25 August - 6am (east)

Roslyn Anne Fripp, my younger sister passed away today in a Brisbane Hospital. Ros had a long battle with type 1 diabetes and its effects. The last few years were very difficult for Ros with amputations and constant dialysis. Her body, not her spirit gave up the struggle.

Roslyn leaves behind a devoted husband, Bryan, loving parents, brothert and family. RIP.

20 to 25 August – Broome

We are camped at Cable Beach, reputedly one of the top 5 beaches in the world. This is the ‘holiday’ part of the trip so with a minimum of effort I’ll post some pics as we explore the area.

Some pics taken at Cable Beach

Restored Pearling Lugger

A Japanese Pearler's Grave

Tourists viewing the sunset from Zanders Bar at Cable Beach

.....and the sunset.

23 August - another hot sunny day in Broome. We went for a morning walk on the beach, then shopping (restocked the wine), visited the local museum, had a dip in the pool, had oysters down the wharf and then fivsies on the beach at sunset.

Some pics below of the oldest picture garden theatre in the world - in Broome.

Another wonderful day in Broome draws to a close with dinner and drinks at sunset on the beach......

19 August – Derby to Broome

We had an uneventful drive to Broome and managed to get setup by lunchtime, ready to explore another new location.

Road Train

18 August – Derby

The bats struck again last night; mainly picking on the Williams team. Canvas and bat droppings stick together really well. The Easts also copped a few bat bombs but Gordo thinks he has the answer – a light in the tree over the van.

We spent the day having a look around Derby. Gordo seems to have given up on fishing at Derby.

There's some sad history in Deby when Aborigines were chained up in groups to floor rings in the local jail for eating cattle after the pastoralists took over aboriginal lands. Young aboriginal men were also kidnapped by whites in an effort to pacify the aboriginal tribes or for use in the pearling industry. Once again they were crowded into this jail without basic sanitation and needs while chained to the floor many probably not understanding why they were there.

The sunset down the wharf was beautiful.

17 August – Fitzroy Crossing to Derby (not Darby)

We had a fairly boring drive this morning until we got to the roadworks. Our cars and vans have stayed pretty clean but that was about to change as we drove along a gravel sidetrack around the roadworks. We nearly reached the end of the sidetrack when the water truck came towards us. The track past the truck was turned into mud which stuck like glue and dried like concrete. Just as well we copped only a relatively small amount of this stuff.

Derby has another set of local alcohol laws. At Woolies you cannot buy port, sherry or winecasks but you there’s no restriction on heavy beer, whisky, brandy, rum, etc. No cheap drunks here.

Also, no walkins are served after 5pm. You have to show you car keys to prove you drove to the bottleshop which isn’t even a drivein shop.

Gordo tried fishing off the wharf – no luck.

The Long Trough

The Boab Jail

16 August – Fitzroy Crossing (Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek visits)

A Long drive out on corrugated gravel road found us at Windjana Gorge where we met up again with the Williams team who were setting up camp. We set off for a walk along this gorge bordered by ancient limestone reefs much older than any of us.

During the walk we saw dozens of fresh water crocs, archer fish, birds and a water snake being chased by crocs. Because the temperature was already in the high twenties and still rising we decided to keep the walk short and went back to the car park for lunch.








Afternoon saw us at Tunnel Creek which goes through a 750 metre tunnel under the limestone cliffs. Some boulders at the tunnel entrance created a bit of a challenge after which we were soon walking through a sandy bottomed creek. The cool water was a bit deep for those with ducks’ disease but we all made it to the end of the tunnel system with a few laughs.

15 August – Fitzroy Crossing (Geikie Gorge visit)

After a short drive to Fitzroy Crossing we set up the vans and had lunch. We managed to drag ourselves out to another gorge and do the obligatory walk in a sunny, 30 degree afternoon. Next was a windscreen tour of the crossing and then back to camp for fivsies. Still no AFD.

Sign at Fitzroy Crossing park

14 August – Ngumbam Cliff roadside stop

It was a long drive today with not a lot to see. After setting off before 8am we had enough by 4pm when we found a fantastic roadside stop on a bluff with views for miles. We collected some firewood and sat down with a beer to enjoy the sunset.

The day was rounded off with dinner by the campfire.

13 August – Kununurra

Today was a clean up and fill up day in preparation for the next leg of our journey.

We found it difficult purchasing alcohol with the restrictive trading conditions in town. We could get only light beer after 12 noon and had to wait until 6pm to get heavy beer and wine. Because Liquorland closes at 7pm the queue at 6pm was ridiculously long so we gave up.

I’m sure the rules are for good reason but it sure does impact the thousands of responsible drinkers, including the thousands of tourists in town. Many things have been tried but nobody has the answer to the drinking problems.

So, goodbye Kununurra, oasis of the north, with all your security shuttered shops and peculiar alcohol purchasing laws/rules.

12 August – Kununurra (El Questro day trip)

The 6 of us set off in one car for El Questro station to view the gorges and anything else on offer. Access to the station is via the infamous Gibb River road which now has some short sealed sections but the gravel sections for the most part are badly corrugated. On the way in we saw an example of what the corrugations can do with a broken camper trailer on the side of the road.

Our first mission was a 1 hour walk (scramble) over rocks and boulders up Emma Gorge to a waterfall and deep swimming hole. This proved a bit challenging for those with their bums close to the ground. The vista at the head of the gorge makes you say “wow” but unfortunately we didn’t take our togs so we had to be satisfied with watching the young backpackers have a great time.








Following the walk we had a picnic lunch, visited El Questro Station township and then decided to tackle El Questro Gorge; another 2 hour return walk. After driving through a couple of river crossings and sandy tracks we reached the start point and walked, scrambled and hopped up the gorge. This time we took our togs and were rewarded with a 10 minute swim for 2 hours of walking. The walk was spectacular as was the swimming hole.







During our return along the Gibb River Road we saw a Suzuki station wagon with a broken diff. The corrugations had ruined another holiday.

11 August – Kununurra (Bungles Flight)

The day started easy enough with a walk up to one of the local lookouts. a visit to a zebra rock store and the local Argyle diamond shops. Luckily the wallet managed to survive unscathed.

Lookout at Hidden Valley, Kununurra

Then we blew the budget with a flight from Kununurra to the Bungle Bungles and return. The flights start before 6am everyday (over 20 light planes flew over the caravan park in 40 minutes from 5:50am this morning), but we elected to fly at a more civilised 2:30pm. We got some good pics which you can see below.

Kununurra Farmlands beside the Ord River

Bungle Bungles

Lake Argyle

Happy Flyers