Lake Argyle to Ftizroy Crossing

Heading towards Kununurra today for supplies.  We found a Coles supermarket but they were almost out of stock of everything, so we got what we could and we were off.

Kununurra was a bit disappointing so we decided we wouldn't stick around and we would head in the direction of El Questro.

This is as close as we got to El Questro

We stopped at the head of the infamous Gibb River Road for a photo and we chatted to the guide of a group who had also stopped for a photo. 

 He informed us that the first section of road was bitumen but from the turn off to El Questro it was dirt all the way with a couple of shallow river crossings, he said it was pretty easy going, (but he did have a giant 4wd bus).

It started out ok, but this was just the start of it

So we decided to give it a go.  WRONG!  Not a good idea.  We made it for about one and a half kms and had to turn back otherwise shake the hell out of our vans.  The road was in a terrible way, very rough with lots of very deep corrugations, so no El Questro for us this trip.

Then it turned to gravel

Then rock



Then rock and water



Laurie crossing at least we gave it a go

Jeff crossing

Back on the highway heading towards Wyndham we started looking for our camp site for the night. we called into a place called The Grotto, another amazing crack in the earth.

The Grotto - is a magnificent gorge that provides a picturesque and safe swimming spot, croc free. the 120 metre cliff face drops into the water and becomes a spectacular waterfall during the wet season. There were 140 steep and dangerous looking steps down to the water, and as it was getting late we decided to give this walk a miss.



The steps are on the extreme left

We found a great free campsite by the Maggie Creek, it was almost a billabong.  It was so quiet and we had the whole place to ourselves.

The boys decided we needed to have a fire tonight and they went about collecting firewood, the only problem was that the only wood around was a dead tree.  Now that was quite hilarious watching them trying to break off a branch - you have to see the video - anyway they were successful in the end and we had a great fire.

Trying to break off the dead branch

We had lots of birds to keep us company, black cockatoos, crows, kites, a kookaburra and even a pair of brolgas flew in at dusk. But no other wildlife, not even a croc.

Today's trivia - did you know that crocodiles can't poke their tongues out?

Woke to another gorgeous morning after a Very cold night.

There were lots of roadtrains on the highway all night so in the morning we headed into Wyndham and drove down to the wharf to see what they were about.  It turns out they were carting iron ore to be transported overseas, China probably.

In Wyndham we visited the pioneer cemetery, they all died so young, it was a hard life in this part of the country at the turn of the century.

Back on the road, fuel and coffee stop at Turkey Creek, funny names up here, then a stop at a giant walk in Boab tree by the side of the road and Laurie just had to climb in for a photo opportunity.

Laurie in the Big Boab

By mid afternoon we were on the lookout for our next free camp, we are getting good at this now.

After a long day we found one at Leyster Free Camp, and as it was such a long way between camp spots there were a lot of vans here already. But we were lucky enough to find a couple of spots, as usual they were pretty good ones, and we relaxed right into it.

This camp was beside the Ord River and after setting up we took a walk down to the river. This must be a site when in full flood, there are markers on the road as to the depths.  There was also a huge boulder across the road stopping any vehicles from trying to cross.

The Ord River in the dry season

We left our campsite and it wasn't far into Halls Creek.

Halls Creek - one of only 2 towns on this long stretch, over 1,000 kms, of highway between Kununurra and Broome.

Halls Creek was the site of the first gold find in Western Australia.  On Christmas day 1885, prospector Charlie Hall found a huge 28 ounce (nearly one kilogram) gold nugget at a site that would eventually be named after him.

News of the discovery drew more than 15,000 people to the town to try their luck.  It proved an inhospitable land for these people and the graves of some can be found in the old cemetery.  The gold rush lasted less than 3 months and Halls Creek became a trading centre for cattle stations, aboriginal communities and miners who stayed in the area.

The town now consists of mainly a couple of streets.  There is a very well stocked supermarket, a bakery with great coffee, a real bush butcher, and a couple of other retail outlets as well as a very busy fuel stop.

The Main Street

They sure have a sense of humour

When we pulled into the main street we could have sworn we were at the caravan show at Caulfield Racecourse, there were that many vans here.

Some of the vans in the main street

We stocked up at the supermarket with what we couldn't get in Kununurra, had a coffee, fuelled up and we were on our way again.

We arrived in Fitzroy Crossing after a long day, and pulled into Fitzroy River Lodge and Caravan Park, a huge park with lots of lovely shadey sites.

Fitzroy Crossing
Set on the banks of the mighty Fitzroy River this is a true outback town. It was built in 1897 as a shanty town and trade store for long distance travellers.

The town owes it's existence to the Fitzroy River, and it is the second of only 2 towns on the long highway between Kununurra and Broome.

You can see by the bank on the right how low the river is

Every wet season the river swells into a formidable torrent.  It can rise up to 13 metres above the old crossing and flow at 30,000 cubic metres per second.

The Fitzroy in flood is one of the largest rivers in the world and an awesome site to see, not that many travellers get the chance.

In the past the river was often difficult or impossible to cross. Travellers had no choice but to pull up at the infamous Crossing Inn and wait for the waters to recede, and drink lots of beer while waiting.

These days there is a highway and bridge further south, and the whole town shifted south as a result.  Today Fitzroy Crossing is a welcoming, pleasant little township with a mostly Aboriginal population.

We walked across the bridge to get a good view of the river and we met an old Aboriginal man, Roscoe Smith, an old drover and rodeo rider.  He told us about the rodeo that was in town and some stories of his riding days.  He wanted us to take a photo with him.  What a character he was.

Mr Roscoe Smith
 

In the reception area of the lodge there was a great photographic display of the most recent floods when the river had burst it's banks and the whole park was under metres of water.  This was so hard to imagine when you see how low the river is right now.

Again see how low it is right now