Broome, the in place to be on the north coast in the dry season, temperatures a barmy 32 degrees and the place is packed, people fleeing the wintery weather down south especially the grey nomads, that’s why we end up in the overflow caravan park because it’s so busy. It’s a full moon on the 8th, 9th & 10th of July and the “staircase to the moon” an effect the moons reflection has above the mud flats making it look like you could climb right up to the moon, is a big attraction. But we’re there a day early and the effect is not quite at it’s best but at least we stand a chance of seeing it, 
the next three nights will be packed with people trying to get a photo. Cable beach, Broome’s other big attraction, a glorious white beach that now had people swimming off it after the crocodile scare of the week before when one was seen cruising up and down the beach, nobody swam because they didn’t want to end up as a crocodiles packed lunch. Leaving Broome we drive 200 km to Derby a town and I use the term loosely which is a sprawling mass surrounded by mudflats with a tidal drop of up to 10 metres. DERBY WHAT A WONDERFUL SIGHT !!!!!
There is nothing at this place, except perhaps a jetty where you can watch the sunset, I remember my daughters spending all of a couple of hours here in 2006 before hightailing it out after a dodgy job offer at one of the hotels which is still trading today and a very salubrious establishment it looks too, good decision girls. Derby’s one saving grace is, it has the nearest airstrip to the horizontal falls, and with my wife that is always an important factor, a simple equation the shorter the flight the more enjoyable the experience and if the flight never happens well even better. ONE NERVOUS FLYER
The horizontal falls are a natural phenomenon where the sea flows through a narrow inlet into a large inland lake, because the tidal drop is so great a waterfall effect forms while the levels catch up with the tidal movement, and bearing in mind they have tides of up to 10 metres, they can be quite spectacular. We fly up in a seaplane landing on Talbot Bay, my first experience in a sea plane, this De Havilland Beaver was actually built in the sixties so it was a good 40 years old, but even if it did look a little tired it did the job “thank heavens”. The pilot let Jan sit next to him because she is a nervous flyer “but not as nervous as the rest of us when we realised she had the controls right in front of her”! "LOOK WHERE YOUR GOING"
We took off and flew over the Kimberly outback, a 45 minute flight which really brings home to you the vastness of the place with nobody about for hundreds of miles. 
Landing on Talbot Bay we dock next to the mother ship ready to board the fast jet boat for our ride through the falls 
“I’m pleased to say we done this before lunch, as after would have been more expressive in more ways than one”! 
It was while we were disembarking the seaplane and getting on the jet boat that we noticed the Tawny nursery sharks that are constantly circling the boats and pontoons in search of food scraps or perhaps even customers that might complain too much! 
A nice Barramundi (fish) lunch and we board our fifty foot catamaran for our cruise around Talbot Bay and overnight stay, 
although we have a perfectly nice two berth cabin complete with en-suite facilities, Jan opts to sleep on the webbing slung between the two hulls under the stars,
There is nothing at this place, except perhaps a jetty where you can watch the sunset, I remember my daughters spending all of a couple of hours here in 2006 before hightailing it out after a dodgy job offer at one of the hotels which is still trading today and a very salubrious establishment it looks too, good decision girls. Derby’s one saving grace is, it has the nearest airstrip to the horizontal falls, and with my wife that is always an important factor, a simple equation the shorter the flight the more enjoyable the experience and if the flight never happens well even better. ONE NERVOUS FLYERThe horizontal falls are a natural phenomenon where the sea flows through a narrow inlet into a large inland lake, because the tidal drop is so great a waterfall effect forms while the levels catch up with the tidal movement, and bearing in mind they have tides of up to 10 metres, they can be quite spectacular. We fly up in a seaplane landing on Talbot Bay, my first experience in a sea plane, this De Havilland Beaver was actually built in the sixties so it was a good 40 years old, but even if it did look a little tired it did the job “thank heavens”. The pilot let Jan sit next to him because she is a nervous flyer “but not as nervous as the rest of us when we realised she had the controls right in front of her”! "LOOK WHERE YOUR GOING" We took off and flew over the Kimberly outback, a 45 minute flight which really brings home to you the vastness of the place with nobody about for hundreds of miles. Landing on Talbot Bay we dock next to the mother ship ready to board the fast jet boat for our ride through the falls “I’m pleased to say we done this before lunch, as after would have been more expressive in more ways than one”! It was while we were disembarking the seaplane and getting on the jet boat that we noticed the Tawny nursery sharks that are constantly circling the boats and pontoons in search of food scraps or perhaps even customers that might complain too much! A nice Barramundi (fish) lunch and we board our fifty foot catamaran for our cruise around Talbot Bay and overnight stay, although we have a perfectly nice two berth cabin complete with en-suite facilities, Jan opts to sleep on the webbing slung between the two hulls under the stars, JUST TRYING OUT THE BEDDING FOR LATER ON
well it is a full moon and up here in the middle of nowhere the sky at night is always an impressive sight, I opt for the cabin and we both sleep very well. It was during the earlier part of the evening that five tawny nursery sharks cruise close to the back of the boat and we learn from Vaughan, the boat’s owner how to scratch them on the top of their mouths,
which even Jan after a little red wine manages to do. 
The next day it’s the flight back, this time taking in the Buccaneer Archipelago before landing 
back on the airstrip at Derby which Jan was very pleased to do I think that might be her first & last seaplane flight but for me at least a very enjoyable experience. Now it’s time to provision up ready for the Gibb river road a 660km overland unsealed road initially constructed as a beef road to transport cattle from surrounding cattle stations to the ports of Derby and Wyndham. This road is only passable in the dry season “May to October” as during the wet season most of the road is flooded, A DRY GIBB RIVER ROAD
difficult for us to comprehend as we travel along some very dusty dry tracks over the next ten days. The Gibb River Road is a big tourist draw nowadays with some wonderful Gorges and waterfalls either on it, or off it down even more difficult 4wd tracks. BELL GORGE
This road cuts right through the heart of the Kimberley and the variation in terrain is spectacular. We have allowed between seven and ten days to do this part of the trip with hopefully no punctures or serious mechanical difficulties to hamper us. Windjana gorge, our first stop, this gorge is full of freshwater crocodiles the supposedly friendlier one of the two,
not that we have any plans of putting that to the test. From here on we stop off at several gorges that have great swimming holes including one two night stay on a cattle station called Charnley River Station, here they have three gorges on their land and we drive some 150 km’s over their land to visit them all. It’s on stations like this that they round the cattle up with helicopters because there so huge and the terrain so rough, it’s the only way it can be done. After talking to one of the workers they explained how they turn off the water supplies to the furthest water troughs forcing the cattle hopefully down to the nearer ones, and then get the helicopter out to round the rest up before driving then down with horses over the next week to the station, so they can be loaded up and transported down the Gibb River Road to market or export. They were quite surprised that in England we just open the gate and walk them down the lane before loading them on to trucks probably one to two days in all. At the halfway point on the road we reach Barnett River roadhouse and the entrance to Manning gorge. As expected fuel was always going to be more expensive here on the Gibb River and we pay our highest price so far in Australia at one dollar and 95 cents per litre. The fresh fruit and veg aren’t being flown in for another two days, but as we don’t want to drain our bank account to pay for them, we opt to stick to our canned supplies for a few days more. Manning gorge is another picturesque gorge, but the added difference with this one, is having to swim across it
with your belongings in a container to get to the start of the 1 km track to walk to the falls. Fortunately for Jan they have rubber inner tubes there as well and she paddles across with nothing other than a wet backside to show for her troubles. The vehicle creek crossings have become a usual part of our day now, and what was once a quite concerning task, has now turned into the run of the mill daily chore. 
Unfortunately due to the rising number of campers on the Gibb River Road, land owners have closed off their land to bush camping due to the mess that some individuals have left behind, but we are lucky to find a spot on the Hann River where bush camping is still allowed “I think”, anyway we stayed for two nights with just one other camper and the birds for company this is certainly the way to travel. HANN RIVER CAMP
The middle section of road seems to be quieter perhaps not everybody wishes to travel its length, only see the attractions at each end. Overall we are surprised at just how smooth this road has been, yes there are some corrugated patches and bumpy sections but 90 % of the road is certainly good for an average of 60 kph, we only came across one accident where a camper trailer became detached from the towing vehicle and ended up rolling over a couple of times luckily nobody was hurt it was just the couple of days wait for recovery that’s the problem! 
THE VIEW BEFORE AND AFTER A ROADTRAIN PASSES
were spectacular especially when we got the camper to the top of saddleback ridge. Coming down was always going to be more entertaining just by watching Jan’s face, but low ratio first gear coped well and a dip in Zebedee thermal springs was most relaxing..JPG)
But El Questro certainly provides the experience of the Gibb River Road without actually having to get out there and do it, mind you the cost in tours and camping means you end up paying more for that controlled environment bit if you don’t have a 4wd, not really for us, Jan’s just getting used to the crocs and the cows! This brings us to Mambi Island, a lovely spot just outside Wyndam, at the end of the Gibb River road.
This road cuts right through the heart of the Kimberley and the variation in terrain is spectacular. We have allowed between seven and ten days to do this part of the trip with hopefully no punctures or serious mechanical difficulties to hamper us. Windjana gorge, our first stop, this gorge is full of freshwater crocodiles the supposedly friendlier one of the two, not that we have any plans of putting that to the test. From here on we stop off at several gorges that have great swimming holes including one two night stay on a cattle station called Charnley River Station, here they have three gorges on their land and we drive some 150 km’s over their land to visit them all. It’s on stations like this that they round the cattle up with helicopters because there so huge and the terrain so rough, it’s the only way it can be done. After talking to one of the workers they explained how they turn off the water supplies to the furthest water troughs forcing the cattle hopefully down to the nearer ones, and then get the helicopter out to round the rest up before driving then down with horses over the next week to the station, so they can be loaded up and transported down the Gibb River Road to market or export. They were quite surprised that in England we just open the gate and walk them down the lane before loading them on to trucks probably one to two days in all. At the halfway point on the road we reach Barnett River roadhouse and the entrance to Manning gorge. As expected fuel was always going to be more expensive here on the Gibb River and we pay our highest price so far in Australia at one dollar and 95 cents per litre. The fresh fruit and veg aren’t being flown in for another two days, but as we don’t want to drain our bank account to pay for them, we opt to stick to our canned supplies for a few days more. Manning gorge is another picturesque gorge, but the added difference with this one, is having to swim across it with your belongings in a container to get to the start of the 1 km track to walk to the falls. Fortunately for Jan they have rubber inner tubes there as well and she paddles across with nothing other than a wet backside to show for her troubles. The vehicle creek crossings have become a usual part of our day now, and what was once a quite concerning task, has now turned into the run of the mill daily chore. Unfortunately due to the rising number of campers on the Gibb River Road, land owners have closed off their land to bush camping due to the mess that some individuals have left behind, but we are lucky to find a spot on the Hann River where bush camping is still allowed “I think”, anyway we stayed for two nights with just one other camper and the birds for company this is certainly the way to travel. HANN RIVER CAMP The middle section of road seems to be quieter perhaps not everybody wishes to travel its length, only see the attractions at each end. Overall we are surprised at just how smooth this road has been, yes there are some corrugated patches and bumpy sections but 90 % of the road is certainly good for an average of 60 kph, we only came across one accident where a camper trailer became detached from the towing vehicle and ended up rolling over a couple of times luckily nobody was hurt it was just the couple of days wait for recovery that’s the problem! THE VIEW BEFORE AND AFTER A ROADTRAIN PASSESAt the end of the road is the Pentecost river crossing which we traverse with no problems although Jan is still on high croc spotting alert if we ever do get stranded in a crossing I think it might have to be me who has to get out for assistance! El Questro Station, a cattle station with gorges and hot springs on its land is our last two night stay on the Gibb River Road. This is undoubtedly the most commercial operation we have come across on the whole road, a very slick set up where dollars count for everything, the 4wd tracks we quite enjoyed and the lookouts EMMA GORGE AT EL QUESTRO
were spectacular especially when we got the camper to the top of saddleback ridge. Coming down was always going to be more entertaining just by watching Jan’s face, but low ratio first gear coped well and a dip in Zebedee thermal springs was most relaxing. But El Questro certainly provides the experience of the Gibb River Road without actually having to get out there and do it, mind you the cost in tours and camping means you end up paying more for that controlled environment bit if you don’t have a 4wd, not really for us, Jan’s just getting used to the crocs and the cows! This brings us to Mambi Island, a lovely spot just outside Wyndam, at the end of the Gibb River road. MAMBI ISLAND
The only downside being the salt water crocs that inhabit the river so camping 50 metres back from the water’s edge is encouraged, not that you have to encourage my wife to stay back, trying to get her within a mile of the river is hard enough. We arrived in the afternoon after driving pass a small bush fire 10 km back along the road,
at nine o’clock that night a couple of people drove by to warn us that the bush fire was heading in our direction but not to be alarmed just aware. So here we are, bush fire one side, crocs the other, there in for a treat tonight barbequed poms as main course. But we awake safely in the morning with saltys still in the river and the camper covered in ash, from where they burnt off a fire break during the night just behind us, well at least they didn’t wake us up to do it! IVANHOE RIVER CROSSING
We back track some 250 km’s to take in Purnulla National Park & the Bungle Bungles. This park has striking beehive shaped domes, the worlds most exceptional example of cone karst formations. They are made of sandstone deposited about 360 million years ago, erosion in the last 20 million years has carved out these domes along with spectacular chasms and gorges. After leaving a little late from Kunnurra we have to drive the last 20 km to the entrance to the park in the dark, never a good idea out here where cattle and roo’s wander freely on the roads. At night the cattle take to laying on the roads for the warmth from the tarmac & for our last 30 minutes on the road we came across several of these. This we agreed would never be allowed to happen in England Health & Safety would insist on all cattle wearing reflective jackets when grazing near or even on the highway, there probably even be a two day course on how to put them on as well! The road into the Bungle Bungles is 53 km of rough corrugated, bumpy, potholed road that takes us two hours to traverse, this had better be worth it we are both thinking as we slowly make our way in! Half of the park is quite spectacular such as Cathedral gorge and Piccaninny Creek lookout,
but the other half was a bit of a disappointment perhaps we are well and truly gorged out at this point. Our firm favourite is still Karijini that will always take some beating. We are now in Katherine, heading across Australia back to the eastern side and Cairns, with Cape York being our next mission, to drive to the most northerly point on the telegraph track, should be fun “my wife is really looking forward to this next bit”. 
Less than three months left in Oz and only nine weeks left on the road, time is certainly flying by we wish you all well wherever you are and look forward to updating you all in another months time.
The only downside being the salt water crocs that inhabit the river so camping 50 metres back from the water’s edge is encouraged, not that you have to encourage my wife to stay back, trying to get her within a mile of the river is hard enough. We arrived in the afternoon after driving pass a small bush fire 10 km back along the road, at nine o’clock that night a couple of people drove by to warn us that the bush fire was heading in our direction but not to be alarmed just aware. So here we are, bush fire one side, crocs the other, there in for a treat tonight barbequed poms as main course. But we awake safely in the morning with saltys still in the river and the camper covered in ash, from where they burnt off a fire break during the night just behind us, well at least they didn’t wake us up to do it! IVANHOE RIVER CROSSINGWe back track some 250 km’s to take in Purnulla National Park & the Bungle Bungles. This park has striking beehive shaped domes, the worlds most exceptional example of cone karst formations. They are made of sandstone deposited about 360 million years ago, erosion in the last 20 million years has carved out these domes along with spectacular chasms and gorges. After leaving a little late from Kunnurra we have to drive the last 20 km to the entrance to the park in the dark, never a good idea out here where cattle and roo’s wander freely on the roads. At night the cattle take to laying on the roads for the warmth from the tarmac & for our last 30 minutes on the road we came across several of these. This we agreed would never be allowed to happen in England Health & Safety would insist on all cattle wearing reflective jackets when grazing near or even on the highway, there probably even be a two day course on how to put them on as well! The road into the Bungle Bungles is 53 km of rough corrugated, bumpy, potholed road that takes us two hours to traverse, this had better be worth it we are both thinking as we slowly make our way in! Half of the park is quite spectacular such as Cathedral gorge and Piccaninny Creek lookout, but the other half was a bit of a disappointment perhaps we are well and truly gorged out at this point. Our firm favourite is still Karijini that will always take some beating. We are now in Katherine, heading across Australia back to the eastern side and Cairns, with Cape York being our next mission, to drive to the most northerly point on the telegraph track, should be fun “my wife is really looking forward to this next bit”. Less than three months left in Oz and only nine weeks left on the road, time is certainly flying by we wish you all well wherever you are and look forward to updating you all in another months time.
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