Australia – Page 27

Broome …

My first visit to Broome was as a participant in an Australian Wader Studies Group expedition. With a bunch of other volunteers we caught, measured, banded and released shorebirds over a period of about six weeks. I made good friends on that trip and some of them decided to make Broome their home.

The power steering failure in the car was due to a cracked transmission fluid cooler. It was beyond repair. A replacement would have to come from Sydney via Perth and would take a week.

This was a good time to have good friends in town, especially since the Broome caravan parks do not take dogs during the tourist season.

I am unsure of the collective noun for ornithologists but I favour a clutch over a flock. So a clutch of ornithologists were quick to chide me for my ID of Grey Butcherbird in the Kimberley, it was split years ago and is now the Silver-backed Butcherbird confirming the description by John Gould in 1836 as Cracticus argenteus. My apologies, here it is again this time correctly labelled …

Broome is one of my favorite places. Let me give you a taste in a few photos.

Sun Pictures is the world’s oldest outdoor movie garden. It was built in 1903 as an Asian emporium owned by the Yamasaki family, part of it was used for Noh theatre. Tod Hunter, a pearler, bought it in 1913 and converted it to a cinema holding 500 patrons. It opened in 1916 with a racing drama Kissing Cup. The first talkie was Monte Carlo in 1933.

Until 1974 when a levee bank was built Carnarvon Street and the theatre was flooded at very high tides. It was joked that you could fish as you watched the movie.

It’s still going strong.

The Japanese played a major role in the pearling industry. The Japanese cemetery is one of the tourist stops.

The highlights for me are the natural areas, Roebuck Bay, the mangroves, plains and lakes.

And on moonless nights there are plenty of stars …

The car was fixed very efficiently by Minshull Mechanical Repairs in Guy Street otherwise known as the 4X4 MegaStore (the Toyota Dealership being too busy to book it in for at least two weeks.)

It was time to thank Kerry and Chris for their very generous hospitality and hit the road.

Going straight …

AKA the Kimberley part 3.

After saying good morning to the Kimberley form of the Grey Butcherbird, an isolated subspecies Cracticus torquatus latens, we headed for the Mt Barnet Roadhouse.

The previous day we had set up the satellite phone and taken advice from our home mechanic regarding the steering. It was suggested that we get the car towed. That’s a 1200km round trip tow. What about the trailer? Or that we pour oil into the empty reservoir and try our luck. The appropriate oil is ATF if that wasn’t available try anything light. I was considering cooking oil as a field expedient, it would have made an interesting story for the blog but Mt Barnet was well stocked with all sorts of oils including ATF. We filled the reservoir and hit the road.

At intervals we refilled the reservoir. Fortunately we had bought quite a lot of ATF because the system had a bloody great hole in it somewhere inaccessible. Driving in a straight line was easy, anything else was not.

Some of the Gibb River Road’s best scenery is in that stretch.

It wasn’t our intention to stay in Derby but we broke the drive to Broome into two stages. It gave me the chance to photograph a sculpture that is carefully arranged to be at its best against the setting sun.

Next morning we did the sights of Derby and headed for Broome.

The Kimberley part 2 …

Dragging ourselves away from Parrys Creek it was time for the Gibb River Road. It’s sealed as far as the entrance to El Questro, the famous dude ranch. I understand that the drive in from there comes as a bit of a shock to the dude caravaners but I haven’t tried it. In any case the Gibb will rattle their crockery if they are driving the full length of it.

On this occasion our destination was Mount Barnet and Manning Gorge, about 390km for the day. Once we reached Mt Barnet turning right off the main road the steering felt rather heavy. It’s a popular camp site and dog friendly. We tucked ourselves way down the back where we could enjoy the illusion of bush camping.

We set up camp, had a swim in the waterhole, drank a beer and plucked up the courage to look under the hood. Searching amongst the tightly packed mysteries we located the reservoir for the power steering fluid. It was empty. Bugger.

Early next morning I abandoned Gayle and the dog and hiked the waterfall trail. First you pull yourself across the creek in a tin boat by a rope and pulley arrangement. Then it’s about a 40 minute walk, some of it uphill and rocky underfoot. Your reward is an amphitheatre into which pours a cascade that thrills the onlooker. Well it would when it’s more than the current trickle. It’s pretty and a nice place for a swim. Most visitors content themselves with that but for the intrepid a scramble down stream leads to a truly beautiful gorge.

It’s a spot where you may see one of the Kimberley’s special birds, the White-quilled Rock Pigeon. Look for them in the shadows and ovehangs.

The waterhole back at the camp is also very charming.

The moon is a few days past full now so it rises more than an hour after sunset. This means a good look at the milky way is now available.

The Kimberley part 1 …

We arrived in Halls Creek, Heart of the Kimberley, from the Tanami and headed for Broome, the administrative centre via Wyndham and the Gibb River Road.

I could spend six months here without getting bored and without seeing it all. On this trip we would dash around in under a week.

The Kimberley is huge … 423,517 square kilometres (163,521 sq mi), and has a permanent population in the order of 35,000 (many more in the winter). That’s just 0.8 of a person per square kilometre. Two thirds of those live in the towns of Broome, Derby and Kununurra.

Our first stop was just outside Wyndham at Parrys Creek Farm. This is situated on the margin of a large conservation area. The camp site is by a lagoon and is dog tolerant. We spent three nights here giving me the chance to visit the Marlgu Billabong at dawn and dusk (no dogs here) and for the three of us to visit Wyndham and Kununurra during the day.

The billabong is in the Ord River flood plain and rivals any tropical Australian wetland that I’ve visited. I won’t bore you with lists, let’s just say I cleaned up and the bird numbers were impressive. The site has a short boardwalk to a well situated hide.

Poor old Wyndham has a somewhat sad aspect to it. The website Aussie Towns puts it this way …

Wyndham, Western Australia’s most northerly town, sits on the edge of the Cambridge Gulf surrounded by uninviting salt lakes, desert and mudflats which stretch to the horizon.

The town was founded in 1885. It got off to a good start as the gateway port to the Halls Creek gold rush. From 1919 to 1985 there was a meat works in operation. The port still functions serving mining operations.

There is a Big Crocodile on the outskirt of town (which is adjacent to the opposite outskirt and doubles as the town centre). You could probably find some real ones if you went wading.

The population is less than 700 people. It has a hospital and an excellent cafe called The Croc Cafe.

Wyndham is on a side road that leads no where else and is bypassed by most travelers. Kununurra is right on the highway and on a scenically splendid lake. It is a stark contrast. There is good shopping and the caravans are inserted with surgical precision at impressive densities in the caravan parks. Give me the quiet of Parry Creek Farm.

Coming across the arid interior of Australia after a brutal summer and a poor wet season the birding was very quiet. Fortunately I’m past peak obsession. At Parrys Creek we had a good dawn chorus at last, you’ve got to love the Blue-winged Kookaburra, poor thing can’t raise a laugh.Add to it a polyphony of White-gaped Honeyeaters and screeching Little Corellas … you won’t be sleeping in.

There is opportunity to get close up to some beauties …

And it’s easy to find a subject at sunrise …

The Tanami …

The adventurous way from Alice to the Kimberly is via the Tanami.

The route runs through Aboriginal controlled land and a permit is required to visit the various settlements. Fuel is available at Tilmouth Well half way to Yuendemu and in emergency might be sought at one of the settlements but the traveler is encouraged to stick to the road and make it to Halls Creek, a stretch of about 900km. The road is sealed to Yuendemu and can be rough beyond that.

There are some operating gold mines along the way and road trains ply the route. It’s arid, remote and a test of the vehicle and to top it off the only beer you can buy at the takeaway in Halls Creek is Cascade Light.

We took the journey at a very leisurely pace over four days and three nights. It could be done in a calm two days or an arduous and frenetic single day.

We refuelled and had lunch at Tilmouth and spent the first night at Renehans Bore.

We encountered a lone camel the following day in country that was fairly typical of the Tanami.

We got a puncture just as we stopped for lunch. Gayle who rarely hears anything I say heard the hissing. We had the wheel changed before it fully deflated. We carry an extra spare and a repair kit for remote journeys.

That night we camped among the termite mounds just on the Northern Territory side of the border.

From there on the country was dry savanna rather than desert. We spent the final night on the bank of Sturt Creek, WA, where wild horses and Galahs were enjoying some surface water, the first we’d seen for a while.

Shortly after Sturt Creek we passed Billiluna, the top end of the Canning Stock Route – must do that one day – and also Wolfe Creek, site of a meteor impact crater which we have visited in the past.

Then we were refueling in Halls Creek which bills itself as the Heart of the Kimberley. We got the tyre fixed and bought some light beer.

Ross River …

On our first visit to Alice Gayle and I flew, rented a car and stayed in town. On our first full day we drove out to have a look at the West MacDonell Range. The morning sun is behind you on the way out. The vista is magnificent and when the day is done the sun sets behind you as you drive home.

The next day we checked out the East MacDonells. The sun is in your eyes going and coming and the scenery seemed less impressive.

On subsequent visits we’ve camped in the West MacDonnells but there’s not much you can do out there if you take your dog along so this time we opted to stay at the Ross River Resort at the eastern end of the bitumen and were pleasantly surprised. Resort fortunately is an exaggeration, it’s more like bush camping with added amenities. And the scenery is splendid. This was the view from outside our tent …

Grey-crowned Babblers were frequent and noisy visitors to the campsite …

and not far away there was plenty of opportunity for the landscape photographer.

The Ross River Resort gets the McGee seal of approval and I hope to get back there to explore the East MacDonnells more thoroughly.

Alice …

This little flurry of updates is being posted from the waiting area of ARB in Alice Springs. The aerial is being replaced by a much larger and sexier one that will hopefully prove more durable. The next leg of the journey will be across the Tanami Desert. The road is used by road trains and the ability to communicate with them may keep us out of trouble. Channel 40 is the word.

Meanwhile tonight will be our second night at Ross River which is at the end of the bitumen running east from Alice. It’s a lovely spot to camp at. I will tell more and bring you some photos when I get the chance.

Oodnadatta Track …

The bitumen extends almost to Marree these days. It’s another spot where you choose your adventure – the Birdsville Track or the Oodnadatta Track. This time it’s the Oodnadatta Track.

This road is all about its history. This is the way that Mr Stuart charted his path north. Once he had found the route the Overland Telegraph (1872) soon followed and the the railway slowly crept north reaching Marree in 1884, Oodnadatta in 1891 and Alice Springs in 1929. If you were going to Alice between 1891 and 1929 you completed the journey by camel!

Darwin had to wait until 2004 for the train to arrive by which time the southern section had been rerouted along a more westerly path. So although the Ghan is still running the Oodnadatta Track runs alongside an abandoned railway passing little ghost towns along the way.

There’s a train standing in the station at Marree with nowhere to go. Not far from it is one of Tom Kruze’s trucks retired from sterling service on the Birdsville …

From Marree to Oodnadatta the country is dry. Much of it is gibber plain. Eucalypts are only found along the drainage lines, even the Mulga struggles out here.

At William Creek you can get a beer or even have a driving lesson. If you choose to come by plane you can park virtually at the pub door.

Because we’d chosen to bring the dog we couldn’t take a side trip to see Lake Eyre currently in flood.

Not to worry we’d seen it both wet and dry before. We spent two nights on the track. The first at Coward Springs partly for a plunge in the hot tub (luke warm really) but mainly for the birds which are attracted to the wetland formed by the bore.

Beyond Oodnadatta the country seems a little more prosperous. We saw a few Red Kangaroos and there were cattle grazing. The second night was passed on a creek bank not far short of Marla.

There had been a lot posted on the web regarding the state of the road. It was really pretty good. We probably averaged 70 to 80 kph without much discomfort. Some of the traffic going the other way were managing even higher speeds and one of them put a chip in our windscreen. Bugger.

Chaff cutter to the stars …

I was complaining about the weather yesterday and today is no better. But last night the sky cleared and gave us a look at the stars. I put on my warmest clothes and sallied forth. Clear skies have been a rarity just recently. This was a good opportunity to complete a project that was conceived months ago.

The machine is a chaff cutter. It was built by Buncle of North Melbourne and after a busy life preparing horse feed is now retired.

John Buncle was a Scot who arrived in Melbourne in 1852 aged about 30. This was at the height of the gold rush. He was a skilled draftsman and engineer and had no trouble finding employment. After about a year as foreman at Langlands foundry he started his own business and became famous in the field of agricultural machinery.

He died in 1889 by which time he’d made a sufficient mark in Melbourne society to warrant an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Today’s diagnosis …

On the rare occasions that I see my doctor I go armed with a self diagnosis. Given my background I have enormous scope to work with. My GP is a very tolerant and lovely man. He reassures me in mellifluous tones and diverts attention to real problems like my cholesterol level.

The weather today in the Victorian Goldfields is bitter. A biting wind is roaring in from the south, the temperature is going to top out at a mere 11 degrees (Oh, and that’s centigrade – I’m sure my Canadian readers are full of sympathy) and the next shower will be coming in horizontally. Today’s self misdiagnosis is SAD.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, here’s a link <SAD> so that you can suffer from it too should you wish. My self prescribed cure is a road trip to somewhere warm. Kimberleys here I come …

Since this is the southern hemisphere we can take advantage of the coriolis effect to reduce fuel consumption by traveling anticlockwise. The start and finish point is in the lower right hand corner.

The camper trailer had a little work last week, the car goes for a service tomorrow. Over the next six weeks they will travel about 11,000km (~6,800miles). I’ll be taking in the Oodnadatta Track, passing Lake Eyre currently holding water, crossing the Tanami Desert and the Nullabor.

I shall experience climate change. Observations from the local airport – Maryborough reveal that average June temperatures range from a minimum of 4° to a maximum of 13°C. In Broome the averages are 15° to 29°C. I once heard a guy on the radio telling us that a climate change of 4° would bring photosynthesis to a halt. I shall carefully check the vegetation for any hint of surviving chlorophyll. The return journey takes in Marble Bar which boasts that it is the hottest town in Australia. Here I’ll be able to cook on the bonnet of the car. A fried egg takes only a couple of minutes by which time the flies have eaten half of it. Or so they say.

There’s still a little shopping to do – corks for the hat etc. Departure is four days away.