres further along the beach. You get into the water and snorkel and with the very strong current, you just drift back alkng the beach. Before you know it you lift your head up to check where you are and you’re almost back where you left your towel!! We did the “drift” 3 times- it was so much fun!! And the coral was totally different looking to the coral at our beach which made it interesting. And we saw a turtle- unbelievable!!

Torquoise Bay- superb!

After 3 days at Cape Range NP we headed to Coral Bay. This place is small- really small, but it has 2 HUGE caravan parks, as the water and beaches here are beautiful and the weather is fantastic. Again we went snorkeling every morning and afternoon on a reef just off the swimming beach. There were totally different coral formations here and a great array of fish. The snapper were right there in the water as soon as your went under to snorkel, and they were HUGE!! As I came in one afternoon there were 3 small aboriginal kids playing in the shallows near where the water gets deep. They were so excited that “these huge fish were just there”. When I got to the shallows 2 of them asked me if I had “been out there”. I said yes and they asked were there more fish out there and I said there were lots and lots- both big and small. One piped up and said “why wasn’t I still out there”, to which I said I was getting too cold. I don’t think he really understood, but I desperately needed a hot shower!

Coral Bay- a popular spot, great for a 50th

It was here in Coral Bay that I celebrated my actual birthday. As Anthony and I had been out to dinner in Broome, we just had a lovely meal in the camper and some champagne and strawberries afterwards. It was a lovely day as the weather was fantastic, we went snorkeling (twice!) and I did not lift a finger all day- only to pick up my champagne glass! I know the weather in Adelaide was horrible all day so I was doubly pleased to be away from the cold!!

After Coral Bay we headed to Carnarvon. This is a very working class town with about 6 caravan parks!! The one we selected was a relatively newish one and it was really nice- the amenities were gorgeous!! When we turned up it already had a FULL sign out the front so again it was really lucky that we had called a few days ahead to book in.

Hello Moon, are you there?

As you drive in to Carnarvon, you can see this huge satellite dish. This was the one that NASA used during the space trips in the 60’s and 70’s, including the Apollo moon landing. We visited the space museum which was very interesting. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin visited Carnarvon last year for the 50 year anniversary of the moon landing. He went to the local school and took questions from the kids. One child asked “What did you do when the circuit breaker broke on one of the buttons that you needed to land?”. Buzz said, with a very serious look on his face, “how did you know about that?” The whole audience cracked up!

Today we have arrived in Shark Bay and the water from the Esplanade is just blue- pure blue! The place has a very beachy feel to it, and again our forward booking got us a great caravan site, as both local caravan parks are fully booked. Funny thing is most of the caravans we have seen in the past week or so have been West Australian plated. These WA-ers definitely don’t like being in the cold!!

The view from our bedroom (from the camper) at Shark Bay!!

The day after tomorrow we are off to Monkey Mia which at the moment stands to be the most expensive place in the whole of Australia!!! Stay tuned… more to follow.

Just remember folks, it is almost the end of August and the cold is nearly over for the year. And to brighten your day, it is 4 months until Christmas. Now that stopped you thinking about the cold, didn’t it!!!

Stay happy and safe,

Love Anthony and Julie xxooxx

No more dirt roads- yee ha!!

Hello Family & Friends,

Well, we are currently heading South, after having a very busy week in Broome. And we are now on bitumen- yay!! (Tribal Dance) “No more dirt roads, yippee, yippee, no more dust in everything, hip hip hooray!!” (you can sing along if you like!!)

At the end of my last blog, we were about to visit Mornington Wilderness Camp. After chatting with someone at Charnley River Station, and the fact that the road into Mornington is 95 kms long and we were a little bit worried about having enough fuel to get to Broome, we decided not to go there. Instead we headed for Mt Hart Station.

Mathew Gorge

Sunset at Mt Hart

Recently Mt Hart was taken over by APT Tours, so we were actually a little bit hesitant about visiting the place. But the camping area is situated away from the Lodge and is actually very nice. After booking in for 2 nights, we decided to stay for another 2. The staff here were just lovely and again we had a meal in the restaurant (they don’t do Homestead type meals here. Due to the APT guests on 'packages', it is more like a proper restaurant). We did visit the gorges and the Big Boab on the property. One of the gorges, Mathew Gorge, was just beautiful and we went for a lovely swim here. We also watched a gorgeous sunset from Sunset Hill.

While we were at Mt Hart, we planned the next part of our trip. We really should have booked into Broome earlier as we were really ‘killing time’ at Mt Hart and for the next few nights. Oh well, when we booked our Broome caravan park back in December 2012, having done a rough plan of the first half of our trip, I don’t think we ever thought we would do the Gibb River Road (GRR) in less than 4 weeks.

We did decide to do the Horizontal Falls flight while we were in Broome though. We were able to book this at Mt Hart and Harry (the APT fella in charge at the moment) said he would look after us! Well I know he didn't on the price but on the morning we did the trip, we both got a chance to sit up the front in the First Officers seat!! This was brilliant for photos as it was a sea plane so you landed on water as well as the ground!

Horizontal Falls trip (above & below)

 Another funny thing happened at Mt Hart. At beer-o’clock(4pm) one afternoon, we realized that we were fast running out of Coopers Pale Ales and we would have to ration them until we got to Broome. Just before Anthony turned off his computer and the internet, I asked him to check to see if there was a Liquorland in Broome. Well there was and while he was checking the address, I noticed that the special for the week was 2 Coopers Pale Ales for $88.00 and the special was finishing at 7pm that night (thank goodness we were on the same time zone!!). So I grabbed the satellite phone, called Liquorland, gave them my credit card number over the phone and asked them to hold 2 Pales for us and we would pick them up in a weeks’ time on the 30^th. And they did!!

How close are we to this croc!!!!

Still heading towards Broome, we spent 2 nights at Windjana Gorge and another two at Birdwood Downs Homestead (not the best place to stay on the GRR!). Windjana Gorge is where there are heaps of crocodiles in the gorge and you can basically almost walk up and touch them. In the afternoon they all laze around on the edge of the creek and you can get some fantastic photos of them. We also went to Tunnel Creek early one morning. This is a special area where you can walk 750 metres under the rock/hill through water and over sand to an opening at the other end. Nine years ago I wasn’t up to doing this walk but this year was totally different. It actually was heaps of fun walking through this pitch black tunnel with torches and having to navigate your way over sand and through water. We only passed a lone tourist on our walk into the tunnel and another single person on our way back so it really did feel like we were the only people there.

Anthony at the entrance to Tunnel Creek

 We arrived into Broome on Wednesday 31^st July as booked (we did have to spend the 30^th at Broome’s Gateway c/van park which is 30 kms out of Broome to 'kill' one more night!!). Went into Broome and had a look around and got our bearings, as our caravan park was at Cable Beach (about 4 kms from Broome CBD).

While we were in Broome, I went to Perth for my MS medicine (Thursday arvo to Friday evening), we checked out Chinatown, visited Matso’s Brewery (where they make a delicious alcoholic ginger beer), had a romantic 50^th birthday dinner at the Thai restaurant inside the Cable Beach Resort (Thai Pearl), bought some beautiful Broome pearl earrings for my 50^th and caught up with an old mate of Anthony’s who owns and runs the Bali Hai Resort. And don’t forget we did the Horizontal Falls full day trip also. And this was supposed to be our half way break!!!

The view from Matso's Brewery outdoor bistro- best pub views anywhere if you ask me!!!

Well we are now having a break. We are at 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park which is about 360 kms south west of Broome. We are just a sand dune away from the beach, where we sat last night and enjoyed a Pikes Riesling while watching the sun set. Shortly, we’ll go for a nice long walk down the beach and back. And we just did- it's just gorgeous!!!

Eighty Mile Beach- just gorgeous

We have just worked out the remainder of our trip and really could do with a few more days!! Bummer we wasted almost a week slowing down our trip at the end of the GRR as we could do with another week now. Oh well, we can’t do everything as we’ll have to leave some things to do on our next trip to WA.

Tomorrow we head off to Port Headland and we will be getting the Prado checked over at the Toyota dealership. We tried to have it done in Broome but they were fully booked for 2 weeks. We just want them to check that everything is tight and that there isn’t anything untoward going on under the car (from being on dirt for 28 days!).

Then it’s off down the coast…….

We'll be in touch again soon,

Love to all, Julie & Anthony xx

Staying at the Station

Hello Family and Friends,

Today, Sunday 21^st July, we are having a quiet, rest day, although I have just done a small load of hand washing (no rest for the wicked!!). We are currently at Charnley River Station which is approximately 258kms from Derby (west coast) and 508kms from Kununurra, which is 52kms away from the start of the Gibb River Road (GRR). The distance from Derby to Kununurra is 712kms and of that, 654kms is the GRR which is 100% dirt with bull dust, rocks, water crossings and truly spectacular scenery and places to see along the way.

Nine years ago when we were up here last, we did not stop and see half as much as we are seeing on this trip. It makes such a difference when you have time up your sleeve and no real fixed agenda. On arriving at Charnley we had 4 “spare days” up our sleeve. This was mainly due to the fact that we didn’t stop at Barnett River Gorge, which was our next stop after Mt Elizabeth Station. We were a bit undecided about staying there but thought we would for 2 nights. When we pulled out of Mt Elizabeth Station, we did not realize that we had pulled out in between 3 NSW couples driving in convoy. We had the pleasure of listening to the 3 couples “twoddle on about nothing” on the CB radio (we always leave ours on scan while we are travelling). One good thing they did say was that Barnett River Gorge was not that impressive and not to pull in. The problem was that the first driver of the 3 had turned in and had stopped to wait for his friends. We were driving behind the first couple, so we just kept on going towards Mt Barnett Roadhouse, and were finally rid of driving behind his bull dust!!!

Nothing up here is small, including the boab trees!!

Any way, the last place I mentioned on my previous blog was Mt Elizabeth Homestead. The drive from Drysdale Station to Mt Elizabeth Station was a good one and it was not until the 2^nd day at Mt Eliz that I noticed that we had 100% lost one of our spot lights off the front of the 4WD. Nothing was left but the cable and the bracket that holds the light and the globe! Then Anthony noticed we had smashed off one of the light covers on the camper and we had lost one of the screws that keeps our bigger side mirrors attached to the Prado. Our biggest day of things breaking yet!!

Mt Elizabeth Station was a lovely place and we did both the 4WD tracks available. The first one was the more difficult, which Anthony loved, and the second was just a bush track but had a gorgeous river swimming spot at the end. And, you guessed it, we were the only ones there yet again. I’m thinking we might have BO or something!!!

All 3 photos: Mt Elizabeth Station- gorge at end of difficult 4WD track

Mt Elizabeth Station- easy to get to gorge

We stayed here for 3 nights and on the second day Anthony did some maintenance on the car. He checked that the wheel nuts were tight on the car and camper, got under the car to remove the bash plate, hit the dings out of it then put it back on- just a few medial tasks like that!!. This was after we had done the more difficult 4WD track, but some of the knocks would have happened earlier in the trip. That night we went to the Homestead for a 3 course dinner ($45 ea) which was just lovely. We had vegetable soup, then a buffet of beef pie, mashed potato, pineapple rissoles (yum!), pumpkin bake and beans. Dessert was either Chocolate self-saucing pudding or pineapple sponge cake (and I had the yummy pineapple sponge folks, because they ran out of choc s/s pud!!). We also sat with a coupe from Qld, Shane and Lisa, and a Doctor, Heinrich (radiologist specialist who works at the Alfred) from Amsterdam (I kept calling it Amstersmash (from my 1987 Contiki trip) and he thought that was hilarious!!) who were just lovely people. It was a superb night with mixed conversation, good food and plenty of laughs!!

Julie and Heinrich with a wallaby joey

After Mt Elizabeth (and driving straight past Barnett River Gorge) we arrived at Mt Barnett Roadhouse. This is an aboriginal owned Roadhouse that has quite a good range of grocery items and fruit and veg, be it very expensive. While we were here (we stayed 2 nights) the supply truck made it’s weekly delivery so I was able to buy some F&V as we were leaving. Ok, are you ready for this- $4.90 for 4 mandarines, $5.50 for 4 apples AND $9.00 for 2 capsicum!!! But I must admit that the mandys and apples are delicious!

Part of Mt Barnett Roadhouse is the camping area and water hole called Manning Gorge. This was just lovely with a water hole (Manning River) right next to the camping area and a brilliant gorge (Upper Manning Gorge and Manning Falls) which is across the river (you cross in a boat) and a 3km hike over rocky ground. But the waterhole is just brilliant and well worth the trek. We swam across the waterhole to the waterfall and stood on a ledge on the other side of the water fall- just spectacular.

Above & below: Manning Gorge

After 2 days at Manning Gorge we headed off to Charnley River Station, where we are now. On the way we stopped and had a look at 2 more gorges- Galvins Gorge and Adcock Gorge. Both were nice but we didn’t swim in either: just walked in (over rocks!!) and took some photos.

Charley River Station is just lovely. Their driveway is 43kms long and we think this must put a lot of people off as there really aren’t a lot of people here. We originally booked in here for 2 nights, but have extended it to 3 as we are enjoying it a lot and we have “spare days” to use up!! Yesterday we drove out and checked out 2 of the 4 gorges on offer at this property, but after the second one- Grevillea Gorge, where we did have a swim and some lunch, I said to Anthony that I am a bit “gorge-and-rock-climbing-out”, hence the quiet day today.

Charnley River Stn: Grevillea Gorge

Last night we had dinner at the Homestead which was lovely. $20 each for a porterhouse steak, salad and chips (I was salivating when I saw chips on the menu!!). Then they came out and said for $5 each we could have some apricot pudding and cream. Well, everyone’s’ hands shot up in the air faster than you could blink!! It was another really nice night as the staff all move around to talk to everyone at each of the tables. These people are so remote from everything and everyone that they have some brilliant stories to tell. Although they were all very surprised when I mentioned that we had passed a grader on our way in who was grading their 43km drive. This is something the local shire maintain and not the station themselves, so they never know when it will be done. Well, not until the grader stops at the Homestead and has a cuppa with them, which he did this morning!! I was at the Homestead paying for dessert and again thanked the grader driver for his good work. He just wished people would slow down when they passed him on the road as some whiz past doing 90-100 kms. I was so shocked and said that we like to go past slowly so I can wave to the driver. I swear I saw him rolling his eyes!!

Well tomorrow we head off to Mornington Wilderness Camp, which is a part of the Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary and is owned and operated by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. This place is 95kms off the GRR so we are hoping it might also be a quieter place to stay. Well, we will find out tomorrow, I suppose.

Stay warm everyone, and enjoy the snow in Adelaide (what the!!!). We’ll be in touch soon.

Love and kisses from Jules and Anthony. xxoo

We both fell for the Falls!!

Hello Family and Friends,

Well, this trip just seems to get better and better. Since my last update, boy have we covered a lot of territory.

We stayed at Home Valley Station (on the Gibb River Road) for a total of 4 nights. We didn't do an awful lot of anything- just relaxed! The lunch we did have at the restaurant though was lovely and I can recommend their cappuccinos!! We met some lovely people there including a lady called Sam who was travelling the Gibb River Road on her own. I also think she might have been ill as she was always wearing a scarf on her head and I don't think she had any hair underneath, and she didn't have any eye brows. She was a really gutsy lady and she was just lovely to talk to. She had started her trip in Broome and was travelling the opposite way to us. I gave her some pointers on the roads and places we had visited and she was able to do the same for us. She was from Victoria and had a good laugh when I bagged some Victorians under my breath when they drove into the camp ground driving like idiots!!

Next stop was Ellenbrae where we stayed for one night. This again was a lovely spot but not as flash as HV8 (this is Home Valley’s logo and also their stock branding symbol- Ellenbrae’s is 7XL). We did have the most magnificent scones, jam and cream at Ellenbrae though. They were still warm and must have just been made. They do have a very good reputation for their morning and afternoon teas with many people just driving in for the scones then leaving. At $8.00 per person, it is a nice side line, if you ask me!

The next day was a big one for us as we headed up the Kalumbaru Road towards Mitchell Falls. 9 years ago when we did this trip, the Kalumbaru Road was disgusting, as was the road into Mitchell Falls, and we did both shockers and a tyre in our feeble attempt to see the Falls. So, were we really surprised when the Kalumbaru Road was in very good condition. We stayed at Drysdale Station (well, their watering hole 5 km from the Station at a place called Miners Pool) for the night. We went for a swim in the pool and it was just divine- not cold at all. There are no crocs here so the only things you have to worry about are other travelers’ and their kids jumping around! (well, it is school holidays so there are tons of them around!!)

The next day we headed up to Mitchell Falls. This was always going to be a huge “I can do it” sort of day for us as we got into trouble right at the beginning of the Mitchell Falls Road so we really didn’t achieve anything on our previous trip except for breaking the car and travelling on a truly shitty road for 2 days!! So again how surprised were we when the Mitchell Falls Road was also in terrific condition. And when we passed the Grader Man, who just happened to be standing along side his grader, I just had to get Anthony to stop and thank this guy so very much for all the great work he does. It would be a terrible, thankless job, but for us it was just terrific. Poor guy was so shy he just didn’t know what to say or where to look!! I’m glad we stopped though, as it is not very often you do get to say thanks for a job well done to the actual person responsible. The most we normally do is wave to him as we slowly go past.

Well we got up to Mitchell Falls at about 11.30am, found a really nice spot and set up our tent!! Yes, we left the camper trailer behind at Drysdale. We were always going to “tent” it into the Bungles and Mitchell Falls as we did not want to do any damage to the camper. The fact that both roads were in brilliant condition meant we could have taken the camper, but we were happy to tent it. Although you do appreciate the camper so much more when you use it after “tenting it”- there’s so much more room(and you can stand up to get changed!!)

We went over to the Helicopter booking office to enquire about flights to the falls. After speaking to “our neighbors” after we arrived, they suggested flying to the falls at 8am (first flight) and walking back. They had just done that and the walk back in the mid morning was very comfortable, they said.

You could get a flight straight to the falls (6 minutes) for $115.00 each, but we decided to do the 18 minute flight which takes you over the Lower Mitchell Falls and the JCR Falls, both of which are inaccessible by foot and have crocs!! It was a truly spectacular flight and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Our pilot, Shaun, did some slow sweeps over the falls and the occasional dip. I mentioned to the pilot when we were flying (via the intercom system) that I was loving his flying, and he shot his head around to look at me. Poor guy probably thought I was about to throw up over the back of his head!!

Mitchell River

JCR Falls 

Mitchell Falls from the air and from the ground (below)

Once he dropped us at the Falls though, we were the only ones up there- for about 10 minutes until some of the early morning walkers arrived!! Still, we were able to get quote a few photos with no one else in them!! The falls themselves are just spectacular and we are so glad we were able to see them from both the ground AND the air. 

On our walk back to the camp we stopped 3 times to have a swim in the waterholes. They were just lovely and again it was just us every time. We were very lucky as you pass so many people walking on the tracks and the helicopters are going all through out the day, yet we were having these waterholes to ourselves!

Little Mertens waterhole near Mitchell Falls campground

The following day we headed back to Drysdale Station (Miners Pool) and spent 2 nights here. This was a great opportunity for me to do some hand washing and again we went swimming in the pool 2 or 3 times a day to keep cool. Oh, and Anthony filled up at Drysdale when we went in to pick up the camper. $2.35 for diesel and it cost nearly $290.00 to put in 123 litres (that’s not even a full tanks worth!!) So stop complaining at home about petrol prices!!!

After Drysdale we headed back out to the Gibb River Road again. Once we had turned onto it we both mentioned that this road was “very average” compared to the newly graded Kalumbaru and Mitchell Falls Roads. Oh well, it’s still not a bad road to drive on and we are able to sit on around 50 to 80 kms, depending on conditions.

At the moment we are at Mt Elizabeth Station. This is a working station with 2 terrific 4WD drives to waterholes and waterfalls. We did the harder of the 2 this morning and Anthony thoroughly enjoyed himself. The waterhole and waterfall at the end were just magnificent. And again we had it to ourselves. We passed 2 families who were walking in to the area as we were walking out (we noticed they were both South Aussies when we got back to the car park!!) but for the hour we were there it was just us. Just damn lucky I suppose!!

Well that’s it for now. More updates in the next couple of days.

Love, Anthony and Julie xx