The Nomad Chronicles VI

Our next stop was Tunnel Creek.  This required wading thigh high along an underground creek by torch light for much of the way.  Aborigonals evaded police for quite a while here.  

Further along we camped at Wundjina Gorge.  Flanked by spectacular 100 metre walls, the soft walking path followed the water through shady trees often draped with vines.  There were a lot of fresh water crocodiles basking on the sand bars.   

The next day we followed the rough corrugated road out to the Gibb River road and the bit that we travelled was much smoother than the track from Fitzroy Crossing.  It was amusing to see the traffic from the north had turned the left lane of the bitumen red when the other lane was black.  

Derby was a more pleasant town than we had been led to believe.  From here we took an overnight trip to the Horizontal Falls.  

The 10 seat amphibious plane looked very ungainly on the tarmac but the take-off, 30 minute flight & landing was very smooth.    We took a thrilling ride through the falls on a 600 hp boat.  The force of the water creates amazing eddies.   After a cruise up the creek we watched tawny nurse sharks and a groper come to be fed.  The sharks were up to 3 metres long & circled all night.  

We spent the night on a house boat before flying another boat trip to watch the tide coming in.  The flight back to Derby over the islands of the Bucaneer Archipeligo was spectacular in the morning light.  

After a quick look at the jetty and the boab prison tree we headed south to Broome.

After setting up at the Broome Caravan park we adjourned to the large swimming pool where there is even a lap lane.   Our camper has an advantage that we can squeeze into a small site where larger caravans can’t get – this time next to the gas cylinder.  The disadvantage is that we have to pack up & leave our chairs on site if we need to drive somewhere.   We could slide off but feel it would be a hassle for short stops.   

The Broome Cup & the Stairway to the Moon have swelled the population.   It is hard to get a site in Broome & often people are moved to temporary parks.  Today we took a 3 in 1 tour of sight-seeing around Broome, a presentation on pearl diving & a visit to a pearl farm.  The presenters were all excellent.    Saturday we washed some of the Kimberley dust from our little mobile home.  Then we wandered the weekly markets.   They are not so different from down south.    

Rather than fight the crowds at the town beach we watched  “stairway to the moon” - the effect of the full moon on the tidal flats at low tide from the gardens of the Mangrove Resort.   

Tomorrow we will try to catch church & leave Broome for our next adventure.     

The Nomad Chronicles V

On the way to Wyndham we visited The Grotto.  It was a little like The Blowhole near Pt Campbell but with a path down the edge to a deep pool at the bottom.   It must look spectacular in the wet – like a lot of things we have seen.  

The caravan park at Wyndham had lots of shady ghost gums and an old boab tree reported to be 2000 years old.  The old town (port) has a lot of old buildings.  Many seemed to be owned by Pixie who operated the bricabrac shop & knew the Laxtons from Warrnambool.  The museum was full of information about the meat works, pioneering & the bombings during the war.  The tide peaked at 7m that day.   The fisherman were complaining because of the muddy water.   

The port exports some nickel & live cattle.  Iron ore is carted in road trains with 2 super dogs & a B double (to make 4 trailers).  They cart 24 hours a day from 60 kms north of Turkey Creek to a stockpile next to a conveyor that delivers to barges.  The ore carriers must not be able to come in to Cambridge Bay.  The small freighter was above the wharf when we arrived & well below at sunset as the tide went out.   Nice barramundi at the pub for lunch.  Saw the sunset from the look out where you could see the 5 rivers (Orde, King, Forrest, Pentacost & Durack) and lots of tidal flats.

The drive south was more scenic than we expected.  The highway was flanked by quite high ranges.  We were surprised to meet Lyn T (fellow nursing trainee) from Warrnambool, while having lunch at Turkey Creek (Warnum).   The 56 km drive into the Bungle Bungles (now Purnululu world heritage are) was quite challenging with about 5 water crossings, sharp ridges & a lot of corrugations.  

The first part is through Mabel Downs station.  Then we had another 12 kms to the camp site which share a water tap & toilet with 4 other sites.   It is then another 26 kms to where you are able to be in the actual Bungle Bungles – but well worth it.  We stayed 3 nights and walked to the Cathedral Gorge and around the Domes on the second day.  

In the afternoon we braved a 30 minute flight.  The small Robinson helicoptor had no doors & we were told to divest ourselves of anything that could be sucked off or out of our pockets.  The pilot must have noticed that NG2's knuckles were white & her eyes were closed tight for the first 5 minutes.  He said you just ride it like a motor bike.   That was a bit unfortunate because the first flight we had tried to organise from Wyndham  was aborted because that pilot fell off his motorbike!   

The next day we walked the Echidna Chasm where the conglomerate nature of the Bungle Bungles was more obvious.  It was well worth the effort to see such a unique geological wonder close up.

After the slow trip back to the highway we made our way down to Halls Creek where the annual rodeo was in progress.  We had a quick look in but it was the kid’s gymkana this afternoon.  We missed the camp drafting & would have had to wait to see the rodeo events.  

We drove until we saw a kangaroo at sunset so pulled into Larrawa Station camp ground.  They run 900 head of cattle at 1 to 100 acres but needed the extra income from a nice camp ground for travellers.  They had hot showers, flushing toilets & fire places.  When all the young African Mahoganys grow it will be very good.  Wendy had been a neighbour of Joy M.

Fitzroy Crossing is a much greener town than Halls Creek.  The Information centre was closed (being Sunday) but we did a little shopping at a nice new IGA that had good produce at reasonable prices.   We had lunch at Geikie Gorge & did a little exploring.  The cliffs are not imposing but have interesting colours.  We decide not to wait for the cruise but pushed on up the road to Tunnel Creek as there is a good camp spot in an old quarry along the way.  

The first few kilometres had a side track that had turned to bull dust & needed 4wd.  Apart from a few more soft patches the road was good.  A few others are reading from the same map so we are not alone.   It is a little like camping in the Stoney Rise, as we are sited between lots of grey outcrops.  It is part of the Leopold Ranges.   There is a small chasm where we are able to dip a bucket to get what appears to be good water.  All the kids that went for a swim seem to have made the return journey past our camp so there can’t be any crocodiles there – hungry ones at any rate.  The day time temperatures are back to 23 – 25 degrees.  Mornings require a jumper for a short time.

The Nomad Chronicles IV

Darwin – Frustrating sorting out the battery problem.  Bottom line is our battery is too small & if we are not travelling all day our solar panels cannot keep our fridge going for more than a day & a half.  It is a big job to install a bigger battery, especially on the road & outback.  As it will be adding to our already heavy load, we have bought a small generator, which is light, quiet & works well.  

It was warm in Darwin so we only checked out the city, the aviation museum & the art gallery museum.  Bus travel is free for seniors.

We stopped overnight at a quaint caravan park on a working cattle farm just out of Katherine.  Then on to a Big Horse Creek campground just past Timber Creek.  The scenery has changed & dominated by the escarpment along the Victoria River valley.  The river is large with a surprisingly fast flow.  We are now seeing boab trees.

We were told about the Zebra Mine gallery & camping ground by fellow travellers so we made that our next stop.  What a surprise.  Grassy camp sites, a small gallery of unique Zebra Rock, coffee, tea, scones, jam & cream all day (for a gold coin donation, as well as fish & chips ( enough for 2 for $10).   Fire wood is delivered to your site everyday.  

From here we took an evening cruise along Matilda Creek & onto Lake Argyle (that now extends into NT with the completion of the 2^nd stage).  

We saw lots of bird life & fresh water crocodiles.  The mine owner & skipper had lots of knowledge, having grown up on Argyle Downs where his father was the overseer.  Now that there is regenerated mature vegetation he believes that the ecology has changed for the better after the inundation of the Ord Valley.  There are long term plans for other rivers – already surveyed when the Ord water is fully utilized.  The station when owned by the Duracks had 800 working horses.  For 3 months of the wet season he & the other white kids went to live with the aboriginals.  He had lived alone on an island for 3 years after the Ord was flooded as well as working in mines & catching, bulls, buffalo & crocodiles.  The shorthorn bulls needed to be culled after the introduction of Brahmans.  The Brahmans, besides being tick free, will walk further to water & the steers are higher off the ground so less prone to pizzle infections.  They are sold live at 15 to 24 months & shipped out from Wyndham.  Here we met Stephen F’s sister & her husband.  Played cards with them & the girls won 3 nil.  Other neighbours are on a road trip for 2 years.  He is an auto electrician & besieged wherever they stop by other travellers with problems & was already busy with the mine equipment.  She put out her hairdressing sign & was busy all morning. 

We called in to look at the dam on the way to Kununurra.  It is a very small wall to be holding back so much water.  The drive in was very scenic.  The burn offs along the road - had been very hot & it is hard to believe they are totally controlled – if at all.  Fellow travellers said that trees were alight on the boundary of the Batchelor caravan park, causing people to evacuate in the middle of the night.  Despite the denial of the park owner the burn was reported out of control on the radio next day.  We drove on to the roadside stop at the junction of the Victoria & Northern highways.  There were lots of trucks passing during the night but brand new facilities.  These roadside stops are improving all the time, well utilised & free.   Trucks have separate stops.  Where the highways pass through national parks, the sites are designated & there is an honesty box - $3.30 to $6.60 a person in NT.  Today we are checking out Wyndham.  

Operation Possum Rescue

Plumbing Boy radioed in yesterday afternoon in great excitement, "come out the front & have a look, there are 2 Magpies trying to beat up a possum"!  Office assistant & I rush out to find this poor little guy hanging on to the fence out the front of the office for dear life.

They were trying to peck out his eyes!!!  They got his ear too....  I know not everyone loves possums, but he's a native ring tail possum.  Assistant shooed the Magpies away, I grabbed a towel & held it over his head/body to stop him climbing further up the fence; assistant went & grabbed a plumber (to help grab him!) & a box once the Maggies had decided to leave us alone.  

Once safely in the box, I called the RSPCA who put me onto Wildlife Victoria who asked me if I could drop him off to a local vet where he spent the night nursing a possible broken rib (maybe the Maggies pushed him out of the tree!!!!).  They thought his eye would be OK.  Looks like we rescued him just in time.  

He's a fully grown adult male. Today he'll be collected by a carer who lives 1 suburb away who will look after him until he's well enough to be returned to the wild (after Magpie swooping season has passed!) & will be put back in the tree in front of our factory.  I don't know if he's been living there or was visiting from a nearby tree, but it is preferred to return them to their natural habitat, which is generally where they were found.

Operation rescue complete it was time to head to the supermarket where I ended up parking a car for a young P plater who'd driven in to a park on such an angle then tried to reverse back out (to straighten up) that she was about 1cm from the car next to her on a very odd angle.  I explained that she needed to pull forward & the direction she needed to turn her wheels in order for the car to move away from the adjacent car, but she was just too scared & asked me to do it.  Mum & (possibly) sister were still in the car, so I jumped in & parked it for them.  Mission accomplished!  

It's been rather wet & cold here this week; not so conducive to plumbing.  We have been able to (mostly) find indoor work (or at least undercover work) so the guys aren't out in it.  Only one with a cold this week, but no sick days, just sent home early for a snooze.  The 3 weeks prior we've had multiple people with multiple sick days.  So far Plumbing Boy & I have escaped the germs.  Hopefully the weather will be kinder next week as we hope to start a big roofing job!

The Nomad Chronicles III

19/7 Stopped at large Top Tourist park at Longreach with 3 friendly resident brolgas.   

Met Ron & Rae J at church & Barry & Heather R & the B's from Terang at the Stockmens Hall of fame – which we enjoyed.   

Needed front end alignment – not the pot hole we thought but the extra weight of the camper made us toe out instead of toe in.   We were more impressed at the Matilda centre at Winton than the hall of fame.  

We are now in shorts but the rain tumbled down.  An inch overnight flooded the caravan park & lot’s of people were stuck.  The Terang folk were bound for the Boulia camel races but turned for home.  They were cancelled.  

At Cloncurry we watched a couple pull in with a muddy outfit.  They had been stranded at Lawn Hill, bogged & punctured at the same time.  Our commiserations were greeted with “That’s nothing.  Last year our old van passed us on the left hand side & tipped over in front of us.  The kind policeman winched the van apart so we could put our belongings in his paddy wagon.  He then suggested that maybe he could breathalise me.  It was half an hour later when my wife suggested that that maybe she should be too – as she was driving!”

After Mt Isa there is the Barkly Tablelands which are fairly flat with a lot of dry feed.   They are just entering their fire season & are concerned about the fuel load.   There was increasingly more controlled burning as we entered the Northern Territory.  We stopped at roadside stops with a lot of other grey nomads until a welcome stop at Mataranka & a dip in the thermal springs.  

Along the way we met another tale of woe at a lunch stop.   Wife with little dog reading in the shade of Winnebago.  Husband on his own at the picnic table on for a talk.  This was difficult as he could only whisper.  His vocal cords were damaged during surgery 5 years ago.  2 years ago he was kept in hospital for 3 months with a staph infection after surgery – both at K private.   “We have been on the road 8 & a  half months.  It has taken that long because the wife does all the driving & she doesn’t like it much.   I wish we could go home” he whispered, “but we can’t until October because she has rented the house out.  Even then we have to sleep in the van because she sold all the furniture!”

The last couple of days we have spent in Litchfield National Park.  A lot of it has been freshly burnt so it is not at its best, but the Florence Falls & Wangi Falls where we camped were worth the visit.  Tolmer Falls were also scenic.  We are spending a couple of days in Darwin.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Everything's a bit quiet on the western front!  Plumbing land is busy though.  As always in winter, people want to replace their roof & guttering & seem quite surprised when we point out that we need a few dry days strung together in order to achieve this!  I always thought that people wanted the raining on the inside to improve, not worsen, which of course is what happens when you remove sections of roof while raining!  And don't get me started on the safety side of things.  Just because we're trained in climbing ladders & working roofs, does not make it any safer to do so when wet!


Oh, and the crazy lady who screamed at me for 5 minutes last weekend because her plumbing broke down 2 weeks in a row - that was not my fault!  You want to buy a rental property, you need to take responsibility for all of it!  Not just the rent money.  I hope when you have medical issues, you feel free to be just as abusive to your GP (or specialist).  Glad I got that off my chest.


Hmmm. in other news, we have a new apprentice who is working out just fine & dandy @ 4 days in.  Lets give it another 4 months & see how things go?  My office assistant has gone to Hawaii for 10 days.  Unfortunately she refused to take me in her suitcase, so I'm stuck in the office while she's lazing about the pool at her resort (or better yet, the beach).


Hold on, we have puddy cat puke happening...............fur ball crisis averted it would seem.


Now, where was I?  Oh yeah.  I guess I can't complain about every body else being on holidays, having already been away twice myself this year!


I've signed up for a 10km fun run at the end of September, so started training for that last week.  I just need to commit (more) to it.  This morning when I was supposed to go for a run, I rolled over & went back to sleep!  My BAD!  I guess I was going to change Saturdays run to Sunday anyway, so can do today's tomorrow! Sorted.  Do you recon my subconscious will be praying for rain now tomorrow so I can pike yet again???


Plumbing boy is still besotted with his ambulance & has purchased more gadgetry on ebay today for it; with a bit of luck the sound system be less painful & the hands free will work now for both of us instead of (not working on) just his phone.  Now we just have to do surgery on the dash mat he bought a couple of weeks ago (wrong size & keeps sliding off every time he goes around a corner or over a bump!).


I must say his purchase prior to that was a winner.  Mumsy, you'll love it!  Jimmy's Thunderbox.  If you haven't got one already, you'll have to come home via Cohuna & pick one up!  Super easy to set up & the biodegradable liner just drops into the hole & is back filed along with you know what!


OK. The western front is darkening (along with the rain clouds) so I think I'll go & light my fire & call it quits for the day.


I hope you are all enjoying some warmth & sunshine!

The Nomad Chronicles Week 2 so far

The Nomad Chronicles Week 2, so far....

Day 8: Wednesday – Slow trip into Carnavon Gorge.  Everyone books months ahead but we were given a site when we asked if there were any cancellations (have to drive in & out tomorrow).  We were very lucky as the parks site is only opened for school holidays & was inaccessible last week.  

There is mostly lovely soft walking among tall timber, large ferns/palms except for the many wobbly stepping stones across numerous creek crossings.   With towering white sandstone cliffs we walked about 10 kms.   The park is shady & grassy & even had hot showers.  There is an expensive caravan park & up market resort further out. 

The camper is going well & we nearly have everything sorted out.  Today is the first sunny day (14C) but the wind is still cool.  Nights are cold, mornings cooler & Mt Kaputar was (very scenic but)freezing!  Luckily we thought to buy a brlliant little gas heater - with low oxygen cut out. 

Day 9: Thursday – Walked into Mickey’s Gorge & another with an ex NSW parks ranger & his wife, absorbing lots of travel trips along the way.  We admired the very healthy looking Santa Gertrudis cattle grazing the forage oats on the way out of the park.  Then on to Emerald to park under the bridges with all the other overflow campers – maybe 50 vans or tents at 5.30 PM. 

Day 10: Friday -  Long night & early start.   Drove to Rubyvale & did laundry in very smart new Laundromat.  Had a coffee & 2 of Poppy’s “Boulders” – magnificent scones – one ginger with marmalade & cream – guess who?   GN2 in shorts for the first time.  Found a camp site out in the diggings & had a not very serious scratch for gem stones.

Day 11: Saturday – Stopped at the quaint miner’s market on the way out.  Nice easy trip to Longreach.  We need to stay until Monday to get a front end alignment.  A front tire is scrubbing probably due to a deep pothole (in the bitumen).   Took ages to get a human to help with recharging our mobile Internet device.    We should be OK when we get coverage & the netbook is recharged.  The solar on the camper works very well but it doesn’t charge the computer.

Day 12: Monday Everything is going OK except that we needed to get the front end alignment - a big pothole in the bitumen that we didn't miss. We didn't find any emeralds at Emerald but we have had 2 nice sunny days now & tonight is our first night without the heater on.  Stopped in Barcaldine & watched some campdrafting today - people & horses everywhere.  We will see the Stockman's Hall of Fame & the Qantas museum tomorrow (it started here).