Kununurra, Northern Territory

A visit to Lake Argyle was on the "must do" list for this long trip but Kununurra showed up on my first draft itinerary simply because, at thirty seven kilometres from the State border where we had to leave all fruit, vegetables and honey, it was the only place where we could replace these items. 

As I became immersed in researching the town it soon became clear that this would not merely be a shopping stopover. My travel companions were very interested in Kununurra for two reasons. One is a retired engineer who, when our children were young, took them to see hydro power schemes, dams and irrigation systems in every country we visited. Now retired, gardening and home production of a wide variety fruits and vegetables is his passion. The other has recently acquired a hobby farm acreage where he and his family are already developing and interesting mix of cool climate fruits and nuts with poultry, sheep and alpacas to follow. My interest came from viewing the beautiful images of the landscapes of very scenic hills, boab trees, coloured rock formations and the like.

Ord River at Kununurra

 Kununurra was born out of the Ord River Irrigation Area plan that is now irrigation the north east part of the Kimberley and has turned the land from a dust bowl in the dry season to very fertile fruit and vegetable farming. Briefly, this was done by damming the 650km long Ord River forming an artificial lake, Lake Argyle. Kununurra grew as the business centre for this massive project and is now an attractive town with many services, including a TAFE, I noticed. It gained some fame as the near location of the movie Australia, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman.

Boab Tree

 In contrast to the thousands of kilometres of dry, almost parched land we had travelled through on this trip, Kununurra was so very lush, with water plentiful and clear. Bright skies, vivid colours, kilometres of lines of vegetables kaleidoscoping, swirling as we drove along the almost deserted roads.

One day we decided to follow the irrigation canal as far as it extended only to turn back way past the point shown on google earth as the end. Maybe the road, minus service stations, might end up back in the Northern Territory!

On our left, the irrigation canal brought water to the crops. 

Irrigation canal, East Kimberley

On another day we ambled around the town visiting the tourist locations. First stop was Oria Orchards on Packsaddle Road where we saw the biggest papayas we've ever seen. The grower informed us that they were not at all sought after, being just too big for use in the city hotels, his number one customer group. Here, we couldn't resist the chocolate iced banana!

Papayas at Oria Orchards

Papaya farm, Saddleback Road

 Our next stop was at Zebra Rock Gallery and Cafe. Here we browsed the interesting striped rock pieces, aboriginal dot paintings and curios.

Zebra Rock Gallery

You can enjoy your afternoon tea or lunch in the picture perfect outdoors and then take a short stroll to the banks of the River Ord. 

Zebra Rock Gallery, Kununurra

Many people feed the catfish they are a thick, vigorous, seething mass at your feet.
[If you are suitably equipped, fit and self sufficient you can have an adventure bush camping at Zebra Rock Mines. We couldn't manage that so it's on my list for another life!]

Catfish in the Ord River

Another interesting place was the Sandalwood Factory fifteen minutes down the road from the town. Here we watched an informative video about the growing of the trees and production of the distinctive perfumes and oils. This is a truly lucrative business with few places in the world being able to sustain trees and the demand for sandalwood oil being so high. Just down the road we passed a part of the sandalwood plantation however visitors there were not welcome. Pity. I would hve liked to take a close look at these trees that produce such an appealing aroma.

Sandalwood trees

Another lovely spot was at Ivanhoe Crossing. This was closed and a few solitary people were fishing close to the water despite the crocodile warning signs.

Ivanhoe crossing

Next stop is Lake Argyle!

A day trip from Kununurra to Wyndham

" Western Australia - A Great Place " the sign at the border had proclaimed ! We agreed! Kununurra had proven to be such an interesting place that we had extended our stay and decided to spend a day driving to Wyndham, the most northern town as well as the oldest, in Western Australia. While planning our itinerary I had read several blogs saying that a visit there was a waste of a day however new acquaintances in our holiday park had sung its praises so off we went.

The Grotto

We were not disappointed. Our first stop some seventy kilometres from Kununurra was the Grotto. In the wet season there is an awesome waterfall, we had been told, so I was looking for hills for the water to fall down. There seemed to be not a hill in sight when we rounded a bend and met a sign "Grotto." A left turn took us up a bit of a hill to a rocky plateau. Initially it looked like the area had been paved with slate tiles! Where was the waterfall and bottomless pool of crystal clear water we had been told about?

Steps down to the Grotto Pool

A short walk over the rocks revealed a deep fissure in the earth with steep vertical cliffs. To get to the water, steps had been cut out of the rocks, cemented in places. One hundred and forty of them. I watched as a young couple slowly climbed the last set, arriving very hot at the top and saying that the water experience was well worth the steep climb back. If I had been a few decades younger I wouldn't have hesitated going down myself!
[The Grotto is seventy kilometres from Kununurra and thirty kilometres south of Wyndham.]

Fires, spontaneous or of the precautionary burning of fuel type, had been a common sight for us on this trip. While in Kakadu we had been told of the birds of prey that picked up embers and dropped them in unfired areas then hovering to pick up the small mammals and reptiles that fled from danger. A great hunting strategy!  Here we were able to stop the van to watch these wonderfully clever birds in action.

No escape for small animals fleeing the fire

Wyndham began life in 1860s as a result of the Gold Rush at Halls Creek. Then it was a busy port with boat loads of gold miners arriving, heading first to some of the six pubs before leaving to seek their golden fortunes. The Halls Creek gold rush was a very short one and Wyndham soon became a small, cash poor town, existing to service the new pastoralists.

Lookout Hill - Wyndham

Our interest in Kununurra and Lake Argyle was an engineering one - the building of the Ord River Dam in the 1960s. This massive water harnessing project created Kununurra and breathed life again into Wyndham, which took up its former role of port and supply centre. By the 1980s the dam construction was completed and things had again become quiet in Wyndham. We felt its silence as we stood at the lookout and gazed across the now grassy covered mudflats.

Cambridge Gulf, Wyndham

 Wyndham is the point where five rivers, the Durack, Pentecost, King, Forrest and the Ord merge, flowing into the Joesph Bonaparte Gulf and the Timor Sea. Today the mudflats stretched mostly waterless before us, leaving us to create our own images of the five rivers in full force, filling the vast mudflats with the tremendous energy that rejuvenates life here in this often dry and dusty country.

How amazing it would be to see that!

Wyndham

On the road Katherine to Kununurra, Western Australia

Katherine is a busy regional centre, especially  during the dry season when thousands of tourists like ourselves, along with the grey nomads, stop at one of the seven or more camping grounds. At this time, a camp site is not easy to find and we ended up with one the back perimeter of a nice one but with a long walk to access the amenities. That's the price of enjoying freedom travelling!

Victoria Highway

We were soon cruising happily towards the west on the Victoria Highway, our destination for the day being Kununurra in Western Australia. Controlled burning was evident along the highway as well as spontaneous fires, perhaps started by windblown embers. At these places we came across some small marsupials, a couple of snakes and larger lizards on the road but happily we did not add to their problems. Where fires were still flaming, birds of prey circled, grabbing the small animals as they tried to escape death.

A constant warning and reason not to go ahead with our trip from almost all of our friends was that the road trains were humongous, drove as if they were the only vehicles on the road and we would certainly be at least terrified, if not killed. In reality, we saw relatively few road trains, only two in the whole 17,000 km trip that had five wagons, all drivers were courteous, let us pass indicating on a hilly part that the way was clear and were happy to chat while waiting for coffee at a roadhouse. That we were towing a unique little caravan may have added interest to their trip as quite a few of them gave us a toot, even as they sped past while we were off road at a rest site.

Victoria River Roadhouse

The Victoria River and the Gregory National Park offer walks, bird spotting, river cruises and other activities however, with limited time, we regretfully had to continue. For those with more time, the Roadhouse also had a well grassed, well equipped camp ground. Reasonably priced too, at $12.50 pp for a powered site. The setting was quite spectacular with the mountains and red earth on both sides and the only permanent river in the area cruising through.

Victoria River

Some ninety kms further down the road we stopped again at Timber Creek Roadhouse to refuel. Diesel was nearly $2 a litre!

Timber Creek Roadhouse, Northern Territory

Saddle Creek, a further one hundred and seventeen km from Timber Creek was our lunch stop. Saddle Creek is a popular free camp boasting pit toilets with BYO loo paper, water, covered tables, fire pit and rubbish bins. We arrived there around 1.30pm and it was almost full of caravans of all descriptions nestled in the shady spots, their occupants gathered for a chat and to scratch their heads at our ensemble of Toyota LWB van, self converted to a camper and Teardrop caravan towed behind.

Saddle Creek, free camping

There is another free camp in this area the Jarrnarm Campground in the Keep River National Park. We weren't keen to take the thirty km dirt road to get to it so we carried on towards the State Border. I do think that the Keep River National Park would be a great place to explore however, given that we are not nomads, grey or otherwise, with a timeless itinerary we had to prioritise our itinerary and activities.

Western Australia - Northern Territory Border

The border crossing was like an invisible line drawn in the sand. Flat red - yellow sandy soil holding scrubby trees some housing what seemed like hundreds of squawking galahs.

Galahs

Galahs are also known as rose breasted cockatoos and you can see them in most places in Australia, including our neighbourhood where they seem to chase off the smaller parrots. I've heard the expression, "Don't be a big galah! "said to someone who was being very strident and rowdy. I guess it comes from the raucous racket made by just a couple of these birds.

Galahs

Fruit, vegetables , honey and so on cannot be brought across the border so, while at Saddle Creek we had emptied our fridge and boxes of these items. After the friendly customs lady located a lost carrot we were soon wheeling the last few kilometres to Kununurra where we planned to stay for two nights.

Lake Kunnurra

Happily we had arrived early enough in the day to secure a shady campsite beside the lake at Lakeside Resort.

Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory

After a very pleasant day in Litchfield National Park and a relaxed evening at our camp at the Adelaide River Showgrounds we refueled our van and picked up our journey southwards on the Stuart Highway. This was a very easy drive and we were soon back at Pine River, ready for a comfort stop and morning tea.

Pine Creek Railway Resort

Remembering the very excellent lunch we had enjoyed at the Pine Rivers Railway Resort on our way north we were soon inside appreciating the aircon and very pleasant surroundings.

Barramundi Burger

Crumbed Barramundi

Our next stop was, once again, at Katherine where we refueled and stocked up on groceries. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have stayed here and made a day trip to the Katherine Gorge however we planned to stay three nights in the Nitmiluk camp ground to allow plenty of time to take some of the easier walks and cruise the gorges. This plan was soon abandoned when we were directed into the extremely crowded caravan section where the spaces allocated were mere car parks. Yes. Slightly longer but not at all wider. Officials were constantly making their rounds admonishing those who dared to hang a towel to dry. Even without the three school groups that were camped out in the open in the central grassy area, the ablutions blocks would have been inadequate. At 11pm, after an hour of waiting, we gave up waiting, in the long line which extended well out of the bathroom area, for a shower and went to bed unwashed. When I awoke at 2am feeling hot and uncomfortable I thought that I could have a shower then. Wrong! Teenage girls were occupying the showers, having an enjoyable holiday chat while fixing their hair! They were happy enough to accommodate me when I asked that, if they were not in a hurry, could I please go next for my shower.

This park, minus the peak time crowds, would be a lovely place to stay.

Nitmiluk [ Katherine Gorge]

In the evening we took a three gorge sunset cruise. At one point we had to disembark and walk a well signposted path on the rocks to board a second boat. The process was repeated on the way back. This would be impossible for anyone with mobility issues.

Escarpments Katherine Gorge

The cruise was a very tranquil event. We came across some people taking a dip then, a short distance later, we saw a couple of crocodiles on a sandbank, enjoying the last of the sun. Brave people!

Others were canoeing back to base after what must have been a lovely day exploring the gorges - there are thirteen of them.

Nitmiluk, Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory

small kangaroos at Nitimiluk National Park

After just one night we obtained a refund for two nights and went on our way  back into Katherine.

Litchfield National Park

I can tell you that a small town, with the unlikely name of Humpty Doo, is the place to go if you need some help with unexpected toothache or any medical emergency while you are in the Kakadu area! Although the dentists were completely booked out for several days, concerned staff phoned around the Darwin dentists and soon offered the afflicted traveller two options for appointments later in the afternoon. We took the nearest one since we had not planned on going to Darwin at all and, by lunchtime, we were checking in at Howard Springs Campground on the southern border of Greater Darwin where,  once again, we came across the couple from Geelong, Dave and Willi. Unfortunately for them, their vehicle had a serious problem and they had to wait several days for a part to be brought from Alice Springs. This longer than planned stay was not bothering them too much as it meant that they had more time to explore - by public transport.

With the offending tooth extracted, we left early the next day and began our southward journey, arriving at Adelaide River Showgrounds Camp in the afternoon. This campground had all the facilities we needed, [ we even got to park our caravan under a shade top] a resident caretaker who offered ideas and opinions on what we could see in the area. A polo competition was to be held in Darwin the next week and the opposite side of the showgrounds was lined with huge caravans and horse floats. It was very pleasant to sit in the late afternoon shade, cool drinks in the hand, watching  the competitors practicing on the oval. Once again our distinctive Teardrop caravan brought admirers and provided us with some interesting travel tales and recommendations!

Magnetic Termite Mounds, Litchfield National Park

The next morning we went back up the highway a short distance to Batchelor and then into Litchfield National Park. Many people prefer to spend time here, rather than in Kakadu, and I can see the attraction. Compared to Kakadu, Litchfield is very compact, has mostly easy bitumen roads, several water falls where you can take a dip - once they have been checked and resident crocodiles removed after the wet season. If you are reasonably young, or older but fit, there are several walks that could easily add some lovely lazy days to your stay. As we had one person recovering from dental surgery and another with an inconsiderate knee that didn't like coming down steps or slopes, we settled for a whirlwind drive to sample the attractions. 

Magnetic Termite mound

In Australia "white anting" is used as a verb to describe a person who uses subterfuge and underhand tactics to bring down another person. Recently I heard one of our recent former leaders described in the social media as "the greatest White Anter of all time." I offer no personal evaluation of that comment, but merely report it as an illustration of how white ants feature in our landscape, environmentally and politically!

Actually, the termite is known as a "white ant" because its skin is so thin that you can see through it. This thin skin also means that it is so very sensitive to the sun and, as the region receives a massive rainfall during the summer months each year, these termites need to build their mounds above ground level. Also, in order to capture optimum conditions it builds its mound with a North-South orientation thereby ensuring that one side is always in the shade.

Termite Mounds, Litchfield National Park

My question as to why these termite mounds were called "magnetic" was explained at the Information Board. The mounds are made by the blind worker termites so the scientists tested a theory that they did not use the sun to align the mounds North-South but instead had an inbuilt magnetic compass. To test this theory the scientists, artificially changed the magnetic field and the termites then realigned their mounds.

Florence Falls, Litchfield National Park

Driving around Litchfield National Park is easy with flat stretches alternated with low rolling hills. We were on one of the flat stretches when we came across the sign pointing to Florence Falls. I was somewhat puzzled as there seemed nowhere for water to actually fall, had there been any sign of water. Down the road we went . . . and heard . . .water! To get down to the pool there were a hundred steps. It looked like a lot of fun below!

Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park

Wangi Falls was far more accessible so we enjoyed a cooling dip before enjoying lunch, watched by many birds of prey.

And the debate Litchfield versus Kakadu?  

Our conclusion is that Litchfield is easily accessible, a lovely place to swim at the base of waterfalls, has some enjoyable walks, excellent camping spots, lots of bird life and is a great place to enjoy the beauty of the landscapes.

Kakadu has all of the above, minus the safe swimming holes, but in addition it has its own unique spirit - the enduring spirit of the First People of Australia. There we met the people and understood how they are owned by their country, duty bound to protect it forever. There we heard the stories from the dreamtime and the relevance today of  lessons illustrated on the walls of the ancient cave dwellings.

From Kakadu we came away, our spirits having been awoken. 
Yes. For us, Kakadu is a truly special place.

Ubirr, Kakadu National Park

For the last days of our time in Kakadu we moved to Kakadu Resort in Jabiru to make it easier to explore the East alligator region. Covering almost 20,000 square Kilometers,  Kakadu National Park is about eighty percent savannah woodlands and also encompasses wetlands, rainforests, billabongs, floodplains, coastal beaches, escarpments and . . . the Alligator Rivers, South, West and East. There are no alligators in Kakadu! The rivers were named in 1818 by one Phillip Parker King, a seemingly unimaginative Englishman who mistook the crocs for alligators.

 Ubirr, forty two kilometers from Jabiru, is in the East Alligator region and borders on Arnhem Land. It is the traditional lands of the Bunidj, Manilagarr, Murrwan and Mandjurlgunj people. Our guide,  young Aboriginal man who lives on his traditional land, quietly met us at the beginning of the track and that was the start of a deeply moving experience for us. What knowledge, humility, respect for his country and people, what patience in dealing with thoughtless questions he displayed. His dignity and maturity was an example to all.

An inspirational young guide

At the end of  his presentation I asked if I could take his photo the young man said he wanted one with me. Although I hate having my photo taken I could hardly refuse. I show it now, at the beginning of my story because this young man had a profound effect on many of us on this day.

It was with pride that he explained that his clan was represented on the Land Council that was ensuring that his country was being respectfully cared for and being shared with all who came to explore it and to learn about its ways. He explained that one of his clan was a member of this council and that one day his own turn would come to take on that responsibility. I am sure that he will do a great job when his time comes.

What a spellbinding story teller he was! Most of the large group were captivated with the images he evoked with his soft, thoughtful language and careful indication of where to look to see the characters he was describing. The stories he told were of a cautionary nature, illustrating why the people needed to abide by the clan laws and what would happen to them if they didn't. As he talked I realised how important these laws were for the survival of the families who were reliant on nature to provide for their every need as well as to guard against the dangers their country held for them.

One area was an outdoor classroom area where children were taught the laws of their clan and the land.

Mabayu

The photo above is a painting of Mabayu. You can see his spear, dilly bag and spear thrower. His story is a cautionary one about the consequences of sneakily taking something that does not belong to you and it was told something like this. I will try to tell it as it was told to us.

One day Mabayu was fishing near the East Alligator river. It was a good day. There were many fish and as he caught each one he placed it carefully on a pile on the river bank. A greedy person was watching this and, when Mabayu was not looking she crept up and stole all the fish. Mabayu came up from the river and saw his fish were gone. He went looking for them and smelled them cooking on a fire in a cave. He hid and watched all the people eating his fish. That night he blocked the entrance to the cave with a big stone and all the people were shut inside. No one could get out. Not one. So, behave properly and do good behaviour. Don't take anyone else's fish.

Battle between clans

Then there was the story of the girl who ate Barramundi at the wrong time, breaking the traditional laws. When she was punished too severely there was a battle between the clans and many, many people died. So, don't do the wrong thing or many other innocent people may suffer your consequences. A common punishment was to be speared in the leg. This would be life threatening not only because of infection but because the person would not be able to move around to be safe from harmful things or to find food and water.

Barramundi. Paintings were often done on top of others. We were told that the painting itself was not as important as the act in creating it.

Then there were the two Mamarrgarn Sisters who were playing string games down by the river. One of them stood in the water at the mouth of the East Alligator River. She knew how to turn herself into a crocodile, so she did. Then she turned herself back to a sister.

Her sister was watching and she asked, "Can you show me how to do that?" 

So they went to a fresh water spring and the second sister learned how to turn into a crocodile. Then they both changed into a saltwater crocodile and stayed like that. Nowadays there are palms around that spring grew from the sister's teeth which they pulled from their mouths and planted. As crocodiles the sisters always know where their food is because of the large ridge scales on their backs. They are special sensory powers that tell where dinner is, even under water.

Long Necked turtle, Kakadu Dreamtime story

Another story that held us spell bound until the final words was that of the long necked turtle and the echidna. Here it is, again told as closely as possible as it was to us.

In our Dreamtime a long necked turtle and an echidna were good friends who lived together. They hunted together and shared their food. The echidna had a little one, a baby. One day they ran out of food so the echidna told the turtle to stay and keep the little one while she went hunting further away. So she went and the turtle stayed with the little one.

The echidna was gone a long, long time and the turtle was very hungry. After a while he was so hungry he ate the little one. Then the echidna came back with some food.

"Where is my little one?"she asked.

"I was so hungry that I ate it,"said the turtle.

The echidna was so angry that she went to get stones to throw at the turtle. The turtle got spear grass and threw it at the echidna. They had a big fight. After that the stones turned into a shell on the turtle's back and the spear grass turned into spines on the echidna. 

Then the turtle told the echidna, "I will go and live in the billabong and never see you again."

The echidna said, "I will go and live up in the escarpment and never see you again."

They did that. Now, when we eat turtle we find the little echidna's bones in the turtle's throat.

If I retell any more of the enthralling stories told to us so beautifully this post will be very long!

Mimi Spirits

 Some of the paintings are high on the escarpment. The Mimi Spirits were Dreamtime ancestors who were the first to draw rock paintings and taught the people. Some of them entered the rock as paintings themselves and the places where this happened are sacred places, visited only by a few permitted people.

Tassie Tiger - Thylacine

Other lofty paintings record now extinct animals that must have been common to the area. the Tassie Tiger is one of these.

Over the centuries the weather elements have assaulted the paintings with some visibly losing colours. The ridge line visible in the above photo is a resin ridge that guides rain water along it and down the side of the rock face instead of falling down over the paintings, destroying them.

 Our guide told us that only special people within his clan were allowed to do the painting, each one permitted to do only a certain part. He himself is permitted to do only the lines using a thick brush, not the finer details. He picked up pieces of rock that could be crumbled to make a fine powder, sometimes reddish and sometimes yellow. "This here rock powder is then mixed with a resin from a plant so that it sticks to the rock for a long, long time," he said.

Ubirr, Kakadu National Park

Storytelling finished, our guide had us clamber up some steepish rocks to a small plateau that allowed us to look back at the caves where we had had the privilege of  seeing the paintings and hearing their stories.

After telling us that in the wet seasons of Gudjewg and Banggerreng he travels around the area below by boat, our young guide left us but not before we were thanked for visiting his country and for listening to the stories of his people. As he was saying his last words I was pleased that Rohan made his way down the rocks to shake this awesome young man's hand and even more pleased to see everyone else do the same. Our time with him was so precious that the usual applause would have been way less than adequate or respectful.

From Ubirr, Kakadu National Park

Ubirr is right on the border with Arnhem Land, seen behind us in this photo.

Our time in Ubirr, hearing the stories of the land and its people from a young man who is so very proud of his heritage was a very spiritual experience, to be remembered always.