Follow our Tracks

Monday, September 27, 2010

Spring Creek Free Camp

We stay here as this is the closest to the entrance to Purnululu –The Bungle Bungle

A boat trip up the beautiful gorge & a swim in the river with the fresh water crocs.Our tour was not that impressive, he was hard to hear & not very informative as others had had a wonderful woman who had bucket loads of information on the river, its eco system, bird & animal life…sometimes it is just the luck of the draw!

Windjana Gorge National Park

A lovely easy 7km return walk along the bottom of the gorge following the Lennard River& creek bed as it winds its way up the Gorge where freshwater crocodiles happily sun themselves in the shade,Corellas & other birdlife fly amongst the trees. There are some hot open spaces but also lovely cool spots with shade , at the moment they are trying to extend the walk to include more places of interest ,so that will be wonderful because it is an ancient barrier reef system, 350 million years old, full of fossils & undiscovered treasures and also one of the hide-outs of the legendary Jandermarra (Pigeon) so there must be lots of stories to tell.

TUNNEL CREEK

Wow! What an amazing place, I loved it! It is Western Australia’s oldest cave system & also where the legendary Jandamarra was killed in 1897

Initially it is a bit daunting as you have to wade through 750 metres of water & it is pitch black, all you have is the light of your torch which picks up red eyes in the dark….these are fresh water crocodiles lazing about in the pools! As your eyes adjust you begin to see the amazing formations of this underground wonderland, stalactites hang from the roof like beautiful chandeliers & all the magical limestone formations.

Around half way there is an opening where the sun shines through, there are fruit bats along the outside walls & inside more bats, about 5 different species, including ghost bats & fruit bats that cling to the roof in the darkness that they call home.

When you come out the other side of the Napier range there is a freshwater pool where we had a wonderful refreshing swim before we headed back,we also found some aboriginal rock art on the sides of the rock walls, hard to see but a wonderful part of our amazing history.

Fitzroy Crossing

Tunnel Creek

Stayed at the Crossing Inn,a lovely small caravan park-lovely fellow campers!A great spot under a boab tree.

We also met up with Ludwig again, a fellow we met at the free camp outside The Bungle Bungles

GOODBYE TO KUNUNURRA

Shane & Muz

Matty

Greig & Benny

Kununurra to Fitzroy Crossing

We enjoyed staying & working in Kununurra, we met some great people & saw some amazing places. The surrounding area is pretty amazing, the gorgeous red rocks & ranges, the waterholes & the friendly people really make it a special place. It was very hot & humid and as Shane was working outside it was not very pleasant for him! Luckily he was working with a great group of guys so it made the job a little more bearable, plus the opportunity to stay behind a house in Lakeside gave us a bit of a break with air-conditioning ,plus the added bonus of the free entertainment of living with Matty,Greig & Benny ...all friends/plasterers from Melbourne working in Kununurra. My lovely clients both local & travellers were a blessing & I loved massaging at the markets ,even though it was very hot ,it was a very successful day!Happy clients,happy me The little eating places such as Wild Mango (yummy wraps / ice-cream & friendly staff),Ivanhoe Café(yummy breakfast under the big old trees)) & The Sandalwood Factory(the best coffee) all make the journey more enjoyable & add the relaxing fun moments when you need some time out or a just a nice coffee…thanks guys!