24. – 26. September

Western Australia – we are on our way!

We left Katherine along the Victoria Highway and stopped at Joe Creek for a picnic and a short walk along the escarpment. We walked uphill and then parallel to the cliff. The walk featured some aboriginal arts but they were not as visible as the one in Kakadu NP. We enjoyed the views and had a good look at the interpretive signs along the way.

Our night stop was a Big Horse Creek which was close to a big bridge over the Victoria River. We didn’t have a clue what the bridge was for as there was nothing on the other side… but someone is using it. We could hear the engines and voices. The next morning while refuelling we noticed who is using the bridge. Several military cars (like tanks) were parked behind us and waiting to use the bowsers.

The Gregory National Park should be a paradise for 4WD enthusiast. There are 6 marked tracks. We drove the Limestone track first but it was closed halfway in. It was only possible to walk the last kilometer to the gorge. We stopped at the Calcite Flow walk. This Calcite Flow looks like a white waterfall although there was no water. The stones must contain so many minerals that they deposited at the flow so it looks white. We also looked at several stromatolites (pre-historic lifeforms).

We tried the Bullita Stock Route as well. The description said, 90km with  some slow-going rocky sections. We only drove 5km and then turned around. The rocky section didn’t stop and it was not only rocky it was such a nightmare that the co-driver was outside putting the stones in or out of place… We used the Tuwakam track to return to the highway. But this track had the same conditions as the first. Unfortunately it was so narrow that we couldn’t turn the car but we manage without any damage to the car or the tyres.

On the further way west we stopped at the Keep River National Park and  did one walk. This walk lead us through the hills and was informative. After our lunchbreak we passed through the WA check-point and had to open our fridge. It’s not allowed to import honey or fresh fruits and vegetables into WA. And then we had to adjust our clocks to the WA time zone which is 90 minutes behind. So it was dark just after 6.00pm and the sun rises at 5.00am. How weird!

In Kununurra we had a look at the Mirima National Park which should be a smaller version of the Bungle Bungles. We did the short loop walk which features several town lookouts. It was amazing to see such a green town in this arid zone. But it lies in the Ord-River-Irrigation Scheme and there are diamante mines in the area. The film Australia was shoot here and the actors planted a little forest.

 

See you later,

Tom and Anja