You can't conquer the Kimberley's

Jon Says: The Gibb River Road and Kimberley country are not something that you can conquer. It is not a challenge that you can claim as a victory when you exit the other end. This country decides if she wants to let you pass through unscaved or not. It is country that you have to treat with respect. It is beautiful and inspiring and breath taking and every thing that you could hope for but it can knock you down any time she wishes.

We escaped relatively un harmed this time with no flat tyres and no shockie damage. We did have to replace a set of bushes in the rear springs in Kununarra but this was the worst of it. Each day I would check over the car fairly thoroughly and every 3^rd day or so I would find something else that had rattled loose and needed attention to prevent it becoming a disaster. A few stories of the adventures people we spoke to had, 3 punctures in one day, 4 punctures over 3 days, 3 shock’s gone on the car and one on the trailer then waiting over a week for parts to be flown in, broken wheel stud, snapped torsion bar, broken roof racks, cracked chassis, shockies on every 3^rd or 4^th car that travelled the Mitchel Plateau, damaged rims and it goes on and on. There have also been 30 car roll overs this dry season already.

I have a new worst road travelled this year. The 78km into the Mitchel falls now has this trophy and took 3.25 hrs to negotiate having the worst corrugations I have ever seen. We have a new dearest fuel price too at 195.9 cents/litre for diesel.

But as much as I could try to describe how amazing this country is I would fall short so all I will say is God is very clever. If you ever get the opportunity to explore this land, DO IT….. Prepare your car properly and allow enough time that you can drive steady, don’t expect to spend much time over 60 km/hr.

First time in a helicopter for both of us. It was sooooo cooool. No doors. We flew over the Mitchel falls and got to see them from the air. Great fun.
The aboriginal art was very good on the Mitchel Plateau and lots of it. Very different to the pantings I've seen on the east coast which are more like hand prints and boomerangs.
Looking over the Pentecost River to the Cockburn Ranges, the colours on sunset were incredibly vibrant. We saw our first salt water croc in this river. We took the torch down at night and shone it from the banks to see red eyes looking back at us. This made Kirsty grateful she was sleeping in a rooftop tent.
No wonder some of the roads are such poor condition....
Where's your phone mate?.... Well it's in the fringe cobber!.... Of course it is.... Calling home to say that we won't be off the Gibb Rd when planned, we are taking longer to soak it up.

The Kimberleys

Kirsty says:

WOW!

I would totally understate the magnificence and grandeur of the Kimberleys if I tried to describe this place to you. No words can really do this amazingly beautiful part of Australia justice. But then again, our photos are also just a second rate reflection of how great our 16 days on and around the Gibb River Road were. But I am going with that option....a collection of snaps that show just some of the highlights of this remote and wonderful part of God's creation. The best bit for me is the kaleidoscope of terrific memories Jon and I get to take away from our 2 week adventure through this land of rugged beauty and mystique.

Some places we enjoyed....Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek, Lennards Gorge, Charnley River Station, Mornington Wilderness Sanctuary (Dimond Gorge especially), Adcock Gorge, Galvans Gorge, Manning Gorge, Drysdale Station, King Edward River, Mitchell Falls, Ellenbrae Station, Home Valley Station (Pentecost River & Cockburn Ranges) and all the beautiful gorges, rivers, falls and waterholes in between.

Horizontal Waterfalls

Jon says: - Let me take you along with 35 people looking for the thrill ride of their lives …..

Imagine the most beautiful water littered with 1000 islands standing strong yet humble against 1000’s of years of constant hammering from the elements. Think of 100 different shades of red, these are the colours that paint the battered landscape and cliffs you will see today. Scattered amongst the rugged cliff faces are secluded beaches that call your name like a long lost friend. You are now on the coastline of the amazing Kimberleys.

8m of tidal change and for the most part the surface is calm but underneath the current roars at up to 25km/hr trying to move in and out around these islands. Then imagine a gap between two immovable cliff faces no more than 30m wide with the mighty ocean trying to pry them apart with close to 1000 l/sec roaring through that small passage. Now you are at the Horizontal Waterfalls.

Picture this, 9 tonne of “state of the art” motor vessel constructed with one goal in mind…. 4 x 350hp V8 Yamaha outboards bolted on the back and a skipper that learnt to drive in the armed forces evading enemy fire. With a lazy cruising speed of 32kts (60km/h), she drinks 212 l/hr of fuel turning over at 4200rpm. We are onboard the MV Attitude which is so new that the paint is barely dry.

We approach the waterfalls with respect and awe, marvelling at the speed and volume of water flowing into the bay behind this narrow gap. The water level drops more than 1m into the bay as the tide rises faster than the water can force its way in. Then as the boat turns to face the falls the 4 engines roar like a lion into battle as the throttle hits the stops and 1400hp is unleashed. We surge ahead and the speed quickly hits 40kts (74km/h) as we leap into the falls, we bounce, we are forced sideways by the immense turbulence, there are screams of excitement, we drop suddenly and then we are ejected out the other side, what an amazing rush. We are now hurtling into the bay at 47kts (85km/h) when the skipper turns hard into full lock and the boat leans onto its side. Port side can touch the water while starboard side is requesting permission to enter Qantas’ flight path. The hull is clawing for traction as we buck and skip across the surface sideways while the topside engine fights with the rev limiter as the prop surges in and out of the water. The three driving engines spin us around 180 degrees in the blink of an eye as we launch back into the falls. This time we jump up the falls overpowering both gravity and the turbulent wall of water, more screaming, the boat bucks as we come back down, skips sideways, shudders, the engines roar un-relentlessly as we explode back out of the falls triumphantly…..

The crew have this mischievous grin like a teenager that has just taken their dads Ferrari for a joy ride and gotten away with it as they realise they have the best job on the planet. The passengers cheer and clap with great approval as they acknowledge they have just had the thrill ride of their lives.

The remaining day trip to and from the horizontal waterfalls took us through the beautiful Bucaneer Archipelago where we got to swim and relax on beaches, one with sand whiter than white haven bay in the whitsundays, weave in and out of islands that range from rocky outcrops from the water to cliff faced giants to tree topped beauties and even past working iron ore mines. We saw dolphins but no whales this trip. As we turned for home the soft afternoon sun brought the colours to life as we passed by the many islands back to our camp at Cape Leveque. What an amazing day to remember.

Kirsty says: - Jon can write all the posts from now....

One of the many secluded beaches we saw on our trip. Some were surrounded by rock like this one, others by plants.
Silica Beach on Hidden Island - whitest, softest, finest sand I have ever seen. Allan Bonds failed resort of the 1980's used to bring guests here for a champaign breakfast. We had chocolate cake & a swim......
The Horizontal Waterfalls. There are 2 passages like this, the 2nd is only 13m wide and too dangerous to drive through. You can see the level drop off on the right hand side of the pic. Hard to see but it drops over one meter.
MV Attitude. Count them, 4 - 350hp outboards. Makes you drool just thinking about it. The boat is worth a cool $770k and made in Brisbane by Woody marine.

Whirlpool passage. The surface looks like rapids over a rocky river bed, but this is just from the huge tidal movements - no rocks in sight. Its a place of extremes, the Kimberley....

Broome Broome

Such a fascinating place! And relaxing....ahhh! Really is a great holiday destination, especially in winter. We have been here 3 days and enjoyed every minute. Some of our mini-adventures in Broome include....watching the sunset and the full moon rise over the water; swimming at Cable Beach; going to church; tours of a pearl farm and 'Pearl Luggers'; shopping; lunching in a restaurant overlooking the ocean; wandering through beachside markets. Really feels like we are on holidays.

Cable Beach on the Indian Ocean - the tide changes here are phenomenal....100 metres plus of beach is covered or exposed, depending on the tide. The water is crystal clear and a cool 22 degrees. And we even body surfed a couple of waves at highish tide.

A pearl oyster....so ugly yet what they can produce....WOW! Of course there's the pearl...either a cultured or a Keshi, but Kirsty even tried pearl meat...which goes for $400+ a kilo in Asia. This is the average size of the pearl oyster grown at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, north of Broome. In the creek, it filters 150 litres of water each hour thanks to tides rushing in and out at 25kms/hr.

Hard Helmet diving for pearls took place in Broome for 100 years, right up until 1974. Originally, local Aborigines dived without any gear, but as the areas along the coast were fished out and divers had to go deeper for the oysters, new ways of surviving the dive were needed. Still, over 900 Japanese divers are buried in the town cemetery. Most died excruciating deaths from 'the bends.' BTW, the helmet weighs 35kg and the diver also carried 2 x 35kg weights on his front and back; wore a 13 kg suit and 10kgs of woolen clothing as well as 8kg weighted shoes. And most divers were 50kg, 5 foot 2 Japanese men.

And what did they risk life and limb for??

Not this beautiful thing! This is a 21 mm pearl worth between $100 00 - $120 000. Now, the cultured pearl industry is HUGE, but originally, divers were after the shells so that Mother of Pearl buttons could be made. Yes, the saying around town is 'Broome was built on buttons.'

Another famous (or at least well-marketed) Broome activity is to watch the full moon rise over the Roebuck Bay mudflats. It creates the 'Staircase to the Moon' phenomenon which we saw last night. While our amateur photo really doesn't do it justice, hopefully you get the idea that this is another one of God's amazing creations. He's just so clever!

We are off up to Cape Leveque today (3hrs north of Broome) and looking forward to a boat ride to the Horizontal Falls on Friday. Hopefully we'll see a whale or 2 on the trip and have more cool pics to show you soon.

Port H

We have now been a week and a day in Port Hedland. On arrival last Thursday afternoon, we'd anticipated being here just 1 day. Glad we're not on a schedule or close deadline. Some clunking under the car revealed the front bushes on the rear springs (sorry to get technical) had 'flogged out'. Advice from the local ARB guys turned out to be wrong....you can't just fit bushes, you have to refit springs. So the first order from Perth turned up Wednesday morning....wrong parts:) But we reordered and right now, at this very moment, the Nissan is being refitted with new rear springs. Which means we should be on our way to Broome tomorrow.

It has been a blessing to have a house for the last 5 days though. We popped in to see old friends last Friday and they offered for us to come and stay...which we did from Sunday. They left on Tuesday for a 4 day family holiday in Broome, so we have had the run of the place since then. All we have to do is feed the cat. Thanks Brad and Glenda and girls....your generosity has been so very much appreciated.

Port Hedland is definitely a BIG industry town. It is home to Australia's busiest port with 300m long ships being loaded with 200 000+ tonnes of iron ore. And Australia's longest trains run between here and the mining town of Newman, again, full of iron ore. Some are over 3kms long! What all those big numbers means is that lots of locals work in industry earning big $$ and pushing rents and house prices through the roof. How about 1/2 a million for a three bedroom 1 bathroom house? Or a minimum $1500/week rent?? Crazy really.

Almost makes the high prices at home seem like nothing.