Kunnunurra

We enjoyed the Bungles so much but soon it was time to leave Turkey Creek heading for Kunnunurra. We were not sorry to leave the roadhouse but the area is quite lovely. Very green and with such contrasting colors. There were just a few puddles in the creeks/rivers after some small rains in the past few days. We left quite early in the morning with just one of the locals saying farewell in a quiet sort of way.

The weather was mostly sunny with just an odd looking cloud here and there.

Kunnunurra greeted us via a large bridge crossing the diversion area over the Ord River. Still not 100% sure what that all means exactly but a lot of water is involved.
We soon found the Ivanhoe Caravan Park which is pristine and very well maintained. It was nice to have a bit of luxury and we booked into an en suite site. You come to appreciate your own Loo and shower that's for sure. 

 After settling into the site (which Lizzy and John now have down Pat) we took off for a tour of the town. 

Over the next two days we enjoyed looking at as many sights and places as we could fit in. Plenty of pictures to tell the story but we spotted a large croc at the Crossing but too scared to get too close for a decent close up picture. We could clearly see his outlines though as he waited patiently for the barramundi to swim upstream (or just some poor unsuspecting tourist to fall in). 



Ivanhoe Crossing




Cant quite see him but he IS there just waiting



This is as far as we go

This crossing is still in use and whilst there a couple of cars went across. The water was just under the door level and the road is just one car width wide. Very scary for me but they did get across OK.
The area has a lot of agriculture and one of the biggest things now is growing sandalwood on farms. There's quite a bit involved in growing sandalwood but it seems to have taken off. They must plant two host trees for each plant as sandalwood is actually a parasite.  We visited one of the farms and I did buy some lovely sandalwood products but funnily enough none of the shop products were from their crops. They still have another 3 years to go before the first crops are ready to be harvested. None the less we still enjoyed the visit and indulged in what was the best cappuccino and foccacia roll thing on this trip. It was Delicious! 
 Apparently they have decreased the mango crops too but everywhere we went there were mango trees either in orchard set ups or just growing on the side of the road. The trees were just DRIPPING in fruit but unfortunately it is too early for them to be picked much to my dismay.
There is a certain area that has a stone called ZEBRA rock and one of the local stone makers cuts and polishes in town (Longy). It is a most beautiful rock but I did not have my camera with me when we visited so if you would like to see pics it would be worthwhile clicking images in google as it is truly lovely rock.
There is also a distillery on the outskirts of town called the Hoocherie. They make their own rum there and I am told is a very good drop.
We visited a national park known as hidden valley. A smaller park but still very pretty and some good lookouts.

Another great lookout is Kelly's Knob. There is a memorial plaque at top of this point for the 3 young girls and pilot who died tragically over the Bungles a couple of years ago.




2 knobs at the lookout  ha ha





View from Kellys Knob





Memorial plaque. Very sad

 Just in town there is a park that has a plaque for every celebrity or person of note that has been there. They are invited to plant a tree next to the plaque and there were quite a few, about 50 or so. Some included Peter Brock, Baz Lurman and Rolf Harris. It was under Rolf's lovely tree that Lizzy asked me to investigate what the little nestlike structures were. When I reached up I soon found myself covered in large green and red ants who were not happy that I had disturbed them.



Just a few of the plaques




The huge boab



There is also the BIGGEST boab tree that I have seen on my travels and had to take a pic to show everyone just how large it was. The park itself is lovely, large and green and has a large lagoon to one side. The day was glorious and we really enjoyed the walk and looking
through the many plaques. 

We had a few rests in between taking in the sights and Lizzy was keen to get a coconut down but just a little too high....




How to retrieve a coconut?



Having a break. Notice the short haircut??

We visited the museum and looked at some local history. There was a great volunteer there who was only too happy to chat about things and tell us a couple of things to see on our travels, in particular "Gregory's tree" located on the track somewhere before Lake Argyle..

The day we left they had Paddy's markets on in town. We bought a few fruit and veg and some delicious sun dried tomato chutney thing.  I should have asked for the recipe. (Before coming in to Kunnunurra we had to chuck out all of our fruit and veg at the checkpoint. It was a bit heartbreaking as we had some full bags but I suppose better safe than sorry).  Lizzy found a sarong and me another book to read as I had almost finished reading "Honeymoon Dive". (A fascinating read). There were local arts and crafts too but a little pricey with one lady wanting $6,000.00  for a handmade quilt.




This dog was as comfortable as he could be.



Lizzy found the perfect sarong

 Kunnunurra is a great place and I would definitely visit and stay longer next time. It is a nice clean tidy place with its fair share of infrastructure and of course the mangoes. Thankfully for us the highest temp was 36 degrees while we were there as the few days prior to us getting there it was at the 40 mark and quite muggy. We seemed to have the best of the weather.
Next time we will visit Wyndham and John and I have already decided we will do the old Wyndham to Halls Creek road which was built in the 1890s or so and still has some of the original paving. We would also do the Gibb River Rd too.
I think that's all for now. I have probably forgotten a thing or 2 but will put in later if I do.
Hope everyone is doing well and bye bye from the Hinesies  for now xx
Love Son John n Lizzy xx

Halls Creek, Warmun (Turkey Creek) and the BUNGLE BUNGLES.

Arriving at Halls Creek on quite a warm day we proceeded to do the few things I had planned for this part of the world. I wanted to check out the "China Wall, check on some old acquaintances and say hello to "Russian Jack" as well as get a bit of a "feel" for what Halls Creek was really like. It's just a small town with high indigenous population who, once again, mostly gathered in groups around shady trees and park areas to sit and meet. The town itself is small but they had a visitor centre, an IGA and another small supermarket. We filled up on fuel and headed out to see the sites. Unfortuneately the bitumen ends and becomes rough gravel to the east which was where we were headed. There was no safe area to leave the van so towed it out 2 ks th the China Wall. Its aninteresting feature that is a natural quartz formation and looks like the Great wall of China in a very small form.

 Right next to it was a creek and picnic area however we were a little reluctant to go too far down to the water with the threat of "Salties" still ringing in our heads.

We stopped off to say hello once again to old friends. This is their final resting place and the cemetary is sadly lacking in maintenence however theirs was the best and neatest looking gravesite.

 We wandered through looking at old graves. You can learn quite a bit about a place whilst looking at old headstones. Usually you find the cause of death on the old ones and you get an insight into what went on in a town many years ago and the hardships they endured.

Russion Jack was a local who once wheelbarrowed his sick mate over 300 Kms to seek medical help. He was a true character of the area and the town honored him with this lovely statue located at the visitor centre.

We stocked up on a couple of things only as these small supermarkets usually charge a fortune and there are plenty of Coles and Woolworths at the larger towns.


We had thought we may leave the caravan at a stopping area near Spring Creek. Apparently a lot of travellers do when going out to the Bungle Bungles as you cant take the van out there with you. The 53 km jouney in to the visitor check in point is all gravel and very rough. It goes through quite a few creek beds and several boggy/rocky areas. Far too rough for a van or anything you are towing for that matter. As the nearest caravan park is another 50 ks away it is common to see many vans at the creek rest area. However we decided not to risk leaving the van there as there is no security and anyone can come and take it away. We were to wish we had though.
We travelled further up to Turkey Creek (Warmun) and secured a site at the back of the roadhouse. Apart from an aboriginal community (not open to general public access) there is just the road house. This tiny caravan park did have a pool though and at the end of the 37 degree day it was refreshing to jump into.  Sitting there at the end of the day with a drink was also good. :) 
The next day we took off to the Bungles. After having only read and seen many pictures, it was exciting to finally be going there.

The entry at the station leading in

Entering the Bungles at Purnurlulu

 True to word the road in was very rough and at some points the corrugation nearly shook the dashboard out of its sockets. It took about an hour and a half to get there and then it was another 27 ks to the actual domes of the bungles. But it was all well worth the trip as everywhere out there is just a wonder.

Cathedral Gorge

 The cathedral gorge was magical and I was reluctant to leave. It felt serene just to be in there. 

There are many tracks and walks to be done and many people camp there overnight. If I was going again, I definately would camp out for 2-3 days at least so as to see everything there is. They provide camping areas but no power.  The domes are made up of silica with a "skin like" outer covering. This is what gives them their colors. I thought that someone had dumped sand everywhere but it is from the bungle domes and when the skin is broken it comes away fairly easily.

On our return to the caravan park we were dismayed to find that the local congregation of ants had moved in. They were in every packet, bag or carton they could get into. They had eaten holes into the sealed rice bag We had to throw out over half of our packet food. Lizzy soon had them killed and washed out everything. They had come up the legs and through the water hose.  The next doors also came home to find the same thing.  Since then, no matter where we go we make sure we take as many precautions as we can to ensure that never happens again.
The fuel was the most expensive here so far but of course they know that you need it as the next fuel is Kununurra.  I am so glad to have finally seen the Bungles though and highly recommend them to anyone. There is also a scenic flight over but many people told us that after a few minutes you had seen most of it and you could never get the same appreciation as when you walk through looking closely at everything it has to offer. Even the wildflowers and butterflies were beautiful and you could never see that from the air.

Well next stop is Kununurra.
So hello to everyone. Keep on leaving all of your messages and thanks for your kind words. Its nice to hear from you all..... Take care
Lots of love
Sonia, John n Lizzy xxx