Tuesday 30^th September

Simon took me down to see his son’s medical centre this morning and if ever I wanted to do a locum there I think I would be welcomed with open arms as they seem desperate for more doctors. It was interesting to see how they manage a fully private health care system, with fifteen minute appointments and very few DNAs. We don’t intend to do much for this next couple of days – read and catch up on washing etc!

Monday 29^th September

Today we drove around Darwin which was almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Tracey in 1974 so is mostly of modern construction. We drove around Darwin harbour and saw the remains of the anti submarine boom that protected the harbour from enemy subs although Darwin was badly hit by the Japanese air force.

We also visited the Darwin museum which had some interesting displays based around Cyclone Tracey, the natural flora and wildlife of the region and some more modern aboriginal art which displayed an interesting meld of cultures.

Having returned to the hotel we said our farewells and Martin dropped off some of the group at the airport and ourselves at our B&B.

It is the most beautiful place you can imagine – a fully self contained flat set in amongst the supporting pillars of the main house upstairs with a covered verandah ad a washing machine! The gardens and pool area that we can sit in are lovely and we were given a tour around the different plants and met the chickens, cats and bees. Simon and Joan are lovely and very friendly and gave us a lift down to the local supermarket to do our shopping. Joan is an artist of great talent and the house and flat are decorated by pictures she has painted. Joan used to be a nurse and their son is a doctor and owns a busy medical practice locally.

Sunday 28^th September

Today we drove along the Old Jim Jim road which is a dirt road and quite bumpy but shorter and more interesting than the highway. A little way from Darwin we diverted down to Batchelor and Lichfield NP. We visited the magnetic termite mounds that featured in one of David Attenborough’s programmes and are all aligned north south so as to kep as cool as possible. We then visited Florence Falls where lots of people were enjoying themselves in the water. We stayed at the top and admired the falls from a distance! We then drove to Wangi Falls where we parked near the bottom of the falls. We had lunch under a shady tree and then a refreshing swim in the large pool at the base of the falls. Despite there being lots of people there (a Sunday so the locals drive out) the central part of the pool was relatively empty and we had a pleasant swim.

We arrived in Darwin around 4.30pm and had an upgrade to a very fancy suite with a lovely balcony overlooking the harbour. The downside is that we have no internet as we refuse to pay 25AUD for one evening’s access.

We had our final dinner together as a group, reflecting on an excellent trip as we thanked Martin and Tina for all their care and attention. 

Saturday 27^th September

Today we drove to Jabiru to pick up a guide, John, who is an expert on Kakadu. We then visited Ubirr which is a massive sandstone outcrop with lots of aboriginal art in various places on the rock faces. It is often difficult to interpret what figures have been drawn as they often draw over earlier artwork.

From Ubirr we forded the East alligator river (misnamed as there are crocs not alligators) and drove into Arnhem Land. The terrain is mainly floodplain but even here there is often fresh smoke and evidence of recent fires which because they are being set in the dry season burn too hot and are destroying the very habitat the aboriginals seek to protect. The aboriginals used to set fires at the end of the wet season when they burn slowly and do less damage but still clear the vegetation that could feed a lightening strike fire later on. Another problem are the kites which pick up smouldering sticks and then drop them to start fires elsewhere so that they can scavange on the insects and rodents that then try to escape.

We visited the Injalak Art Association where we watched aboriginals painting on clay mosaic tiles and bark and screen printing their traditional designs as well as weaving. We then returned towards Cooinda and enjoyed a two hour boat cruise on the Yellow Water Billabong. We really enjoyed seeing and trying to photograph loads of different birds as well as several salt water crocodiles (the dangerous ones).

Friday 26^th September

Today we had breakfast at 6.30am and left at 7.15am to get to the Katherine Gorge for a boat trip at 8am. Its proper name is Nimbilik meaning place of the crickets and although the walls of the gorge are less steep and high than some we have seen, it was still quite impressive. Because we are at the end of the dry season the water level has fallen such that the boat could only go up the first of the thirteen gorges and then we had to walk to the second gorge to board another boat for a short trip to the end of that particular stretch where it then became too shallow again. As the boats could not get up as far as usual we were allowed time to swim in one of the waterholes which was lovely. We then returned to Katherine for Tina and Martin to refuel and restock the bus whilst we had a wander in the local shopping centre and bought a couple of books.

An hours drive brought us to Pine Creek where we parked up and had a picnic lunch under a shady tree. We then drove into Kakadu NP and checked in at Cooinda lodge in time for a swim before dinner.

Thursday 25^th September

Yesterday the air conditioning in the bus broke down so Martin took it in to get it fixed while we went shopping in Kununurra and had a coffee. We had lunch back at the Country Club and set off for Katherine about 2pm; with the 90 minute time shift we are liable to get there quite late this evening as it takes about six hours.

We arrived about 9pm at the motel but the owner very kindly had made us soup and salad with cold meats and prawns and kept the bar open so we could have a drink.

Wednesday 24^th September

Today we had a relatively leisurely start and after a couple of hours on the bumpy road out of the Bungle Bungles we hit the Great Northern Highway and drove up past Kununurra to where they have re-sited the old Durack homestead when they built the Argyle Dam and created Lake Argyle. We had a picnic lunch there and then drove down to the Argyle Dam where we boarded a boat for a three hour trip down the River Ord to the Diversion Dam at Kununurra. The River Ord was dammed at Kununurra in 1963 to provide gravity fed irrigation to the area north of Kununurra. This dam has twenty huge gates that can be lifted to allow through massive flow when necessary in the wet season. Later the Argyle Dam was built to provide the massive reservoir of the lake. There is now a hydroelectric power plant that provides power for Argyle Diamond mine, Wyndham and Kununurra and the regulation of the flow between the two dams provides a stable environment that has been taken advantage of by a lot of wildlife.

We saw several of the thousands of fresh water crocs living on the river and many birds, including a couple of sea eagles and some jacana and terns of various varieties. We also spotted a couple of rock wallabies which are hard to see as they are so well camouflaged. It was a great trip and we even stopped part way to have afternoon tea (smoko) at a place on the bank where they have erected some tables and chairs under shadow sails.

We arrived around 6pm at Kununurra Country Club which was very well appointed and had great food – its only downside is the high prevalence of theft there – but we were okay, thankfully.

Tuesday 23^rd September

Today most of the group took a helicopter ride over the Bungle Bungles whilst we sat in the shade and drank coffee. We then drove around the Bungles, admiring the magnificent red sandstone outcrops, banded with black from cyanobacteria and conglomerate.

We walked for a couple of kilometres around some of the bee hive domes (caused by erosion) and then through a rocky creek bed into Cathedral Gorge. It was very hot but worth it to see where the gorge opens out into a huge open topped cavern with 300Km walls. Wetting a scarf around the neck was mandatory!

We returned to Belburn for a lovely lunch and then drove off again to see the visitors centre before the walk into Echidna Chasm. This was much shadier, again along the stony bottom of a dried up creek and then through a very narrow and dramatic cleft between towering cliffs. The views were awesome and difficult to do justice to with a camera.

We drove to a lookout point which involved 500m of walking uphill but the sun was getting lower so it wasn’t so hot and it gave us some great views of the Bungle Bungles.

Then back to camp and a beer and another excellent dinner before bed.

Monday 22^nd September

Today we drove up to Wyndham and up to the Five Rivers lookout for morning smoko (Australian for a tea break) where one an see the Pentecost, King, Ord, Durack and Forrest rivers at the top of the Cambridge gulf. There were great views but it was a bit misty with the smoke.

                                                                                                                                           

We then headed down the Great North highway past the Carr Boyd ranges and the Arygle diamond mine to Purnululu NP and then drove 60Km along unmade roads to the Belburn Camp. It was the windiest, bendy road we have been on yet and took over two hours but the scenery was magnificent.

The cabins are fairly basic but have en suite and the food at dinner was suberb – the chicken kiev was the best I’ve ever tasted and her chocolate date pudding was to die for!

Sunday 21^st September

Today, after breakfast at 7am, we drove a short way to the township and from there to the jetty where we boarded a covered boat to cruise for 3Km through the Chamberlain Gorge. It was around 40 degrees plus, so very hot but very beautiful. The gorge used to be very wooded but the huge floods of 2011 washed most of the trees away as a twenty metre wall of water rushed through. The homestead, built on the top of the cliffs, had some of its supports knocked out by a baob trunk but everything lower sustained major damage or was destroyed (This happened at the Mitchell plateau safari camp as well). We saw a small rock wallaby and a freshwater croc. There are reports of salt water crocodiles so no-one is allowed to swim in the gorge. Before we returned we played with the seven spotted archer fish that squirt jets of water up to knock down insects into the water, rewarding them with pellets of fish food. The ranger also fed a couple of large barramundi by hand – they don’t have teeth but a huge amount of suction as they swallow and mash up a fish in their jaws.

We then travelled to Zebedee Thermal Springs which bubble up into pools amongst the palm trees. It was a lovely temperature (not as hot as we’d been told) and we all enjoyed a dip. Unfortunately Iain managed to drop his lens cap and lost it in the rocky pool – the second one this holiday!

We returned to the resort for lunch of barramundi and salad and then some of us elected to walk to Emma Gorge with Martin. It was only 1.7Km each way but mostly very rocky and the temperature was forty degrees or more. I did find going in hard, but with a wet cloth on my neck and frequent water stops, We all made it to the end where there was a large beautiful pool of cold, clear water surrounded by massive red cliffs. There was a small waterfall and we swam through water droplets splashing down from the cliffs like rain – great fun!

Unfortunately Bessie fell flat on her face onto a rock as we were getting g ready to leave and had a large bump on her forehead and a bloody nose. She soldiered on, however, and made it back to the camp okay. Having collected our washing that had been drying on the lines whilst we’d been away, we cooled off again in the resort pool before dinner. We also evicted what we originally thought was a cane toad, but we decided later was a bumpy rocket frog, from our tent. Cane toads are spreading fast through WA and as they are poisonous when eaten they are threatening the indigenous reptile populations.

Saturday 20^th September

We had a long drive today to the Emma Gorge resort along the mostly bumpy, dusty, unmade Kalumburu Road back to the Gibb River Road, crossing the Drysdale, Gibb and later the Durack and the Pentecost Rivers. These still had water but many of the smaller creeks we drove through were dry. We had a few stops along the way and a picnic lunch on the banks of Russ Creek, which was very pleasant. We drove through the Cockburn Ranges which made a nice change from the mostly flat scrub covered plains. There was also an interesting change from Livistona palm forest to large numbers of wattle and Baob. Much of the land had been burnt recently and the sky was filled with smoke to the south of where we were travelling. As the sun went down the towering cliffs were a spectacular shade of red and orange. We arrived about 5.30pm and even at this time the temperature was around 39 ^degrees  and the night was quite warm. We had a fan in the tent but it was still a bit hot!

Friday 19^th September

We had breakfast at 6am although I just made and took a bacon buttie to have later. We set off at 6.45am and after around an hours driving on a very bumpy road we arrived at the heli pad for Mitchell Falls. After a safety briefing for when we return by helicopter at 1pm we set out with plenty of water for a 4-5Km hike. We stopped twice to look at some stunning art sites and took loads of pictures! Les was very good at telling us about the different art and was very knowledgeable.

We had all been issued with a face cloth that we dunked in any available water as we came across the odd creek and wetted ourselves to keep our core temperature down. It was very good having a cold wet cloth around the back of one’s neck! We passed Little Merten’s Falls and Big Merten’s Falls although they had very little water, if any, and certainly no cascades! But eventually we arrived at the spectacular gorges of the Mitchell Falls which had a great pool at the top where we all swam (clothes and all) and still a fair amount in the four stepped waterfalls.

As time was passing and we had to be at the helipad for 12.50pm we made our way there and sat having lunch in the shade, which was most welcome.

It was only a short helicopter ride but great all the same and we had an amazing view of all the gorges cut into the plateau.

They landed us back at the truck and we bumped along for an hour before arriving back at the camp for cold drinks, tea and scones for those that wanted them. We headed off to the water hole to cool off again and then relaxed until drinks and dinner.

Thursday 18^th September

We had a leisurely start to be away by 8am today as we only drive about 180Km down a dirt road to the Outback Spirit Ngauwudu Safari Camp. We stopped on a couple of occasions to see some great aboriginal rock art – both Gwion Gwion (30,000+ years old)

and Wandjina (?17,000 years ago).

We had a picnic lunch in a shady spot by the King Edward River

 and continued up onto the Mitchell Plateau, passing through Livistona palm forest. Having stopped to take photos at a lookout we arrived around 3.30pm. We are the only group here at the camp that consists of twelve en-suite safari tents with beds, fans, mosquito netting and decent lighting. I found a large green frog in our toilet and managed to evict him out onto our verandah where he hopped away quite happily. We relaxed and had a swim at the waterhole

before meeting up at 5.15pm for complimentary drinks around the camp fire and a talk by our host at the camp, Les. There is a falcon that comes because Les feeds him occasionally and he posed beautifully on a tree branch nearby. This was followed by barbecueing steaks on the fire, that were excellent, if a bit overdone. After dinner Les got out his guitar and sang some songs which some of us joined in with occasionally but we were all in bed for 9pm.

Wednesday 17^th September

Today we had an early start to drive to Drysdale River station that used to just be a cattle ranch but now has diversified into tourism as well. We travelled along the famous Gibb River Road and then diverted 35Km along a rutted track to visit Bell Gorge. We then had around a Km walk down a dry, hot, dusty, rocky track to the gorge which was very beautiful and where we could have had a swim Unfortunately Martin had told us there would be very little water there so we hadn’t taken our bathers with us. It was around 38⁰ so I cooled off with my usual method of taking off my shirt and dunking it in the water before putting it back on again. There was another long drive then to our destination. The little cabins are nice and we had a good dinner of fillet steak or barramundi.

Tuesday 16^th September

Today we drove on unmade roads to Tunnel Creek where Jandamarra hid at times during the aboriginal resistance to the white settlers. We waded through the water for 750m with torches and reef shoes and saw bats and the occasional freshwater crocodile that are deemed not to be dangerous.

After a picnic lunch we wandered down Windjana Gorge and marvelled at the 100m cliffs and the huge numbers of basking crocodiles – we must have seen close to a hundred! We then drove to Derby; took a look at the prison tree (a giant moab tree) and after a welcome shower in our room went out to see the sunset over the Derby jetty. Each room has its own washing/drying machine so most of us took advantage of it to empty their dirty washing bags!

Monday 15^th September

Today we drove to Fitzroy Crossing and in the afternoon enjoyed a tranquil, if somewhat warm, cruise up the Geikie Gorge, formed by an ancient limestone reef; magnificent red cliffs and sandbanks with basking freshwater crocodiles. The Fitzroy River is one of the largest, although not the longest, in Australia. We stayed the night at the River Lodge that is built on stilts to try and avoid the huge floods in the wet season.

Sunday 14^th September

Today we had a spectacular ride for over an hour on a seaplane from Broome to the Horizontal Falls. These are areas of white water where the tide is forced between a couple of rocky gaps. We flew over them several times and then landed by floating pontoons where we got onto a speedboat and drove through the larger of the two gaps several times; very exciting! The water had a four metre drop through the second gap so we wouldn’t have been able to get back if we had gone through that one. We then had an excellent lunch and Iain and some of the others had a swim in a shark cage up close and personal to some tawny nurse sharks who come to be fed – hopefully fish rather than fingers and toes! The tide had turned and when we went back on the speed boat the first gap was almost still and we were able to drive through the white water in the second gap before sailing into a creek that they use to overwinter the pontoons etc because it is protected on all sides by tall cliffs from any cyclones. We then had a 90minute flight back on the seaplane to Broome.

We just happened to catch the final day of the (mainly Japanese inspired) Festival of the Pearl and had a very pleasant evening watching live music and singing whilst sitting sipping a mojito on a terrace of the hotel. Then just after we had had our starters we were able to go out and watch a splendid firework display that lasted a good fifteen minutes. Unfortunately I think they were very disorganised in the restaurant and many of us didn’t get our mains for an hour and a half. Martin’s was cold as well so he was a very unhappy tour guide and sent it back but I think everyone else took it in their stride and we did end up with a free glass of wine.

Saturday 13^th September

This morning, after a splendid breakfast, Doug from the B&B kindly took me into Broome for a very necessary haircut and then I made my way back by bus before we were picked up by our tour group Outback Spirit at 12.50pm to go to our accommodation in Cable Beach. This was very plush and had beautiful grounds and rooms. We met the rest of our group (18in total) with Martin and Tina who are the tour leaders at dinner which was fine.

Friday 12^th September

We were transferred at 10.45am today to Cygnet Bay, a pearl farming and tourist resort. It was low key but more openly welcoming and friendly than Cape Leveque. We decided to do a boat trip to see the great tides and it was well worth it. An awesome experience of standing waves and whirlpools as the equinoctal tides of 10+ metres rush in between the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago and hit the shallow part of the continental shelf. We needed the large engines our boat possessed as we drove through the water as the power of some of the whirlpools we passed alongside was tremendous.

After lunch we had a guided tour of the pearl farm and learnt how they culture the pearls (20,000 this last year). We then joined Roger’s tour which will take us back to Broome this evening via Cape Leveque. It was handy going back for a short while as I had left my mini torch and memory stick behind and was able to retrieve them.

We arrived at our B&B in Broome around 10pm and neither of us was hungry so we sorted ourselves out and went to bed.

Thursday 11^th September

Unfortunately the boat trip was cancelled yesterday because it was too windy but there is a possibility of going tonight if the wind doesn’t get up again. We went on a couple of hours ‘bush tucker’ walk with a local aboriginal guide at 8.30am this morning – very interesting although it got quite hot. It was lovely in the water again. We are joining forces with Alan and Cathy for a Barbie this evening but had an excellent lasagne for lunch as we had missed breakfast.

We were able to have our sunset cruise this evening and although the waves were quite exciting at the start it soon quietened down and we had a great sighting of a mother and baby humpback whale as we were coming back.

Wednesday 10^th September

We slept well after I had discovered a centipede (millipede?) tickling my arm and tossed it out. We ambled up the cliffs to breakfast around 9am and Iain and Alan organised for a bush tucker walk at 8.30am tomorrow morning and a boat trip at 4pm today. It was hot but we soon cooled off with a swim or several at the beach which is very near to our cabin. There is a slight breeze and it is very pleasant sitting on our shaded verandah watching birds and lizards and writing the diary. We had a good dinner at the restaurant which was very welcome as we hadn’t had lunch

Tuesday 9^th September

We had to get up early this morning as we were being collected at 6.45am to go to Cape Leveque for three days. We were awake at 6am so Iain had time to open his cards and present. Margaret had put some fruit, sausage, bacon, tomato and bread together so that we could eat breakfast on the way. This was very welcome as we didn’t get lunch until 2.30pm. Roger Chomley, who runs these trips, was a fount of knowledge about the area and the aboriginals and never stopped talking whilst driving his landrover over incredibly rutted and uneven tracks with consummate ease! There were eight of us on the trip but only four of us are staying over at the Cape. We briefly visited Beagle Bay aboriginal community and saw their church, built by German missionaries and beautifully decorated with pearly shells inside.

We then drove to Cygnet Bay area to go mud crabbing. This involves putting on reef shoes and wading down a creek past mangroves as the tide slowly comes in. It was really lovely; clear water and cool, without being cold. We had metal hooks to grab the crabs with and were accompanied also by an Aboriginal guide, Vincent, who lived nearby and has helped Roger with these trips for six years. Vincent had already caught two and, after finding one crab early on, we didn’t have too much luck so we only had four crabs for lunch. Roger had obviously anticipated this and had chicken and salad a plenty! We lit a small fire and Vincent cooked the crabs (from live, which was a bit gruesome). They tasted sweet and very good.

We then drove to another aboriginal community, Lombardina which is more self sufficient than some, and took a quick look at their bush church and craft shop. Following this we drove to Cape Leveque where he left the trailer and let down the tyres a bit before driving on the sand to the Eastern Bay where we could swim. The tide was out so far that only a couple bothered to get out far enough (including Iain of course!) and I just sat in the shallows to cool off! We then drove around to the Western Bay which is much rockier, with red sandstone cliffs, where we had a cup of tea. Roger comes prepared with hot water in large thermos flasks as well as some camping chairs so it is quite comfortable. He then dropped Alan and Cathy and ourselves off at our accommodation before driving everyone else the three hours back to Broome. A long day for Roger and his passengers, and he’s back again tomorrow! It was an interesting and somewhat challenging walk in the dark (although we had a torch) to the restaurant as we are quite a way away. The restaurant was only doing fish supper takeaways as there was a large corporate function on but we enjoyed battered snapper and chips with a glass of red wine. It is BYO so we had bought a couple of bottles the previous evening on our way to the restaurant. We get on well with Alan and Cathy and are intending to do a couple of trips with them and barbecue together on our last night here. They sell prepared packs of meat or fish, with potatoes and salads that you take away and cook.

Monday 8^th September

It is just over 600Km to Broome, much of it through rather boring scrubland plains. We took it in turns of an hour or so and stopped at a couple of Roadhouses (Aussie equivalent of a service station) for coffee and a snack. We found our way relatively easily to Broome airport only to find no-one in the Hertz office. There was a phone however, and we were told to leave the key in the letter box once we’d parked up and emptied the car. They didn’t seem at all fazed by the need to replace the windscreen – I thought it would be a load of paperwork!

Margaret from the B & B came to collect us which was very kind of her and we have a nice room in her lovely house with the shared use of a sitting room/kitchen with the three other guestrooms.

It took quite a while to pack up our excess baggage that we will send off to Darwin by post to await our arrival as our trip around the Kimberleys has a baggage limit. We then had a fifteen minute walk to where Margaret and Doug suggested we go for dinner. This was a restaurant called Eighteen Degrees (south of the equator) which serves sharing plates, rather like tapas; which were absolutely delicious. We had crispy shrimp cake, barramundi parcels and scallops, all with wilted greens – yummy!

Sunday 7^th September

We started out at 8.30am after some breakfast for the drive to Port Hedland and arrived about 1.30pm. We passed a small bush fire (or possibly a controlled burn) and actually had more traffic as we approached the town. The hotel is very nice and we have a good view of the sea and a complimentary plate of fruits but the internet is down. We intend to have a relaxing afternoon and get off quite early tomorrow.

Saturday 6^th September

Luckily we had already decided on a chill out day today when we will stay in camp rather than go anywhere. My ankle is still a bit sore and I certainly couldn’t walk anywhere; I think it is also lucky we have an automatic so I won’t need to use it driving, so hopefully it will soon heal completely. I am sitting here on our shady tent verandah, looking out over spinifex, lots of small trees and termite mounds to the hills in the distance and catching up on my diary entries!

Friday 5^th September

We saw our first wallaby on our way to breakfast today and we stood staring at each other for some moments before it loped away. Today we repeated our drive of yesterday but parked up at an earlier car park, by Fortescue Falls. We then walked along the rim of the gorge to where we descended yesterday and turned the opposite way at the bottom, back towards Fortescue Falls. It was a wonderful walk along the gorge, quite rocky, with occasional stepping stones to cross small creeks, often shaded by aspen trees and with lots of different grasses and flowers. We only met one other couple on our walk, which took about ninety minutes to get to the Falls. We then carried on an easier path to Fern Pool and for a while we were the only people there. It was a stunningly beautiful place with a ladder down into a deep water pool which was much warmer that the others we’ve been to. We both enjoyed a swim or two and had our picnic watching the fishes and several trees hanging with loads of small black bats, who were squeaking noisily away.

Unfortunately, having walked the gorges without a problem, on our way back to the tent after dinner I managed to trip up and sprain my ankle and graze my knee.

Thursday 4^th September

Today we drove a different way around to the Visitor’s centre, which was longer but only had 6Km on unsealed road, so was preferable. Because it is low season there were no trips operating that we could attach ourselves to, so we decided to drive to the end of the metalled road at Dales Gorge and do a short walk from there. Having had a picnic lunch we walked a short way to the Gorge Lookout point and then down a steep path of uneven steps to the bottom of the gorge. Luckily it had become a bit overcast and we had our walking poles. We walked along the bottom, scrambling over several rocky places, to reach the Circular Pool. This was a beautiful spot with high red sandstone cliffs and a very cold pool. Iain swam but I satisfied myself with soaking my shirt and putting it on wet; a very effective way to cool off! I could imagine this place being used for initiation rites – it had a very masculine type energy pervading it. We then retraced our steps and arrived back at the Eco Retreat with time to have half an hour on the internet to catch up with e-mails before dinner. The food is okay but the menu is the same every evening and I only fancy a few dishes on it... I’m getting spoilt!

Wednesday 3^rd September

As we were leaving the accommodation in Karratha we met up with an emu and her chicks. We then had our longest drive yet to Karijini NP, again with arid countryside, long, mainly straight and empty roads apart from when we were pulled over to the hard(ish) shoulder by the police to let a massively wide load go by and occasional very long road trains which consist of four to six trucks linked together. On the Great Northern Highway we were passed by a truck/road train and some stones flew off it and made three small starred chips on our windscreen. Luckily they are only small and don’t interfere with the driver’s field of vision. We then drove to the first entry point to the park, hoping to discover the best way for a 2WD to get to the Eco Retreat as many of the roads are unsealed. Unfortunately there was no-one there to ask, so we carried on and took what appeared to be the shortest route on the map. This involved 32Km on a rutted, unsealed road which was challenging to say the least! At speeds of between 15 and 40Km an hour it took a long time but we arrived without further mishap. It is a beautiful place with deep red sandstone gorges, savannah like areas of spinifex (a type of grass) and trees dotted here and there. The Eco Retreat reminds us of camps in the Serengetti and our tent looks out onto stunning countryside which we can see from our bed in the morning (we keep the flap up so we can see through the mesh awning). We have an en-suite loo, shower and wash basin that has six foot walls, open at the top with a roof awning, so you can see the stars!

We walked from our tent to the Joffre Gorge which was quite splendid.

Tuesday 2^nd September

We decided to do our own thing today and drove to Millstream Chichester NP and then drove and walked to Python Pool – we were limited by where we could go with a 2WD but it was lovely and we were the only people there for quite a while. Towering red sandstone cliffs surrounded a quiet cool pool of water. All these places are of special significance to the local aboriginal people and one could feel the power of the place.

We sampled a noodle bar takeaway tonight as the cooking facilities were poor. Also tried to contact Lizzy to wish her a happy birthday but we weren't able to connect.

Monday 1^st September

Today we had a long drive to Karratha (5-6 hours) through varied countryside of rolling savannah type plains and very red sandstone outcrops but with cruise control set at 110Km we were expecting to arrive quite early. We also saw what looked like a mini tornado whipping through the red dust a short way from the road and apparently this was a willie-willie! We were disappointed with the accommodation in Karratha, for although the reception staff were lovely, the facilities were lacking – no water jug and several utensils and cutlery missing. The pool was lovely although a bit cool! We went to a Balinese restaurant for dinner which was quite good. We tried to Skype Hilary to wish her a happy birthday but were unable to get through.

However we came across a caravan that had overturned as the car had had a blow out and skidded and spun over a few times. It was obviously a write off but luckily the driver, although injured, survived. The police and ambulance were already there but we were unable to pass for more than an hour.