We are sitting on the banks of the Ord River, just a few kilometres upstream of the Diversion Dam in Kununurra, watching a waterskier glide past on a mirror-like surface. It is dead calm and the temperature has been sitting on 35C since we arrived from the Bungle Bungles at around lunch time. Fortunately we are camped under a number of large trees that are providing some excellent shade.
The drive back to Kununurra started earlier this morning with a pre-dawn wake up call from the resident crows and other assorted bird life. We were packed and on the track back to the sealed road by around 7.20am. The 53kms back to the sealed road (that links Halls Creek with Kununurra / Wyndham to the north or Broome to the south) took us about 1hour and 45 minutes. It was a generally good track that had a few tight twists and turns and a few steep ascents and descents. We suspect the hype about it being 4WD only, no caravans and only single axle serious off-road campers has more to do with the tour operators wanting to protect their ability to service an “inaccessible” (for most) tourist destination.
We stopped at the junction with the sealed road to pump the tyres back up to highway pressure after running them much lower on the tracks into and around the Bungle Bungles. This approach has worked so far, the tyres appear to cope better and we get a softer ride. The aim is to return puncture-free from this trip.
We cruised past the community of Warnum which had been hit by a flash flood in 2011 – this fact went a long way to explaining why there were so many new buildings in the township. When you look around at the dry savannah landscape it is hard to imagine heavy rain, let alone flash flooding. We were interested in a news report on local radio of a Fitzroy Crossing family who were caught between two creeks after flash flooding occurred yesterday. They were airlifted to safety in a police helicopter, but have to wait for the water level in the creeks to drop before they can retrieve their car. We estimate that we would have been about 200km away, but saw no sign of rain at all.
Next we passed the roadhouse at Doon Doon – the last fuel stop before Kununurra. Fortunately we had sufficient to get us back to town where we could pay a few cents a litre less, helped along by a 10c a litre discount docket from the supermarket. It all helps when a fill-up is around 140 litres.
We checked in to the same caravan park we had stayed at prior to our visit to the Bungle Bungles and were quickly settled in. Wendy had a load of washing out to dry in no time flat while the rechargeable appliances have all had a turn on mains power. The Wild Mango café took more of our money in exchange for some excellent cool drinks and sandwiches, while the supermarket was also blessed with another visit.
Tonight will be our last night in Western Australia. From Kununurra, we plan to weave our way via various national parks to a cattle station called Lorella Springs on the Gulf of Carpentaria. We will then head for Queensland, revisiting Lawn Hill National Park on our way to Mt Isa. We will stop off at the local Kununurra market for some fresh produce before hitting the road again tomorrow.