A couple of Sundays ago we stopped for a quick beer at the Timber Creek Hotel (where drinks are not permitted outside and the banned list was pretty extensive). After that we arrived at the Big Horse Campground on the Victoria River. There wasn't much to see except for lots of red dirt, flocks of screeching galahs and an abundance of Boab trees. We had heard that the fishing was pretty good, so we decided to set up camp.
They loved to squeal at 5am every morning
But they are a little bit cute
A few hours later our new BFFS arrived (Dave and Jana for those of you who have been living under a rock for the last few blogs). We were woken at sparrows fart by the noisy birds (they were galahs, not sparrows) and eventually got the boats out in the arvo. Apart from the electric motor joining the long list of broken items it was a fairly uneventful afternoon - but nice on the water nonetheless.
Banned list at the Timber Creek Hotel
Vic River Road House
Hmmm - we sure do pick strange friends....
A few hours later our new BFFS arrived (Dave and Jana for those of you who have been living under a rock for the last few blogs). We were woken at sparrows fart by the noisy birds (they were galahs, not sparrows) and eventually got the boats out in the arvo. Apart from the electric motor joining the long list of broken items it was a fairly uneventful afternoon - but nice on the water nonetheless.
Cruising up the Vic
Ned Kelly lets Belle drive the boat now (she is awesome at it)
Dawn the next morning saw us on the water again ready to get some fish. We pulled up at a likely looking rock bar where Belle executed a perfect cast (Waz got snagged on the rocks). While Waz was trying to retrieve his snagged lure, Belle felt an almighty hit on and was on in a big way. Waz didn't believe her at first, but when a metre Barra materialized boat side with a Rapala X-Rap in it's mouth, he quickly busted his line off and got the net ready. After a short but intense battle in which the Barra jumped and splashed us both, the line broke and the Barra unfortunately saw it's freedom. That morning Belle lost 3 Rapalas, 1 Metre Barra and her positive attitude - it was time to go back to the camp and sulk.
Mr and Mrs Hose
Croc guarding our pots
Dawn the next morning saw us on the water again ready to get some fish. We pulled up at a likely looking rock bar where Belle executed a perfect cast (Waz got snagged on the rocks). While Waz was trying to retrieve his snagged lure, Belle felt an almighty hit on and was on in a big way. Waz didn't believe her at first, but when a metre Barra materialized boat side with a Rapala X-Rap in it's mouth, he quickly busted his line off and got the net ready. After a short but intense battle in which the Barra jumped and splashed us both, the line broke and the Barra unfortunately saw it's freedom. That morning Belle lost 3 Rapalas, 1 Metre Barra and her positive attitude - it was time to go back to the camp and sulk.
Belle nearly landing a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Barra
We spent a couple more days at Timber Creek fishing, sightseeing and playing heated games of sequence before we finally left for Western Australia. A short drive and quarantine stop later, and we were unpacking at the Kimberland Campground in Kununurra which is situated on the Lilly Lagoon.
Before we knew it we were booked onto a Charter flight over the Bungle Bungles and the Ord River and we were air born!!!! Our trainee pilot flew us over Lake Argyle, Argyle Diamond Mine, Bungle Bungles, Cockburn Range (the C and K are silent, but it is still funny), Emma Gorge, El Questro, Wyndham and the mouth of the Ord. The 2.5 hour flight was amazing and if you ever get the chance you should definitely do it. After a shaky landing, we were back on the tarmac and ready for some dinner (a dinner that never eventuated).
There is a 1.5 hour time difference between NT and WA and when we arrived in WA we felt like we had jet lag so we took it easy and just spent the next couple of days sightseeing around the area. We visited Ninas (which is like the Tiffanys of Kununurra) and Waz bought Belle a beautiful Boab Tree necklace. We also visited Wyndham which was a bit of a hole, but it had a good pub that served us a good Barra and chips. There was even a friendly pub dog called Bella!!!!
We had also put the car in to get the thermostat replaced, but the part needed to be ordered in (same old same old) so we decided to head out to Purnululu National Park (The Bungle Bungles) while we waited for the part to arrive. We did lots of walks and saw the Bungles from the ground, poor old Ned Kelly even got blisters on his feet because he had to wear closed in shoes for the first time in months. We took about 25,000 photos while we were at the Bungles, so if you want to see them, come round to our place with a carton of beer (in a glass please) and we will get bungled together - we won't bore everyone else. A couple of days was enough to see the Bungles, so we made our way back to Kununurra on Tuesday.
View from Policeman's Lookout aka Coppers Knob
Nice earring Waz
We spent a couple more days at Timber Creek fishing, sightseeing and playing heated games of sequence before we finally left for Western Australia. A short drive and quarantine stop later, and we were unpacking at the Kimberland Campground in Kununurra which is situated on the Lilly Lagoon.
Before we knew it we were booked onto a Charter flight over the Bungle Bungles and the Ord River and we were air born!!!! Our trainee pilot flew us over Lake Argyle, Argyle Diamond Mine, Bungle Bungles, Cockburn Range (the C and K are silent, but it is still funny), Emma Gorge, El Questro, Wyndham and the mouth of the Ord. The 2.5 hour flight was amazing and if you ever get the chance you should definitely do it. After a shaky landing, we were back on the tarmac and ready for some dinner (a dinner that never eventuated).
Our pilot (she had two stripes)
The Bungles (bush fires made photos very hazy)
Argyle Diamond Mine
There is a 1.5 hour time difference between NT and WA and when we arrived in WA we felt like we had jet lag so we took it easy and just spent the next couple of days sightseeing around the area. We visited Ninas (which is like the Tiffanys of Kununurra) and Waz bought Belle a beautiful Boab Tree necklace. We also visited Wyndham which was a bit of a hole, but it had a good pub that served us a good Barra and chips. There was even a friendly pub dog called Bella!!!!
What a cute little lizard
The boab prison tree - imagine being locked up in that thing!!!!!
We had also put the car in to get the thermostat replaced, but the part needed to be ordered in (same old same old) so we decided to head out to Purnululu National Park (The Bungle Bungles) while we waited for the part to arrive. We did lots of walks and saw the Bungles from the ground, poor old Ned Kelly even got blisters on his feet because he had to wear closed in shoes for the first time in months. We took about 25,000 photos while we were at the Bungles, so if you want to see them, come round to our place with a carton of beer (in a glass please) and we will get bungled together - we won't bore everyone else. A couple of days was enough to see the Bungles, so we made our way back to Kununurra on Tuesday.
The Bungles from the ground
Mini Palms
We left Kununurra with our new thermostat in place and made our way to the Keep River where we planned to bush camp on the River Banks. We found a nice spot overlooking the muddy river and set up camp in the oppressive heat. We had a pretty laid back approach to our camping experience at the Keep River. We fished with live bait from the river banks, threw out a couple of crab pots and played a couple of games of sequence.
For those of you who aren't travelling through remote areas, most boat ramps that you use would be a good concrete structure that enables you to lower your boat into the water. The Keep River was a very different story. We have seen some dodgy ramps on this trip, but this was the most difficult. The 'boat ramp' was a steep muddy bank (with a resident 4 metre croc close by) that was very difficult to use (see photo). We did manage to get both boats in the water, but didn't land a single fish. When we checked the crab pots they were full, so we were happy enough.
We left the Keep River this morning, and are now back at Kununurra for another couple of days. Monday morning we are going to hit the Gibb River Road. Oh and by the way now our fridge/freezer is broken, looks like the Kununurra Stimulus Package is looking better by the minute. We are buying an Engel though - because EvaKool are shit!!!!!!!!
We left Kununurra with our new thermostat in place and made our way to the Keep River where we planned to bush camp on the River Banks. We found a nice spot overlooking the muddy river and set up camp in the oppressive heat. We had a pretty laid back approach to our camping experience at the Keep River. We fished with live bait from the river banks, threw out a couple of crab pots and played a couple of games of sequence.
West Australians and Territorians love to shoot stuff
For those of you who aren't travelling through remote areas, most boat ramps that you use would be a good concrete structure that enables you to lower your boat into the water. The Keep River was a very different story. We have seen some dodgy ramps on this trip, but this was the most difficult. The 'boat ramp' was a steep muddy bank (with a resident 4 metre croc close by) that was very difficult to use (see photo). We did manage to get both boats in the water, but didn't land a single fish. When we checked the crab pots they were full, so we were happy enough.
Boat ramp - need we say more (actually yes it is worse than it looks)
We left the Keep River this morning, and are now back at Kununurra for another couple of days. Monday morning we are going to hit the Gibb River Road. Oh and by the way now our fridge/freezer is broken, looks like the Kununurra Stimulus Package is looking better by the minute. We are buying an Engel though - because EvaKool are shit!!!!!!!!
