Windjana gorge and Tunnel Creek....crocs and more crocs!

It was another long day in the car again, at least the road out of Wolf Creek to the Tanami road was better than on the way in...except for the bloody large snake we had to stop for to cross the road!

Think this one is a black headed tiger snake!

Back packers think every road is doable!

Common viewing on the side of the roads
out here...

..and this is why, large big corrugations!

We arrived at Halls Creek and topped up with fuel and headed to Fitzroy Crossing for more fuel, groceries and top up the water.  Just outside Fitzroy Crossing we took the right hand turn off towards Tunnel Creek.  The dirt road was heavily corrugated and at some parts we had to slow right down to 20km/hr!  Seeing it was late in the day we drove past Tunnel Creek, with Marty promising that we would come back and do in a tomorrow.  The long drive was not good for my back and when we finally pulled up at Windjana Gorge Campground l looked like a bloody 90 year old hunched over!  We had achieved a total of 550km in driving, with at least 1/3 of that being on corrugated dirt roads.  The worst was the 70km track off the highway to Windjana Gorge.   

Should have a sign for these amazing birds!

Amazing country side viewing!

The long road ahead...with some
bush burning present in the distance!

Burn off close to the road....

Time to let the pressures down once again!

More corrugated roads...love the Kimberley dirt!

Girls cramped in like sardines don't you think?

Definitely in Boab Country now!

Got to keep your eyes peeled for everything on these roads!

We quickly found a nice place to set up camp for a few nights, after setting up we saw that we had encroached on a bower birds nest area, whoops.  We all grabbed a much needed shower and washed the last few days dust off and cleansed our pores.  The girls went for a wander and quickly found some kids to play with, which gave Marty and l some much needed quiet time.  After dinner we headed over to join the kids the girls had befriended and warmed up around the fire with treats of marshmallows and swapping stories.  Was early to bed, had been a very big day and l really needed to lie down and stretch my back out. Think we were all asleep by 8pm!

Invaded this Bower Birds home..
whoops!

The famous Beeson tent set up!

Lucky we had gone to bed early as the bloody Bower bird started his carry on around 6am, waking the lot of us!  So to beat the heat, we made use of the early awakening by having breaky and setting off on the Windjana Gorge walk.  Wasn't too far into the gorge when we were confronted with the sun baking 'freshies' on the banks of the water.  Could not believe how many there were and as we walked on we came across some on the edge and as we approached, they just continued to stay and rest.  We ended up being within 2m away from them!  Now that is up close and personal.  Being the good parents we were, the kids were dressed in great walking shoes that would protect them from any sharp teeth...yes you guessed it, thongs in place!  Whoops, obviously didn't put much thought into it before setting off.  All in all we saw over 30 fresh water crocs on the walk, some sun baking, some swimming up the river and some trying to hide but with Boo's good eyes she spotted their snouts in the water.

The noisy Bower Bird that woke us up!

Bower bird nest....his color is white!

Rise and shine girls!

Can you see him poking his head in the
nest?

Got your bearing's Meg?

Our first "Freshie" sightings...

Just breathtaking country....

Smile girls!

Don't get too close to the edge Marty....

Great that everyone has ditched their shoes hey!

Croc smile!

Love how Boo finds uses for her pockets!

Love the forest foliage..

On the walk we also came across hundreds of bats in the trees, we couldn't miss them with the noise and smell!  As we stood underneath the trees, we watched them move about and also the crocs below circling eyeing off their snacks.  Girls had a ball!  On we walked and the sun was really starting to put some kick into us with the heat, and it was only 9am!  By the time we walked a little way up the sandy creek bed, we had had enough and seen what we had wanted.  So we turned around and walked back barefoot until the sand started to really burn our feet and then we put our thongs back on!

Peek a Boo....so cute!

Flight mode...

Critter below to get an easy feed...

More sun baking....

Heading back to camp now...

...walking along this hot dry creek bed!

Boab seeds....

Love the oxidized coloured cliffs...

Spider web amongst the rocks...

Fossils hidden above the caves....

Girls fascinated...

Seeking shade in the tunnel...

We got back to camp, unhooked the tent from the car awning and headed off to tackle the road down to Tunnel Creek to explore some caves.  Surprisingly the road down to Tunnel Creek wasn't half as bad as on the way in.  Think the direction of the corrugations have heaps to do with it, quite amazing how differing it can get depending on your direction.  When we arrived, the heat of the day was really amped up and we were looking forward to hiding in a dark, cool cave for an hour or so.  We put our wet shoes on and set off with our head torches in place.  We had read to look above and below when walking thru the caves, to spot the bats and the freshwater crocs.  As we waded into our first water crossing the water was bloody cold and luckily only went half way up our thighs, but poor Meg was nearly up to her armpits! We could smell the bats before we saw or heard them, the water crossing this time was only knee deep but just as cool.  The bats are always so cool to look at, wrapping their wings around themselves to sleep.  The caves were amazing.  I couldn't keep my torch from shining above looking at the 'natural chandeliers' that were formed on the ceiling from the minerals.  Absolutely loved it.  

As we got to the end of the cave, the bright sunlight stinging our eyes, we went left as we had heard on the grapevine that there was some old aboriginal rock art to view.  Now if that is aboriginal rock art then l am Elle McPherson's body double.  What a crock of shit!  It looked like Homer Simpson's hand done in red ochre.  Marty and l had a laugh as we went a little down the rocks to the creek where there was sediment on top of the water, we both stood and watched awaiting a big croc to come down.  Looked a little swampy so we made the choice not to wade thru this water.  Having got to the end of the cave, we had to turn around and go back thru to get back to the car, which we all didn't mind as we were having a blast.  As we got some people to take some pics of us we then put the head torches back on and Marty quickly saw some eyes reflecting back.  I couldn't believe it, we had only just crossed the water 10 minutes ago and not seen anything.  That's not to say they weren't watching us the whole time!  I had always claimed to be more scarred of sharks than crocodiles, but having to wade thru thigh deep water in the dark with only a tiny bloody head torch to guide my way, l can say without a doubt that l am scarred of crocs after all!!! Meg freaked out, which l couldn't blame her.  I tried to stay calm as we all got in the water shining our torches on those eyes staring back at us to make sure they didn't move.  As we got out and onto dry land, the eyes were starting to move thru the water so we quickly walked to the next water entry.  We then saw another two lots of eyes reflecting back to us...where the hell did they all come from?? Worse still, had they been there the whole time?  Liked it better when l didn't know they were there that's for sure.  All up we saw three sets of eyes staring back at us, that's not to say there weren't more.  We got to the end unscathed, having completed the way back alot quicker than the way in!   Lol...  When we got back to the car Marty made a huge statement saying that Tunnel Creek had been his highlight so far since leaving Broome.  Now Marty never lets people in to see any excitement, so this was amazing to hear.

Authentic aboriginal art....don't think so???

The croc swamp.....

Just amazing....

Looking for eyes reflecting back to us still....

One more pic at the end of our walk...which is actually
where we started!!

  

On the way back we stopped off for some wood, so wanted to cook over the campfire and have some marshmallow treats....Back at camp we relaxed and ended up befriending another older couple in which we sat around the campfire cooking our dinners and chatting.  Love cooking over the campfire and cant wait to be doing alot more of this.  I rustled up a mean curried sausages meal which soon warmed us up! Girls required some water after each mouthful, l always seem to overestimate the amount of curry required, whoops! The older couple were from Port Lincoln and we ended up having a nice time chatting to them in between trying to quieten the girls.  Lucky they had grandchildren that they were missing so the girls behaviour didn't seem to give them the shits as much as us!  Meg, as true to form lately, chucked a huge spat which left us slightly embarrassed and her without toasted marshmallows.  Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind!  Disciplining kids on the road is hard stuff but we just have to do it, in front of everyone!  We ended up turning in early, these early mornings and big walks were tuckering us out!

OH&S at work...cover those ears girls!

Washing done!

Sunset time...

Boo not impressed dinner is taking so long!

We had enjoyed our two days at Windgana Gorge campground, although a bit dusty, but we are expecting that most camps will be like this.  The campground had flushing toilets and solar showers (although you had to be quick to get in before the hot water run out), fire pits and an awesome backdrop of huge rock cliffs.  All for $26 per night, not bad really.  Tomorrow, we officially start the :Gibb River Road" (GRR).....all very exciting!

Bell Xxx

Wolfe Creek Crater...no visit from Mick LOL!

The long drive out of Purnululu National Park was no easier than on the way in.  The corrugated and windy roads taking their toll on my back as l tried to hold it together as l was scared Marty would just forfeit the camping trip and head back to Kunna. Today we were off to see Wolfe Creek Crater, with the night before getting into the mood by watching the movie.....you tell me, smart or stupid thing to do????

Getting back on the bitumen, the ride was smooth as we eventually got to Halls Creek, which by the way is so much cleaner and developed than what l remember of it.  Most of the stores are managed by Asians which is a bit disappointing, if only the local mob took some initiative then they could really put some money back into their community!  We grabbed some hot chips for 'chip sangas', which is a big treat in our family.  Their were loads of people around today, tourists and local mob.  I stopped off and had a chat to three local woman taking shad on a rock under a tree and they let me know that it was going to be a big night in town as the footy finals were on.  So glad we wont be around, think it might get a whole lot louder and rougher after dark.  We filled up with water at the info center who charged us 20 cents per litre, but totally understand, water isn't exactly affluent in these parts.  We then headed just out the road, turning left onto the Tanami track where Marty had to make a pit stop to let the tyres down more.

Chip sanga's in Halls Creek...

Tyre pressures down ready for the Tanami Track..

The Tanami track wasn't too bad, Marty being able to maintain speeds of 70-80kms/hr apart from having to slow down for the wandering cattle on the road.  The track was corrugated, but we were able to ride smoothly over them without too much shack, rattle or roll....  There were loads of cattle roaming on the side of the road, passing many stations along the way.  There were also many burnt out cars, busted tyres lying around and the occasionally cans of empty beer and wine bottles on the side of the road.  After 2 hours driving on the Tanami Track we reached the L) turn off to Wolfe Creek Crater.  OMG!!! This road was 10 times worse than the Purnululu road!  The 20kms of road took us around 45 mins to complete, the corrugations so bad in some patches that Marty had to slow down to 20km/hr!  He stroked the poor Nissan's steering wheel many times reassuring her that "it would all be over soon" and "keep up the good work".

The long road ahead!

Usual sitings on the side of the road

As we approached the Wolf Creek Crater we were overwhelmed with its sheer size out on the horizon.  When we finally arrived at the car park, the girls, who had down a fabulous big day in the car, ran out and up the hill to the viewing area.  Marty and l took a quick look at the info board where a cardboard sign that read "don't accept water from strangers" was pinned up.  Marty and l had a quick chuckle and for those that don't know the movie, go rent "Wolfe Creek" and you will understand why.  It was pretty warm and the sweat started beading on our backs on the steep short climb up.  Wolfe Creek Crater is the second largest meteorite crater in the world and was formed after a huge meteorite crashed into the earth, only being discovered by Europeans in 1947 during an aerial survey of the area.  The crater is 880m across and almost circular.  The floor of the crater is almost 60m below the rim and is generally flat.  There are trees and spinifix grasslands that lies in the crater.  Most of the meteorite fragments vaporised but some extracts can still be found 4km from the crater crash site.  

Wolfe Creek in the horizon..

Humorous sign if you've seen the movie!

Well that's enough history of the place, now to the present.  As we all stood at the viewing platform, it was quite hard to take in the magnitude of the place.  Having seen aerial photos, it would be absolutely amazing to see it from the sky too.  The girls took to heading down to the floor of the crater in their trusty Aussie hiking shoes, their thongs.  I had been here before and not gone down, so even with a crook back l wasn't leaving this place without getting inside it.  I slowly took to the steep rocky declining path and arrived a fair while after the girls.  It was just so huge, stuff feeling like ants, l felt like a microscopic insect at the bottom of this crater.  There seemed to be old cow footprints in the hard dirt, maybe in the wet they come down here for a drink.  In the middle of the inside of the crater there is a little dense patch of trees.  The Corella's even seem to like to hang out here.  With Marty not even watching us from up top, we climbed back up to see that he had gotten too hot up on the viewing platform and needed shade.  Pity if l fell or something hey.....

Panoramic view from the lookout.....

Boo on her way down into the crater...

Can you spot Boo down the bottom?

Selfie of the girls...

Girls on their way up....

The long walking track back to the car..
can you see it?

We headed to camp, which was free "yippee", and found our spot for the night.  The campgrounds were hard dirt with small amounts of scrub lining the zoned off sites.  There was no water or showers, but a bush toilet (for those that don't know that means non-flushing, which generally means, a bit smelly).  We set up the awning tent and got the girls to do some school for an hour or so.  They have been so adaptable in doing their school work anywhere and anytime, whether that is in the back of the car or on the mat at camp, morning or arvo.  They did really well and as the sun began to set, the air became cold quickly.  We were now in the middle of the desert so you can appreciate how cold the nights get and how hot the days are.  The sunset was stunning, with the bright orange and deep blue sky above lining the horizon.

The camp set up for the night...

..girls doing their schoolwork!

What a stunning backdrop...

Sunset time again...

The sky colors are stunning...

Marty getting his shot!

Night sky in the desert...stars so bright!

We hit the hay soon after dinner, purely because it was too cold to sit out.  The place did have an eary side to it, you can understand how things can happen out here and no one finding out.  It was so quiet and strangely enough, we had no trouble getting to sleep. No dreams of Mick unzipping the tent thank god!!!!  We woke at 6am and everyone was accounted for, packed up and off by 7:30am....god these days are going to be long with these early starts!!!

Bell Xxx