Week 18: Off the Grid since Broome

It has been another two weeks since my regular update because of a lack of reception and I will do my best to reflect on where we have been. This part of Australia is very isolated and towns are very far apart from each other.

Since the debacle in Broome and $1800 in repairs behind us we just wanted to move on. We've been stopping at rest stops and decided not to go down the beaten track to see Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. We just lost confidence in the car. Instead we stopped at Geike Gorge National Park just outside of Fitzroy Crossing. Geike Gorge was very pretty and I have pledged to do the Gibb River Road in the future. Next town was Halls Creek, notorious for its social problems but it didn't seem like that. It's also the gateway to the Bungle Bungles and Wolfe Creek Crater. Again, we chose not to go onto dirt roads.

Kununurra was next. It's the last town before the border to NT and is famous for its Argyle diamonds. Only 2km out is Mirima National Park which has similar formations to the Bungle Bungles. It's a bit behind in Kununurra and human rights isn't its forte when the council is planning to use high pitched signals to ward off teenagers at the shopping centre. Might as well sack anyone that's old. Google mosquito speakers for more info.

We crossed the border and visited the bitumen parts of Gregory NP. It contained some very cool landscapes and ancient Aboriginal rock art. You know you are in the NT when the speed limit changes to 130 - makes for highly dangerous drivers. We nearly got taken out by an oncoming truck on a bridge crossing, the driver was unable to control his speed and crossed the double lines. We came to a screeching slow down just to avoid the situation. There are also fires occurring everywhere during the dry season.

Katherine was next. It is home to Nitmiluk NP and famous for its gorges, crocs and wildlife. A truly amazing national park with plenty of walks, swimming holes (with and without crocs) and animal sightings. You can choose to be in the resort or choose to camp out in a more isolated region to suit your wants. Within Katherine, there are natural spring fed pools that are constantly at 32C. Very nice when you need a bit of a shower...

We entered Darwin, where Krystal's friends Kelly and Willo are currently hosting us. Very grateful to have another roof over our heads again. We have been to Darwin before and find that Darwin (and the NT) has this magical charm for us.

Km travelled since Broome: 2070km (total: around 20000km! 5000 more until we live up to the title of the blog)
Big highlights: Nitmiluk NP, Katherine spring pools, Darwin, Aboriginal rock art, rest stops in WA
Some lowlights: poor driving NT - 130km/hr speed limit encourages dangerous driving, fly rage, tardy updates - sorry folks.

After scrambling over some rocks, you can get a view right into the middle of the gorge in Nitmiluk.

The gorge is teeming with wildlife in Nitmiluk, you can literally get a net and scoop fish out. Check out the size of this turtle!

Can you spot the Western Brown Snake? (not a taipan)

Sunset at Edith Falls, Nitmiluk

Kelly and Willo's dog, Blackbean. My favourite dog after Ormiston.

Katherine Gorge and Edith Falls

Katherine gorge or Nitmulik National Park is a must do NT adventure. There are many options for camping and lots to do and it was tricky to get a hold of clear info on either subject.

We spent the first night in the caravan park at Katherine Gorge. It was expensive and only ok in terms of facilities. You can do boat tours of Latherine Gorge but we decided to do a 12km return walk to butterfly gorge. As you can imagine I had high hopes for this gorge with images of swarms of butterflies flying around me. I was not disappointed. As we hiked lower and further into the gorge it got cooler and darker. From 32 degrees it was a relief from the heat. With huge rock rising either side of us the butterflies started to appear, flying around our heads. Amazing!

Once we reached the gorge mark climbed down to the waters edge as I prayed we would not have a Crocodile Dundee repeat. There was no swimming as the gorge had crocs in it so my fears were not unfounded. We saw lots of fish and turtles as well as 2 snakes! The walk was wonderful and I can highly recommend it.

 We stayed last night at Edith falls which is still niulik national park but is more bush camping. It was inexpensive with great camp sites and excellent facilities. I recommend it over Katherine gorge caravan park. This morning we did a short walk of 3 km to Edith Falls. It was spectacular. Huge amounts of water pounding down a gorge, so clear you can see the bottom. Cool and beautiful as it makes it's way like an avalanche through the hills. Fantastic.

We are off to Darwin now to see Kel and willo! Can't wait.

 Love krystal

An Angel!!!!

Broome to Katherine in Pictures

Sorry for our absence on the blog. We have had no service the last few days since leaving Broome. We have been staying in free camps and roughing it. 5 days without a shower is now a record proudly held!

Boabs

We passed through Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Kunnanurra and Katherine.

Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek were quiet little towns where the alcohol restrictions seems to have improved things considerably.

Boab WA

Rest Area WA

People have all kinds of set ups!

Kunnanurra was good and we stocked up on supplies. I also visited Nina's, who specialise in Pink Argile Diamonds. They were lovely and even though I could clearly not afford a diamond the sales lady let me handle a 1 carat pink diamond worth $80 000! It was spectacular.

We had a quick stop at Mirima National Park in Kununurra before leaving Western Australia for the Northern Territory.
 

The speed limit changed to 130 and we knew we were in the NT!

Gregory National Park; Rock Art

A stop at Gregory National Park for some beautiful scenery and fantastic Rock Paintings.












A stop in Katherine was not so pleasant as there was music coming from the local tavern at 10am and drunk people about the streets. I almost felt unsafe and since my last job was a HSLO in Wilcannia that is a big call.

Katherine Hot Springs (tilt your head)

Self Portrait, Hot Springs

Katherine did have wonderful hot springs though and they were a refreshing change to the main street and felt almost like we had had a shower.

Mirima National Park; WA

Katherine Gorge is our stop tonight and tomorrow and while it is quite comercialised it is spectacular.

A Rest Stop in WA

Sending lots of love to the Railway Town Public School staff and students tonight as they are going through a tough time at the moment. Love you Donna.

Katherine Gorge

Love Krystal

Broome

Cable Beach

We have settled into Broome as we wait for parts from Perth to arrive. We have no idea how much the repairs will cost and it is a little dark cloud that is hanging over us.


















I am determined to enjoy myself though and Mark is putting on a very brave face. I have been looking forward to Broome and it was high on my list of places to go.



I purchased a Salt Water Broome Pearl and I LOVE it! It is grey and just amazing. I wear it everywhere. I then went a bit mad and bought some freshwater pink pearl earrings and I purchased Mum a present for Christmas.

Sharks being drawn to Broome jetty by a teenager with a fish on a rope!

Broome is a tourist town. It is pretty, the people are nice and the beaches are beautiful. Again the sunset over the water captivates me.

 Mark's RAA cover has really come through for us and not only do we get to stay in our cabin until our car is fixed they also got us a hire car. We feel very lucky and cannot recommend paying extra for full road side assistance cover. It has paid for itself and then some.

A hermit crab, so cute!

Waiting for the ute to be ready and enjoying having a little cabin to live in, a sink to wash in and a bathroom. All is well and spirits while not at a great height are good and solid. It is an adventure after all!

Shattered

Our arrival in Broome was...unexpected. We planned to spend the night at a rest stop 150km from Broome after leaving Port Hedland.

We were there nice and early and Mark decided it was a good time to change the oil and oil filter. We had picked up the parts in Port Hedland but could not do the mechanical work in the caravan park.

See the crack...it is not meant to be cracked!

He dumped the old oil but was having some trouble getting to the oil filter to change it. There were other people at the rest stop, mostly grey nomads with their shinny caravans. I was having a chat with the ladies and the men went over to see what Mark was up to.

As always when you have the hood of a car up men flock. Some helpful, some unhelpful, some just want to sticky beak. As the offending piece of machinery still would not budge an old man found some pipe to gain some 'leverage.' Clearly this man was of the helpful kind. He was giving the very tight oil filter housing a pull.

From my perspective (over having a gossip with the ladies) all I saw was Mark look up and slowly start to walk over to me. His face looked terrible and I knew something was wrong. My face was questioning...what could have happened?

All Mark said was..."I f**ked it."
"You what?" said I.
"Its f**cked." He said.

I thought to myself; how bad can this possibly be? We walked over to the car together. I found some composure in the hot baking sun and asked for a more detailed description of the problem from my clearly shattered husband.

He described how as the older man was attempting to undo the oil housing he heard a 'chink' and thought it had come undone. Joy soon turned to dispair as he looked down and realised that the oil housing was cracked. A bit dirty gaping crack in aluminum housing that should not be cracked.  

"Oh hell." Was all I said. On the inside I was freaking out and praying that I might see my Dad, Jake, Gerard, Mum, Nan or Pa drive down the dusty red road to help. No one came.

The helpful and unhelpful men were offering suggestions both stupid and annoying in equal parts. You could not blame them though...all were just trying to help. My favorite was the suggestion to stick it together with selastic. "No," said Mark, "that will melt." the other men agreed.

We were running out of light as the sun slowly set. The old men started to filter away, realising that our cause was lost. A helpful man handed Mark a beer and I have never seen him relish the taiste of a XXXX as he did then.

There was no mobile service at the camp and the mozzies started to arrive. The man who broke the offending part offered his mobile that had service. We rang the RAA (SA equivalent of NRMA). I am so greatful to Mark for his carefulness, his preparedness and his smarts as he had registered for premium cover all over Australia.

RAA were FANTASTIC and I cannot give them a big enough wrap. We had a tow truck on the way in half an hour to not only pick up Mendoza but also Mavis and of course ourselves. We used 150kmof the allowed 200km towing. The RAA also organised a cabin in a caravan park in Broome. They provide up to $130 a night in accommodation. As that is our normal weekly budget for food and accommodation I could almost get excited...almost.

Everything was organised and I had time for a little reflection. I decided that the worst thing was that we really had no where to go but where we were standing right then and there. Isn't that an interesting thought...no where at all but right where I am. No appointments, no house, no one expecting us...it was a very lonely feeling.

The dark came with the mosquitos, thousands of them, and we sat in the dark waiting for the tow truck. The man who broke Mendoza asked us in for tea. His caravan was warm and safe and he and his wife were very kind. It lifted our spirits considerably as did the packet of chocolate biscuits I ate (yes, again.)

Jason came in his tow truck and although he was rough and ready and stared at my chest he deftly put the ute on the truck and towed Alice the trailer behind. One in Broome he dropped us at our accomodation and we watched as he drove off with Mendoza and Alice, our home.

 Settled into our accommodation there was nothing to do but have wine and cheese (clearly there were no biscuits left) and worry and sleep in equal measure.

We are ok though!
Love Krystal

High Vis. The New Black

We are taking our leave of Port Hedland tomorrow and to be honest it cannot happen quickly enough! This port town is expensive, gritty, industrial and unpleasant.

 People have no where to live so they sleep in their cars or in caravans on their work sites. The money being pumped through this town is phenomenal yet the social problems are huge and must seem unmanageable.

Everybody is wearing High Visibility Clothing. It is a sign that you have a job, a house and of course money. Mark stated "this town does not cater for its people, it caters for the world." He is correct in that you cannot get access to the services or items you need (like an air filter or oil for your car) yet this Port exports ore to the world.

On the flip side are the people that are flocking into town expecting a job. The myth is that there are jobs everywhere here and money to be made. People flock into this caravan park, set up a tent and begin the search for work. There are jobs...at Woolworths and the hairdressers. The big money jobs are, however, tougher to nail and so they should be. People arrive with a sense of entitlement that they will share in this wealth that is so obvious. What they neglect to realise is that BHP is not going to pay them to breath. You must have a qualification, a skill or a mate who already has a job.

It was pretty cool to see the BHP sign everywhere and know that the company was born in Broken Hill. I feel proud of that, which is odd as I am not a born and bred Broken Hillian (an A Grader) but I feel proud non the less. If nothing else it is an interesting piece of history in the making.

I do wonder what is to become of this Port town. Will it die after the boom? Will all the high vis wearers eat each other? Will Gina Rhineheart eat everyone? Will Clive Palmer launch litigation against us all and the CIA who are clearly working with the Greens? Who knows.

Heading to Broome and as Big Kev said...I'm excited!

Love Krystal

Port Hedland Special

Well, my car has been mended a little. We were very fortunate to have a 2nd year apprentice in the campsite at the right time. I must've been looking a little bit pitiful as I was staring into the bonnet and on the phone for help. The fuel filter has been changed!! (Thanks David!)

This post is dedicated to the beauty (sarcasm) of Port Hedland. We have been here for 5 days so we decided to at least use the city as a subject for some photos. 

The busy port of Port Hedland, there are still seven barges visible on the horizon at 4pm.

View from someone's frontyard.

Rio Tinto salt mine

One of the long trains with their ore load. It is reported to be around 250 carriages long

The horizon into the Wedgefield industrial district

BHP's train heading out of town

Welcome to the Industrial District, where there is a line of hi-vis workers lining up for kebabs at lunch time.

The metal yard

Most trucks have four loads

One of the many different car-type accommodation options for workers in Port Hedland. Most sleep on-site.

Wedgefield industrial area is seen across the mangroves at Cooke Point

What is Your Best Self?

Gorgeous Gorges

What is your best self? The very best self you could imagine. If everything went your way, if everything worked out and the stars aligned just for you what would that you be like? Maybe you have more than 1 best self. A few different "the best" you could be.

Maybe you have never thought about it.







I got to thinking about this question in Melbourne. A group of uni students had gathered in federation square dressed in all manner of crazy garb. There were lions, ballarinas, drag queens and everything in between. Frankie and I stopped to look at them and listen in on what they were up to. It turns out that on that day they were to arrive in federation square as their "best self."

Fern Pool

 It got me thinking...what does my best self look like? What does she act like? What does she do? It's an interesting thing to think on. What does your best self look like? The next thought is then " how close is my current self to my best self?"





I'm happy to report that I came close to, the closest I have ever been to one of my best selves this week. As we stripped off down to our swimmers in Karajini National Park my hubby and I went adventure gorging. Wearing a bikini, hat and hiking shows I swam, climbed, scrambled and explored my way through some of the most beautiful gorges I have ever seen.

Swimming at Fern Pool

 Pushing our bodies, our limits, our fear factor. Squeezing through cracks in rocks only 1 meter wide and swimming in holes of clear blue water that have no conceivable bottom I looked at mark and thought to myself that this was one of my best selves.

Like an Albert Namagera Painting

Fig Trees growing in the Gorge

The next day we had car trouble, it was hot and I ate a whole packet of chocolate biscuits. Clearly I did not get to be my best self for long. However I am happy that, for a day, I was one of my best selves and I hope I and you have a few more days like that and a few less days where we eat all the biscuits.

Love krystal

Week 16 Update: Missing in Action for Week 15

Sorry for the tardiness everyone, we have been in a no phone reception area for the last few days with ups and downs. We are currently in Pt Hedland with a very sick car... I think it's the fuel filter.

Km Traveled since last update: 3000km
Km traveled since the start: 17349km

Kalbari National Park: situated north of Geraldton, this little town is on the beach but also offers some amazing semi-desert type gorges just 20 min drive out. This place blew us away with its views and amazing snorkeling at blue pools. These pools are naturally protected by a shelf and are home to many little fish!

Francois Peron National Park: further north from Kalbari is Denham and Monkey Mia. It is the west most point on the continent and is famous for its dolphins. Instead of visiting dolphins for an exuberant price we opted for the cheaper option - that is to do some 4WDing in the National Park. The info centre said that my car was fine so we entered the park and lowered our tyre pressure at the air station.
40km in, we hit some deep soft sand, no problem we'll just keep the power up and power out and get to the beach. Once we hit the sandy car park of the beach we were bogged.... It was three times before I lowered the pressure to 15!! As low as you can safely go they say. We just got out, but instead of deciding to head home we head further north to Gregory's Point where there is a secluded beach with no one else but yourself and some more snorkeling.
On the way home, we visit the free hot springs to wind down. An amazing park but don't believe the signs and the local advice. It could've easily been the expensive option for a call out for someone to pull us out of the sand.

Cape Range/Ningaloo and Exmouth: north of Carnarvon, Exmouth is the town with the opportunity to dive or swim with whale sharks. We didn't do that either cause it will cost over $300 so we opted to go snorkeling instead. The reef life was truly amazing and you can experience those movie moments were you are in the surrounded by a school of little blue fish swimming pass or gaze at parrot fish of different colours chomping away at coral. Or swim with sting rays at the nude beach... Big thumbs up for Exmouth.

Karijini: east of Exmouth and heading inland, we visit Karijini NP. There is a big reputation for this park as one of the best places to visit gorges. It's also surrounded by mining projects. In this park, you get the opportunity to walk down steep red cliffs and into the gorges where you'll find beautiful swimming holes. Some highlights include Fern Pool which has lovely warm water and a waterfall to swim under; Joffre Gorge with its easy access to the bottom; Knox Gorge with its steep and narrow passes; Kermit's Pool were you need to wade through waist deep water and slide between narrow passes to access a deep and turquoise coloured pool; and Handrail Pool where you get rewarded with a deep pool after navigating some slippery and treacherous gaps to access an amazing series of pools.
It is a big call, but Karijini NP has been the top experience so far.




But the good needs to be balanced with the bad. And then.... the engine light comes on as we are 50km out of Karijini. With no reception on our phones and at least 200km to Port Hedland we are feeling very anxious and worried. To compound our woes, businesses are closed on Sundays in WA and Saturdays is pretty much a write off for productivity. We finally nurse the car to Port Hedland and after a few thoughts we think it is our fuel filter that needs changing... not so much a crisis as first thought but things are expensive in Pt Hedland and mechanics are hard to find.

Here is a brief rundown of Port Hedland: it is a port city exporting the mineral resources of Aus overseas; a train with empty containers has not stopped moving all day today and there at least 22 barges on
the horizon lining up to be loaded; there is very skewed population of males; housing is reported by the smh.com.au as rubbing shoulders with prices in Bondi and Toorak; rentals are at least $1000 per week for a tin shack but most advertisements are in the range of $2500; locals report a huge number of workers sleeping in cars and living in houses of 10 or more people; you can expect to pay $600,000 for something made from tin....

Finally, a big shout out to Judi Byrnem, our newest follower, from Krystal. We miss you and everyone in the Hill.

In Perth, you can visit a bob cat dealer with Caterpillar.

In Exmouth, you can buy a house that has your own marina. Go for a cruise in your yacht and park it out the back!

A rental ad in the local paper in Pt Hedland... just crazy.

Kalbari NP

Francois Peron NP, Gregory's Point

A huge termite mound at Exmouth

Cows crossing near Karijini NP.

Just a cool outback servo photo... before my car got sick.