Mon. 6th Aug., 2012 - Exploring the area around Parry Creek Farm

We had a great day out.  Bob drove us into Wyndham, which we felt vied with Coober Pedy as the dirtiest, dustiest, most unappealing town along our route, so far.  Deposits from the local nickel mine were piled up at the wharf & even the sea water was a dirty brown.  The motel & most of the houses looked shabby & run-down & the best-kept building seemed to be the Police Station.  Even the hospital appeared to be little more than a shed.  We had almost decided that the place had nothing to recommend it, when we discovered the "Five Rivers Lookout Point".  Bob negotiated a steep & winding road upwards until he reached the lookout point, from which we could see for miles in all directions.  Beneath us in the distance were hills, escarpments, salt pans & the ocean and we could actually see the mouths of five rivers emptying into the sea - a beautiful & unusual sight.

River Ord Delta

Cambridge Bay

Next, we visited the Dreamtime Statues, which represented an aboriginal father, mother & child as well as a selection of Australian animals - a kangaroo, a dingo, a snake & a goanna.

 We were impressed with the workmanship involved but disappointed, on closer inspection, to find that there had been some vandalism & quite a lot of broken glass was lying about.  It's sad when some people fail to take a pride in their town.

At midday, we discovered Wyndham's 'jewel in the crown' - "The Five Rivers Restaurant" was doing a roaring trade!  People were piling in for lunch, so we joined the hungry throng.  Bob & I had barramundi & chips, which was delicious; Judy & Charlie had barraburgers - unusual, but very tasty.

Finally, the highlight of the day - we drove along an unmade road to Parry's Lagoon, which was everything that the brochure promised.  Amongst the water lilies, we saw every kind of bird imaginable - it would be impossible to name them all but the Farm leaflet lists four pages of different species that frequent the area.  We had never seen so many birds in one place before.  It was a bird watcher's paradise, where cameras & binoculars worked overtime. 



Brolgas



Rainbow Bee Catcher



Pygmy Geese

We almost got lost following a couple ahead of us along a different unmade road home but, even the uncertainty & the copious amounts of dust, could not dim our wonderful experience at the Lagoon.  Bob has taken some fantastic photos.

I had a swim in the COLD pool to cool myself down, then Judy, Charlie & Jenny & Ken Range, from Mooloolaba, had drinks with us before dinner.  It was the end of a great day.

Sun. 5th Aug., 2012 - Kununurra to Parry Creek Farm

As we drove out of Kununurra, just after 8.30am, there were hills all around us in a variety of lovely colours.  A lot of burning off had taken place & was still going on.  Rejuvenation occurs quickly after burning & we could see green shoots amongst the black.  Boabs were becoming familiar friends - they dotted the landscape in a variety of wierd & wonderful shapes.

Well before 10am, the temperature was already 30C, so we guessed that it was going to be a HOT day!

Along the whole route, from Kununurra to Parry Creek Farm, the scenery continued to be beautiful & we enjoyed the shapes & colours that we could see all around us.  We felt that the Kimberleys were going to live up to their reputation.

As we turned into Parry Creek Road, we left the comfort of the highway behind.  We crawled along for 8km on an unmade track, which left us feeling as though we were operating pneumatic drills!  The dust, as we followed Charlie, was horrendous & I dared not think about what might be happening behind us, in the caravan!

We saw two large birds walking in the long grass - brolgas, we guessed.  We'd been told that the bird life at Parry's Lagoon would be spectacular.  This seemed like the longest 8km we'd ever experienced & so we hoped that the birds would compensate!

At last, we turned off to Parry Creek Farm - never had we been so pleased to see a sign.  The instruction, "Drive Slowly", was hardly necessary!  Surprisingly, all was well in the caravan when we opened it up, which was a blessing.

It was quiet & peaceful at the Farm & the caravans were well spaced out.  However, everyone was looking for shade & so positions beneath trees were all taken first.  It was HOT, dry & not a cloud in the sky!  At midday, there were very few people about - they tended to stay out of the sun.  A woman near to us was painting, Bob decided to read & I made notes for this blog.  By about 3pm, I was so hot that I persuaded Bob to walk over to the swimming pool with me, where we joined Judy & Charlie.  It was a lovely pool, surrounded by trees, but the water was FREEZING!  Apparently, Charlie had been in but Judy wasn't wet much above her knees.  I did manage to swim across the pool a couple of times but couldn't stay in for long.

Our hot spot

At 6.30pm, we gathered around a campfire where they were cooking Stockman's Stew & Damper with Golden Syrup.  Quite a crowd had gathered & we all enjoyed a good evening.  We were entertained with poetry & jokes & it turned out to be a very sociable get-together.

Sat., 4th Aug, 2012 - Total relaxation!

Not much to report - it was our last day in Kununurra, so we decided to make it an easy one.  Bob & I drove out to Kelly's Knob, a local high-spot involving a short rocky climb, from where we had wonderful views over the town & the surrounding area.  From there, we continued on to a pleasant park, next to a lake & a dam, where we had a picnic lunch.  By this time, it had become extremely hot, so we returned to the Holiday Park where I cooled off in the swimming pool.



View from Kelly's Knob



In the evening, the four of us, plus Gwen & Bob (who were mentioned yesterday), went to a Hamburger Evening in the Park (to raise money for St John's Ambulance).  Burgers are not usually my chosen food, but I have to admit that the ones provided were excellent (I didn't ask what they were made of!)  It was a most entertaining evening, as a group of Ghurkas, who are staying at the Park whilst doing training exercises in the surrounding bush, played some of their Nepalese music for us - an unexpected treat.