Kununurra to Darwin (via Bullita o/s Gregory National Park)

Hello all
Heading off East from Kununurra towards Darwin, first night was an overnight in Keep River National Park.
It was good to be back in the land of cheap National Parks.........NT $3.30/night or $6.60 if showers are provided, this is in contrast to Western Australia, where entry in Parks is usually about $12/vehicle then $10-12/night/person depending on facilities.

Keep River is covered in my early blogs, so I will start this blog in Gregory National Park.

Bullita Outstation grounds, Gregory National Park

    The run from Kununurra was uneventful with a constant convoy of caravans heading towards me.

The night were starting to cool down, making sleeping easier, but the days are still between 30-35c

Bullita Outstation

 Bullita Homestead is approx 40+ klm from the highway and is a unique window back into the life of our early pioneers and pastoralists. 
Bullita was an outstation for the Durack family; they were firmly linked with cattle and the opening up of interior Australia in the 1880s.

 The old homestead still stands and the name of one of the Duracks is carved into a nearby boab tree. 

Bullita stockyards

 Cattle were taken from Bullita and Humbert River stations along the road that runs through Gregory N.P.

Bullita Stockyards

 The buildings and stockyards were restored and are maintained by Parks NT.

East Baines River at Bullita

 After Bullita I headed over to Katherine and up towards Darwin

I am in Darwin for the next week or so, getting some retail therapy. This is the first city of any size since leaving Perth several weeks before Easter.
While here I will be getting the vehicle serviced, a wheel alignment, and exploring my suspension options.
After nearly 3 years of carting my house around on most of the worst roads Australia has to offer, the standard rear leaf springs on the Ute are looking a little tired.
When all is sorted, I will head into Kakadu again, as the last couple of times I have been there has been early in the season and still flooded.
Bye for now.

Kununurra to Bungle Bungles (Purnalulu)

Hello all
I am back in Kununurra after the Bungle Bungles.

Approaching Purnalulu

The road in was like a 53km long roller coaster ride complete with corrugations. It took me over two and a half hours to get in, some did it in an hour and a half but had the damage to show for it. Corrugations just hammer the vehicle relentlessly, then things break.

would you drive your Holden Captiva or Honda CRV through here? 400mm deep! some did1

It was a pretty scenic drive in.................if you are going SLOW enough to enjoy it.
The only way to drive corrugations is slowly.
At one stage on a heavily corrugated section, I had a chuckle to myself, as I looked out the drivers side window I was being overtaken by a Butterfly........................

entering Purnalulu

entering Purnalulu

When I was in here last, in 1989,in a Subaru the road came in from further north and didn't have the creek crossings.

nearing Purnalulu

The northern areas were not open in 1989, when last here, so I chose one night at Kurrajong Camp, in the north and 2 nights at Walardi Camp in the south.

Purnalulu

Purnalulu

I love camps like this and in the Kimberley............there is nothing that compares to laying in bed at night and listening to the Dingo's howling.

walking into Cathederal Gorge

walking into Cathederal Gorge

The Purnalulu National Park is World Heritage listed.

...[is a] remote area managed as wilderness. It includes the Bungle Bungle Range, a spectacularly incised landscape of sculptured rocks which contains superlative examples of beehive-shaped karst sandstone rising 250 metres above the surrounding semi-arid savannah grasslands. Unique depositional processes and weathering have given these towers their spectacular black and orange banded appearance, formed by biological processes of cyanobacteria (single cell photosynthetic organisms) which serve to stabilise and protect the ancient sandstone formations. These outstanding examples of cone karst that have eroded over a period of 20 million years are of great beauty and exceptional geological interest.

— Brief synthesis of Purnululu National Park as inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

into Cathederal Gorge

 It was an easy 1 kilometre walk into Cathederal but was made a little more difficult by the soft "beach like" sand and mid 30's temperatures.
There were a LOT less people there in 1989.......................

Cathederal Gorge looking in

After waiting quite a while all the tour groups left and I was able to get some photo's without lots of people in them.

Cathedral Gorge looking out

I wanted to go to Wolf Creek Crater after here but....................after Steep Point, Cape Levique, Mitchell Falls, Gibb River Road and now here, I am a bit corrugated out. I really couldn't face another 300 odd kilometres of corrugations just yet. You learn to appreciate a tarred road....................
I have decided to head across to the Northern Territory tomorrow.
Bye for now.

Lake Argyle, El Questro, Diggers Rest, Wyndham, Marlgu Billabong

Hello all
With the Ute all better again and a long weekend coming up, I decided that Lake Argyle was a better choice for the weekend than El Questro.

Horizon pool at Lake Argyle

 The weather was hot and steamy all weekend with temperatures in the mid 30's, warm nights and high humidity. It even looked like we might get a thunderstorm at one stage.

Lake Argyle

 There is talk of enlarging the storage capacity of the lake, but after over 30 years they still don't know what to use what they have already on.....................

Lake Argyle

 On my way back to El Questro from the Lake, after a little shopping headed out to Ivanhoe Crossing. The old crossing has been closed for a couple of years, due to high river levels, but has now dropped.

Ivanhoe Crossing

Ivanhoe Crossing

Lilly Lagoon, Lake Kununurra

The Gibb River Road as far as the El Questro turnoff has now been bitumened, but they just tarred over the old road and the severe dips and floodways remain.

El Questro township fron Saddleback Lookout

 The 18km of gravel remain as well as the two river crossings, one still 300mm deep. I was surprised to see what people took in here.................A "whizz Bang" van, driven by backpackers and a motorhome towing a Suzuki Vitara.

Saddleback Ridge

Saddleback Lookout

Next afternoon I headed to Pigeon Hole lookout.

Pigeon Hole Lookout

Pigeon Hole Lookout

After Pigeon Hole I headed to Branko's Lookout for sunset, and yes the Chamberlain River crossing is still horrible.............over 100 metres of rocks the size of footballs.

Branko's lookout

Branko's Lookout

Branko's Lookout

Leaving El Questro after a relaxing 5 days i headed for Diggers Rest Station on the King River.

Cockburn Range

 
First it was a drive up 'The Bastion' or 5 rivers lookout, only to spy some "alien" drawings on the mudflats.

Cambridge Gulf

"alien drawings?"

Five Rivers Lookout

It was off to Diggers Rest for a peaceful, yet disturbing couple of days.....................

Diggers Rest

Diggers Rest

This is the disturbing part......................

If you are a very late 70's possibly early 80's lady with wrinkly leathery skin and still think you look good in a floral bikini....fair enough. But please leave you bikini top ON when camped not 10 metres from others..........this sight can not be unseen!
I am booked into therapy after that experience.....................

Prison Tree King River

Kimberley Boabs

From there I stopped into Marlgu Billabong, a RAMSAR listed bird viewing site.

and Crocodiles....

Spoonbill

2 Egrets and a cormorant

Marlgu Billabong

Egret

Adjacent, on the hill is the remains of the old telegraph repeated station.

old Wyndham telegraph Station Ruins

old telegraph station

Marlgu Billabong

After restocking, refueling and laundry in Kununurra, tomorrow I head to Purnululu, or the Bungle Bungles as they are also known.

Bye for now.................