Two different worlds in one day!

It was a bizarre feeling to leave the remote, flat, dry coastal town of Karumba in the QLD Gulf  to arrive in Malanda later that afternoon amongst rolling green hills and lush rainforests of the cairns hinterland. We really did feel like we'd been in two different worlds in the one day even though we were still in the same state of Queensland.

Karumba - Queensland Gulf Fishing Mecca

Karumba is a mecca for fishing enthusiasts.  It provides great esturary fishing for Barrumundi and saltwater for many varieties including Blue Salmon and Mackeral.  I think we were the only ones in the caravan park who didnt have a boat.  But thats ok, there are a few charters to pick from and on a recommendation from a fellow traveller we booked ourselves on Kerry D's Fishing Charter. Oh and the sunsets are amazing too!

Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park a tropical oasis in the QLD Gulf

Boodjamulla National Park (formally known as Lawn Hill) is definitely a surprising contrast to the vast expanses of flat dry plains that surrounds it.  Its bright emerald green waters and banks lined with lush pandanus and Livistonia Palms makes it a real oasis in the central gulf region of the QLD outback!

Savannah Way Part 2...1night Borroloola, 1night...Somewhere?

The next part of our Savannah Way Adventure was between Lorella Springs and Lawn Hill National Park.  Our lunch stop on the first day was at the "Heart Break Hotel" at Cape Crawford.

Savannah Way Part 1 - Butterfly Springs and Lorella Springs Station

The Savannah Way stretches across the whole north of Australia from Broome in the West to Cairns in the East. Most of it is bitumen  but as we seem to have some strange attraction to the rough stuff we hopped on the off road (1200km) section from Mataranka in the Northern Territory to Karumba in the Queensland Gulf.

Last stop in the NT....Mataranka

How long can you spend in a thermal pool?  If its anything like Bitter Springs in Mataranka,then as long as you can stand feeling shrivelled up like a prune!  We couldn't get enough of Bitter Springs.  We went back every day we were there, even packing up camp early on our last day so we could have one last swim before moving on.

Kaka...du or Kaka...dont?

There is a lot of talk about Kaka...du or Kaka...dont!  We heard many other travellers whinging about how expensive it is bla bla bla (it costs $50.00 per adult to enter the park and some campsites are expensive if you choose to stay at them). Although it wasn't as spectacular as some of the places we've been our vote is still Kaka...du!  The thing is you need time.  Its a huge park and if you only have a couple of days you will see a tiny portion and probably come away disappointed. 

Ben and Hannah's Darwin favorites

 Swimming with Croc's, Free water slides, catching Barra,  markets and concerts.....

Litchfield National Park....from the Southern Access Track!

Normally the Litchfield National Park is accessed by the bitumen roads from the North.  As we were in the Daly River region we decided to take the Southern Access Track, called the Reynolds River 4WD and loved it!

Douglas Daly and The Daly River - Hot springs and fishing for Barra'

After Edith Falls we made our way north into the Douglas Daly area where I spent the morning of my birthday relaxing in the hot springs. The thermal springs bubble out of the ground at 60 degrees Celsius, so you have to be careful where you sit!

Nitmiluk National Park...Katherine Gorge and Edith Falls

Canoeing on Katherine Gorge was one of our trips must do's.  We had a great day, making it to the end of the 2nd section of the gorge, although only just, due to a really strong headwind plus current to test our fitness levels! 

The Bungle Bungle....Purnululu National Park

It took us 2hrs to drive the 56km track into Purnulul National Park.  The road itself was in pretty good condition but its narrow, windy and hilly with lots of creek crossings....actually we counted 20!

Road block on the Gibb...by a cute El Questro Cowboy

Who said shopping isn't interesting! Due to our lack of food situation, we decided when we got to El Questro we would take the hour plus trip into Kununurra to stock up.  Little did I know our trip back would be more exciting than expected!

El Questro

Ellanbrae and Home Valley stations

After packing up our King Edward River camp, we had an early morning swim in the river before making our way back to Drysdale Station, timing it perfectly for one last hamburger lunch.  Our friends Tex and Julie spotted us coming in the station gates, they had been camping there for a few days waiting on a spare part for their camper, so they joined us for lunch too. It was great to catch up as we had lost contact and weren't sure if we'd see them again.

My introduction to Marine Biology!.... by Hannah

How is it that half way through the Gibb River Road in WA that I got introduced to Marine Biology?  Well it all started at King Edward River on the Mitchell Plateau.

Kalumburu road to Mitchell falls....OPEN!

The Mitchell Plateau was always going to be one of those destinations we hoped we could do but going early in the season after such a big 'wet', we weren't sure if the road would be open.  Its an approximate 12h rtn side trip off the Gibb River Road heading North, the main attraction being the famous 4 tier Mitchell Falls. We knew the falls would be at their best after such a huge wet season, so when we found out it had just opened we were really excited! 

                                                              King Edward River Crossing

Adreniline Junkies at Manning Gorge

Gorgeous Gorges between Mornington and Manning

Today we left Mornington Wildlife sanctuary heading towards Manning Gorge. Along the way we planned to stop off at two gorges for a look and swim.  The first was Adcock Gorge.  By the time we had travelled the 90kms from Mornington back onto the Gibb River (GRR) and the extra 20kms to get to the Adcock Gorge turn off we were ready to get out of the car.  Adcock gorge is only 5kms off the the GRR but it is a rough track with deep washouts, rocky sections, and a pretty challenging water crossing.  Apart from the turn off sign there were no other directions.  We thought we were going to be the only ones there but were surprised to see about 4 other cars parked at the end.

              An Australian Bustard                                                Road block by a hungry Dingo

Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary

Hi everyone! I don't usually send out 2 blogs in a row, but we are currently in Kununurra and after not having Internet or phone coverage for the last 3 weeks I'm madly trying to catch up on the blogging, before we go out of range again......

We spent three nights at Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, swimming in waterholes and visiting two gorges, including canoeing on Dimond Gorge.

Swimming with Water Monitors.....Bell Gorge, the Kimberleys

The kids and Scott dipped into the beautiful Bell Gorge for their first Kimberley swim. I watched taking photo's as they made their way across to the other side. Next thing I see Scott looking at the head of something pop out of the water about a metre away from them. Just as he's saying "What's that?" it goes under, they all start picking up the pace and the 3 of them including the mystery creature beached on the same rock. Turns out it was a harmless water monitor Lizard. It had obviously just been fishing and proceeded to crunch on a crab right in front of them all.

Into the darkness - Tunnel Creek

From the Windjana Gorge campground its about a 32km drive down to the Tunnel Creek National Park. We were told to wear our swimmers and take good torches which sounded very exciting so we were all looking forward to this experience.

Horse Riding in the Kimberleys

One of Hannahs top 10 to do's on the trip was horse riding, so we thought we'd make our first stop along the Gibb River Road at Birdwood Downs, a 5000acre working cattle station that offers horse riding. After a stop in Derby on the way from Broome we arrived at the station to be greeted by Robyn the owner who was well and truly weathered by a life on the land. She kept referring to the kids as the 'youngens' and quickly told them where not to run around!

Kooljamin Resort - Cape Leveque, Dampier Peninsular WA

By far the most touristy of all our Dampier Peninsular destinations, the Kooljamin Resort consumes prime position at the very tip of the peninsular.  Its at the end of the road where you can watch the sun rise and set over the ocean.

Talking about position, check out our beach shelter campsite.....its a hard life.

Mud crabbing at Chile Creek - Dampier Peninsular WA

What a fantastic experience!

           Ben with a grin from ear to ear                                               Brave Hannah the first to hold one

After leaving Middle lagoon we continued north towards the Aboriginal community of Lombadina where we took a left turn off down another narrow track towards a place called Chile Creek. 

We've found paradise...Middle Lagoon (Dampier Peninsular WA)

There are certain parts of our trip that I've really looked forward to and the Dampier Peninsular is one of those. 

Broome - Cable Beach

Our stay at the Cable Beach Caravan Park was meant to be 7 nights but we ended up extending an extra night (for a very important reason) so we could watch the State of Origin at the Divers Tavern. (Fantastic food there by the way). So it was worth the extra night with a great win by the Blues!

Broome is great.  Cable Beach is stunning and the sunsets of course are the best ever. We watched the sun sink into the sea from all possible aspects. Driving down onto the beach was probably our favorite, picking a spot away from everyone else, setting up our chairs at the back of the car with some cheese and dips and of course the eski at easy reach....cant beat that!  We also spent a couple of nights at the Cable Beach Club Cocktail bar overlooking the beach. We sat on the dune one night, and went to Matso's (Broomes Boutique Brewery) over the other side of the peninsular, overlooking Roebuck Bay. Here are some of our Sunset photos.....

Our favorite cafe was the Shady Lane Cafe in China Towns, Johnny Chi Lane.  The Barramudi Burger was delicious and the chef was really switched on about the kids allergies which makes the whole meal so enjoyable for us.

Pearls, Pearls, and more pearls......so many little shops to look at showcasing what placed Broome on the map.  Interesting and beautiful but out of my price range.  Hannah and I preferred the Broome markets at Carnarvon Street on Saturday and Sunday.  Yes we bought a few things and I enjoyed a great organic cappuccino and Hannah a Mango ice cream (dairy free of course).



Croc feeding at the Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park was a hit with the kids and us.  We really enjoyed our afternoon here, practically having the park to ourselves.



Our fishing expeditions were not very successful. We tried the Jetty first. I managed to catch three juvenile snapper and we spotted a turtle. Unfortunately we broke our record of always catching something when we came up empty handed fishing off Cable Beach!  Hopefully we'll have better luck up North.

The kids wouldn't let us leave Broome without a Camel ride along Cable Beach!  Scott was a bit dubious but we managed to get him to come along.  We spent a morning at Town beach and a day out at Gantheaume Point with its classic red cliffs....a photographers heaven.

North of Broome are the pristine Northern beaches. We spent a day up at Quondong point making a detour to Willie Creek along the way. Willie Creek is known for its Pearl Farm, but the highlight for us was the incredible turquoise blue waters.  I was interested to have a look at Quantong Point as I'd read about the free camping and great fishing.  The camp sites were spaced apart in little off shutes from the main track and were very private, most with amazing views over the beach.  It was low tide so we spent a while wondering over the rock pools finding all sorts of things including a blue ringed octopus!

Broome has been our longest stay at any destination yet, and we really feel like we know the place quite well.  Even I with my not so good sense of direction can get in the car an go anywhere here without getting lost! So tomorrow we will be heading up the Dampier Peninsula for a 5 night stay in Middle Lagoon, then another 5 nights in Bully's Bush Camp before arriving at Cape Leveque for at least 4 nights.  I'm assuming we wont have Internet coverage up there or along the Gibb River Road so this might be our last post for over a month.  We'll look forward to catching up after then!