Mount Isa

We again stayed in Mount Isa, this time at the Sunset Caravan Park after stopping at the WW2 Rest Stop for morning tea.  Shopping at Woolworths was a bit of a challenge - they were renovating, so things were in a bit of a mess, and the freezers almost empty, but we managed to purchase what we needed.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch again at Lake Mondarra - so peaceful - just a few kms out of town.

Next day we went to the School of the Air, to watch the school in progress - we tried on our last visit, but it was closed as the children were at camp.  It was very interesting and our time there went very quickly.  I had broken a tooth, so made an appointment with the local dentist who made a very good temporary repair job on it.

                                     Windmill 40 kms from Camooweal

                               Christmas in July at Terry Smith Lookout

Dinner on our last night there was at the Buffs Club, we had planned on going to the RSL, but were told that they didn't serve dinners there, so we had enjoyable meal in the Bistro and then coffee in the Coffee lounge later on.

We stopped at the Mary  Kathleen Park for morning tea on our way to the Terry Smith Lookout Rest area where we planned on having a "free camp".   We cooked a chicken and vegies in the campoven and Gloria had the table all set up for a "Christmas in July" dinner. When that was cooked, I baked a Sticky Date Pudding in the camp oven which was quite a success - for a first time - and after dinner about 20 campers joined us to sit around the campfire and chat.

We bought petrol at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse and had morning tea there in the garden, before heading to the Bang Bang Rest area where we had another "free camp".

Camooweal

We had stayed at the Billabong on the way over, and decided to stay 2 nights this time - it was so peaceful - water lilies on the water and a multitude of birds flying around, and ducks on the water ducking for fish - it was such a pretty spot - bad luck that there isn't somewhere like that nearer to home-

We called in at the Pub for a drink and ended up staying for a Pizza dinner there.

                                          Rick at the Drovers Shed

Camooweal Billabong

Next day we had decided to visit the Drovers' Shed - what an amazing place, and amazing stories of the old Drovers and how they moved the cattle from one place to another - now it's almost all done by road train - the drovers would be out in the areas for up to 13 months at a time, what stamina !  Rick sat on the Bul and had his photo taken .
 After that we called in at the Post Office/General store/Coffee shop and enjoyed some afternoon tea.

Katherine and Katherine Gorge

We spent 3 nights in Katherine after stopping at Victoria River Roadhouse ( where we again saw neighbours from Wheeler Heights - we had seen them at El Questro already). After some washing and cleaning of vehicles etc, it was mainly a restful time.  We drove out to the Katherine Gorge - we intended hiring canoes, but the crocodiles were still present, so that wasn't allowed - we had a picnic under the shade of some trees ( some of the trees were absolutely covered in bats, so we avoided them) and again we saw Phil and Nadia and they had some friends from Sydney with them, as I got out of the car, the lady said -"You're Mrs Dawes' daughter !" - it was Cheryl May from Bill Buckles at Brookvale - just goes to show, you are never away from everyone. !

We left Katherine and drove to the Dunmarra Caravan park where we stayedin an unpowered site, and enjoyed company when we lit a campfire after dinner.  Rick and Dick installed a brand new Speedqueen Washing machine which had been sitting in it's box all week - the previous one was full of green water and frogs.

Stopping at Renner Springs for petrol, we discovered they had some freshly baked bread ( baked on the premises) so we bought some for lunch when we stopped at Helen Springs.  That night we stayed in a rest area at Attack Creek - Stuart Memorial where we again had a campfire and other campers joined us.  One particlular old chap 79, Keith Hall, had lots of stories to tell us.

Next day we called at Tennant Creek for some petrol and supplies( bananas were $15 per kg !) and then had a picnic lunch just outside of the town at Mary Anne Dam, before heading to Barkley Homestead for the night.

El Questro

                                      Durack Tree at El Questro

                                       Water Crossing at El Questro

                                           From Branco's Lookout

                                                Zebedee Springs

Kununurra WA

                                      Beside Lake Kununurra

                                     Ivanhoe Crossing - Kununurra


We returned to Kununurra where we had left the caravans and stayed another couple of days.

The Ivanhoe Crossing was advised to us to visit - we found the crossing of the Ord River impossible to cross, the summer rains were still flowing - some people were trying their luck to fish there.

Bungle Bungle

Campsite at Bungle Bungle

 
 Bungle Bungle from Helicopter

                                               Cathedral Gorge - Bungle Bungle

                                           Bungle Bungle

                                         Kingfisher at Bungle Bungle campsite

                                         Bungle Bungle from Helicopter

Bungle Bungle

We had been looking forward to a trip to the Bungle Bungle for quite a few years, and now the  dream was to come true.  We packed the vehicles with tents, folding blow up beds, mattresses, water, food, cooking gear, gas stoves, kettles, and everything we would be needing for 3 nights camping in the areas designated.  There was no way we could take the caravans into this area, as it was we had almost 100 watercrossings, some just small amounts of water and  others the water was a lot deeper.

We set up our tent, ( borrowed from Jenny) and watched Dick putting his together - he had it all layed out, and to his amazement, he had forgotten to pack the poles.  Luckily the "Host" had recently found a set of poles left by a recent camper which they were able to "make do" to put up the tent.

Next morning we drove  to the airport to see about getting a Helicopter flight, and we were lucky enough to get the next flight.   It was MAGIC !!!  It was just unbelievable how wonderful these rock formations looked from the air, and so close !   We had a half hour trip all over the area and back and saw so much of the Domes etc.

In the afternoon we drove to the Domes and walked around them, then to Cathedral Rock.

Next day we drove to Mini Palms and Echidna Gorge and after the guys walked through the gorges we had a picnic lunch before returning to the Visitors centre where we purchased a book of photos of the Bungle Bungle to keep as memento of our visit.

Wyndham

From Kununurra we drove to Wyndham, about 100 kms, to the 5 Rivers lookout, from where we could see where all the rivers joined and flowed into the sea.
We enjoyed Fish and chips at the local Hotel and also bought some prawns from the markets there.
On the way back we stopped to admire the Zebra Rock and enjoyed a Devonshire Tea at the Cafe there. We also found a market selling local Bananas for $6.00 kg, so we bought some - they were $15.00 kg in the local supermarkets.

Kununurra

We left Lake Argyle and arrived in Kununurra and stayed at theKimberleyland Caravan Park - when we arrived we had to adjust our time 1 1/2 hours back, so our morning went very quickly. There was a good shopping centre there,so we stocked up on supplies.
Next day we went to El Questro - stopping firstly at Emma Gorge to register into the park then walked up to Zebedee Springs where some of us went for a dip in the pools there.
We then drove to Chamberlain River where we crossed over driving on a multitude of rocks and boulders in the water -up to Branco's Lookout from where we could see the river from above. There were many Boab trees and Kapok trees with their pretty yellow flowers.  The Durak tree was a huge Boab tree marked with messages, then we drove through Explosion Gorge.