Australia Part 1 : April 16 - May 7

Katherine, Australia : Wednesday, April 19, 2006

We were up and out the door by 7:00 this morning. After having experienced yesterday’s heat and humidity we wanted to do most of our hiking in the morning and leave the driving to the heat of the afternoon. We had gotten some hike recommendations from the park rangers the day before and it looked like it was going to be a pretty busy morning.

Our first hike was 40 km down the road at Nourlangie. This was a 2 km long hike up an escarpment to view some of the hundred of cave art sites that dot the region. The paintings were undoubtedly the best we had ever seen, and it was easy to see how this region got its World Heritage designation. (It is one of only twenty sites worldwide that have both cultural and geological designations.) The aboriginal artists used colors that were extremely vivid and they also had a habit of painting overtop of other pictures. As a result, there were often 4-6 paintings visible over top of one another showing different time periods. The paintings represented the local people’s traditional knowledge in place of a written form. Many aboriginal people believe that the oldest paintings were created by spirit people and depicted stories that connect the people with creation legends and the development of Aboriginal law.

The wildlife and bug life we got to see along the hike was very impressive as well. The high humidity had left all the spider webs covered in dew. Everywhere we looked we could see huge webs hanging from bushes or trees in the early light. Unfortunately on several of the webs you could also see some of the most gigantic spiders we have ever seen. Several were as large as a man’s hand. They may not have been massive in terms of weight but in Brian’s considered opinion that didn’t make a whole heck of a lot of difference! Big spiders are big spiders! After viewing the paintings, we headed up to the lookout to view the flat lands from up on top of the escarpment. The path led through some thick rain forest and it was here that we ran across another couple doing the loop in reverse. They had just stumbled across a large stick insect which resembled a thin green twig. Brennan was very curious and held the insect in his hand. Sierra was much more conservative and viewed from a distance. Smart girl!

The view of the escarpment and the flat lands from the lookout was spectacular! From here we were able to look across the valley floor to the “dreaming place” that was said to be the home of the lightning man, one of the ancient ancestors. These are very spiritual places to the aboriginal peoples and are strictly off limits to tourists. In any event, the view was well worth the heat and the 40 odd flies we must have ingested along the way.

Back at the truck, we headed off a short distance to our second hike of the day. This one was up Nawurlandja lookout trail. Heading off from a small billabong that had signs posted around it warning of crocs (no we didn’t see any) the trail heads up a long flat mountain. To get to the top we scrambled over some large boulders to a flat rock slope until we got to the top. Once again we were treated to spectacular views. All along the park floor we could see flocks of cockatoos taking off, giant eagles flying etc. We could also see the extent that the water was still on the ground. It was hard to believe that in only 6 weeks all the water that was covering the park would be gone and the place would resemble a drought zone.

Once again we climbed into the truck and headed off to our next stop some 80 km down the road. By this time we were totally drenched with sweat and could easily have rung out our shirts. We had been pretty good at guzzling the water and juices along the way and it was obvious that we would have to keep this up.

We pulled into the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center at Yellow River shortly before 11:00. This was another fabulous museum that illustrated the life of the local Aboriginal peoples and how they interacted with the land in the park. Once again it was designed and run by the local peoples. Entry to all of these museums and parks was free which made it doubly nice. After whipping up a quick couple of sandwiches in the parking lot, we hopped into the car and were off again. The next stop was a mere 150 km away! (100K on paved road, 50K on dirt) We were learning first hand about the huge distances in Australia.

This third hike was recommended by the wardens as a good wet season hike. Located in the southwest section of the park, the Yurmikmik trails offered a 4 km round trip hike up to some spectacular waterfalls and gorge pools. The bush down here was noticeably drier than in the middle of the park but the heat and the humidity were just the same. To start and end the hike we had to traverse a very small and very long cable bridge that accommodated only one hiker at a time. The bush was filled with grasshoppers, dragon flies and tons of birds. The water at the falls was amazingly clear and supposedly free of crocodiles. Soon it was time to leave this small oasis and head out once again.

For our 4 th hike of the day we headed out of Kakadu to Nitmiluk National Park, 40 km north of Katherine. It was another 170 km to get to the turn off then another 40 up a smaller paved road to reach the actual park. This park is traditionally known for its gorge tours via jet boat. We had heard however that while the unusually high levels of rain in the last while had disrupted some of the gorge tours, Edith Falls in another portion of the park were spectacular. As we traveled up the access road, it was getting towards late afternoon and the thunderclouds were beginning to build. We could hear thunder in the distance as we pulled into the park. The rumours were true and the lake with the falls dropping down into it was in full flood and they were spectacular. Locating the hiking trail that would take us up to the second set of falls was a little trickier. After walking some distance around the lake we found that the loop trail we had wanted to follow was blocked from this side due to flooding. We would have to return and go back up the trail from the other side if we wanted to see the upper falls and pools that were 2.5 km away. The thunder was even closer now however and we were sure that we were going to get wet. We backtracked our way to the other trail head and bounded up the hill at a blistering pace. We made it up and over the ridge to the upper pools in just over 20 minutes. They were truly beautiful. The bridge that would have completed the circuit loop was under water in places as the river rushed over its top. It would be a terrific place to swim in a month or so but now …

We nearly ran the 2+ km back to the truck and were driving back down the road when the rains finally hit. As we went along we looked over the numerous bridges that took us over creeks several meters below. It was then we noticed all the water damage and debris collected above the bridge. During the floods 2 weeks ago, these creeks and rivers were running over 5 meters higher than they were now!

We pulled into the town of Katherine around 5:30 and easily located a small resort at the edge of town. For $60 we managed to grab a small air conditioned cabin complete with TV and cooking facilities! Given that at tent space was going to run around $30 and the temperature was still near 30C, the choice of accommodation was simple. With the cooking facilities we managed to pull together a “taco night” much to the kids delight. It was a very long day but incredibly worthwhile. We all collapsed into bed exhausted.

Thursday, April 20, 2006: Kununurra, Western Australia

We got up reasonably early as the plans called for another long day of touring and driving. We started by heading off 50 km down the road towards Alice Springs. This is entirely the opposite direction to where we ultimately wanted to get to but we had heard that the caves at Cutta Cutta National Parks were “totally bonzer!” by the locals and that we really shouldn’t miss them. We showed up just before the 9:00 tour and were joined by another group of 3 travelers. Our small group headed off for these limestone caves with our guide, an older Aussie Ranger named “George”. The caves were very special because they were some of the few “ Tropical Caves” in the world. Tropical Caves develop in conditions of high wet and near flood from Monsoonal rains followed by annual dry periods where they remain dormant. As a result of this very polar cycle, the development of the caves is somewhat unique. The formations were terrific but the highlight for all of us was the various bats that inhabited the caves. Ghost Bats live here which are large, very pale, very large carnivorous bats that feed on birds and other bats. Also here are the rare Orange Horseshoe Bats and the very, very tiny Dusky Horseshoe Bats that are often “snackys” for the Ghost Bats. All in all it was well worth the trip out to see the caves even if we did emerge from them totally drenched in sweat.

We doubled back to Katherine just in time to catch the 11:00 tour of the Katherine School of Air. This is the famous radio school based out of Katherine that services the outback kids in the upper portion of the Northern Territory. For the most part the school has moved on from radio and now most are using satellite based internet connections combined with mail assignments and books. It is the “largest” school in the world covering over 80,000 sq. km of district. Even the kids found it fascinating.

It was now shortly after noon and having gassed up the vehicle (It holds 2 tanks 95 L & 55L and diesel costs $1.50 Aust.) we headed out on our 512 km trek to Kununurra in Western Australia. This is a significant distance but most impressive is that it is only broken up by 2 small points of inhabitation. Calling these stops a town or village would be too generous. Timber Creek and Victoria Road House combined might have 200 people in them. The rest is totally isolated outback. As we drove along the first 200 km we noted that we had only passed 14 vehicles in nearly 2 hours of driving. Not a place you wanted a breakdown especially in all the heat …..

The right rear tire BLEW OUT while we were doing 120 km an hour. It was instantaneous and made for a very exciting 20-30 seconds while Brian managed to bring the heavy 4WD vehicle to a controlled stop. At that time we were very grateful that there was no other traffic on the road. After much cursing Brian got out to inspect the damage. The tire was totally shot and the sidewall obviously gone. Brian suspected that we would now have to purchase a new spare.

Changing a tire on a large unfamiliar vehicle is not fun at the best of times. Having to unpack bags etc and change it in the blistering heat is even worse. To top things off the lugs on the blown tire were pretty frozen up and it took several hard kicks to free them up to the point where they could be turned by hand. While Brian was burning his hands and knees crawling around under the vehicle to position the jack and to retrieve the spare, the blown tire was actually melting the asphalt on the road. Despite the pain we managed to get the tire changed and back underway within 30 minutes. It was now about 80 km to the next town(?) or nearly 300 km to our destination for the night.

We really wanted to get someplace where we could either get a temporary repair to the spare or purchase a new tire. Things didn’t look too hopeful. At the first place we stopped ( Victoria Road house) we managed to get gas and the mechanic looked at the spare but had nothing he could do to help out. We had to get to Timber Creek where they might have other spares. Timber Creek was the next point of inhabitation 100 km away. We pulled out hoping we didn’t get another flat. Normally you don’t think about it until you actually get a flat. Then you start to wonder about the conditions of the other tires. Did they pick up glass or something else as well??? You get the picture.

An hour later we pulled into Timber Creek (One campground, one hotel, one gas station and yes one repair yard!). The mechanic was very helpful and after a quick inspection of the tire off of the rim, it was obvious we weren’t going to be repairing it any time soon. The tube (yes tube) was totally blown into shreds, the liner was in multiple pieces and the sidewalls of the tire itself were almost totally detached. There would be no repairs here. After rummaging through the used tire section we realized that if we wanted a spare we would have to purchase a new tire. Several $ later we were back on the road. Unfortunately things like insurance don’t cover flats! The good news about the whole thing is that we did a great deal of driving through some truly spectacular country at around dusk. The green of the trees from the rain and the red of the rocks were amazing in the late day light.

We finally pulled into Kununurra around 6:30 that evening and after a bit of looking, we managed to grab a family room at a local hotel. It certainly wasn’t the Ritz (we could tell by the mold on the ceiling and the frog in the toilet). It wasn’t even all that quiet but nobody was keen to set up the tents after this long day. We really were in the wild west of Australia. Welcome to the Kimberley!( NEXT PAGE )