Day 26: Monday 29/9/2014   Adelaide, SA (Visited Barossa Valley)

We booked a tour of the Barossa with a tour operator called Taste the Barossa. The tour guide was Dallas Coull, who also happens to own the company. I would vote him as one of the best tour commentators I have been on. Very articulate, knowledgeable, and a great sense of humour.

Our first stop was at a dam called the "whispering wall". Dallas, said that if you had one person at each end and if they faced the wall and whispered to hit, you could hear them on the other side. I had to put this to the test. Well you could not believe how clear you could hear. It felt like they were standing next to you. The secret is in its curvature. The wall is 140 meters long and was build 112 years ago. You have to experience it to believe it.

I have been to the Barossa before, but this tour really gave me a much better feel for the history and development of the region.  The tour started with a drive up through the Adelaide hills, that was really lovely, picturesque countryside.  Once in the Barossa, we went to 4 different wineries for tasting, also enjoying lunch at the second winery, Peter Lehmann’s – which we also thought was the best of the four we went to.

Among the interesting stories we heard was about the Seppelt Family’s winery.   As the story goes, along with the vine cuttings that Joseph Seppelt brought to Australia, he had also picked up two date palm seedlings which had grown two large date palms on the family grounds.   Later, during the Depression of the 1920’s when most of the wineries closed down and many people were out of work, the Seppelts had managed to keep things going and provided basic housing and food for their workers and their families, even though no wine was being sold.   In appreciation, the workers took seeds from the date palms to the Botanical Gardens in Adelaide, and managed to propagate many more palms, and planted them along the roads leading to the vineyards.   Now, these corridors of palms look really majestic and are a very distinguishing feature of the Seppelt estate.

We also had a stop in Tanunda, a nice village where we had time for a short stroll to pick up a coffee or have a peak in the shops.  There was also a stop at a scenic outlook, where we could see the whole Barossa Valley before us.  It was really a great day, and would highly recommend this tour to anyone coming to Adelaide. 

 The incredible whispering wall.

 Enjoying a drink or 3

 There vines were planted over 140 years ago.

 In memory of those that created an industry

Incredible view of the palms. I got the tip on how to best photograph them.

Day 25: Sunday 28/9/2014   Ceduna, SA  to Adelaide, SA    Distance travelled: 770km

First, for those using the tracker to see where we are, please be assured that there was no magic wand, to get us from Port Augusta to Adelaide.  I wish it were possible, but the battery just ran out  on the tracker, and I did not notice. All good now.

Another long day at the wheel, but fortunately, that was our last ( I hope) long day driving. It took us about  9 hrs on the road with a long stopover in Port Augusta.

Again, I can’t say it enough that without 2 drivers, the driving would be very tiresome. Pat and I have a good system going and we change driving duties frequently.

On the road we didn’t see brilliant landscapes like we did on the Nullarbor, we did see The Australian Farmer (also known as the Big Farmer) it is a statue located in Wudinna, South Australia. Regarded as one of Australia's Big Things, the granite sculpture stands at 8 metres (26 ft) in height, and weighs in the vicinity of 70 tonnes. It took 17 years to produce from initial proposal to the final unveiling in 2009.

Of course you can’t go past seeing the Big Galah in Kimba and the pink lake (Lake Bumbunga)  in Lochiel, SA. This is a salt water lake that has been mined for salt since 1912. The lake covers 3,530 acres and changes colour from blue in fine weather to a vivid pink, which indicates a change is on the way. There is a local myth that the lake is home to the Loch Ness Monster’s cousin ‘Loch Eel’ Today is was bright pink.

Lake Bumbunga, was on the money about the weather. From about 200km before Port August to Adelaide (about 500km in all) it was heavy wind and you could see the dust storms. Adelaide had a severe weather warning saying it would have winds of up to 100km. Luckily it had died down by the time we got here. It was so windy that at one stage we saw 4  bikes on the road just trying to stay up. They were riding at a tilt of at least 15 degrees just to go straight. Lucky we had a big heavy car.

We are staying at a hotel in Adelaide called Adelaide Meridien Hotel, a very nice hotel.

Tomorrow we booked a tour of the Barossa Valley vineyards. That should be nice. Tuesday is a rest day, sightseeing Adelaide. We start our journey home on Wednesday.

 The Australian Farmer ,Wudinna, South Australia

 The Big Galah in Kimba

Lake Bumbunga,  in Lochiel, SA. The picture does not do justice to how pink the lake was. My excuse is that it was very windy and I was tired.

Day 24: 27/9/2014   Eucla, WA to Ceduna, SA  (still Crossing the Nullarbor)    Distance travelled:  530km

Today’s drive wasn’t too long – compared to recent drives, just 5 ½ hours.  We crossed into South Australia 12 km East of Eucla, but the road and terrain remained much the same for a while after that… long straight stretches of road and desert scrub all around.  But, a bit further into SA, the highway comes closer to the coast and there a number of designated scenic outlook points – easily identified with a sign of a camera.  They are not exaggerating – the views are amazing.  It is a dramatic landscape, where the desert comes up to the coast, ending in tall sandstone cliffs down to the water.   

We finished crossing the Nullarbor, and also found that it came from the latin ‘nullus-arbor’’ referring to the vast treeless plain.  The Nullarbor live up to its name. I also must say that the shrubs were plentiful and very green. I made a comment to Pat that it looked like a green shag carpet. The weather has continued to be quite hot – mid-30s C – but also very windy.

When we were in Norseman, we met some travellers coming in the opposite direction and they had given us a few tips about where to stop – including the ‘Oyster Bar’ just as you come into Ceduna from the west (just after the quarantine inspection point).   It was a great tip. We have learned that Ceduna is the Oyster capital of Australia.  We got some oysters, cooked, for lunch, and also picked up a dozen fresh ones that we can enjoy this evening.

We are staying at the Ceduna Motor Inn, a basic but nice motel.  Although I am a dedicated NRL fan, and normally don’t want to even hear about AFL, today is the grand final, and Sydney is playing, so I decided to watch the game, which was starting just as we checked into the motel.  Unfortunately there was a problem with the TV satellite hoo-kup and the station kept cutting out.   The staff were very helpful, trying to fix the problem and when they couldn’t do it quickly, they moved us to a room in another wing of the motel so that we didn’t miss much of the game.  Unfortunately, after all that – the Swans have not been able to match the Hawks.  Oh well, that’s my AFL fix for another year. i also watched the NRL Penrith vs Canterbury semi final. Canterbury won. So the grand final next Sunday is South Sydney vs Canterbury. I really hope South Sydney win.   

I also did manage to get my car washed as I must have collected all the insect population along the drive.

 As we entered SA from Eucla

 One of the spectacular views along the Nullabor

Pat enjoying the views

Beaches just past Eucla

Yep another brilliant view 

Day 23: 26/9/2014   Norseman, WA   to Eucla, WA (Crossing the Nullarbor)    Distance travelled:  750km

This was going to be another long day at the wheel.  The drive itself was not hard, but was taxing in that you had to really concentrate as the roads were straight and boring. Pat and I got to a stage that when a bend appeared we cheered. There was a section that was sign posted as the longest straight road in Australia of around 146.6km. We had frequent stops and managed to arrive in Eucla, WA after 9:30hrs on the road.

One of the interesting things we saw of the road was the number of designated RFDS landing strips on the highway itself. During the tour of RFDS they explained what the process for this was.

In Eucla, WA which in itself is a glorified roadhouse with accommodation we freshened up and then went exploring. We drove about 4km along a dirt track to see a Telegraph Station which was in operations between 1877 and 1927. From there we had to walk about 3km (round trip) to see the sand dunes and beach. 

The walk itself was not long, but what made it difficult was the soft sand and the hundreds of flies wanting to get into your mouth, nose, eyes, etc.. We got back to our Motel and I hit the showers to cool down. Oh yeah, the temp was around 34C.

We got something to eat at the restaurant/pub here and took it to our room. I was getting ready to watch the Rugby League (Rabbits vs Roosters), only to find out that they can’t pick up GEM here. Oh well, just have to listen online.

Tomorrow we are off to Ceduna, SA. There will be another time zone change.

 Typical road sign. We did see an Emu with her 8 chicks walking near the road. Other than that nothing.

 Long straight road.

 We stopped for lunch here. Cockklebiddy is a roadhouse/town?

 We are getting closer to Sydney, only 2522km to go. A little more for us as we are making another detour to Adelaide.

 The start of the sand dunes near Eucla Telegraph Station

 This is whats left of the Telegraph Station

The beaches. Very fine white sand. brilliant blue water.

Day 22: 25/9/2014  Perth, WA to Norseman, WA       Distance traveled:  830km

Today we got a reasonably early start, leaving Perth at 7:30 AM. Pat was sorry to leave the City Stay Hotel, as she claims it had the most comfortable bed on the whole trip.  Luckily, as we were heading out of the city, we were going against peak hour traffic and it didn't take too long to get out of Perth.  We made good progress until we got past a small town called Southern Cross, then I got a friendly reminder from the WA Police to stick to the speed limit. Luckily, the nice officer did just give me a warning.

We were planning to make it to Kalgoorlie by 2PM, so that we could do a tour of the Royal Flying Doctors Service station there, but we ran into a lot of road work along the way, and weren't sure that we would make it in time. Stopping in Kalgoorlie meant about a 100 km detour off the shortest route, and we almost passed it up, but made a last minute choice to go anyway. Luckily, we did make it just in time for the tour, and it was well worth the time! I would highly recommend taking the tour at any of their stations - it was really interesting and inspiring.

After the tour, it was a quick lunch, then back on the road again for the last 185 km run to Norseman. Like Kalgoorlie, Norseman was settled and grew due to the gold rush era. This is where gold was first discovered in the region. The story goes that in 1894 a prospector, Lawrence Sinclair, was looking for gold... when  his horse wandered off. When he managed to find him he noticed that the horse had scraped up some rocks that looked distinctive. Yep, it was gold! The horse's name - Hardy Norseman. Today, Norseman has a population of approximately 860, but at one time was the biggest gold mining centre in Western Australia. Tomorrow is the start of the Gold Fever Festival, but sadly we need to get on the road early to start across the Nullarbor.

Next stop border town Eucla, WA 

 RFDS in Kalgoorlie, WA  They cover nearly as large as the UK. There are a total of 17 RFDS centres around Australia. RFDS is the 4th largest airline in Australia and the largest Medical services provider in the world.

 Inside the RFDS  PC-12 Pilatus. Very versatile plane, that can land on a 500 meter strip on very rough ground.

Cockpit of a PC-12 Pilatus. RFDS only use 1 pilot per plane.

The only Camels I saw in Norseman.

Day 21: 24/9/2014  Perth, WA    Rest and sightseeing day

We had a bright and early start to the day. We took the car in for service at RAC service centre (like NRMA in NSW). I told them what special oils I wanted for the car, to change the oil filter and clean the air filter, plus other normal checks like, brakes and tyres. I asked for special attention to the tyres as I knew that the rear tyres may need replacing. I also asked that they reset the “Service Due” light. This I told them can only be done with a computer and not by just pushing a few buttons. "No problems," they said,"we have the computer." I gave them my number and asked them to call me ASAP if any additional thing was required because we were leaving the next day. I got the "all OK, no problems."

We then went to Murray st. Mall for breakfast and Pat for some retail therapy. After a few hours we went back to the hotel, well at least I did, and Pat went to another mall, just across the street from our hotel. Pat does not buy much, but does like to window shop.

Around noon, the RAC service centre called and said the car was ready. The guy (Peter) said that everything was done, but the rear tyres needed to be changed now. I said why didn't you call me so I could arrange it? Sorry was his statement. I got in the car and saw the “Service Due” light go on. I asked Peter to reset it. Sorry we forgot. My confidence in RAC was now at an all-time low.

I managed to locate a Bob Jane T Mart and asked if they could help me? After some research he said yes but they would need to locate were they could find these special tyres and replace them sometime tomorrow. I said, we would be leaving Perth early in the morning. He was very nice and traced a place to get the tyres and then sent someone to get them. They did a great job and the car was ready by 4pm. I might add at a very high premium. Each tyre cost over $750. At least now we have a fully serviced car with good tyres.

I needed to get the day into a positive mode again. Pat and I went to Kings Park to watch sunset over Perth. Very nice. For dinner we went to Burswood Crown Casino (no gambling). We had a good time. The day did end in a positive note.

Tomorrow we are off to Norseman, WA

 Veterans Memorial at Kings Park

 Pat and Perth skyline

Burswood Crown Casino is in this complex.  Nice Casino, probably best in Australia.

Day 20: 23/9/2014  Geraldton, WA to Perth, WA       Distance traveled:  463km

Today’s was one of our shorter drives. We left the lovely beach-side area around Geraldton and quickly found ourselves in really picturesque farmland.   It was a very pleasant drive; through it was quite a shock coming back into city traffic as we got closer to Perth.  We haven’t really had that since we left Sydney. 

We got to Perth early this afternoon – we are staying at the ‘City Stay Apartment Hotel’ which is conveniently located and has everything we need.  After setting into our unit, we went to nearby Northbridge, both to confirm where/when we need to take the car tomorrow morning for its service, and also to grab some lunch.  We have both been to Perth a number of times before, but are hoping to see a few favourite sites again while we are here.    

Day 19: 22/9/2014  Carnarvon, WA to Geraldton, WA       Distance travelled:  485km

It was a pleasant drive down to Geraldton, unlike yesterday’s drive to Carnarvon.

I must say Pat and I were very impressed with Geraldton. It reminds me of Port Macquarie in NSW, but nicer.  We stayed in a nice hotel called Abrolhos Reef Motel. We did a tour of the town and had a late lunch at the Freemason Tavern, also nice.

Geraldton is the capital of Western Australia's Mid West region and the gateway to the amazing Abrolhos Islands. Only 424km north of Perth. It has a population of around 36,000. Geraldton is the hub of the Mid West region, with a world leading rock lobster fishery, farming and agriculture and the production of iron ore, making it a truly thriving and sustainable regional city.

World renowned for an extensive host of water sports, Geraldton lends itself to some of the most spectacular kitesurfing, windsurfing, fishing and diving conditions. The surfing here is also a big attraction.

We looked at real estate and joked about getting a holiday home here. Yeah just a short drive from Sydney, only 4,300km.

I had been saying for the last 19 days that I was going to enjoy a nice Cigar and a drink at the next place that I felt relaxed and refreshed. Yep, Geraldton got the nod on that. I really enjoyed my cigar.

I must say that the morning did not shape up to meet those conditions. The temperature dropped to 15C and overcast. But, as the day progressed it got warmer and cleared up.

We went to see the HMAS Sydney memorial. The memorial overlooks Geraldton. HMAS Sydney was involved in a mutually destructive engagement with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, and was lost with all 645 aboard. The wrecks of both ships were lost until 2008

Tomorrow we are off to Perth, WA. We are staying there 2 days. I also have booked my car in for service at a RAC service centre. They are like NRMA in NSW or AAA in the USA.

 A scene from one of the lookout on route to Geraldton. Absolutely flat.

One of the beaches in Geraldton

one of the views in Geraldton. Some really nice houses.

At the HMAS Sydney memorial

 Looking out to see during the battle

Memorial of HMAS Sydney

Day 18: 21/9/2014   Karratha, WA to Carnarvon, WA       Distance traveled:  650km

We left Karratha around 7:30am. Weather perfect, around 29C, not a cloud in the sky.   The drive south to Carnarvon was pleasant, with little traffic. All that changed around 100km before Carnarvon. We hit a large dust storm, reducing visibility to about  100 meters and heavy winds. This went on for around 60km. Then it turned into rain. Well at least it washed the car of all the red dust.

The temperature went down to 20C and windy. We heard on the news that Perth and the surrounding areas were expecting heavy rain with winds in excess of 100km. Also, the temperatures to mid-teens. I looked at Pat and said let’s turn round and go North again. Pat was ready to agree.

We did have a look round Carnarvon and were pleasantly surprised at the size of the town, it has a population of about 10,000. As we came close, we left the mining region of the Pilbara and moved into the Gascoyne region.  Here, the western dessert comes close to ocean and the fertile delta along the Gascoyne River means this area is ideal for growing a variety of fruits and vegetables we saw a number of plantations as we came into town.

No photos for today.  The most memorable sight was the dust storm, but we were too busy focussing on seeing the road to think about taking pictures of it.

Tomorrow it’s off to Geraldton, WA

Day 17: 20/9/2014   Broome, WA to Karratha WA   Distance traveled:  855km

Today we were back on the road, with an 8 hour drive from Broome, down to the Pilbara, staying in Karratha.  Originally we were going to stop at Port Hedland, but along our travels, we had been told that  Point Samson was definitely worth a stop.  So, we decided to go a bit further, and Karratha is the nearest big town.  We did detour to see Point Samson; It is a holiday spot for people in other parts of the Pilbara, and has nice beaches and we understand there is great snorkeling.  But, after 7 hours in the car, we weren’t really in the mood to hit the water. 

It was an interesting landscape as we drove down…. Once we got near Port Hedland, there were some rolling hills, but for most of the trip, it was just flat as far as you could see.   We were also at low altitude, ranging from just 10 to 20m above sea level the whole way.  Also the number of Road Trains between Port Head and Karratha was the most we have seen all trip. Most were 4 trailers.

We are staying at the Cattrall Park Motel – which looked a bit disappointing as we pulled in – just rooms behind the bottle shop and restaurant, but the room is actually nice enough, and most importantly, we will be able to watch Manly in the NRL finals on TV tonight. 

We went to the restaurant right near were we are staying (the Bali Garden) and had dinner. The place looked nice inside, was full, and the food was pretty good.  

Before that we did watch the Manly Sea Eagles game. It was painful for the first 30 mins. Then they started playing. By the end it was tied at 17 – 17 and went into extra time. Canterbury Bulldogs won with a field goal, and so the end of the season for the Eagles. Tomorrow we head off to Carnarvon, WA

Someone had a lot of time on thier hands. Two converted shopping trollies made into deck chairs.

Day 16:  19/9/2014   Broome, WA    Leisure day

A nice slow start to the day. Today is another R&R day.

We have finally decided on our new route; though as always it will be open to change. Broome is our point of no return. Whicever route we pick it will be a similar distance to home. To date we have traveled around 6,600km and we have a similar distance on the way home. To check our new route click on the “The Route” tab and see the updated map. Remember to click on image to enlarge.
Basically we are now going to head south along the WA coastline and our next stop will be Karratha, which is 832km away. Hard to believe, Perth is still about 2,500km away.

Today is a low activity day.  We went to a place (Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm) where they talk about and show you opening up oysters and harvest pearls from them. Really interesting!  We learned a lot about the process of culturing pearls, and all the various types.  They also have on display the ‘World’s Largest Fine Quality Round Pearl’ – at a whopping 22.24 mm diameter!   Broome was  founded on the pearling business.  Luckily for me (and for our trip budget) Pat was interested in the process, but wasn’t looking to make any purchases!

Then we went to a brewery (yep I actually went into a brewery despite my dislike for beer).  Matsos’s is a Broome icon, and they make a variety of beers and even a couple ciders.  Pat got a tasting sampler, which included their most popular mango beer, and a really refreshing ginger beer.  I settled for a mango & lime cider.   The food was good too.

This afternoon we managed to re-pack the car.   We have, of course, realized that we brought more stuff that we are likely to ever need, and so have re-arranged things so we won’t need to keep sifting through the camping gear and extra books when we are looking for the things we really do need.

Tomorrow, it is back on the road again. 

 Priceless Pearl

Pat and her samplers

Day 14 & 15:  17&18/9/2014   Larrawa Station, WA to Broome, WA   Distance travelled:  550km

Day 14 was a leisurely 550km drive from Larrawa Station to Broome. We first had breakfast with Wendy and some of the guest, and then hit the road around 7:40am. Along the way more weird and wonderful Boab trees and some amazing rock formations.

We arrived in Broome around 1pm. We were a little tired and had a rest, then showered and off to Cable Beach to see the sunset. Cable Beach is listed as one of the top 5 beaches in the world. I can see why. The next Australian beach is Whitehaven Beach, in the Whitsunday Islands. Bondi & Manly don’t even make the top 20 list. Having said that I think it’s very subjective after having seen some of the top 5 beaches.

For dinner we went to a place called Cafe D'Amore. The food was nice, but it just felt strange. Spanish/Mexican music playing, the food on the menu was all Italian, The wine menu had  Spanish/Portuguese writing?  Also, not an inexpensive place to dine.

Day 15, we tried to sleep in, but were awake by 6:30am. We then had breakfast and then off to a place called The Mango Place. We had a look round their souvenir shop and tasted some of their jams and chutney. Of course I had a Mango smoothie and Pat had a Mango Mojito drink (non-alcoholic).

Pat wanted to do some shopping therapy and I stayed back at the hotel relaxing by the pool.

Later in the evening we went for a long walk on Cable Beach watching the sunset and the Camel walks. I initially thought about doing it, but have been on Camels before, Pat was not interested. We also, much to Pats initial protest went driving on Cable beach. For the most part the sand was hard packed, and some areas it was loose. The Q7 did it in style.

 Naturally we took a bottle of wine and some nibbles to watch the sunset. Brilliant day.
Tomorrow is another rest day in Broome.

 Sunset on Cable Beach.  Broome, WA

 I was talking to the owner of this trike. He bought his Harley, then ordered a trike kit from the US. Said it was the best thing he has ever done. He was from South Australia.

 Me on Cable Beach with Camels in background

My trusty Q7 on Cable Beach. It was fun and now I can put another tick on the bucket list.

Day 13:  16/9/2014   Kununurra, WA to Larrawa Station, WA     Distance travelled:  513km

We had a nice, easy drive to Halls Creek, coming through the Kimberly mining region.  We saw lots more Boab trees, and interesting rock formations. 

We had booked a place to stay through the Halls Creek tourist office, and we thought the lady we booked with (Molly) said Larrawa Station was only about 40km past Halls Creek. When we stopped at Halls Creek for lunch and to get better direction, we found out it was 147km past Halls Creek, then an extra 4km on a dirt track. All good fun.

The lady that runs it, Wendy, was very nice and gave us a tour of our room and facilities. Yep very basic room, no A/C and outside facilities, again all nice and clean.   We had a communal dinner with Wendy and Brock and the other guests, it was a great evening and seeing the stars out here was amazing. We also got a few tips on where to stay and what to see for some of the places we are going. I would recommend staying here. I had a great time after dinner talking about sports, local issues, world politics, etc. On Facebook look for Larrawa Nature Stay.

Some fact about Larrawa Station. While they are small for a station in these parts, it’s only about 500,000 acres. They have at any time around 5 – 8 thousand head of cattle, plus sheep.

Tomorrow we are off to Broome, WA. We booked for 2 nights, but Pat wants to stay at least 3. We will see how we like it.

 Me along side a very large Boab tree. Near Derby there is a larger tree that was used as a temporary prison. Now thats big

 The end or start of the Tanami track from Halls Creek. I had thought about doing it at one point but was talked out of it because of the harsh road conditions. It's 1,014km long.

 How the Tanami track looks.

 Pat outside our accommodation at Larrawa Station

 Pat next to a Boab tree.

My poor car needs a clean.

Day 12:  15/9/2014   Darwin, NT  to Kununurra, WA   Distance traveled:  850km

We left Darwin around 7am and headed south to Kathrine, then west toward Kununurra, WA. The drive was long, but because we were swapping our driving every hour, we found it manageable.

Along the way Pat and I both made comments on the ever changing topography and the stunning rock features.

We hit the border of WA and had the car fully inspected by the border quarantine inspector. They primarily look for fruit and vegetables, plus anything that may affect the WA agricultural or native vegetation. We got a clean bill of health.

We arrived in Kununurra around 2:30pm, that’s allowing for the time difference of 1:30hrs. So that’s a total of -2 hrs behind Sydney time. We had a little rest, and then off we went exploring the town.

A little about Kununurra:   Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley Region approximately 37 kilometres (23 mi) from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation Scheme around 1961.

Kununurra is the largest town in Western Australia north of Broome, with the closest town being Wyndham, 100 kilometres (62 mi) away. Kununurra is 3,040 kilometres (1,889 mi) from Perth via the Great Northern Highway.

The town is situated in among the scenic hills and ranges of the far north-east Kimberley Region, having an abundance of fresh water, conserved by the Ord River Diversion dam and the main Ord River Dam.

The tropical agriculture crops grown in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) have changed over the years. Tourism and mining have also become important to the local economy. It’s a feel good town.

Tomorrow were off to Halls Creek, or about 40km past Halls Creek and staying on a working Cattle Station. That should be fun.

 The only place in the world to find the unusual Boab tree is the Western Australia Kimberley region. Every Boab tree is unique. They have character and personality as you would expect of such an ancient creature. Some individual Boab trees are 1500 years old. A mature Boab tree is a sight to behold. Though not exceptionally high, up to 15 metres, they appear huge. The name bottle tree relates to the swollen trunk that can reach a massive girth of up to 20 metres.

The Boab is a very slow growing tree and it takes many hundreds if not thousand years to grow into one of those impressive specimen.

 Pat and I at the border crossing near Kununurra

Some of the rock features around Kununurra. While not the most impressive we have seen, it was the one I photographed.

Day 11:  14/9/2014   Darwin, NT  Day of leisure

Today we had a relaxing day in Darwin.  After a couple days of early starts, it was great to sleep in a bit and not worry about packing bags in the morning.  We spent the morning sightseeing, driving around Darwin, checking out a beach area (Fannie Bay!) and then went to the Darwin Military Museum.  Along with military memorabilia from many eras, there is an extensive exhibit on the Defense of Darwin – related to defending   Darwin from the Japanese bombing during WWII.  The exhibit was a fantastic mix of historical photos and film and computer generated graphics with personal accounts both from journals and records from that time, and transcripts of interviews done more recently with local residents who lived through it.  Outside the museum there were lots of large guns and military vehicles.  We both were really glad we went.

After this, it was back to Mitchell Street for some lunch, then back to the hotel to check out the pool.  Since the temperature had been in the upper 30s for the past few days the pool felt great, especially knowing that it will be a while before we can enjoy it back in Sydney.

This evening, we went to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market.  The markets are held every Thursday and Sunday in the dry season, and have a great collection of crafts and food, with a variety of entertainment – including the main act: the sunset over the ocean.  We got dinner, watched an acrobat/juggling team (Jacob & Sophie?) and Pat bought 2 new bags (her ongoing quest during this trip has been finding or making the perfect tote bag.) 

Now, back the hotel to relax, and start packing up for an early start.  We will say goodbye to Darwin, and to the Northern Territory and head to Western Australia.   We have decided not to stop in Katherine, but head right to Kununurra, WA.  We had planned to take a cruise up Katherine Gorge – which is actually a series of gorges and waterfalls along the Katherine river.  But since it is the end of the dry season, we have heard that several of the gorges are dried up, and the waterfalls are not as spectacular as usual.   So, we have decided to save that for another trip, when we will try to get here a bit earlier in the season.   Instead, it’s off to WA.

 This was where the Japanese offensive covered 1941-1942 They landed on Vernon Island, just north of Darwin.

Typical jeep that was supplied by the US Army. Just some trivia, by the end of 2014 a new USA military base will be completed in Darwin to house over 2000 troops.