Last Day at Camooweal

Even with the most creative diary management we need to move on to get home in time for baby Martin’s arrival which we wouldn’t miss even for Camooweal so today is our last day. We have enjoyed the birds here so much and today Ian was able to take some great photos of the brolgas which are by far the biggest birds here. They have the most incredible trumpeting call and their wing display as they trumpet is quite amazing. Today they were out in force and we enjoyed watching them and listening as we sat in front of the van despite the ever present gale force winds. I know you all feel very sad for us, but it’s OK it’s still 20 degrees despite the wind chill factor!

“Our eagles” as we now call them have had a rocky time in the ‘penthouse’ as we refer to their nest high in the tree directly opposite us. Mervyn and Shirley and the kids appear to be hanging on for grim death some times and Mervyn even went to the extent of interrupting his frequent fishing assignations to bring back some twigs for reinforcement of the nest. Guess that’s the price you pay for high rise living.  The kite family on the other hand seem fairly well protected in a lower down location and just spend the day soaring above us and taking what they please from the lagoon.

Yesterday we had quite a performance from two cormorants who spent at least 15 minutes scrapping in the middle of the lagoon. Every time one popped his head up like a periscope the other one would spring into action and dive bomb right on top of him. At first we thought it was some sort of mating ritual but as time went on it became apparent that these two were definitely not in love! It kept us entertained trying to see where ‘up periscope’ was going to be next as they travelled some distance underwater trying to avoid each other. Eventually they seemed to tire of the game and just wandered off downstream, probably ‘besties’ ten minutes later with no memory of the major incident they had played out in front of two very amused visitors.

We went for a long walk today looking at other spots we might have next year if our private piece of paradise is already taken when we arrive and have come to the conclusion as indeed have the other 50 odd vanners here on most nights, that there isn’t a bad spot here anywhere it’s just a matter of finding somewhere you fancy and settling in.

To the front seats of the car tomorrow morning, and many a mile to cover, as we look back on what has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of our trip.

Camooweal Day Three

Well how nice is it when you return somewhere and find it as nice as you thought you remembered!

After some well earned relaxation, and reading, sewing, and a few walks, we decided to go back to the Drover’s Camp for a guided tour this time. What a decision, as we were shown around the excellent exhibits by Tom a retired drover of considerable experience and great knowledge. A range of beautiful paintings, many personal belongings of drovers, and their plant (or team) are on display. Camooweal was in the early part of 20^th Century the capital of droving throughout north Australia, which is hard to imagine in the now small community of 310 (according to the entry sign), but it certainly is in a key location.

A droving plant typically comprised a boss, 8-10 drovers, a horse taylor, a cook, and in excess of 60 horses who would sometimes spend upwards of 12 months on the road with a typical mob of 1250 – 1500 cattle. Men often lived on 2 – 3 gallons of water for a number of days, and slept in swags comprising a canvas cover on a couple of blankets, and NO mattress at all after up to 8 hours in the saddle. They were tough guys indeed! The cook was a really important member of the team, as it was often said that a good cook made a good team, as men were always better and happier with good food. The cook and the horse taylor were also responsible for setting up the camp each night, packing it up in the morning, and providing tea, and hopefully shade for dinner (lunch).

Ian (as per the photo) even had a ride on a real life bull (it was a bit ‘stuffed’ though), and performed well without falling off.

For a free entry exhibition, with a ‘professional’ guide, this is a truly great facility, and it is pleasing to hear that they are getting increased numbers through. Anyone coming through Camooweal (and it is the only way across up here) should not miss this place.

Camooweal

We arrived at Camooweal on Tuesday and set ourselves up unintentionally at about the same spot we found last year. Camooweal is just over the border in Queensland and was a find for us last year so we made sure we had time to revisit this year and hoped that it wouldn’t disappoint.  

After lunch we went in to town which comprises the pub, two caravan parks a couple of petrol suppliers, and the Camooweal Post and General Store where we hoped to still find Sue and Graeme in charge. Last year they were so helpful with our voting and also served great coffee.  They are still serving great coffee and as a bonus, even remembered us!  We settled back into a routine of morning coffee and a chat, however this year they have a couple of rescued joeys and of course I wanted to cuddle one so “Kate” the Joey duly sat with me and dozed off after licking me and chewing my necklace and sucking her toe!

We returned to our camp and settled back into watching the birds, more of which we will do for the next few days.

Edith Falls

After we left Katherine we drove approx. 60 kms to Edith Falls which we had been told was lovely. The Falls are located within Nitmuluk National Park. We were directed to our site and with some (?) difficulty manoeuvred ourselves into this relatively small site.

Then we were off to discover the Falls which were absolutely beautiful as you can see. We had been told there were two walks, one 2.6km and the other an easy one kilometre and that was the one to take to get to the top Falls. We decided that as it was relatively late in the morning we would take the short option for our first effort and walk the longer one in the early morning the next day. So off we went thinking we were on the short loop only to discover that it was the long uphill route and it was a very warm afternoon. Fancy Ian who is the navigator making an error of judgement. Will wonders never cease. As you can see there was even a pedestrian creek crossing and I think Ian was rather hoping I would fall in so he was ready with the camera. Sorry to disappoint and also disappoint the other people who were watching!

However we did make it all the way round and were rewarded with the most beautiful view of the Top Falls, once we had regained our breath and had a long drink from our water bottle which fortunately we had brought with us. Unfortunately we hadn’t brought our lunches or bathers so it was back to the camp for lunch after which we had a long swim in the lower Falls.

We had booked for two days and on our return to the van after our long walk our friends Aaron and Shannon, Katelyn and Sam had taken up the site opposite us so we were able to tell them about our walk and after they had stopped laughing they decided to take the short walk! In the evening a car drove through the camp and an Indigenous lady stopped to chat to us about the area which is where she lives and to ask had we seen the frilled neck lizard represented in the walls of the lower falls. To be honest we had to admit we hadn’t but made sure we did the next day and we did see it then. She had her three young boys in the car who were far more interested in showing us all the things they had bought at the Katherine Show!

Our second day at Edith Falls was considerably more relaxed and we enjoyed three swims in the Falls. On the way down to the Falls I heard some rustling in the long grass along the path and glanced over to see a LONG brown snake disappearing into the bush. Hmmm! However I was very good and just casually (?) mentioned to Ian that I had seen a snake, which he didn’t but on seeing my face decided not to argue the point. There is so much growth and greenery everywhere we have been because of the long intense wet it seems everything is in abundance including the wildlife!

We can’t believe we have driven past the Falls on two occasions and not checked them out. It just shows what you learn sitting around a fire chatting with other campers as we did on this occasion. We are off to a roadside camp for a night a then into Camooweal where we had such a great time last year. Here’s hoping nothing has changed.

Gregory National Park and Katherine

We left Kununurra early on Tuesday and headed out towards Katherine planning to break the journey at a National Park along the way.  We also “lost” an hour and a half as we crossed the border which in some ways is good because now it doesn’t get dark at 5.30pm which means we stay outside longer and eat later.

We found Big Horse Creek Camp in Gregory National Park and stopped there as it looked very pleasant and was filling up fast so the decision was made. We paid $6.60 for each night so decided on two nights and enjoyed a walk down to the Victoria River which is huge and a very popular fishing spot for barramundi. In fact the crocodiles obviously do very nicely thank you as we saw half of a very large barra washed up on the riverbank. No swimming for us!

We met a lovely family with two young children who are travelling around Australia for twelve months and we enjoyed hearing their stories and learning of some other spots for us to visit. We lit a fire and sat with some other campers and really had a lovely night.

Then early on Thursday we set of for Katherine where we called into the caravan park which has the Hot Springs at its back door and managed to get one of the very last sites (again!). After stocking up for the trip ahead we went down to the springs which we had visited before and had a relaxing afternoon.

Of course there was great excitement in the park when flames started licking at the back fence and Ian was duly sent to gather photos for the blog.  It seems the fire may have been part of a burn off, official or unofficial still to be determined but the campers sure thought it was good! The trucks raced off after a short while as apparently a car was on fire a little further down the track. Gosh its busy!

The raptor hovering overhead is probably looking for something tasty which will shortly run out of the flames.  Apparently raptors have been known to spread fires by picking up buring twigs to place in other areas to flush out their meals! Very clever birds.

Our next stopping point we hope is Edith Falls which we have been told are beautiful so here’s hoping our camping luck holds out!

Kununurra - Lake Argyle

This morning we went on a terrific trip on Lake Argyle, the enormous storage facility for the Ord River Scheme. The drive out there, about an hour from Kununurra, is beautiful, and certainly gives you yet another perspective on the area. As you wind through the hills there is nothing to see then out of nowhere the water appears. It looks like you have come to the sea, but it is fresh water.

Our time started with a half hour video on the construction of the dam wall, and associated works which occurred over the dry seasons of 1969 – 1971. The work was completed on time and on budget for just $22m. The one thing that really stands out is the standards of the day, men working in the open with no shirts, no air conditioned cabs on plant, and cigarettes everywhere. So much so that when they ‘fired up’ the largest single non-nuclear blast in Australia they simply lit the end of the fuse with one of the bloke’s cigarettes. Fancy smoking on a site where they were developing a blast for weeks with hundreds of holes filled with explosive.

The dam itself is over 300m high, and wider than that at the base, with all materials coming from the immediate area, a core of clay, a barrier of sand and stone, and many thousands of tonnes of rock both upstream and downstream. The design capacity is equivalent to 21 Sydney Harbours, but at present it is way over full, and is the equivalent of about 42 Sydney Harbours, measuring about 55 km north to south, and up to 40 km east to west. Hard to get your head around really!

At last year’s audit over 35,000 fresh water crocodiles were formally estimated as the population, and there is a heap of other wildlife including short eared rock wallabies, whistling kites, black neck storks, spiders and snakes amongst many others. Some of the larger islands still have wild cattle on them, despite many rescue operations both when the lake was initially filled, and after subsequent dry seasons. Conservationist Harry Butler came to prominence after he set up a program to rescue wild animals from drowning etc when the lake was filling. It was known as the Noah’s Ark Program, and he continues to be recognised for his contribution through the naming of a cove and waterfall after him. However dingoes and feral cats on the islands have recently disappeared after suffering from high speed lead poisoning.

Kununurra - Mirama National Park and The Hoochery

Today we started out our day by washing the car and by the look of it we should enjoy a considerable improvement in fuel consumption having reduced the amount of dirt we have been lugging around. Our Prado can really say it is an off road vehicle now!

After that effort we went for a walk through the Mirama National Park which is directly behind the park we are staying in. It is only a small park but has beautiful sandstone ranges, cliffs and valleys similar to The Bungle Bungles but not as striking in the distinct layers we saw in The Bungle Bungles.

We undertook a couple of walks, one being a “Looking at Plants” which was really interesting as it gave us an insight into how the Indigenous community used these plants. It is really amazing when you look at a plant without knowing how important it has been and then read how it was used to make a shelter for a baby or as an antiseptic or a poison for fish.

The other walk took us to the lookout high above the township of Kununurra, which is sheltered by many trees and not really clearly visible, but gave us spectacular views.

Then we decided to go to The Hoochery where they make the only rum in Western Australia which we had visited briefly with Matt on Thursday and vowed to return to before we left. The barramundi was highly recommended and delicious as was the rum cheesecake and rum chocolate cake.  Yummy and well worth the return visit. We also purchased some of the rum liqueur to enjoy on our return. The liqueur is very much like our favourite from Bundaberg, if not better. The distillery is really sincere in using only local produce and even grows its own sugar cane for processing into molasses with a machine imported from Argentina.

After our very satisfying visit to The Hoochery we went onto another fresh food producer and bought some Chia seeds, berlotti beans and chick peas, all produced in the Ord Region.

Interestingly Matt told us that in 2011 7000 hectares is now under planting with Indian Sandlewood which is 45% of the available irrigated land in the Ord Region. The sandlewood looks really scruffy as it grows with a host plant which is difficult to distinguish unless you know what you are looking for.

Tomorrow we are off for a cruise on Lake Argyle that we are really looking forward to.