West Bastion

We we warned “there is not much going on in town” and they might be right. But we didn’t plan on spending much time in town of 900 anyway. A lookout named - Five Rivers Lookout - was calling. We were met at the bottom of the hill by a “No Caravans” sign. So we parked, jumped on our bikes and rode straight up for 3.7k. What a view. Wyndham is at the inland end of Cambridge Gulf where the Ord River and others end.
The tidal variation here is 8.3 meters and the coastal plains extend inland a long way between very high ranges on all sides.
We rocket back down the mount into town for a Crocodile Pie. Yep, a lot like chicken.
Out of town we discovered Marlgu Billabong & bird hide. I am conservatively guessing we identified 30 species of bird. Plenty of Ducky ones went unidentified. No trouble identifying the Estuarine Crocodile that lay draped in weed and unmoving the whole time we were there. Truely fantastic. Standout birds: several very large Darters (Rufus in colour), a flock of more than 100 Royal Spoonbills, and generally, the overwhelming variety. As we near the end of the Dry, they must be tolerating the close quarters. So engrossed with the birds - forgot to take a photo.
Then onward toward Purnululu and a free camp on Bow River (is this the place in the Cold Chisel song?) that flows into Lake Argyle. We have the camp site to ourselves under a blazing show of stars. Bliss.Read more