Kununurra

Broome – Kununurra:  2-3 August [492 km to Fitzroy Crossing;  657 km to Kununurra]

[Note:  Our journey to Fitzroy Crossing included driving 92 km into Derby and return to the Great Northern Highway]

We got away from Broome by 8.00 on a very warm morning.  We reached the mighty Fitzroy River and the Willare roadhouse in good time and, after morning tea, we drove into Derby to have a bit of a look (as we didn’t get the opportunity during our tour two weeks previously).  Derby has some very long streets and its main street has a line of boabs and gums down the middle:  it is a very impressive streetscape.  Chaunticleer wanted to meet some boabs as well so we arranged that at Willare!

 

We enjoyed reliving our Outback Spirit route and, in particular, seeing the boabs gradually appear as we drove north.  They are such fascinating trees – they never fail to intrigue us with their various shapes and the fact that a small number have leaves while most are bereft of leaves.  We also turned the corner onto the Gibb River road so that we could say that we actually ‘drove the Gibb’ and in a car that was not 4WD!  Whoopee!

We arrived in Fitzroy Crossing by early afternoon:  just before reaching town, we passed the road leading off to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge National Parks – bringing back memories of our tour a week previously.  We booked into the Fitzroy River Lodge (which is right alongside the Fitzroy River – and some hundreds of kilometres from where we’d seen the river at Willare that morning), enjoyed a refreshing swim, had an excellent dinner in the restaurant and prepared for our long day through to Kununurra.

After a great sleep, we were on the road just after 7.00 am.  Today would be a long and sometimes tedious journey but that is the nature of this country.  In the event, we had a smooth run and arrived in Halls Creek for morning tea:  much of the country is very flat as, to the south, there is the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert.  Indeed, just outside Halls Creek, we passed the turn off to the iconic Tanami ‘Road’.

From Halls Creek, we started to drive through increasingly hilly country as we encountered small mountain ranges.  It was interesting with the contrast in driving – with hills and corners coming thick and fast.  Just before we stopped for lunch at Warmun (or Turkey Creek), we passed the track into Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungles.  Again, we were reminded of our tour trip along this very rough track a week or so previously.

As an aside:  we recalled that, when Ken and Marlene drove this highway in 2011, they encountered some washed out sections where their car bottomed.  At that time, the road was suffering after the incredible wet season of 2010-11.  The good news now is that the road is fully repaired and, in a number of places, improved.  So, when you drive it again, Ken and Marlene, it will be in much better condition!

We did enjoy seeing lots of boabs as well as many patches of the bright yellow kapok bush in full flower.  Nearer to Kununurra, there was some water in the water courses – such as with the Durham River:  what a lovely sight.  Then Lake Kununurra came into view and we relaxed in our cabin with the lake right at our door.

Tonight, the caravan park put on a sausage sizzle on the banks of the lake, where a number of caravan dwellers and cabin dwellers came together to eat and talk with each other and share where they had been or where they were about to go.  This was a great idea – and it was enjoyed by many.

Kununurra:  4-5 August

We had a great cabin - right on Lake Kununurra.  The reflections on the Lake in the early morning, before the wind blew up, were tremendous. The sunset across the Lake had some superb colours of blues and pinks.

 

 

 

Our couple of days in Kununurra were spent relaxing, catching up with domestic activities and wandering around the local region.  First up, however, was to go to church at St James on Sunday morning.  We had been looking forward to worshipping with Gary and Nikki Alexander, especially after their recent visit to Canberra to talk about their ministry in Kununurra.  It was great to be with them and their very vibrant congregation (a mix of locals, with lots of children) and visitors.

Later in the afternoon, we spent a lovely couple of hours with Gary, Nikki and Thomas at the Pumphouse restaurant – enjoying the warm afternoon sun and feeding the fish in Lake Kununurra.  We also had a number of visitors in the evenings who were most interested in the insects flying near our lights.

 

Shopping also took up a bit of time:  after all, this is one of the major diamond producing areas in the world.  Sometime later, we had a number of diamonds in our possession, along with various other ‘goodies’.  There are those who would say we had a very productive time;  the good news (at least for Tim) is that we avoided the diamonds with lots of noughts after the first number!

We relaxed during the afternoon, before we enjoyed a barramundi burger dinner – with beaut wild barramundi – put on by the caravan park.  There were lots of people sitting along the edge of the water and we spent a great couple of hours chatting and eating as the sun set over Lake Kununurra.