Big Horse Creek / Timber Creek

We stopped off for a couple of nights at Timber Creek, staying at the Big Horse Creek campsite.

Barb and Lou tried fishing in the nearby Victoria River and once again, the fish were elusive.  There are saltwater crocs in this river so they were being extra careful, fishing at the boat ramp and not standing too close to the banks. Although there were no fish to be found, there were plenty of laughs.  At one stage, Barb's lure got snagged on a submerged rock and as she stood tugging and jiggling it trying to get it loose, Lou decided to give her last cast a bit of extra effort to get it further out into the river.  Every so often a cast goes awry and unfortunately this was one of those times.  Lou was standing next to a row of trees and her cast flew up and over a branch, ending its journey with the lure hanging 10 feet above the water.  Lou and Barb looked around, glad they were the only people there and hoping nobody turned up to witness their amusing predicament.  Lou realised that pulling the lure back up through the branch would be impossible so she let out enough line to have the lure floating on top of the water, line trailing up and through the foliage before making its was down and back to the end of her rod.  In any other body of water she would have waded the 10 feet into the water and retrieved it but that was not an option here.  No lure is worth losing a leg over and she could visualise the headline "Idiot eaten by crocodile trying to rescue $7 fishing lure".  Luckily Barb soon freed her line and was able to bring her rod over and try to try to hook Lou's line and drag it into shore.  Unfortunately, it was a couple of feet short.  As a last resort, Lou cast Barb's line in and around her own hanging line and slowly reeled it in, catching her lure and finally bringing it to shore.  She cut the lure off and was able to reel in the line in through the branches and saunter up the boat ramp nonchalantly, seconds before someone walked down towards the water.

Timber Creek is a very small town with an IGA that sells the worst hot chips in the galaxy and frightfully expensive mops.  There is a Police Museum and the boys had a great time locking each other (and us) up in a makeshift cell out the front.  They also have a huge croc's head.

Locking up the children.

Crocodile head at the Police Museum

We also went to a military memorial commemorating 'The Nackeroos', formally known as the North Australia Observer Unit  - an outback army regiment that patrolled the bush during WW2.  The plaque has a great poem:

Impossibly hard conditions.

Zebra Rock Mine

We nearly forgot to go to the Zebra Rock Mine.  We were planning to drive from Keep River NP straight through to Katherine and as we drove along the highway we passed a sign to the Zebra Rock Mine.   

People had recommended it to Jenny and I and it had been on our ‘to do’ list.  Ross and Barb had also wanted to go there but had forgotten that it was along our way.  We stopped at the turnoff (which also happened to be the site of a weird red column of concrete that was apparently a Beef Monument) and had a quick discussion before deciding to head down to the mine to take a look.  There is a campsite there so we would stay overnight and continue to Katherine the next day.

The road into the mine/caravan park was again dirt and was windy and bumpy more than corrugated.  Lou took van protection duty and spent the trip holding onto the stove and drawer while we bounced slowly down the road (which we still consider to be in pretty good condition and totally suitable to a ‘semi offorad’ van). 

When we arrived, we had to wait in a carpark area while we checked in.  The dust there was horrendous, the worst we have experienced.  It was like stepping into inch deep red talcum powder and it was so light and fluffy that it was impossible to even walk slowly to prevent it kicking up.  Thankfully the carpark was the only place with that sort of dust and once we got into the caravan park itself we were back to regular annoying dust.

Zebra Rock is a rare type of striped rock found in very few places in the world.  Large deposits of it were covered over when they flooded the land to create Lake Argyle and this deposit is one of the last.  The mining lease is owned by a husband and wife and he mines and polishes the rock with a hand held grinder.  As she says, she is far more of a ‘people’ person so she runs the caravan park and the mine tours.  Geologists come from all over the world to examine the site and take specimens and the polished rock is made into jewellery and ornaments.  

When we arrived we were allowed to pick a small piece of zebra rock each from a bucket and they showed us how to polish it.  There is a polishing table set up in their courtyard area and we sat there to beautify our rocks.  You start with course sandpaper and wet it down while polishing.  Once you have sanded most of the muck off you move to the fine grade sandpaper to polish it up.  It is surprisingly effective and we got some good results even though the sandpaper available was well used and fairly poor.  We are looking forward to buying some fresh sandpaper next time we see a hardware store or even waiting until we get home to some power tools to give our rocks a really good polish.

Ben with his polished zebra rock.

We collected more rocks from the nearly creek bed where guests are allowed to fossick and we were also allowed to choose some more when we did a tour of the mine site the following morning.  The tour was interesting in that it was not at all what we expected.  The actual mine site is only the size of a swimming pool and it is above ground.  The owners located the Zebra Rock deposit and hired a bobcat to excavate it.  It is a horizontal seam so they have dug down a metre or so and then cleared a large flat area rather than digging down underground as you would imagine a ‘mine’ to be. 

We would have stayed an extra night at Zebra Rock as it is an interesting place but after dusk it becomes almost unbearable as all manner of insects come out.  Big and small, you can’t be outside without a critter getting in your face.  Inside wasn’t much better as there were millions of tiny bugs that managed to squeeze through the fly wire.  

Keep River National Park

Farewell WA - Hello NT!

Our van is classified as ‘Semi-Offroad’ and when we purchased it we specifically told the sales guy that we would be taking it on dirt roads with bumps but not full on 4WD tracks.  He assured us that it would have no problems at all.  The 13km access road into the Gurrandalng Campground at the Keep River National Park is one of those dirt roads with some corrugations but nothing that we considered very bad.  Ross and Barb have caravanned for many years and described the road as ‘nothing’.

You can imagine our surprise then when we opened the caravan door upon arrival at our site and found smashed glass, frozen cold packs and fish fingers all over the floor.  Initially this was perplexing as we couldn’t see anywhere that the glass could have come from and the freezer door was closed and latched.  We assumed that the fish fingers and cold packs had not teleported out of the freezer but couldn’t see how they could possibly have escaped.  The large pot drawer from under the sink had also slid right out and was sitting on the floor.

Messy!

 After some closer investigation we identified the smashed glass as being the inner glass insert from the oven door.  There were a few glass shards in the oven itself so we suspect that it shattered in place and somehow fell out of the resulting gap at the bottom.  The freezer was another puzzle and we didn’t figure out what had happened there until Ross had an idea and lifted the freezer door up in place while it was closed.  It slides up a cm or so on its hinges and that small movement upwards is enough to lift it off the latch that should keep it closed.  The best possible explanation for the escaping fish fingers is that the bumps of the van caused the door to lift up on it’s hinges and the weight of the freezer contents pushed the doors open momentarily.  The door is weighted to close itself and this would be why it was shut when we opened the van.  Ross is a cabinet maker and upon inspection of the drawer told us that the metal slides and runners are far too small for a drawer of that size (they had bent down at the front during the journey thus facilitating the drawer’s escape).  We cleaned up the van and Ross put a cable tie around the hinge so that the door can no longer move up and down on the hinge. 

It was super hot so we spent the rest of the afternoon in the shade outside while the boys played Lego on the picnic table. When it cooled down a bit they had fun climbing the awesome rock in the middle of the campground.  The adults wanted to play too!

Half way up..

No help needed here!

The campground is set up with ring of poles in a circle with regular rectangular incursions for people to back their vans into.  The road runs around the outside and the inner circle is grassed with a huge rock in the middle that the boys were very keen to climb.   Fire pits were placed at odd positions around the inside area and the way we were camped meant that we had a choice of two, neither of which were particularly convenient.  We decided on the one we would use later that evening and settled in.  A short time later a car pulled up, parked on the road and the people set up tents on the inner grass area, near the firepit.  We decided that parking on the road and camping outside a specified camping area was shonky and being so close to ‘our’ fire pit was plain rude.  We bagged them quietly to ourselves and decided that they’d just have to put up with us sitting around our fire 10 feet from their tents.  We wandered over and got our flames going and gave them an occasional look.

Later that evening Jenny went to the toilets and came back looking sheepish.  The sign on the back of the door clearly stated that the grassy area inside the fence line was for tents and we realised that our self righteous condemnation of them has been totally misplaced after all.  We still had our fire but tried to be quiet and Jenny went over to have a friendly chat to them the next morning in order to feel better about bagging them.

The next day we drove up to another section of the park and did the 5km Jarnem Walk out to Nigli Rock to see some rock art.  The walk itself was really hot and not overly interesting but the rock art was cool.  The boys were very happy to see the cars again.  

Us with the emu rock painting.  There is also a whale.

We spent the hot afternoon in the shade near the vans again and at sunset Jenny, Ross and Lou did a 2km loop walk from our campground through the rocks and nearby small gorge.  The boys flat out refused to go on another walk that day so Barb stayed with them, planning to go again in the morning.  This second walk was far more interesting than the one we had done that morning and the views were spectacular, particularly with the orange sunset.

The next morning we took the boys on that walk too so that they would have had some activity before another travel day. It was just as good in the morning light as it had been the evening before.

We decided that someone had better do part of the exit journey along the dirt road in the van while we drove to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing else inside broke.  We are glad we did.  The glass top of the stove was jumping up and down so much that we are amazed it didn’t smash on the way in.  The griller and stove doors were also jumping around and we ended up traveling with a towel providing padding in between the glass and stovetop elements and several strategically placed sponges shoved into hinges and gaps in other places on the stove to stop things moving.  We made it back to the bitumen without any further damage and are now speaking to New Age about getting everything repaired.

Lake Argyle

We drove to Lake Argyle, the enormous man made Lake about 80kms from Kununurra.  There is only one caravan park on the shores of the lake which really surprised us given that there is 950km of shoreline (yep, it is that big!).  The nearby dam wall is only 350m across and is holding back the entire volume of the lake, which is the size of 52 Sydney Harbours.  It is really hard to imagine how big the lake is, even being there, as you can’t possibly see it in it’s entirety from the ground (or even from a chopper, you'd have to be very high!)

Maybe 1% of the lake..

Another small section.

The caravan park doesn’t take bookings so we hoped that both vans could get in.  When we first arrived, the guy managing the vacancies said that we would have to go to unpowered sites for the first night but luckily 2 sites freed up while Barb and I stood there talking to him.  We were amused and bewildered when one of the other attendants asked us not to use our UHF radio as it interfered with the helicopter doing sightseeing flights but we agreed to turn them off anyway.  Pretty much everyone with a van and 4WD in this part of the world has a UHF and it’s ridiculous to say that they would interfere in any way with a commercial aircraft.  

We both scored powered sites which weren’t too far away from each other and boys ran from one to the other easily. We had initially planned to stay for 3 nights but we really wanted to go on a sunset cruise and the only spaces the had were on a cruise 4 days later so we decided to stay an extra couple of nights so we could do it.

The caravan park/resort has a well known Infinity Pool that everyone takes photos in.  We went for a swim and were disappointed to find that the water was freezing!  We all hopped in and took our photos before the adults quickly got out to thaw.  Daniel and Ben lasted a bit longer but Ben is so slim that he started shivering after 5 mins and we had to drag him out too.

Awesome views. Cold pool!

Daniel is doing distance education and spends most mornings on schoolwork which works out well as we are doing informal education with Ben too.  His reading, writing and maths is coming along well and we hope that having some structure, however small, will help prepare him for school next year.

New neighbours arrived to replace the grey nomads in the site next to us and Ben was excited to find that there were 2 kids, Annabelle and Ellie who were around his age.  He played with them and Daniel joined in once his school work was done.  Barb had been carting around a whole watermelon which they had named Melanie (then Moloney.)  Daniel had drawn a face and body on Moloney and when it was time for Moloney to be decapitated he prepared a ‘grave’ and we had a ceremony.  As we consumed parts of Moloney, all four kids collected the seeds and planted them behind the caravan.  They were most diligent in digging them in and watering them and we wonder if the gardener or future guests will wonder at the watermelon plants sprouting up in a couple of months.

Melanie / Moloney

Decapitated!

The grave site.

Jenny and Ross did a coffee/beer run back to Kununurra in Ross’ car as we had all had forgotten a few items and while they were gone Lou cleaned the inside of the Ranger.  So much red dust!  It is everywhere and just keeps reappearing no matter how much you wipe and wash.

That afternoon Barb and Lou did a 5km trail walk up to a local lookout and it was a great workout.  Daniel had a sleepover that night and that was the start of a regular switch that the boys are having between caravans at night.

We hired kayaks and a stand up paddleboard one day and went out to explore the lake, keeping an eye out for some of the estimated 35,000 freshwater crocs that live there.  Ross has a fishing kayak and paddled out with several lines in the water.  Unfortunately there weren’t any fish biting – the barramundi is remaining elusive.  There are apparently plenty of catfish in the lake and they call it ‘Silver Cobbler’ but we didn’t see any of those either.  On the way back to shore, Barb and Daniel saw a croc on the banks near the boat ramp.  Jenny, Ben and I were already back on land by then so Jenny paddled out on the Standup Paddle Board to take a look but only saw it from afar as it slipped under the surface as she approached.  Lou didn’t have a turn on the SUP in order to avoid the requirement for any embarrassing mid lake rescues.

Jenny on the Standup Paddle Board.

Barb and Lou went fishing that afternoon at a spot recommended by the locals.  Again, no fish luck.  In fact, no bites at all for Lou and for Barb, a baby turtle and a little finger sized flathead looking fish.  Lou is really hoping that the only time she catches fish does not become when she is on a $250+ charter excursion.  So far her only real fishing success has been on the Kalbarri and Lombadina charters.  Paying that much money every time will make for expensive dinners!  Luckily she really enjoys the activity itself, especially with fellow fisher, Barb, and isn’t relying on catching anything for it to be fun.  A few bites here and there would be nice though...

Barb and Lou loved the 5km trail so much that they ran / walked it again on 2 other days, taking Jenny with them on the last day.  There are great views and the lookout over the lake is a great destination.  We all went out exploring along a couple of 4WD tracks to other lookouts too.  The lake is so huge that every vantage point reveals another expanse for you to marvel at.
 

We visited the relocated Durack Station Homestead one afternoon.  When the Lake was created, the original homestead was right in the middle of the land to be flooded so it was dismantled brick by brick to be moved to higher ground.  Unfortunately most of the out buildings and a significant amount of machinery and stock were lost to the waters as an unexpectedly heavy wet season filled the lake more quickly than anticipated and caught everyone short.  The bricks of the homestead were individually numbered as they were removed and the whole things sat deconstructed in 44 gallon drums in Kununurra for 10 years before enough money was raised to rebuild it.  The story of the Durack family is well worth exploring and is detailed in Mary Durack’s book “Kings in Grass Castles” which we are keen to read.   The history of the construction of the dam and lake are also fascinating.  When they set off the first blast at the quarry that would supply all the rock for the dam wall it was the largest non-nuclear explosion in Australia’s history.  The footage shows a worker standing beside a line of fuse wire, leaning down to light it with his cigarette and then running away as fast as he could.  It looked like something from the Road Runner.  How OH&S has changed.  

Lou and Barb at the Durack Homestead.

Ben and Daniel (and then the girls next door) had been cooking/fermenting a special drink in an old milk carton.  They called it SDDF – Secret Disgusting Death Formula.  They were making it for Lou and Jenny to drink and Jenny did bravely pretend to sip an early version, getting a splash on her lip. It was indeed disgusting.  Some of the ingredients were dirt, water, sticks, leaves, Quik, toothpaste, bread crusts, banana skins, carrots, used coffee grounds, tomato sauce, onion, tabasco, tomato and more.  Yummy!

We went on the sunset cruise on our last afternoon and it was awesome.  We saw crocs, birds, beautiful skies and even more of the expanse of the lake.  Despite being out there for over 3 hours we only saw a small area of it.  Whilst doing some fish feeding, the guide pointed out the various species below.  We saw lots and lots of catfish, and he explained that when marketed as ‘Catfish’ the flesh was selling for around $4 per kilo so they changed the name to ‘Silver Cobbler’ and it now sells for around $43 per kilo and is considered fine eating.  None of us really found the idea of eating catfish all that appetising but Jenny and Lou tried the battered ‘Silver Cobbler’ for dinner from the bistro that evening.  It was really average and tasteless.  Jenny went so far as to declare it the worst fish she had ever eaten.  Towards the end of the cruise we were allowed to jump in for a swim and the crew floated/threw bottles of wine or cans of beer out to everyone.  The boys (and Jenny) jumped off the roof of the boat too.

We woke the following morning to find that the pesky bats from the tree next door had moved in over our van and crapped all over the van, awning and the car.  We spent an unscheduled hour or so washing everything down before packing up and heading to the Keep River National Park, only a short distance away.