bobmcgee

Home Valley …

From Miner’s Pool we headed east again to Home Valley. This is one of two stations near the Wyndham end of the Gibb River Road, the other one being El Questro which is perhaps a bit more famous. Both have developed the tourist side of their operations.

On the way the road crosses a ridge and the impressive Cockburn Range is laid out in front of you. The Pentecost River runs at its foot and discharges into the West Arm of Cambridge Gulf.

Sadly, this is where Joseph Schwab, the Kimberley Killer, shot three of his five victims in 1987.

Once again we had an easy choice of camp site, the fully featured site at the homestead, with kids playground, pool, restaurant, shop and bar or bush camp on the river bank, please camp away from the water’s edge to reduce the risk of crocodile attack. We chose the crocs over the kids. And this was our reward …

We had watched a large Estuarine Crocodile slide into the water just before the photo was taken. We survived the night. The following morning we hiked one of the trails near the homestead and enjoyed a further reward in the form of a flock of Gouldian Finch.

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Politics and words …

I recently admitted I was lost for words.

James in Melbourne isn’t …

It’s the mind-boggling condescension; the grotesque narcissism; the pretentious over-analysis of everything; the ludicrous thesaurus-mined vocabulary, that makes his every speech a weird froth of verbiage devoid of actual meaning; the overwhelming smugness; the insufferable conceit; the off-the-scale self-regard; the insane, all-consuming craving for unanimous awed recognition as the smartest person in the room (and any room); the teenage levels of self-aggrandisement; the hilarious bigging-up name-dropping; the crass, bathetic, utter inability to relate to anyone below his perceived level, AKA everybody; the primed-to-explode grievances that fester behind the rictus smile; the ridiculous OCD of the just-so white-shirt-coloured-tie-and-navy-suit – unless it’s a weekend and it’s the ridiculous OCD of the just-so-khaki-chinos-and-chambray-shirt; the painful fakeness of the manufactured persona; the desperate fist-clenching as he suppresses the anger that ordinary people make him feel; the lightning speed to perceive a slight; the drawn-out hundred-fold revenge in return; the delight in humiliating those beneath him; and the cloying, fulsome, gushing insincerity of his fawning over other world leaders.

Any idea who he might be talking about?

River crossing …

This is the King Edward River, the river that might have stopped us getting to the Mitchell Plateau.

It hadn’t rained for over a week by the time we got to see it. Nonetheless, the driver of this vehicle had a good look and walked the track his wheels would take before he went across.

In the 4WD videos river crossings are undertaken with a splash and a big surge of water. That’s the way to get a good spectacle. If you’re running on diesel with no snorkel your air intake is no higher than your headlight, water in the engine equals immediate failure, a time and money eating retrieval and expensive repairs. If you’re running on petrol your electrics are vulnerable. Especially when the bank is steep, go in nice and slowly, just as the vehicle starts to climb you smoothly increase the revs and ask it to lift you out.

If you are towing a camper trailer the change in angle is too much to ask of a simple ball hitch, especially when there is a rock or two that can have the car leaning one way and the trailer leaning the other. There are a number of devices that allow for extensive rotation in all three planes. I have used a Treg hitch without problems. It’s also worth having a look at the Hitchmaster.

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Bird flight …

Flight …

We stayed a second night at Miner’s Pool in order to take an early morning flight over the Mitchell Plateau that we were originally intending to drive to.

Slingair operate flights from Drysdale River Station that follow a triangular path out to the mouth of the Prince Regent River then up the coast, over the Mitchell Falls and back over more of the million square acres of the station to the starting point. The plane they use is the Gippsland Airvan, made in Victoria, it is terrific for sight-seeing because of the high wing, large windows and seat arrangement. Well worth the cost …

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Drysdale …

Our original Kimberley itinerary provided for a visit to both the well-known sites for Black Grasswren, Bachsten Gorge and the Mitchell Plateau. We were a day late arriving at Bachsten, we were having so much fun there that we stayed a day longer than intended and we decided that the journey out should be taken at a more sedate pace than originally intended. We decided that the Mitchell Plateau would have to wait for another trip.

Our next stop was Drysdale River Station. There is a full facility camp site at the homestead, full of people. We camped two nights at Miner’s Pool, less than 5km away, where we had to share with just a couple of other parties.

It’s a beautiful spot, and we were pleased to find a couple of spectacular birds there, the Purple-crowned Fairywren and the Black-necked Stork. The Fairywren lives in waterside pandanus and the females are just as beautiful as the males, in their own understated way. The Storks are not particularly rare in tropical Australia but always great to see.

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The government …

Do we actually have one, anyone here elect it?

If I seem to have neglected matters political this past little while the reason is quite simple, I’m lost for words.

Half the previous government has headed for the back benches and will not contest the next election. Not long ago I heard Mr Conroy referred to as a senior minister, an illustration of what little talent was available … then. How little is left!

The new treasurer, what’s his name, oh Mr Bowen, has said the economy needs careful management in the next few years and for some unfathomable reason thinks Labor should be entrusted with the task.

So, we have a talent free, policy mystery government under the rule of a former failure who his own colleagues think is disfunctional if not certifiably mad.

And he’s fled the country …

Kimberley rock art …

If we share the stories of our country with gudia (whitefella), then they will have our country in their hearts as we do, and they will understand and love it, and never damage it.

David Bungal Mowaljarlai OAM (c.1926–1997).

Before leaving Bachsten Gorge we took the time to explore some of the sandstone outcrops and natural shelters. We followed in the footsteps of many people over many thousands of years. We were fortunate enough to find some paintings on the shelter walls. Just as Mr Mowaljarlai suspected we would, we admired and respected what we saw. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, a few examples …

And lastly a photo taken from within a rock shelter …

If you are interested in this art there is an excellent webpage <HERE>.

To continue the journey <HERE>.

Bachsten Falls …

With the Black Grasswren ticked our thoughts turned to the other attractions the neighbourhood had to offer.

In the Kimberley, sandstone plus water usually adds up to a gorge and in this instance an impressive waterfall. We first hiked down to the falls and had a look off, then climbed up to a vantage point from where we had a great view of the falls and pools from above. The great advantage of getting there early in the dry was that the scene was at its best.

And beauty, not only on the grand scale, but at every scale …

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Celebration …

The McGee Australian birdlist now stands at 715. It calls for a drink.

Buying take away alcohol poses a few problems for the traveller in the Northern two thirds of Australia. This is because some of the residents of this region have a major alcohol problem. If you are interested in the topic <THIS ARTICLE> is a good starting point. Just to complicate matters three different states have different rules and there are numerous local variations. So in Alice Springs, NT, you will not be able to buy take away alcohol before 2 pm, and you will have to ask for methylated spirits in the camping store, it ain’t on the shelves. In Mount Isa, Qld, your take out must go in your car, pedestrians may not buy alcohol to go. In Halls Creek, WA, the strongest you can buy is light beer. You cannot buy take away alcohol along the Gibb river Road full stop.

Having stocked up on just enough to see you through your journey you may reach the boundary of an area where alcohol is banned completely. Penalties for breaching the rules vary from state to state but are severe, fines of $30,000+, seizure of vehicle or boat and prison are all on the cards.

Fortunately McGee was well provided for. Indeed, earlier at Mt. Barnett whilst buying diesel, there had been a few cans and a bottle of wine in plain sight on the back seat. A rather attractive lady asked me, “Would you trade alcohol for sex?”

Even though I had sufficient I couldn’t resist asking, “What sort of alcohol are you offering?”

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