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Perth to the Kimberley
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Perth to the Kimberley

A 177-day adventure by The Gypsies Read more
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    April 13, 2017
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    Perth to Eaglestone Rock

    April 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We stocked the fridge and freezer, did the washing, filled the fuel and water tanks and set off to see more of Western Australia. We will be driving "roads less travelled" therefore will visit places we've never heard of before.
    Our first port of call was Wayne's farm near Quairading where we have a container holding all our worldly possessions . From here we drove to Kwolyin, where we spent the night. Kwolyin is an old abandoned wheatbelt town now only ruins, but was once a thriving community. The shire has set up a free camping area providing toilets and basic kitchen facilities.
    Friday we stayed at Eaglestone Rock, Lake Campion. A huge salt lake and large granite boluder that was easily climbed. The salt lake was dry and covered in white crunchy salt. We stayed 2 days and set up our mosquito/ / fly enclosure that Julie made for us. It worked brilliantly and kept the critters outside where they belong!    Read more

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    Eaglestone Rock to Billiburning Rock

    April 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    From Eaglestone Rock we travelled into Mukinbudin. A very tidy and well kept little town. The visitor centre is just a small shed with maps and photos displayed on the walls. It was here that we saw photos of Elachbutting Rock about 50 Kilometers out of town and, It seemed worth a look so we went out there. There is a small version of Wave Rock and a tunnel that was formed through the rock having split sometime in the past. From there we continued North until finding a place to camp for the night at Billiburning Rock. We met a nice couple there from Carnamah who were touring the area looking at the various granite rock formations. There are many through this part of the country, they are fun to climb and are huge. A lot of them are designated camp sites with drop toilets and picnic tables and benches.Read more

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    Billiburning Rock to Sandstone

    April 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We left the rock about mid morning and travelled towards Sandstone. We passed through Payne's Find and would have visited the Gold Battery if it had been open, however it appeared to be closed. There is nothing else in Payne's Find except the road house.
    Camped in the bush for the night then carried onto Sandstone. Arrived about lunch time and found Lady Di's pies. Lady Di sets up a market style tent next to the visitor centre and using a pie maker sells pies to the tourists. Shes a real character. Loud and quite funny. Her pies were very nice. She is probably one of the only reasons tourists stop as the town has little to offer. Sadly most of its shops and businesses are closed. We had a quick look around town before having a look a London Bridge and other sites relating to the history of gold mining in the area.    Read more

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    Sandstone to Garden Granite Rock

    April 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    We pulled up here at Garden Granite Rock 16k's before Cue and set up camp for the night. Once again we were at the base of a massive granite rock which we climbed the following morning. You can often get internet coverage near or at the top of these rocks so it's a good place to check emails and messages as well as keep in touch with kids. The dog got a wash before we moved off towards Cue.Read more

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    Cue

    April 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Cue is a heritage listed town. It has some magnificent old buildings that have been restored to their former glory. We had lunch here in a shady park and chatted to some Shire workers who were setting up a new "Welcome Park" for tourists. A welcome park is a day use area where you can park up for the day and top up your water tanks. One of the men suggested we visit a Place called Weeli Wolli Spring Not far out of Mt Newman. Gina Rinehart has a big mine there which she is de-watering and is pouring millions of litres of pristine water daily into it. He said it was an idyllic spot and perfect for a swim.
    After visiting the Info centre we decided to drive out Walga Rock, Dalgaranga Meteorite Crater and the ghost town of Big Bell.    Read more

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    Walga Rock, Big Bell and Gt Fingall Mine

    April 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Walga Rock is a large monolith located 48 k's from Cue. The main attraction is the aboriginal etchings on the western side of the rock. One being the etching of a white sailing ship which has caused many theories about its origin, as the rock is 325 k's from the coast.
    We also drove out to the Dalgaranga Meteorite Crater which proved to be nothing more than a depression in the ground and pretty unremarkable.
    Then on to the ghost town of Big Bell. This gold mining town was established in 1936 and supported a population of well over 1,000 people. There was 160 houses, a picture theatre, and a dozen shops as well as three churches and two schools. There isn't much left standing except the ruins of two churches and the magnificent hotel. We wandered through the old hotel and were amazed at how palatial and grand it was. We camped the night before heading back to Cue and then out to the relic of the Great Fingal Mine Office. The attraction here is a once beautiful mine office built by Italian stonemasons using dressed stone and it now sits on the precipice of an open cut mine. The large open cut mine there today is the result of a cave-in during 1921.
    Photos 1 and 2: Aboriginal etchings, Walga Rock
    Photos 3 and 4: The once beautiful hotel in Big Bell and us about to leave the ghost town
    Photos 5 and 6: The Great Fingal Mine office Building and the Open cut mine it sits above.    Read more

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    Cue to Wiluna to Mt Newman

    April 21, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    From Cue we took the road towards Wiluna. Found a great camp site in a gravel pit about 50 k's before Wiluna. Cooked pork chops and mushrooms on the Weber and steamed veggies inside on the gas burner.
    We drove around Wiluna then took the road towards Mt Newman and once again camped in a gravel pit. The road was fairly rough because rain has caused many washouts. The gravel pits have been good places to pull up for the night as they are well off the road and very flat and we've had Telstra reception. We find places to stay by using the WikiCamps app.    Read more

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    Mt Newman to Wanna Munna

    April 24, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Left Mt Newman to go to Weeli Wolli Spring but decided not to due to thunder storms and heavy rain predicted in the area, and there were 3 small but deep river crossings. Camped in the bush for the night and set up a clothes lines to dry the washing we had done in Mt Newman. Decided to go west to the aboriginal site called Wanna Munna. This was a nice spot by a creek where there was a lot of aboriginal etchings in the rocks and walls of the creek bed. We considered camping down near the creek bed but chose to stay up high on a piece of flat ground. This turned out to be a good choice because when we arrived it was sunny and the creek bed was dry except for a few puddles. A couple of hours later it was a raging torrent due to thunderstorms and rain in the area and to the west. We stay here two nights because it was a really pretty place and had a nice ambience about it.Read more

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    Nullagine

    April 25, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    We left Wunna Munna for Nullagine but after ringing the Newman info centre found out that the Auski - Roy Hill rd was closed so had to go back 75ks to Newman and take the Newman - Nullagine road which was only open to 4wd's and trucks. Arrived in Nullagine late afternoon and stayed in the caravan park. $15 per night unpowered. At first it looked pretty rough but we soon settled in and enjoyed it for what it was. Clean hot showers and toilets. Washing machines $3 a load. We were the only ones there. Next day we drove up to the lookout where you can see over the townsite and took a couple of photos. One photo shows the aboriginal camp with a huge football ground behind it. It was covered in spinifex and shrubs but we were told by a lady that when they start footy up here, it'll be mowed flat and they will play in bare feet and run around for an hour without a break for a drink. All in all we though it was a nice little town.Read more

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    Marble Bar

    April 26, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    From Nullagine we drove to Marble Bar, another quaint retired gold mining town. Had a drink at the famous Iron Clad Hotel which funnily enough has opening hours of 12 to 2pm then 4.30 to 8pm. We arrived at 1.40pm and had 20 minutes with an entertaining group of locals. They told us to come back at 4.30 and we'd see the same faces only they would be even funnier because they'd be even more tanked. We then drove out to Marble Bar Pool to see how Marble Bar got its name. As you can see in the photos the rocks are marbled but they are not actually marble. Marble Bar has the reputation of being the hottest town in WA, but while we were in the area it was absolutely perfect.Read more

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    Glenn Herring Gorge

    April 26, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We spent the night in this gorge 24ks south west of Marble Bar. A number of people had commented on Wikicamps that it was worth the drive out. It seemed to take forever to drive out there and on arrival we thought it was a bit of a let down, however it turned out to be absolutely beautiful. Because we arrived late we didn't appreciate where we were, but an early walk in the morning down the gorge was awesome. On the way back into Marble Bar we stopped in at the Old Comet Gold Mine museum near the old mine site. The public are not allowed to enter the mine site, but the museum was really interesting and well worth the visit because of the history of the mine as well as the endless array of mineral rocks and old artefacts on display. The caretaker Gerard was older gent with a Dutch accent but has been an Aussie for more than half his life. He had great charisma and was full of interesting facts.Read more

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    Doolena Gorge

    April 28, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Yes, we like our gorges (-: This gorge is on the way north towards Port Hedland but only 35ks from Marble Bar. We arrived at a stunning location and saw only a single person camped up a long way to the right of us. The camping area is large and can accomodate quite a few rigs. But the best thing about this spot is the river. It's clear and wide, deep enough for a dip and just gently flowing. There are lots of little fish, not sure what they are but probably silver perch. Too small for catching. We caught up with our washing - thanks girls for the little washing machine - and put the kayaks in for a paddle upstream. It was brilliant! We paddled upstream for about an hour until the water became too shallow. We sat in the water and enjoyed the ambience of the place. We felt like we were where no man has been before. Ha ha our imagination was running wild. We allowed the current to take us back without any effort on our part. Loved it! We arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday. By Friday night it became clear that the place was a favourite with locals, including a large party from Port Hedland who were there to celebrate a friends 40th birthday. They were nice people and we let the kids use the kayaks.Read more

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    Port Hedland

    April 30, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Arrived at Split Rock camp site, just off the Gt Northern Highway late Sunday afternoon. Nothing there but evidence of past campers. It's not a bad spot, hidden from the road, private and flat. Good for the night. I climbed the rock and took a photo of the truck way down below.
    We were having problems with the freezer not freezing stuff properly so, after asking at the visitor info centre we went to see Stay Kool Refrigeration guys in Port Hedland. Brilliant people and they know their trade well. Freezer working well now.
    We enjoyed looking around Port Hedland. The fish burger and coffee from the Harbour Cafe was excellent. It was fascinating to see the huge ships in the harbour being loaded with ore, and the kilometres long trains coming and going 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The place doesn't sleep. On the way out of town we got held up at a train crossing and the train took just over 5 minutes to pass.
    We stayed in the grounds of the Turf Club for two nights. It serves as an overflow area to the caravan parks. We stocked up with food, fuel and water and left town on Wednesday heading for the De Grey River rest area, which was only about 65ks north of Hedland.    Read more

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    De Grey River rest area

    May 3, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    We spent two nights at the De Grey River rest area. It's a huge area with toilets and bins right along side the river. When we first drove in, all the good spots near the river were taken so we chose a flat shady site a couple of hundred metres from the water. The next morning we had a good look around and saw that we could get down under the bridge and be right at the waters edge, so we moved camp and caught up with washing using water from the river. The main reason for staying here for a couple of days was to make sure the freezer was fixed and performing well. It turned out that we still had issues, but this time with the fridge. So it was back to Stay Kool in Port Hedland after a 5am start on Friday morning. By lunchtime, everything was up and running properly so early afternoon saw us on our way again.Read more

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    Afghan Well / Stanley Rest Area

    May 6, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    It was well into the afternoon when we left Port Hedland so after looking at Wiki Camps we chose a free camp called Afghan Well about 150 k's to the north. It's just a shady spot amongst trees well off the main rd, no facilities. Perfect for us. There was a lot of hornets hanging around, but harmless unless they felt threatened. Dave got a couple of quick stings because he stood on two of them that were sucking moisture out of a damp towel we had left on the doorstep. Apart from the initial pain in his foot there was no after affects. That's my hero. : -)

    Pizza for lunch!!! It was delicious. A reduced price Coles pizza dolled up with extras and cooked in the fry pan with a lid on. Worked a treat. :-)

    Spent the 6th May in the Stanley rest area on the Gt Northern Hway, about 250 k's south of Broome. Nice spot, set up for people on the road. Basically these rest areas are just flat ground with amenities that consist of a dump point for toilet cassettes and either flushing or composting toilets. Mostly composting. They also have undercover areas with tables and bench seating, picnic style. Sometimes they have gas stoves or wood fired BBQs. They also have rubbish disposal bins at the entrance. Some are "crap" and some are good. Stanley was particularly good.
    It was Dave's birthday so dinner had been planned in advance. We had bought some nice T/Bone steaks in Hedland. So the birthday boy wanted steak, Julie's crunchy potatoes, mushrooms and salad with toasted pepitos, pine nuts, sunflower and sesame seeds AND satay sauce. I made the satay sauce in the morning and toasted up the seed mix. Dinner turned out magnificent!!! And of course we had bought a nice wine to go with it. After dinner we walked over to the undercover area where we met "Uncle Rooster" and 4 German backpackers. Uncle Rooster is a down to earth Aussie with no shirt, almost bare feet (just thongs) and a long white beard. He's had lots of adventures travelling Australia and was a character to listen to. Somehow he met the German backpackers up in Weipa near Cape York and they became firm friends. They've been travelling together for 4 months and are on their way to Cape Leveque and then the the Gibb River Rd. We might run into them again as we are heading in the same direction, but at a much slower pace. The German kids visas run out in 6 weeks, then they have to return home.    Read more

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    Port Smith Caravan Park and Lagoon

    May 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    This park is on the coast about 140ks south of Broome. We were given a spot under tall shady trees right opposite the ablution blocks and laundry. These facilities were some of the best we've come across, clean and spacious. The first task for me was to wash the sheets and towels, while Dave did other things including chatting to a few passers by about how the place ticks.
    The Port Smith Lagoon is a tidal lagoon with big tides, therefore at low tide you can walk hundreds of metres out on the exposed sand bank and at high tide you can swim in the lagoon, or go fishing.
    High tide was at around 9am so we drove down and put the kayaks in. I paddled around amongst the mangroves while Dave and Putz (Phoebe) went fishing. After a couple of hours the tide was on its way out, so it was back to the truck for coffee and brunch - a toasted chicken, avocado and cheese sandwich. No luck with the fishing, but we were given a good sized Trevaly by a kind fisherman who goes out in his dingy everyday and has more fish than he needs, at least that's what he told us.
    We spent the following day, Tuesday, doing it all again, but this time Dave came home with the goods! He caught a Black Tailed Bream. By early afternoon it was goodbye Port Smith and we were on our way to Barn Hill Station.    Read more

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    Willie Creek

    May 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We made an impromptu decision to leave Broome late in the afternoon and made our way to Willie Creek, arriving there in the dark. In the morning we woke to see we were parked above the banks of the creek, it was low tide and the water was 5 or 6 metres metres below the rocky creek bed edge. Later in the morning we watched the tide come in and I was amazed at how quickly it moves. We did a tour of the Willie Creek Pearl Farm a couple of days later and were told that the tide moves in at about 30 kilometres an hour.
    We both tried our hand at fishing and I actually landed three fish, two only good for bait, and one bream big enough for brunch. We stayed here for 4 nights, and caught no more fish, but not for lack of trying!!

    On day two a local girl and two young guys (indigenous )turned up and drove right down onto the beach where it meets the rocks. Between them they caught 4 good sized bream and ate two of them there and then on a little fire they built alongside their 4 x 4 vehicle. They caught them with hand lines baited with squid and just dropped over the edge, no fancy rods or anything.
    Just before they left, one of the guys came over to us with two of the fish scaled and cleaned and asked if we wanted them. Naturally we said yes!!!
    He said they had already eaten two fish and they were happy to show some local generosity.

    The Pearl Farm Tour was pretty good, interesting to learn how a pearl is grown inside an oyster shell. The tour went for about 2 1/2 hours and involved showing us how and where an irritant is placed inside an oyster shell, then the shell is placed in racks and suspended in water in the right environment for about 2 years before a pearl is harvested.
    There was a cruise up and down the creek for as bit of sight seeing and to show us how they hang the oyster racks in the water and check them for cleaning.
    Finally a lesson on how they value the pearls according to the 5 rules, which are Size, Shape, Colour, Complexion and Lustre. One necklace he showed us cost a mere $35,000.    Read more

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    Barn Hill Station C/V Park

    May 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Barn Hill is situated on Thangoo Station, a working cattle station about 130ks south of Broome and right on the coast. This park is sitting high above the sea on big red sand dunes. We stayed 3 nights and enjoyed the place, but probably wouldn't return. Its a great place for fisherman who have a boat and there is quite a lot of retired people who pre book their spot and come back year after year for months at a time. There was heaps of mosquitos about so we were liberally applying repellant a couple of times a day.
    The beach is the main attraction. To get to the beach you need to walk a fair way along a dusty red track then climb down a wooden ramp and stair case built into the red sand dunes. I got a splinter up my fingernail from the railing and had to grit my teeth while Dave tortured me with pointy tweezers getting it out, a bit of a drama queen I am when it comes to pain. :-)
    We walked on the beach at both high and low tides. At high tide we watched a shark chasing fish and he swam within 30 metres of the shore, where a group of people were swimming. We heard the following day they were virtually beaching themselves while chasing the fish. You wouldn't catch me in there!!!! At low tide we sat in rock pools deep enough to cool down in and did the old grey nomad chat with other couples who were cooling off like us.

    The long term patrons spent a lot of time getting their bowling green ready for the "season". Apparently the long term'res take it quite seriously. Its one of the highlights of their entertainment along with their Sunday roast nights. The " season " starts about 1st June. These long terme'rs have planted veggie gardens, so we gave one of them our thyme, parsley and chives as we kept forgetting to use them. After a couple of days we decided to head towards Broome.    Read more

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    Broome

    May 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We arrived in Broome mid afternoon and began to understand why people love this place. It has a great feel to it and of course the weather is perfect. The visitor centre was the first port of call to get a town map and other brochures. There is a Horizontal Falls overnight houseboat tour that leaves from Derby which we wanted to do if we could find a place to leave Phoebe. The booking is done here in Broome, so armed with info on the tour and a phone no for the kennel in Derby we drove around the streets nearby until we found "The Roby" pub. Here we had a beer and set up Phoebe's overnight stay in Derby with the kennel owner by phone, before returning to make our booking at the visitor centre. This particular tour is a very popular one and to get the best out of it , you should do it on the highest tide possible. So the earliest we could get was the 30th May. Oh well, plenty of time to look around Broome and the Cape Leveque area.

    Broome is expensive and they don't like dogs, however we loved the place and were surprised at how big and busy it is. Haven't seen so much traffic since leaving Perth!

    Had to have a drink at Zanders overlooking Cable Beach, a beer for Dave and a lemon granita for me. The beach is beautiful and deserves its reputation, and I can see why people would want to spend a long time here.
    During a walk around Chinatown we found the Shady Lane Cafe and stopped here for lunch, Grilled Barramundi, Chips and Salad. Very nice!
    We visited the Port where you used to be able to fish from the very long jetty, but that has now been closed to public access, then a hair cut was in order for me as I was looking pretty wooly hehe. We also went to Bunnings. Who would have thought! A Bunnings in Broome! Dave just had to go and get his Bunnings fix. :-)    Read more

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    Gnylmarung near Beagle Bay

    May 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After Willie Creek we chose a spot shown on Wikicamps that we thought might suit us. The Gnylmarung Community was established in 1995, and is situated 30 kilometres off the main Cape Leveque Road on the western side of the Dampier Peninsular.

    There is about 20 camping sites, some with an ocean view, others are in shadier areas, and some are in secluded bushland. Wash-up sinks are provided at camp sites, along with good drinking water. Bush bbq's are provided and firewood is available for campfire cooking. There is a boat ramp and dedicated fish cleaning area.`Gnylmarung Retreat has clean ablution blocks with solar heated showers.
    There is also a laundry with a washing machine, and all we ask for is a gold coin donation per load.
    Dogs are welcome. $20 per person per night.

    I cheated with the last paragraph and copied and pasted it from their website. :-)

    In reality it is a very rustic place, with adequate facilities, lots of shade, as much fresh water as you want, a fabulous beach and a very few rules. The hosts Elfonse and Delma are really lovely people who were born and raised in nearby Beagle Bay Community, which we visited on the way here. Beagle Bay is a clean, tidy and "dry" aboriginal community, originally started by Trappist Monk Missionaries around 1890.
    It's late Friday afternoon as I write this and it brings the blog up to date. We plan to stay here for a while longer, just because we can and we love the place. :-). There is no mobile phone coverage, but we can connect to limited wifi.    Read more

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    Gnylmarung

    May 24, 2017 in Australia

    Well we are still here at Gnylmarung, this is our 9th day here. We originally planned to go further up this part of the coast and stay at a few more places and have a look around Kooljaman right at the top of Cape Leveque, but after a bit more research and chatting to other people that have done day trips from here, we changed our minds. No dogs are allowed up at Kooljaman, and they charge $5 per person to walk, on the beach and if you want to drive around, or down on the beach that'll cost another $25.
    Kooljaman at Cape Leveque is a wilderness camp which is owned by the two surrounding indigenous communities of Djarindjin and Ardyaloon (One Arm Point) making it 100% Indigenous owned. It has won many tourism awards and is therefore a magnet for tourists which also means it can get quite crowded. It is definitely on many people's bucket list, however we've been told by people doing day trips from here that it is not that special, and this place is as good, though without restaurants, and fancy ablutions.

    On our 2nd day here Dave and I paddled the kayaks up the bay for a few kilometres. At one point Dave caught a fish big enough to get a couple of fillets off. We pulled up on a sandy beach and lit a small fire to heat up the left over curry that we had brought with us. It was a nice way to spend half a day. The fish was eaten later that night for dinner.

    Dave has spent everyday doing some kayak fishing. He hasn't had a lot of success but one day pulled in a Bluebone of good size. There has been many bites and fights with various small to medium fish but they mostly seem to unhook themselves or break the line and take the rig. One day he had a fish on the line that had ducked under a ledge, it stayed holed up there for a while before it suddenly took off and the kayak flipped over tipping the intrepid fisherman and all his gear into the drink.
    He returned to camp and asked me to paddle back there with him to try and retrieve his gear, which included two fishing rods, a knife, a pair of pliers, a towel and his prescription sun glasses. So off we went with the snorkelling gear. The wind had become quite strong by then so we beached the kayaks and walked across rocks and reef to get as close as possible to where he thought he might find his stuff. I stood on the rocks while Dave went in with flippers, goggles and snorkel, it was rough with the waves crashing onto the rocks. He eventually found everything, and we returned to the camp for a bit of mud slinging from a few of the people we've befriended. It was brilliant that he got all his gear back.    Read more

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    Mud Crabs!!!

    May 26, 2017 in Australia

    We've met some lovely people here. There's Tony from Melbourne who comes here for 5 months each year and has become the resident helping hand and gardener for the duration of his stay. Carole and Doug from Herberton Qld who came for a week and stayed for 3. Luke, Yvonne and kids Alex 6, Emmy 4, and Hetty 4 (twins) from Melbourne are doing the 1 year lap, who also keep extending their stay here.

    Both Tony and Luke have boats, so a mud crabbing expedition was organised yesterday. Tony took Dave and Doug, while and Luke and family followed. Between them they came back with 10 Large Mud Crabs. It was decided we would get together at Doug and Carole's for a crab feast that night.
    The crabs were steamed in a large pot containing sea water, that was placed on a grill over hot coals.
    I made a loaf of bread, Carole made fried rice and Yvonne made tartare sauce. Neither Dave or I have had mud crabs before, and they were absolutely delicious!!!! Good food, good wine and good company made for an excellent evening.    Read more

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    Fish !!!!!

    May 27, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌫 8 °C

    If you have a boat you can catch a lot of fish around here. Fishing from the kayak hasn't been super successful, however the boats that go out always seem to come back with fish and plenty of them. So far we've seen Tuna, Mackerel, Bluebone, Giant Trevally, Mangrove Jack and Stripey Snapper. Those that catch the fish have been very generous and shared the spoils with us and others.

    We've been lucky enough to be given fillets of Mackerel, Giant Trevally, and Tuna as well as a whole Mangrove Jack. We've enjoyed sushimi a couple of times after being told how to prepare it by Luke, who is a dab hand at catching Tuna.

    This place really is paradise for fisherman, however if you want cafes, pubs, fancy ablution facilities, or even a shop then this ain't the place for you! You also need to contend with the really crappy badly corrugated Cape Leveque Road and of course plenty of mozzies and sand flies. But somehow we don't mind all that because the end result is worth it. We plan to come back around August September, because they say the bay has plenty of whales coming in to mate and calf.

    There are two photos below, one showing high tide, the other showing low tide both taken from the same spot. Dave paddled out in the kayak to a bouy located out in the bay at high tide, then walked out to the same bouy at low tide. I have marked him with a small ring in both photos, we did this to give some perspective to the size of the tides up here. With tides so dramatically different, it is critical to get the timing of launching and retrieving your boat correct otherwise you could be dragging your boat/kayak one hell of a long way.

    Today is our last full day here, as we are leaving tomorrow to head towards Derby, where we have the biggest thing on our bucket list booked "The Overnight Horizontal Falls Tour". We've had nothing but good reports about it so hope it justifies the expense.    Read more

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    Lenard River Rest Stop

    June 1, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

    (The following "footprints" were all uploaded at the same time on the 24th June, while we were in Wyndham. They accumulated offline while we had absolutely no reception.)

    Parked for lunch, but ended up staying till the following morning. Great spot. Water in the river and cherabin as well apparently. Just as we arrived we met some men who had been down in the river swimming and catching cherabin which are very large fresh water prawns. We had bought a cast net in Derby but didn't have any chook pellets (bait) so no cherabin fishing for us unfortunately. I'm looking forward to trying them one day. One negative here is the very fine dust, check out the photo of Phoebe. A wash for her before bed tonight I think!!Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the KimberleyThe Gypsies

    Derby and the Horizontal Falls

    June 1, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We arrived in Derby on Monday 29th May, and drove around town to get our bearings. We had a good look around, found the shopping area, (Woolworths and IGA), the visitors centre, the caravan park where we would be leaving the truck for our night away and the dog kennel.
    The worms were biting so we had lunch in little cafe - battered barramundi and squid, chips and and salad - very nice! Then it off to the Port to watch the tide come in for a while. We were lucky enough to see a big salty roaming his territory and catching some very large fish from our vantage point on the jetty. Apparently he's quite new in town and not that often sighted.
    We bought a intricately carved boab nut from a local aboriginal guy, he carved our names and the date in to the top of it. It's quite a work of art. See the photo.
    Tuesday morning we were collected from the caravan park and taken to the Derby airport to meet up with another 10 people who were doing the Horizontal Falls Tour with us. We boarded a seaplane and flew out over the mud flats to Talbot Bay in the Buccaneer Archipelago. We landed on the water and motored to the pontoon and houseboat that would be our playground and accommodation for the afternoon and overnight visit. We watched the young guys feeding Tawny Nurse Sharks and big Angel fish who come in from around the area for the feeding show. They are not caged but live in the area and respond to regular feeding and attention from the crew. They call them their pets and have names for them all.

    We were then taken out in a fast boat with four 300hp outboard motors attached to have a look around the beautiful scenery and then through the horizontal falls. Because the tide wasn't moving as fast as they hoped, and the daylight was fading fast, we were promised another boat ride the following morning when the tide would be piping through the gaps that create the falls.

    We returned to the houseboat for nibbles and drinks before a dinner of barramundi, greek salad, potato salad and beetroot salad. We spent the rest of the evening talking with the others, most of whom are travelling the Gibb River Road as well. There's a good chance we will run into some of them again.

    We were up at 6am for coffee with bacon, eggs, toast and cereal before another fast boat ride through the falls, and yes this time was more thrilling as we rushed through those small gaps. The smaller one being only 7 metres wide. On both the outgoing and the incoming tide, the water rushes through the gaps in the range, at 1 million litres per second!!!!

    It wasn't long before our seaplane arrived with our pilot, a young kiwi girl named Sonia, who told us she does 8 flights a day, some from Derby and some from Broome. The flight back was over the Buccaneer Archipelago and King Sound, absolutely stunning!!.

    It may be some time before I can update this blog because I believe there is very little reception available on the Gibb, so "au revior" until then.    Read more

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