Wed. 12th June 2019
It’s either a sign that we’re getting good at this camping malarkey, or a warning that it’s all going horribly wrong. Either way we wake at 6:30 (yes, even Janet) and are washed, breakfasted, packed and off by 8:20. I distinctly prefer the positive interpretation and, particularly, now we have warmer evenings we’re very comfortable camping. We have just shifted our internal clocks and are early to bed (still late for Aussies, so far as we can tell) and early to rise. As the sun rises, the tent quickly becomes unbearably hot, so we might as well get moving.
Our first stop is only 30km(ish) down the (unsealed) road at Tunnel Creek (no prizes for guessing what is there – Aussie naming rules apply). It has been highly recommended to us by everyone we’ve spoken to about the area, though with a scramble over rocks to get to the entrance we’re initially not sure why. Once inside the cavern the surface changes to sand with the creek running slowly beside – it is dry season now (after a dry wet season) so the river is much lower than it can be.
The natural tunnel runs for perhaps 1km with a section in the middle where the roof has collapsed giving views out to a cluster of trees with a colony of flying fox bats hanging upside down and using their wings to shade themselves from the sun. Once past the ‘freshie’ crocs ensconced at either end of the tunnel, progress is straightforward albeit with a need to use the torch both to illuminate the roof, floor and walls but also to watch out for red eyes glowing in the water. There are a couple of occasions where we need to paddle, knee deep from one side to the other. The view at the far end of the creek running off into the countryside makes the discomfort of wet feet and sand in our sandals worthwhile.
So far, so very on schedule. We’re heading for Fitzroy Crossing tonight and although it isn’t that far, our only opportunity to see the nearby Geikie Gorge is this afternoon as we have a big drive ahead of us tomorrow. We have 70km of unsealed road before we rejoin Highway 1 and rediscover the joys of tarmac. Bliss, the sound of silence – well at least until we get back to our rather gruesome audio book.
We’re delighted to park up at the visitor centre on the dot of 12:30 – just as it is closing! Ah, well. The gorge is out of town and it’s on all of our maps. There’ll be info on gorge walks and the boat trip we’ve been recommended once we get there – we’ll just never know if there is more to do in Fitzroy Crossing than just Geikie Gorge. Surprisingly even there, our options are limited. There’s really only one walk, a ‘there and back’ which looks like it will have limited views and will be over sand. Swimming is also out – because of crocs (albeit only freshies).
So, that leaves the boat trip then. Fortunately, this is a good choice – it’s operated by the Park service (rather than a tour company) and we learn a bit of history and geology as well as about the wildlife. For example, the Fitzroy river was named by Charles Darwin after the admiral in charge of the Beagle expedition (we recall from our RTW trip that he did get around); or that the gorge here (like Windjana) is formed from a Devonian era coral reef that was part of the Kimberley Basin before it became part of Australia; or that there is up to 20m difference in the river height between dry and wet seasons – as evidenced by the white ‘tide line ‘.
The boat ride was a fairly gentle pootle back and fore along a stretch of the gently flowing river – it is hard to conceive how it must look in wet season. It also turns out to be the only realistic way of viewing & appreciating the cliffs which tower above the river and yet have all manner of shapes carved out of them. In the wide stretches we spy more freshies as well as a few very cautious wallabies (like kangaroos, but smaller is the best explanation I’ve heard). The guide also points bottle shaped mud-nests of Fairy Martins (Aussie swallows).
Well that was very worthwhile, but we’re not sure what we’d have done with two nights (and a full day) in Fitzroy Crossing as was on our original itinerary. Another of the benefits of camping is that it has given us the flexibility to change our route as we learn more about the area, the places we really should see and the realities of travel in this region (not as scary as some of the stories we read before leaving the UK). We take this lesson on board and opt for 3 more nights camping instead of a hotel we weren’t happy about in a couple of weeks time.
The campsite here is attached to a hotel and is a) enormous, b) empty (at least in the unpowered section), c) well provided with showers and d) has a resident population of wallabies. The last of these give Janet more practice with the long lens on her camera – to pretty good effect, I’d say. After I lose the battle with my conscience, we turn down offer of 2 for 1 take away fish and chips from the onsite restaurant and settle down with our cold roast chicken and packet risotto heated on our pathetic little burner tucked in the back of the Beast. Glamorous it isn’t, but the evening is warm and seemingly long after everyone else has disappeared, we are sat out working on the blog, reflecting on the day and all the things we’ve got right on this trip – and wondering about that drive into the Bungle Bungles tomorrow…