… is a popular place to watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. Yesterday was unusually cloudy. A crowd had gathered at Gantheaume Point but it was clear that the spectacle was not going to be up to its usual standard. The sun was visible with fifteen minutes to go but it sank into cloud before it reached the horizon. And the crowd melted away.
Four people and a dog stuck it out to see if the sky would catch. We were rewarded about 25 minutes after sunset.
The Point was named by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin (whose own name is appended to one of our cockatoos) in honour of Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume, a notable French admiral and friend of Napolean.
After saying farewell to our friends at Ellenbrae it was back onto the Gibb. About 40km west of Ellenbrae the road improved but there were occasional relapses to bone jarring corrugations. A night at the Manning Gorge campground then two nights at Birdwood Station brought us close to Derby.
As well as having a poke around Derby we bought screws at the well equipped Mitre 10. We needed to replace quite a few in the van! We were home in time for lunch the following day.
This was not our first rodeo on the Gibb River Road. We could have crammed in a bit more but now that we live in fairly easy reach we think it better to spend a few days at a time in chosen areas rather than be traveling significant distances every day.
If you are reading this with a view to planning your own trip consider including Tunnel Creek, Windjana Gorge, Lennard River Gorge, Mount Elizabeth Station, Drysdale Station, Mitchell Plateau and Falls. The landscape at the Home Valley bush camp is a must for the photographer. If completing the loop then Purnululu AKA the Bungle Bungles is not to be missed on the Northern Highway leg. We took our dog which ruled out the Mitchell Plateau and Purnululu. You can’t take a caravan up to the Purnululu campground and it is probably wiser not to drag one up to Mitchell Falls. Swags or tents for a couple of nights at a time will make the adventure all the more exciting.
There are other places that we haven’t got around to visiting yet, famous among them being Mount Hart and El Questro.
Passes and permits are needed for some areas and should be purchased in advance.
Mechanical failure on the Gibb is likely to be very expensive. Tyre and mechanical assistance is available at Over the Range Tyre & Mechanical Repairs and to some limited extent at Ellenbrae. Getting hauled out would be expensive and might entail some delay. An extra spare wheel is a sound investment. There is any amount of contradictory advice on what tyre pressures to run. It may be of benefit to drop to 20 to 30% below highway pressures (eg Highway pressure 42 X 0.75 = 31psi). It is certainly smart to drive at moderate speed and avoid the obvious rocks.
We had a compressor mounted on the van when we started our journey across the Gibb. It had fallen off by the end of the first day. If you come across it we’d like it back!
Elsewhere in the world you will find Iguanas, Opossums and Baobabs. In Oz we have Goannas, Possums and Boabs. Australians have been very negligent with words borrowed from other languages. If I were you I wouldn’t lend us anything. Especially if you’re French. We absolutely murder anything French.
The genus is Adansonia. There are eight species. Six are endemic to Madagascar where the genus almost certainly evolved. There is another species in Africa and last but not least is Adansonia gregorii found in north-west Australia. They are very long lived deciduous trees that grow in seasonally arid parts of the world. There are Adansonias alive today that were old when Christ was born.
The seeds, leaves and pith from the fruit (tastes like sherbet not chicken) are allegedly edible and rich in vitamin C.
The Boab flowers overnight, not the greatest strategy for bird and bee pollination. So it may be down to moths and bats. Success results in a pod with many seeds. Indeed Wikipedia tells us Baobab is from the Arabic أَبُو حِبَاب (abū ḥibāb) meaning many-seeded fruit. The fruit pod floats in water and will germinate successfully even after immersion in the sea.
If they started out in Madagascar how did they get to Australia? We can rule out a Gondwanan explanation. The genus has features that suggest it is too modern to have emerged when Africa and Australia were part of one large landmass. Too young for that but too old to have been brought here by the aboriginal settlers. Genetic divergence has been happening for some millions of years rather than the roughly 70,000 years since people arrived. Which leaves a sea borne introduction as the most likely hypothesis. Aboriginal people have certainly helped its dispersal since their arrival.
The Yawaru people of Broome have a traditional craft of carving designs in pearl shell. Some have transferred the art to carving Boab fruit. You can buy them in the market hot off the knife. I bought one 20 plus years ago. They last quite well …
You can see a fish on one side, a turtle on the reverse, traditional motifs for salt water people. The designs are encircled by a Rainbow Serpent.
Ellenbrae Station is an incredible one million acres.
It does a roaring trade in tyres, scones and jam (with cream) and mango frappés. There are two camp sites. One is close to a billabong, the other slightly further away and just a bit quieter as a consequence. You may luxuriate in a bath or take a hike to the very picturesque Sandy Beach Gorge.
We spent four nights here made all the more pleasant by catching up with friends. We did a bit of birding, ate a few scones and we also headed out to mess about in boats on the Durack River. A top spot.
It was time to head west on the infamous Gibb River Road. It is a great adventure, 647km of mostly unsealed, corrugated track. If you are considering traveling it for the first time Main Roads WA have some good advice for you.
The best way to prepare a caravan is to take a tent. If that is not an option then you will find out just how honest the salesman was when he told you about the off-road capabilities of that shiny new van.
Heading west the fun begins at the Pentecost River. It is quite wide. There is no bridge. The “road” surface is rocky. The depth of the water varies and there may be crocodiles. Two pieces of good advice collide in this situation. Never drive through water of unknown depth – walk it first. Don’t enter the water with Estuarine Crocodiles. Be patient, someone else will give it a go before long. If they walk it have the camera ready. When they drive watch carefully.
The next sizeable river is the Durack, usually deeper but not as wide. Between the two your beer cans will rub through, eggs will shed their shells and your teeth will rattle in their sockets. It pays to wear a sports bra, yeah, boys too. You must have a screw loose. More than one. Guaranteed.
Durack RiverBoabs
Our destination was Ellenbrae where we caught up with good friends who were working there.
It has long been my ambition to shoot the milky way with Boab trees as the foreground. There are some beauties around Parry’s. I had chosen the timing of the trip to keep the moon out of the equation. I was not expecting the country to be on fire. Early in the dry season is a good time for managed fuel reduction fires, so called cool burns. Rumour had it that someone thought they were really cool and enthusiastically lit a whole bunch more. So I had to contend with a lot more ambient light than I expected. Somehow I coped.
The stops so far have been one night stands – way points with benefits. Parry’s is a destination.
Broome has no duck pond in the park and no sparkling brook to walk beside. Just as Eskimos have many words for snow Australians have numerous endings for the phrase that starts with “as dry as …” mostly impolite. Except when it’s flooded Broome is as dry as any of these things. Parry’s Lagoon is a different story.
Parry’s Creek Farm is near the small town of Wyndham. It’s surrounded by the Parrys Lagoon nature reserve and unlike the nature reserve is dog friendly. It is a favourite destination and the first stop where we stayed a few days. If the word resort conjures up a vision of Piña Coladas (whatever they are) from the swim up bar forget it. But there is a pool, also a restaurant which serves a good meal. The service was excellent.
In the reserve you can visit Telegraph Hill for some WW2 history and some nice Boabs. Then continue to the bird hide at Marlgu Billabong to boost the bird list.
Australian SwamphenGlossy IbisComb-crested JacanaComb-crested JacanaPied HeronNankeen Night HeronNankeen Night HeronMagpie GooseRadjah ShelduckGreat EgretPlumed Whistling DuckGreen Pygmy-goosePied HeronNankeen Kestrel
There is a smaller billabong on Parry’s Creek Farm as well. It is surrounded by a small patch of rain forest. Some pleasant walks radiate from the camping area with more wildlife watching potential.
Common Tree SnakeCommon Tree SnakeRainbow Bee-eater
Up next. Nightfall brings a new suite of possibilities …
The start of our trip corresponded with the new moon. I was keen to take advantage of the dark sky. At Larrawa I found a nice spinifex foreground. The following night we stayed at the Leycester rest area and I found a few skinny young Boabs not far away. Some bonus lighting was provided by a passing car.
Leycester rest area is a 24 hour free camp with toilets, a dump point and rubbish disposal. It’s adjacent to a very beautiful spot on the Ord river and it’s only a hop skip away from the Bungle Bungles turn off. Given all of that and the time of the year it’s no surprise that it was packed. The river bank sites are the first to go.
Larrawa Station is 146km east of Fitzroy Crossing. The camp ground is 4km off the Great Northern Highway. We were there early and chose our spot. Is was pretty full by the end of the day, a basic but very pleasant site.
A walk of about one and a half kilometres brings you to Christmas Creek. Boabs and cattle are the highlights along the way. The first creek bed was dry, the second one contained a nice billabong. Both channels would be running a banker at Christmas given that our southern Christmas is a summer event and summer is the wet season up here. Come in winter.
The billabong was the place to find the birds.
Brown HoneyeaterPainted FinchPainted FinchSacred Kingfisher
bobmcgee 