We haven’t posted for a while as we have been feverishly getting ready to move to France. For those of you diligently keeping up with our travels, you hopefully remember that we are on the cusp of realising our 5 year dream of sailing the world on a sailboat. So, whilst we’ve been floating and driving around Australia over the last 18 months, progress on the new boat has continued. Most recent excitement is the logo and black wrapping around the hull. The black wrapping is a stick on plastic layer with a 5+ year lifespan.
“Away” is awaiting us, almost ready for us to live off the grid and sail the world. Here you can see the arch on the back of the boat, ready with solar panels. The electrics are currently being installed, and soon they will finalise the interior fit out, move the boat outside, and install the mast, rigging and sails.
We will arrive with enough time to see “Away” splashed in the water which we’re really excited about.
Here you can see the spare room for when you come and visit us! And we do want you to come visit us. This journey is as much for us to see the world, as it is for us to share it with our friends and family. We promise there will be a comfy mattress and pillows here for you when you come.
Bernie is coming with us too, and although he has no idea what is going on, we think he loves being with his pack, no matter what daft thing we’re doing.
We put a hot and cold running dog shower on the back of the boat for him so that when he gets back from running in the mud and salt water, he can look forward to a lovely warm wash on the stern. It also doubles as a nice outside shower for us which is an added bonus. It is in this picture, I’ll let you spot it.
We have enjoyed being back in latte sipping inner westie Sydney for a few weeks while we prepared to move, but are looking forward to cheese, wine, baguettes and the end of a northern hemisphere summer.
Bye Sydney! We are publishing this from Dubai having already crossed one of the most highly guarded borders on the planet. Our international flight left from Brisbane, Queensland requiring a short hop from Sydney. People from south of the border now get a police escort to the international terminal, although they don’t carry your luggage!
Addictive was our first yacht, a 1996 Jarkan 925. We spent 6 months converting her from a basic sail boat to our tiny house on the water. More of a camper trailer than a camper van. We have a small fridge, a freezer, running water (sometimes hot and cold) and even a TV.
Jarkan’s are Australian built fibreglass boats. A Jarkan 925 is sailed in the Sydney-Hobart each year by the Army which is testament to her seaworthiness.
Leaving Lake Argyle we were quickly across the border into the Northern Territory. After a convenient overnight free camp by the road we were on our way through Katherine to Nitmiluk National Park – specifically Edith Falls on the north side of the park. We had stopped here on the way south but it was closed due to excess water, excess crocs, or excess something.
We spent the night at the camp site at the falls, and were pretty excited to do the walk to a waterhole called “Sweetwater Pools” the following day. The walk was only a couple of hours so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, before heading off to enjoy the hottest hours of the day. Fresh buffalo (or massive cow) poop on the track indicated possible excitement although we didn’t find one to play with. After reaching Sweetwater Pools, we had a beautiful swim, and decided that we would swim in every other waterhole we had passed on the way up. We managed 3 freshwater dips in crystal clear water on the walk back from Sweetwater Pools, managing to stay wet for the entire trip back despite the best efforts of the midday sun.
With the number of days available to us dwindling, we had some unfinished business to attend to – Kakadu.
We had run away from Kakadu during the first week of our trip due to excess swarming masses of bugs, excess mosquitos the size of pterodactyls, and excess things being closed. The bugs and mosquitos hadn’t changed apparently, but most of the park was open now.
Our first stop in Kakadu was Maguk campsite conveniently located near another water fall. This sign is amusingly placed just before the path crosses the creek and heads up to the swimming hole.
We assumed yummier people had already passed this way so we would not become lunch today. The waterhole was reasonably easily accessed and we had a beautiful reintroduction to Kakadu in the warmest freshwater pool we had been in the whole trip. We could see the bottom many metres below us, and watched the fish check us out.
We had a few days planned here, and the lure of collecting and cooking bush tucker with a local guide was enough for us to sign up for the “Animal Tracks” tour located deeper within the park. Its been going for 20 years and still uses the same windowless troop carrier and dishevelled tour guide… We knew we were onto a winner. We picked up Patsy who had lived here all her life, and with her guidance we made baskets, dug for tubers, avoided buffalo, ate green ants (they taste lemon-y and are used as medicine), and turned leaves into string.
As the sun set over the wetlands, we cooked our dinner on the hot coals in a paperbark and eucalyptus oven. On the menu was fresh tubers we had foraged, wild buffalo, wild pig, and wild freshwater barramundi. Patsy warmed up to all of us and was delightful to spend time with. We watched the sun set, and the pterodactyls rise, and skedaddled off back to our camp, swerving to miss the 2m long olive pythons that like to warm up on the road at night soaking up the last warmth of the sun from the tarmac.
Our final night in this wild park was spent on a river cruise at Yellow water near our campsite. The pterodactyls don’t come out until after the sun has set (unlike in other places where they come out at dusk, or just stay all day) and so we felt safe to be out and about at this time. The cruise took us through the wetlands, and is primarily used to educate tourists on the fragility of the environment, and the uniqueness and importance of this park. It was wonderful to see the wetlands from this vantage point, and we were fortunate to see a lot of crocodiles! These are esturine (or salt water) crocodiles and are definitely a danger to humans, so we stayed safely within the boat.
A couple of days later, while relaxing by the pool at our hotel in Darwin, we were reminded of this magic sunset cruise. A tall, daringly tanned, rotund gentleman explained to his friends, rather too loudly, that Kakadu was not the place to see wildlife. We recalled the sunset cruise, and the moment we were surrounded by half a dozen salt water crocodiles a few metres away snapping at passing fish, jabirus (AKA black necked storks) sorting out squabbling geese whilst other wading birds watched on, sea eagles returning to their nest as wild pigs and buffalo crossed the wetlands. Hmm, no wildlife.
After 13000 km our outback trip was fading into another fiery Kakadu sunset. The rumble of the swag carrying V8 Land Cruisers had been diluted by the hum of soft roaders. The 4WD outback buses full of adventure seeking back packers had been replaced by luxury coaches spewing clean, perfumed, white shirts and sun hats on day trips from Darwin. Attentive tour guides rushed wheelchairs to those overcome by the few hundred metres stroll to todays instagramable shot.
We had for a moment become the red dirt gypsies seeking the road less travelled, shunning mass tourism and the trappings of a city life. Our dusty feet may eventually wash clean but it will take longer than we expect to slip back into our latte sipping inner city life and prepare for new adventures… Which are now not far Away.
The time had come to exit Purnululu National Park, and continue our trip north. For the coming days, we would be exploring the gorges of El Questro as well as more of the Ord River Catchment area of Kununurra and Lake Argyle.
Pictured is out last sunset over the western side of the Purnululu National Park.
Heading in to El Questro, we were thrilled to drive through a bunch of water. Nothing so deep that said “you will need to have a snorkel on your car” but still enough for us to get a little bow wave going around the car, and wash the undercarriage (pictured is us going through this last wet section into the main accommodation areas).
Arriving in El Questro felt a little bit like getting on to a cruise ship for the first time. Check in Desk – “There is the bar, here are the tours, here is where you eat, and this is where you sleep – and these are the rules”.
The walks here are supposed to be epic, and we had passed a few spots on the way in. Checking with one of the staff, Adrian discovered that most likely the “El Questro Gorge walk” (instructions and map pictured) would be the most interesting and challenging walk for us to do, with some swimming and beautiful scenery thrown in.
El Questro planned, we headed off toward the gorge where we were warned “you will need a snorkel to get into the gorge carpark”. And yes, we did… Pictured is the view from my passenger side window of the water half way up the door.
El Questro gorge was worth every water crossing, crowded campsite and corrugated road. The walk was technical, beautiful and we were able to have the most luxurious swim at the top of the gorge in the crystal clear blue water of the water hole, fed by a cascading waterfall.
After the Gorge walk, we decided to also stop in and do another couple of hours walking at Emma Gorge. This was yet another spectacular gorge, with some beautiful swimming at the end. Possibly one of the most beautiful swimming holes we have been in (pictured).
Sufficiently gorged, we headed north towards a small remote camp site near Wyndham. Parry’s Creek is a conservation area, and supposed to be one of the most prolific bird spotting places in the area (we did see a lot of birds and would recommend to budding ornithologists).
We also took a quick detour to Wyndham so I could show Adrian the 5 rivers lookout (pictured) which is one of the most spectacular views in the area. You can see the rivers branching off the estuary here. In this instance, photos definitely speak louder than any words I could possibly write to describe the amazing views. I had been here 2 decades before, and remember it being a lot more brown, but in front of me the lush flood plains spread out to the horizon.
After a great nights sleep, we left the sweet spot of Parry’s camp, and drove to Kununurra. Kununurra is a place I had seen before, and I was excited to show Adrian Ivanhoe’s crossing, the Stone Art Gallery, the Hoochery (although, now that we aren’t drinking, we opted for the Sandalwood Factory instead) and Lake Kununurra (pictured).
We did some much needed resupplying and enjoyed a gluten free treat at the coffee shop. Kununurra is positively cosmopolitan compared to when I had spent time there previously. Pictured is Ivanhoe Crossing, a road connecting the outer parts of Wyndham and the outer parts of Kununurra. It is under water year round, and closed when the waters are really running during and just after the wet season. Estuarine crocodiles (salt water crocodiles) are known to frequent this area.
Kununurra was hosting the “Ord Valley Muster” and was therefore full of whip cracking, V8 driving, permanently tipsy people with very broad Australian accents. Being introverted, flat white sipping, inner west greenie types, we felt we might be taking up space for someone who would better enjoy the hive of activity. So, we stayed one night, then briefly marvelled at the prices of a small piece of sparkly pink rock (see Argyle Pink Diamonds in google if interested), and headed to Lake Argyle where we had booked a couple of evenings. Pictured is a fleeting moment of us being the only car at one of Kununurra’s attractions.
It was at this point we checked the date, and realised that the tourist season (AKA the dry season) was now in full swing, and that our days of quiet camping in secluded spots admiring the views were definitely over. Lake Argyle is a beautiful spot, and we took some time out to relax a little. We were planning some walks over the coming week across the border at Katherine Gorge and back to Kakadu. We felt that conserving some of our energy would serve us well to ensure we got the most out of our last week of touring. Plus we both got COVID jabs… More on that later.
After our fun at Windjana and Tunnel Creek, we were keen to do some more walking and Purnululu promised some highly rated tracks. We traversed the 53km of dirt road to our campsite within the park in the late afternoon with the rock faces turning red under the setting sun.
Echidna Gorge was a perfect option for our first day in the park, as it had been recommended as a ‘must do’ and more importantly needed to be started later in the morning to get the best light. The vertical sides of the gorge only a few meters apart made a truely etherial place where one could wonder at the forces and time that made such place. It was easy to understand the signs asking for respect as if it was a cathedral. The inevitable child calling ‘coo-EEE’ was stunned into silence when Fi warned him he might wake the sleeping baby micro bats just ahead – perhaps the only respite the parents got that day.
Later, we entertained ourselves at the ‘Fawlty Towers’ visitor centre. When they returned from lunch they explained how the internet, which had not yet reached the centre, was the only way to book the nearby campsite. There was a guest wifi which was private and a pay phone that no longer made calls so they recommended the 4 hour return trip to the highway to get reception to make a booking.
The next day we were treated to more spectacular gorge walks at the northern end of the park. It was becoming clear that the walks were a small taste of the the park and we were being carefully guided around much of the more interesting and presumably sensitive terrain. The only way to see most of the park would be from the air.
I had overheard a tour guide talk about dawn at the southern and eastern side of the park where the famous bee hive rock formations are. We made the risky choice to drive, pre-coffee, to the southern end of the park where we enjoyed the early morning light whilst making breakfast.
After a good breakfast, we walked along the river bed a few km to Whip Snake Gorge which was largely deserted and tranquil. A large number of cane toads rotted alongside the path, Appian Way style, although we didn’t discover how they met their demise. On our return trip from Whip Snake Gorge, we met the tour groups thronging into the popular Cathedral Gorge, which was accessed via a small detour at the end of our much larger walk . It was indeed reminiscent of any European cathedral, full of a hundred well dressed quietly spoken camera snapping visitors. Not really our thing, we exited quietly and returned to the car park. Interestingly, we found out, Cathedral Gorge was used in the famous Qantas advertisement where they put the kids dressed in cleanly pressed white robes into famous landmarks to sing “Still call Australia home”. Apt.
Next stop was the airfield for our aerial adventure. Fi had experienced the helicopter flight some 20 years earlier, and that was enough of an excuse for me to get the front seat. As we had suspected, the vast majority of the park is off limits to the public. There looks to be some fantastic walking for the more adventurous with great access into the gorges along dry creek beds. However; I suspect if I was responsible for a land full of ancient paintings, tranquil gorges and sacred burial sites I would keep the coo-eee’s, the generators and the 4WDs to their own little corner.
Our longest stopover came to an end and we headed north for civilisation, vaccines, provisioning and a dose of nostalgia.
On our last morning in Derby, we had resolved to avoid the Gibb River Road and stay on the tarmac. The always dependable tourist information centre had advised it was un-graded and miles of slow bumpy road that serious 4WDs would enjoy… Not quite our cup of tea. Before leaving Derby, we headed out to see the towns main attraction, an old run down pier, where we happened across another Apollo snail. They had just completed the Gibb which was ‘in good condition and well suited to the snail’. It was a good morning for a plan change… Gibb River Road here we go. We ducked into the tourist information to check out camping information and they confirmed the road was now in good condition…
As it turned out the mighty Gibb is a veritable highway of well graded dirt conveying a procession of caravan towing nomads and frustrated 4WD enthusiasts. Our first stop for the night was Mount Hart some 50km from the main road with creek crossings full enough to justify low range and kindle feelings of remote outback adventure. We knew we were in the real outback when the the camp host complained of a snake under her chair and a group of 4WD campers cut firewood at breakfast with a chainsaw. A short drive from the camp site a small gorge provided a cooling swim, an array of bird life, our favourite red dragonflies and the back half of a slithery friend.
From Mt Hart we headed to Manning Gorge, described as the highlight of the Gibb, by our fellow Apollo snail travellers. The walk to the gorge requires a short swim across a freezing croc infested river before trekking through fields of vibrant wild flowers and finally descending into the gorge. Nothing could have prepared us for the huge volume of water surging over the black rocks and into the large swimming holes. A small ledge behind the waterfall provided a welcome rest after the excitement of swimming through the cascading water. All walks in this region should be modelled on this one with a refreshing river crossing to finish.
The next morning, we realised that we hadn’t changed plan for several days. Having completed the ‘highlight’ of the Gibb experience we decided to change plan and turn back. Behind us was Mornington (wildlife refuge far enough off the highway to deter many), Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge. After discovering Mornington was closed we headed to Windjana Gorge camp ground and walked up the gorge the next morning. Here you are allowed to get your selfies with the crocs but not swim in their river.
Tunnel Creek is one of those rare adventures still allowed on the modern tourist track. We followed the hot rocky path to a fissure in the cliff where the creek disappeared into the cool darkness. Wading gave way to swimming through freezing water under the watchful eye of the resident croc (we didn’t spot him but someone pointed him out on the return trip). After 750m the creek emerges into a delightful tree lined pool and aboriginal paintings.
Refreshed we headed south towards tarmac and Fitzroy Crossing collecting a Boab nut on the way. The red mountain ranges of Gibb gave way to horizon to horizon flatness so vast that we could see the flatness of the earth. Mimbi Caves was our next stop. Mimbi, meaning caves in local language, had a delightful campsite with great sunsets. The ‘Caves Caves’ tour the next day took us through the passages inside the local hills, past some local art and described how the locals had lived here for 50 000 years.
Next stop was Purnululu national park (Bungle Bungle’s).
Join Fi, Adrian and Bernie as we adventure where the wind takes us.
