30th Nov-8th Dec
Day 1: I'M FREEEEEE!!!!
After 6 long months in Karratha I was finally on my way again, the final part of my epic roadtrip from Sydney. I was super excited and a little hungover. As predicted it was nearly midday before I was ready to go so I didn't get to do an awful lot on this day. I was just enjoying the drive, the freedom and singing so loud because no one could here me! The songs on the top of the play list were "On the road again" and "Here I go again on my own". Such a tune!
I made it most of the way to Broome before finding a place to make camp for the first of many very sweaty nights. I had anticipated this and fashioned the boot of my car with a flynet so I could open it up and get a breeze through. This did not help at all and it wasn't long before I just threw the door open as well, flynet or not. There were no mozzies around so it wasn't so bad.
Day 2
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| Broome beautiful beaches |
I had a couple of hours before the main event of the day so I explored the coast a little. The beaches were gorgeous. Bright sand and crystal clear waters.
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| Very nice |
Having been deprived of a cinema the main event of the day was obviously Bond! I'd been waiting weeks to see it and I could not wait any longer. There was a bit of an error though when the film started mid way with only sound. Most people left the room as to not spoil the film and the one person who was working looked like she was having a nightmare. There's only 2 screens in the cinema. Ours had sound and no picture and the other had picture but no sound. She also had a queue of school kids waiting to be buy drinks and popcorn etc. She was very stressed! Someone came to help her after a half hour and fixed the films.
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| Cable Beach |
I spent the afternoon on the famous Cable Beach. This beach goes on for miles and miles and looks stunning. I saw the camels too. They carried people up and down the beach later on in the afternoon. As the sun was starting to set I went for a run and then took advantage of the showers at the beach. I drove back to the same rest stop I had stayed at the night previous and endured another sweaty night.
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| Camels |
Day 3
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| Big tree |
It was time to leave the coast and head inland into the Kimberly region. I tried to find a few things to break up the journey and found a couple Boab tress that had been mentioned on Wikicamps. Another stop was this old roadhouse which do some nice pies.
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| Stop for a pie |
I arrived in Fitzroy Crossing early afternoon. Its a bit of a strange town. It had the aura of somewhere that used to be thriving but now not so much. It was very run down and half empty.
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| The river |
A little out of town is Geike Gorge where I went for a bit of a walk. The gorge looks stunning and I would have really enjoyed were it not for the fact I nearly died from the heat. I had a hat and plenty of water but it was so hot. The first part of the walk was in the shade but the second was across a huge bit of sand. It was like trying to cross the Sahara looking for water. I was definitely relived to get back the car.
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| Geike Gorge |
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| Geike Gorge |
To cool off I went to the public swimming pool which was free! It was so refreshing. I got chatting to a guy there (the only other white man amongst aboriginal kids). He was working in Fitzroy Crossing and missing reality a little I think. We ended up playing piggy in the middle with some of the kids there. I got jumped on several times for hogging the ball!
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| Storms |
As I left the pool and headed to the nearest rest area the storm clouds started together and I witnessed my first rainfall since May! It was a little exciting! What was more exciting was the ridiculous amount of lighting that came later that night. The rain died off so I could cook and set up camp but as it went dark there were storms all around me. I love watching a storm but I didn't know which way to look! I tried to get some pictures with my new fancy camera but I'm going to need to some more practice at that.
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| The apocalypse |
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| Nice sunset |
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| The only bit of lightning I got |
It was a rough night. It wasn't sweaty at all which was nice but the wind was rocking the car quite violently and the rain that had started again was seeping through any holes it could making everything damp.
Day 4
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| Room with a view |
The next morning everything was calm and quite again. I continued on my way. I stopped off at the next rest area for breakfast which had a stunning view of the surrounding landscape.
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| Halls Creek |
Today was mostly a day of driving. I past a sign for Wolf Creek. I had no idea I was so near to the meteorite crater where they made the film. I was extremely tempted to go see it but it would involve a 200km round trip on a dirt road which would take me ages and would probably shake the shit out of my car. As I still wanted a working car I thought I would have to pass on this one. Instead, I stopped off in the town of Halls Creek for a break from the road.
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| A spot for lunch |
There were a lot of creeks in this area including this one which I just had to stop and get a picture of!
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| Home? |
The original plan was to head to Purnululu National Park which is home to the Bungle Bungles. I really wanted to see these but unfortunately the park was closed at this time of year so I couldn't get in. I had already anticipated this but I didn't count on El Questro Station, which was to be the next stop, to also be closed for the wet season.
I made camp and got chatting to a couple who I had seen a few times already. I first saw them at Geike Gorge, then where I camped the previous night and earlier on this day when I stopped for fuel. It wouldn't be the last time I saw them either. I kept seeing them all the way to Katherine
Day 5:
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| Amazing! |
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| Nice |
Having gained a could of days I decided to drive out all the way to Wyndham via a couple of places. The first was a lookout for a spectacular early morning picture. I drove all the way through town and up the big hill to the lookout at the top for more amazing photo opportunities.
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| Bit of a panoramic |
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| Five Rivers Lookout |
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| Marshes |
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| Trevor meets daddy |
I should probably explain Trevor. That inflatable crocodile I had ordered for my Steve Irwin outfit for Halloween turned out to be a little smaller than I had thought! It was only the size of my hand so it wouldn't have made a good accessory even if it had arrived on time. Instead, I adopted him as my mascot and I made sure to get a picture of him in different places every day. I called him Trevor because that was the first name that popped into my head when someone asked what his name was. Today he got a picture with big daddy which was a statue on the edge of town. I'm still yet to see a real crocodile despite there being warning signs everywhere about them.
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| Top of the Grotto |
On my way back to the highway I stopped off at a place called The Grotto which was a nice little spot. I would have really liked to cool off in the water but as it was bright green I reckoned it wouldn't be suitable to swim in.
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| The Grotto |
It was still only mid morning when I arrived in the town of Kununurra. I love the names in this part of Australia! There was a huge dam on the way into town making a big lake next to the main centre.
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| Lily Creek Lagoon |
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| Dead trees |
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| New friend |
I continued on my way to Lake Argyle, a massive man made lake. I had a bit of a look at the dam and the lake before heading to the place for why anyone comes here.
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| Lake Argyle |
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| Other side of the dam |
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| Standard tourist picture |
The infinity pool at the campsite is one of the most photographed places on all of the Western Australia and you cam see why. I had this place mostly to myself as I had arrived early afternoon. I spent all afternoon in and out of this gorgeous pool and only left when this beastly looking storm came over. I was told to get out of the pool when there is lightning as it has large metal rods underneath I would likely be hit. I didn't need telling twice!
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| Storms a brewin |
What followed was nothing short of monsoon rain! It was biblical. Properly heavy and persistent rain for about 20 minutes. I sheltered in the cafe for a bit but when I went back to my car everything was soaked.
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| Tis a bit wet |
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| I like my new camera |
The weather did settle and I went back to get a sunset picture. That couple I spoke to were there and we had dinner together whilst we each planned the next adventure.
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| I want to live here! |
Day 6
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| Flood! |
I very nearly got stuck in Lake Argyle when I was confronted with this on the road out. I checked it out and it didn't look so deep so i went for it. It was OK, the water was just under the door but it might have contributed to later mechanical problems...
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| Victoria River |
Today was another long drive. I crossed the border early morning into the Northern Territory. This completed the set. I have now been to all 8 states in Australia. Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and now the Northern Territory. The Territory seems to have more relaxed rules including the speed limit which was 130km/h. I wasn't sure my car would even do that speed let alone do it all day.
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| Timber Creek |
I stopped for a break at a lookout with a view of Timber Creek and Victoria River. A couple of hours later a treated myself to a burger at a roadhouse. It don't remember the name of the place but I remember the burger was very good.
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| Empty roadhouse |
A back tracked a couple of kilometres to do a hike to the top of the cliff. I did this in the middle of the day so it was extremely hot. I only took me and hour up and down but I was drenched by the time I got back to the car. The view was awesome though so it was definitely worth it.
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| Top of the hill |
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| Epic view |
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| Katherine Springs |
A few more hours up the road and I arrived in Katherine. The first stop I made was to the natural springs on the edge of town for a much needed cool down. It was so nice to get in the water, very refreshing. They've turned this natural stream into several pools that you can swim about in and the water is crystal clear!
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| Pretty |
Just as I was getting out the heavens opened in a very dramatic way! The heaviest rain imaginable and so much lightning. It was constant flash flash flash. I sat in McDonald's and watched it for a while. When the coast was clear I drove out of town to the nearest rest area where it was mostly dry. I did start spitting at one point but it soon cleared up.
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| There's a storm on! |
Day 7
I went back to the springs the next morning for a bit of a bath but the water wasn't anywhere near as clear as it had been the day before. The rain had washed a lot of sediment into the stream which was a shame.
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| Katherine Gorge |
A half our drive got me to Katherine Gorge to do a big trek. Well it wasn't that big, only 3 hours but it was horrendously hot despite it being early morning. The gorge was stunning and the view at the end of the trek was simply gorgeous. I spent about half an hour there just looking at it and taking pictures whilst cooling off in the shade. The path was quite rocky so it was one of the more strenuous walks.
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| Katherine Gorge |
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| Katherine Gorge |
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| Awesomenness |
An hour up the road from Katherine is Edith Falls where I bumped into that couple that I'd been following. They had just done the walk and were having lunch. This was the last time I saw them. I think they went to Kakadu where as I went to Litchfield after this.
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| Edith Falls |
I went for a hike to the Upper waterfalls where I went for a little swim to cool off. It was a great place actually. I nearly skipped it but I'm glad I didn't.
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| Upper Falls |
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| Nice view |
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| Ready for a swim |
That night I made camp at another free rest stop where I met
a local guy that lives in his truck. A had a beer and chat with him in the
dark. You couldn’t put a light on because the bugs would go crazy. It was
another hot and sweaty night.
Day 8
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| Lots of termites! |
I arrived early in Litchfield National Park. The first stop
was to see the magnetic termite mounds. They aren’t actually magnetic. They get
given the name because of the way they align themselves to to the poles so they
get the least amount of sun and don’t cook in their mounds. They reckon they do this by some
sort of internal compass. That or they can just see where the sun is in the
sky!
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| Tolmer Falls |
I had a quick breakfast here before heading to Tolmer
Falls. It wasn’t really flowing all that much but I reckon it’s a cool sight in
the full wet.
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| Wangi Falls |
Next stop was Wangi Falls which I heard is the most popular
spot in the whole park. Again, the water wasn’t really flowing yet but it would
be cool. It’s a top spot for swimming despite being home to a small crocodile! Apparently, it is perfectly safe as the croc only eats fish. I didn’t feel safe
enough to swim all the way to the waterfalls thought. I stuck to the spot where
you could see the floor! I had the whole place to myself too which was nice
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| Could be resort banner |
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| Florence Falls |
There was one more set of waterfalls I wanted to see and I
think they were the most impressive. I went down the many steps here to go for
a swim. This time I went all the way to waterfalls.
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| Florence Falls |
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| Florence Falls |
I had done everything I had wanted to do in the park and it
was still only mid-afternoon. I had intended to camp in the park but I couldn’t
stand the idea of another sweaty night in the car. I craved from a proper bed
and, more importantly, air-con! I decided to skip ahead and go all the way to
Darwin and spent an extra night there.
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| Great place to chill - literally |
It was so nice to be able to cool off in a hostel again with
the pool, air con and a small bar! I treated myself to a pizza too. I got
attacked on the way to getting it though. When I was crossing the road I
noticed a tree on the central reservation but apparently that tree is taken! A
bird flew at my head and tried to take my eyes out! It did this three times
before I ran away. It chased me for a little while too. Mental bird! On the
return journey after I had got my pizza I saw the same thing happen to a poor
unsuspecting woman.
Day 9
I had the most comfortable nights sleep I had had in ages!
It was so good not to wake up sweating! I think it was the constant heat that
was making this leg of the roadtrip a little less enjoyable than all the other
journeys. It felt like I was trying very hard to enjoy it more than I actually
was enjoying it. It seemed forced.
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| Darwin |
I spent the morning wandering around Darwin. It was a lot
nicer than I was expecting. More similar to Cairns than Broome. I reckon I
wouldn’t have minded spending some time there.
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| The harbour |
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| Beach |
That evening I met up with Xavier who I had worked with in
Karratha for a couple of months until he returned to Darwin. We had a catchup and
a moan about the Tambrey Tavern
to each
other and his friends. I didn’t realise how angry I still was. It was like
therapy to get it all out!
It was time to leave Darwin the next morning to head south
to see arguably the most iconic thing in Australia, Uluru. That’s if my car
would make it…..
