Gibb River Road

Scroll down to Gibb River Road to see a video of our first river crossing. I finally got the video working correctly. All I needed was fast internet and lots of time!

Broome

The long dirt road finally came to an end and just a few miles up the bittumen was the town of Broome. Broome was founded in the late 1880s as a pearling port. Today it is a tourist destination with the Indian Ocean on one side and Roebuck Bay on the other.

After being in the Outback for awhile, we decided to treat ourselves with a stay at the Cable Beach Resort. The beach was named for the telegraph cable that was laid between Broome and Java in 1889. The beach runs for 22 kilometers along the azure colored Indian Ocean. Our stay on this side of Broome was a great way to dust off the red dirt and join civilization again.

The Indian Ocean at Cable Beach

Sally Holding up the sun at Cable Beach. It didn't work!

Sunset at Cable Beach

Camel Rides on Cable Beach
The camels have just finished there stroll along the beach with the passengers watching as the sun sets on the Indian Ocean. Since I had my camel ride last summer we decided to just watch everyone else and take pictures as the camels walked back to their accomodations.



After a few days at Cable Beach we headed to the Roebuck side of Broome. Here we enjoyed the local market, walks through town and hours on the veranda overlooking the mangroves lining the bay.

Mangroves lining Roebuck Bay

We spent hours watching the high and low tides of the bay. During the low tides a narrow river ran down the center of the bay. The small island was accessible by foot. As tides changed the bay returned and boats traveled the waterways. Fun and relaxing!

Broome was a great stop but after trading in our 4wdr for a car we started our 4,400kilometer drive to the southern part of Western Australia.

Boabs for Carol

These are for you Carol! Enjoy the personalities of the Boabs!

Wildflowers

Enjoy the Pictures of Western Austalia wildflowers!

New Roads

There aren’t many roads up in the far north of Western Australia so when one comes along, it is our duty to take it. Actually, we’d long planned to head north off Gibb River Road to Mitchel Falls. As we headed up this bumpy, corrugated bit of red dirt we made a decision to stop at Dysdale Roadhouse, set up camp, spend the night and head south again. Mitchell Falls would just have to wait for another day…or maybe never at all!

Another early start to the day and back to Gibb River Road heading west…until another dirt road with a sign for an outback camp, Mt Hart. Off we go on another bumpy, corrugated dirt road this time with dry river beds with rather large river rocks worn smotth by the floods during the wet season.. We might have turned around had it not been for the fun of crossing the wet rivers and there were plenty of them on the 50k track up to Mt Hart Wilderness Lodgte. Here we camperd by the river again but this time there were only friendly crocs, you know those freshwater ones that only nip at you but don’t eat you! The campground was adequate with a swimming area in that croc (friendly though0 infested river! The stars were beautiful and once again we were up and on the road by 6:30 the next morning. Places to go and things to see!

Home Valley Station

Home Valley is a 615,108 acre outback oasis located in the east Kimberley at the foot of the Cockburn Range. It is a working cattle ranch and an indigenous training facility as well as a great spot to stop and camp.



After a bit of exploring and loads of teasing about crocs, we decided to camp down at the picture perfect Pentecost River Bush Camp…where the crocs hang out. We set up camp and spent hours scanning the riverbanks, viewing the escaprments and enjoying the bird life. Saltwater crocodiles lazed on the banks fortunately close enough to see but far enough away to be sage. Fish jumped in the river and Brahma bulls and their lady friends grazed nearby. With a almost modern bathroom, life was perfect here.

Stars were magnificent with only a sliver of a moon. Our open air tent without the rain fly allowed full viewing. No chance of rain here for another6 months.

The life of a bush camper starts early in the morning and we wee packed up and on the road by 6:30 only to make it 10Ks down the road with a stop for a flat tire! The Gibb River Road is known for eating tires so we headed back to Home Valley Station to have it fixed. An hour later were were heading west for our next adventure.

Where are we now?

I have been trying to catch up on posts for our trek through the Kimberley but now we are far, far away from that area. Not having adequate internet has made it difficult to journal as I have done in the past. We are now about 6 hours north of Perth on Nigiloo Reef. It is so amazing because the reef is right off the beach here. Today we plan to get some equipment, walk to the reef through shallow waters and snorkle the reef. Exciting day for us!

It is still difficult to post photos to the internet although I have tried several times. Perhaps tomorrow as we head south to the Pinnacles but I am not counting on it!

Gibb River Road

The Gibb River Road is about 750 kilometers of a natural rocky dirt...some bitumen along the way...but otherwise a long, dirt road. It was originally built for large road trains transporting cattle to the ports of Derby in the west and Wyndham toward the east. It's still used for that but now there are adventurous tourists traveling this remote region. You see beautiful escarpments, thousands of termite mounds, hundreds of gorges, dry river beds, waterfalls, road houses, lots of cattle and plenty of scrub bushes. There are several river crossing but no bridges. Our crossings took us right into the shallow river across rocks rounded by the earlier rushing waters which flood this area each wet season. Markers along the way show waters which rise up to 4 meters but it is hard to imagine as we see little water but lots of dry land. The video...if it uploads properly...shows our crossing of the Pentecost River, the same river shown in the movie Australia. I felt a bit like Nicole Kidman and I am sure I bounced around as much as Nicole as she drove her wagon through this river! I can't wait to watch Australia again and relive this trip.

The Bungle Bungles

The Bungles as it is commonly called is in Purnululu National Park...just a short 53Ks off the Great Northern Highway, on an amazing bumpy dirt road. This is an incredible assortment of gorges, canyons and towering rocky domes. We had 2 wonderful days of hiking around this special park, going into Cathedral Gorge, taking the Domes walk, heading to Piccaninny Creek Lookout, checking out the Beehive Domes and just enjoying the striking beauty of the landscape.

Katherine

Our trip started in Darwin and our first stop on our Outback Adventure was in Katherine. We pulled into Nimiluk National Park and set up camp next to the pool and stage for the evening entertainment! Funny, but we were sure we'd be in a remote area by the time we stopped in Katherine. Somehow though the word did not get to the hundreds of other travelers visiting this park!



Our afternoon was spent on boats traveling through the Kathering Gorge. The gorge is small by Grand Canyon standards but beautiful just the same! Now I said we traveled by boats...plural! We'd move down one gorge, reach rock barriers and walk to another boat. We did this several times, stopped for a swim and returned to the camp in time for another evening of live entertainment!

Termite Mounds

Termite mounds are all over the place! Everywhere we go we see hundreds, NO, thousands of termite mounds. As we travel around the style and color of the mounds change but they are always there! Wood is simply not used in construction here. Instead corrugated metal and stone is used for building. Makes sense to me!!

Boab Trees

My new favorite tree, the Baobabs or the Adansonia Gibbosa or Boabs are amazing trees that provide food, medicine, soap, rope, and roofing material for the indigenous people of Australia. It appears to be a one-stop shop for anything you might need!

There are 8 species of this tree in the world. 6 are found in Madagascar, 1 in Africa and 1 in Australia. The particular tree shown above is a prison tree. As people were transported to the local jail, they were put in the prison Boab during the night so they wouldn't get away! Unfortunately this particular tree was also used when indigenous people were being enslaved and transported to the coast where they worked in the pearling industry. The tree in the photo is said to be 1500 years old!

Frustrations

Internet is slow here in the north of Western Australia. I have been unable to post any pictures and have just been frustrated. I am giving up, at least for awhile. Check back from time to time just to see if I have been able to post. Having a great time!

Internet!

Here we are in Kununurra for the night. We have internet however it is slow. We have just arrived so I am not ready to post and am not even sure if it will work with pictures and videos but we shall see...just later. A shower is in order right now, then washing clothes that are covered with a fine red dust, then a buzz around town and hopefully I an try a picture or two!

Just to add interest...we saw 2 emus in the wild. I am sure it was a young fellow chasing his girlfriend. She was running...playing hard to get...but he was determined and chased her back and forth across the road several times and through the fields! That was so very exciting!

Excitement

It seems impossible that in just 3 short and very busy days we will be leaving for Australia on our great adventure. Our bags are almost packed, the house is clean, lesson plans for several weeks are finished and we only have a few last minute things to do. We leave at night so our hope is that we will sleep most of the way and be alert and ready when we arrive. We have 40 minutes in LA and that is a worry. Keep your fingers crossed that we make the flight...AND the bags make it too! We arrive in Melbourne only to catch our flight to Darwin.

Here's an abbreviated look at our itinerary...

Two full days in Darwin. That's hardly enough time for me but at least we'll be able to head to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market. Shopping is fun here and the food is outstanding. I've been thinking about this market for the past year and am thrilled I'll have another opportunity to shop here.

On Monday, we'll pick up our 4wdr and head west into new territory. Our trip will take us across to Broome on The Gibb River Road. We'll camp along the way, enjoy the outback, hike in the Nat'l parks, see hundreds of gorges, and drive through rivers. We'll steer clear of crocodiles...I am rather worried about that!

Two weeks later, we'll arrive in Broome, spend a few days to check out China Town, shop for pearls, see the stairway to the moon, ride camels into the sunset and take a nice long shower!

Our camping is not over yet. We'll head north of Broome up the peninsula to Camp Leveque...just to say we did! I'm not sure what we will see but who cares really. It's all good for me!

We'll return through Broome and head to Perth, taking a few more weeks to travel the coastal highway...camping along the way, stopping at beaches, and just exploring.

Perth will be a welcome stop with a hotel room and a nice long shower. We'll spend a few days exploring the city before catching a flight to Melbourne for our final stop in our Australian adventure.

Stop back to this blog to join us on our trip. Whenever we have internet, we'll add interesting info about the area and drop in lots of pictures!

Josh and Kip Down Under

Anticipating...

I'm just thinking about our upcoming trip to Australia and thought I would post a photo from Kip and Josh's recent trip to Tasmania. This guy is very cute!

So...We are leaving on July 8, 2010 and returning on August 15th. Our trip will take us to new territory. From Darwin, we are heading west to Broome and traveling on the Gibb River Road. We have a 4WD with a SNORKLE!!! We're camping along the way and are hoping the crocs don't find us.

I am so excited I can't hardly think straight!

Home

We're home and had a perfect trip back. All our flights connected with no problems and we were able to sleep a bit. That means our internal clocks are almost back in the correct time zone. I was up this morning at 5:30am and that is just a bit later than I normally sleep. Kip isn't up yet but I hear him stirring.

It is nice to be home but I am regretting that I didn't find a kilt. I am already concerned that I don't have any scones with clotted cream for breakfast and I am wondering how I will get along without shortbread. Well, that simply means I really need to return to Scotland! In the meantime, I'll be checking the internet for some
good recipes and perhaps and on-line kilt store just for fun!

Now today...lots to do to be ready for work tomorrow. I do hope to be able to post some more photos so check back later this week.

Kip's Day

Today was Kip's day. We toured distilleries along the River Spey. He was so happy to visit some of the places that he had heard of for so many years. Our day started early with a stop at Glenfarcus and then we moved on to the Cooperage Heritage Center. Here we learned about the craft of making casks. We read the display info, had a tour and watched the coopers repair the casks. Then I tried to put a small cask together. I was unsuccessful and think I need to keep teaching. Since coopers are paid based on the number of casks they complete, I'd never make any money. Then off we went to a few other distilleries.

By 1:30 we were ready for a change so we headed north for 10 miles or so and ended up in a small seaside village. We walked about just a bit before heading south to a woolen mill!







Disappointment! The woolen mill I had been planning to visit was closed for Easter holidays! What a shame. This was the place I would have seen the weaving and then the process to make the cashmere. Oh well...next time!

Another disappointment! Out of the blue and very unexpected, we spotted the Walker shortbread factory. Shortbread, yes that yummy, buttery, perfect Scottish cookie. We turned the car around and headed back in hopes of finding a visitor center with a tour. NOPE! No such luck! Well at the first store I could find we stopped and bought some shortbread but instead of Walkers who disappointed me, we bought Dean's. Now I'm looking for the Dean's shortbread factory.

One last photo. Notice the snow on the hills! Last week they had 2 feet of snow. It's quickly melted most places but not at higher elevations.



Tomorrow we travel back to Edinburgh and fly out on Saturday morning. I'll try to add more photos tomorrow however I am not sure of internet access beyond tomorrow morning.

The day is over and it is past my bedtime so I am shutting down for the night. Nite all!

Highland Cattle

I know, you've already seen a photo of a higland cow. Really though, aren't they the cutest cows you have ever seen??? The tan one was posing for a picture so we had to stop.

Pheasants

There are pheasants all over the place here on the Spey River. I've been so wild about taking photos of the males, I forgot to include the females. I'll try for that another time.

Wednesday's Drive

We headed off Skye early Wednesday morning to make our way to Grantown on Spey, located in the Highlands. Our drive took us past more castles...imagine that...beautiful mountain landscapes and lochs. Our first stop was at the the castle used in the movie Highlander. That's one of my favorite movies so we had to stop if just for a photo. This is the ultimate castle, surrounded by water with a stone bridge that would have been heavily guarded. I'd feel safe here!



We marveled at the landscape as it opened up to snow covered hills but didn't stop for any photos. We were headed to spot Nessie. Yes, our next stop was Loch Ness. Most of the sightings of the Lock Ness Monster are by the ruins of the castle. We looked and looked by no Nessie. The loch is 24 miles long and 2 miles wide, much bigger than I expected. Check out the pictures and look to see if you can spot something!







It's time for breakfast so I'll be back to blogging later today.

Remote Telephone

We're driving along on a one lane road. There is next to nothing around except sheep. Round the corner we go and gues what we see? Yep, a telephone booth. I'm thinking cell phone coverage is minimal here!

Sheep and Cows

Both the sheep and the cattle had long flowing locks. They were both beautiful animals.

More Skye

We had a wonderful time traveling around the island of Skye. Both days were overcast with periods of heavy rain. That did not stop us from seeing the sites. From castles to ruins to hills to waterfalls, we saw everything we could!

We drove miles and miles on a one lane road to visit this castle only to find that restoration work was happening. We toured it anyhow and enjoyed the castle and the grounds. The castle is still in use and we were only invited to tour a small portion of it. We had free reign to wonder about the gardens until the rain returned.



Kilt Rock is named because the rock face has the appearance of the pleats in a kilt.





Waterfalls are all over the island. We were surprised by the mountains here and even more surprised with all the water running and gushing down the mountainsides.





It's always fun to check out schools in other countries. Look at the sign for the Gaelic translation.

The Island of Skye

We spent the last few days on the Island of Skye which is located on the western side of Scotland. Internet was shaky at best however I was able to check once on the status of the coal mine explosion and then I was shut off. Sad affair.



We stayed in Portree, a small harbor town at one of the local hotels on the upper street. The lower street right on the harbor had lots of restaurants serving fresh seafood. The colors of the buildings were a picture just waiting to happen!

Now that we have internet, I'll be posting more but right now it is time for dinner so we are heading downtown and will be back soon.

Can you tell I'm in the UK?

A telephone booth and a taxi...very British!