Mitchell Falls.

Leaving Kununurra.

Mango Plantations.

From time to time we do those indulgent things that make our journey extra special. On this visit to the Kimberley we are going on a day trip that will take us out over some of the remotest parts of the Kimberley to see the world famous Mitchell Falls. To visit by land is an arduous journey on bone jarring dusty roads that take a toll on equipment and passengers alike, so we have decided to use the services of Kimberley Air Tours, who this year have introduced a new full day tour entitled Mitchell Falls Walk & Helicopter Adventure.

Mud flats near Wyndham.

Patterns in the dunes.

Our day started at the entrance of our caravan park where a mini bus picked us up at 6.15am and took us a short distance to the Kununurra airport. Here we met Luke, our Pilot, guide and companion for the day ahead. There were four of us on the tour. The other couple were an interesting pair, and kept pretty much to themselves, which suited us. First part of the trip was a two hour flight in our Cessna 210 fixed wing aircraft out over the Ord River, The Cambridge Gulf and on to the Kimberley Coast. The scenery was spectacular, the red cliffs and gorges of the Carr Boyd Ranges, followed by the mud flats of the five rivers that empty into the Cambridge Gulf near Derby. At all times, we were flying quite low, varying between 500 and 2,000 feet, so we got a very close up look!

Kimberley Coast.

Kimberley contrasts.

Tracking inland we found our way to the Berkeley River Gorge, then followed the river and its spectacular cliffs to the mouth, where sits the remote and exclusive Berkeley River Lodge, sitting among the sand dunes along the Kimberley Coast. From here we follow the coast and see some lovely secluded beaches, amazing patterns in the sand dunes, and small islands. We fly over the bays that hold the cultured pearl racks of Paspaley Pearls, and even fly low over the Paspaley 2, the large ship that services the pearl farms along this coastline, from Darwin. We can easily see the rows of buoys that hold the long lines of nets in the sheltered bays, feeding on the rich nutrients that form the cultured pearl.  We fly over a couple of Fishing Lodges, which Luke tells us are regularly featured on those Fishing Shows on the TV with ET and others, catching huge fish in huge quantities. They are expensive, but Luke reckons every fisherman should experience this kind of fishing once in a lifetime!

The dry King George Falls.

Another view.

Next highlight is a fly over the King George Falls. They are bone dry!!! Luke tells as that they only run during the wet season and for a very short time after the wet. This year they stopped running in March! That wasn't in the glossy brochure!! So this waterfall is all about how good your imagination is!! We all frantically ask is there water at Mitchell Falls, but Luke assures us there is always water there. Phewww! We fly on, passing over the Aboriginal settlement of Kalumburu which is a dry community, and which was bombed by the Japanese during WW11. There was a secret airbase situated nearby, and the Japs mistakenly bombed the village, so it must have remained a secret. Truscott Airbase, was a vital part of air defense during WW11, with many US & Aussie planes based here. Today it still remains, now a sealed airstrip from which Coastal Patrol and Customs aircraft operate, as well as some military and private operators.

At least it isn't crowded!

Luke with the old Troopie.

We arrived at the Mitchell Plateau airfield, a dirt strip in the middle of nowhere. Luke performed the perfect landing and guided us to the Arrivals Lounge, where we enjoyed cold drinks and banana bread, whilst he refueled our aircraft, and opened up an old shipping container, out from which he  drove an old Toyota Troop Carrier! We piled into the old Troopie, and headed down a bone jarring road for 30 minutes, until we reached the Mitchell Falls National park. Here Luke did all the necessary paperwork with the Ranger, then checked in with the helicopter guys, who would be bringing us back from the falls, and flying us over the falls. We all had to weigh in, and do a full safety briefing, but before the helicopter ride, we had to make our own way to the Falls!! I knew there was a catch!!

Bradshaw Art.

Bradshaw Art.

We headed off on our two hour walk to the Mitchell Falls! It was a steady walk on a well worn track that had a lot of ups and downs over rocks. Luke kept a steady pace, always mindful of we tourists! Along the way, Luke explained an Aboriginal burial site we came to, which I was surprised we were allowed to view, then we arrived at Little Merten Falls we clambered down over the rocks to view some of the famous Bradshaw Rock Art of the Kimberley. This is very significant indigenous art, dated back some 5 to 7,000 years. Quite impressive! We continued the walk coming to another delightful pond with water lilies, a real surprise given the vegetation we had been walking through.

A cool dip above the falls.

Lily pond.

We reached the top of the Mitchell Falls, all hot and bothered, so Luke suggested it was time for a swim. Didn't have to ask anyone twice!! We slipped down over the rocks and into the lovely stream. The water was a surprisingly mild temperature, and very refreshing. We lazed around in the lovely pool for some time, rewarding ourselves for the long walk. We reluctantly left the pool and reclaimed our back packs, and were asked to put on the extra pair of socks we were all instructed to bring. This had mesmerized us, but we soon discovered that we had a water crossing to make, and the socks gave a much better grip than bare feet on the slippery rocks! The other lady with us found that out the hard way, choosing bare feet and landing flat on her arse and totally dunked!!

At Mitchell Falls.

Having crossed the river, Luke took us along the cliff top to the spot he had chosen for our lunch. What a spot, right on the cliff edge opposite the three tiers of the Mitchell Falls. It was quite breathtaking! The red cliffs, the cascading water and a clear blue sky! We sat on the rocks and opened up our picnic lunches. It was undoubtedly one of the best lunch spots we have ever enjoyed. Lunch was a delicious wrap, some cheese and crackers, a muesli bar and some fruit, and an icy cold bottle of water! Luke was watching the clock, telling us that we couldn't be late for the helicopter. The rivalry between fixed wing pilots and chopper pilots was evident!! He gave us a little tongue in cheek chat about "don't be late, don't speak unless spoken to, listen intently to every word they say, and never look them in the eye!"

Ready to Fly!

Our Chopper.

We made our way to the pick up spot, and of course the helicopter was 10 minutes late!! The pilot was doing his best Tom Cruise impression complete with swagger & Breitling Sunglasses!! We were flying with the doors off!! So in we piled. I left daredevil Carolyn next to the open door, and we were soon circling over the falls in our Jet Ranger Helicopter. Tom was a very smooth pilot and the scenery was incredible. When he did a big tilt on our side my little daredevil looked a little pale, but she kept clicking her camera. The two hour walk became a 10 minute flight back to the car park and the old Troopie!!"

Mitchell Falls from the chopper.

We jolted our way back to the airfield, feeling every bump and corrugation! The Troopie went back into the shipping container, and off we went into the wild blue yonder, headed for Kununurra around 1.5 hours away. The fly back was at a much higher level, around 10,000 feet, so we all just took in the view of the vast landscape, and had a few little naps along the way! Luke woke us all up as we flew over El Questro, but from such a height we couldn't make out much. As we came in sight of Kununurra, we encountered quite a bit of air traffic, and we were all put into holding patterns as The Flying Doctor was on its way with a medical emergency. Luke brought us in with another perfect landing, and our fantastic day was at an end. Luke drove us back to Kimberleyland, where we met up with Dianne & Peter and talked endlessly about our day.

Kimberley Return - 2016.

Lake Argyle at sunset.

One thing is for certain in our travels, we will always come back to the Kimberley. It is a magical place, remote and spectacular, vast and diverse, harsh and yet beautiful. For those who have never been, you must come and see for yourself, as no words or pictures can adequately describe this wonderful part of Australia. I think that Dame Mary Durack, in her classic Australian book, "Kings in Grass Castles', described it perfectly: "If one were to paint this country in its true colours, I doubt it would ever be believed. It would be said at least that the artist exaggerated greatly, for never have I seen such richness and variety of hue in these ranges." A sunset in the Kimberley is one never to be forgotten.

The line up at Lake Argyle.

The famous Infinity Pool.

As you leave the Northern Territory, you enter the East Kimberley region of WA. You are subjected to a most rigorous search and destroy mission by the WA Agricultural Staff, as no fruit or vegetables are allowed to cross the border! The turnoff to Lake Argyle is just a few kilometres along the road, and is our destination. Once set up, we will head the 70 kms into Kununurra to restock the larder! Lake Argyle caravan park is full to overflowing every night, but on the phone they had told us to come out, as they would at least get us on an unpowered site for a night, then move us to a powered site as soon as one became available. Our luck was in today, and our early start and the 1.5 hour time change had worked in our favour. We got the very last large caravan powered site for the day, and it was a really good one! We got set up, and headed into Kununurra to shop.

The Ord Dam.

Cruise on the Lake.

Kununurra is a large regional town, the largest in the East Kimberley. Set on the banks of Lake Kununurra, it is a green oasis, one of the few Kimberley towns without a water problem thanks to the Ord River scheme. The first thing you notice is the high Aboriginal population in town. Unlike most inland towns, where Aboriginals are a minority of the population, in Kununurra, it is very different. They sit in large groups under the shady trees in the many green spaces around town, and keep very much to themselves. The major supermarket in town is Coles, though there is an IGA, where the prices are outrageous!. Town is packed. This is a favourite destination of the annual migrating nomads, and there are 6 or 7 caravan parks in town. The shelves in the supermarket have been decimated! There are no tomatoes, no eggs, no lettuce packs of any kind, bread was very low as was milk and bottled water. We managed to get around 85% of what we needed, then robbed a bank and went to IGA to see what else we could get! The tomatoes cost around $2.00 each!!! Alchohol is restricted to one purchase per person per day, and further restricted to one carton of beer or one bottle of spirits or 6 bottles of wine. No cask wines allowed to be sold! Your photo license is scanned by machine at the register, to ensure no double ups!

Helicopter Tours galore.

Sunset by the pool.

We headed back out to Lake Argyle for a few days of relaxation in one of the most beautifully positioned caravan parks in Australia. Not only is it a caravan park, but also a Resort, with a variety of accommodation options. It serves good meals and has a full bar service. The tour desk is run off its feet, booking flights on fixed wing and float planes, helicopters and boats, as well as 4wd tours through the ranges. For us, we have done the tours here, so it will just be lazy time. The place is famous for its Infinity Swimming Pool, and with the school holidays in full swing, it is packed, despite the freezing cold water!! For the grown ups, it is a quick dip then thaw out!!

Being entertained.

Ord River Gorge.

Several afternoons a week, there is entertainment, with a singer doing some home grown songs as well as some old favourites. Happy hour at sunset, where you drag along your chair and drinks to the lawn beside the pool, and settle in to listen to the singer standing in front of the ever changing colours of the ranges, as the sun sets. With that backdrop he could have been the worst singer on earth, and no one would have cared!! But he was actually quite good!! Most nights after dinner, we would bring our big reclining chairs out from under the awning, and just lie their staring up at the Milky Way and millions of stars, waiting for a shooting star or two. I know I rave about it, but those skies in the wide open spaces free from artificial light, are simply stunning!! We never tire of trying to find a sputnik among the stars!!!

The restored Homestead.

We took in the huge dam wall and the beautiful gorge through which the Ord River flows, and we drove out to the Durack Argyle Downs Homestead, just a few kilometres from the caravan park. It was closed when last we travelled through here. It is an amazing trip through the history of this famous pioneering rural family, and we have now seen both where their mighty droving feat started, near Quilpie in Queensland, and where it ended two years later here in the Kimberley. The original Durack Homestead would have been swallowed by Lake Argyle, so it was painstakingly dismantled and reassembled in its current location, and turned into a fascinating museum. It is incredible to read of the work that generations of the Durack family did in establishing the cattle industry in the Kimberley. It was one of the Durack men, who started the quest to have the Ord River Dam built, having realized the huge financial benefit to be gained from agriculture with an endless supply of water.

The overflow unpowered area.

Old wares at Argyle Homestead

We watched with great interest, the daily movement within the caravan park, as first the exodus of those leaving took place, followed by the shuffle within the park from unpowered to powered sites, then finally the gates would be opened to the day's new arrivals. There were 4 or 5 guys on push bikes and a motorized scooter, that escorted everyone to their spot. They didn't stop all day!! Finally it was our time to leave, just a short trip into Kununurra, where we had booked ahead at the Kimberleyland Caravan Park, right on the shore of Lake Kununurra. It is a lovely park, full of Boab Trees. Unfortunately, we didn't get a waterfront spot, I think you had to book years ago for that, but we got a nice spot near the pool, so we kind of got a water view!!

Spring Roll lady, Kununurra market.

Saturday morning was Market Day in Kununurra. Not a huge market, but good stuff on offer.We honed in on some fresh produce, and got some nice greens and veggies, but the tomatoes had gone already!! We found a guy selling Papaya for $1.50 each and bought a couple. They had an absolutely incredible flavor, as did the water melon! There was plenty of Asian food on offer. Carolyn had made her delicious French Toast for brekkie, but we did manage to fit in a couple of Spring Rolls from The Spring Roll Lady!! Carolyn had a banana spring roll which was delicious!! 

John @ Ivanhoe Crossing.

Ivanhoe Crossing.

A drive out to Ivanhoe Crossing is a must do when in Kununurra. It is a lovely spot, and a popular fishing spot as well. We also found our way to Kelly's Knob, a scenic lookout just out of town, where you get a great view of the town. It has to be the worst sign posted lookout in Australia!! We just kept driving up and down streets looking for the Knob!! It was a great view when we got there! We drove out through the vast agricultural plains that are the Ord River Irrigation Scheme, growing huge amounts of sandalwood, as well as food crops such as mango, all kinds of melons, papaya & pawpaw, plus heaps more. Sandalwood is by far the most prolific crop, and we were drawn back to the Sandalwood Factory, around 12 kms out of town, with its lovely smelling shop, and great Little café.

The view from Kelly's Knob.

Huge Boab Trees in the caravan park

In town, we had found the best coffee, and possibly the only decent coffee, at the Wild Mango Café. The food here was great, as was the coffee. When you have a large Aboriginal population, it is sad to say, the café and take away food options, are usually Rosie's Fried Chicken, Chips, & Dunkin Donuts, washed down with gallons of Soft Drink!!! If the Government were serious about the abnormally high rates of diabetes in indigenous people, this would be the right starting point!!! Even in the supermarkets, compared to our city experiences, a disproportionate amount of shelf space is devoted to Soft Drinks, Snack Food, & Confectionery.

With Peter & Dianne.

Happy Hour by the lake.

We received a pleasant surprise, with a text message from our friends Dianne & Peter Balle, who left their home in Forster at the end of March, and have been doing "The Lap" clockwise. It would turn out that our meeting point would be Kununurra. With some smooth talking, Pete got them into our caravan park, on a bit of a dodgy spot for a couple of nights, but then two nights on the lake front!! It was their first visit to Kununurra, so they were busy booking scenic flights and boat trips, and it was great fun each night catching up comparing days over happy hour and eventually dinner! We love their company, and they hold the record for longest Happy Hour ever, when we called in at Forster last year, and they arrived for Happy Hour at 5.00pm and left after midnight!!! They love their fishing and crabbing, and we received a real treat of fresh crabmeat, that they had caught along the way!!! Our last night down beside the lake was just beautiful. Pete loves a port, and carries quite a few litres of Tyrell's port with him when he travels! We shared a few large ports that night!!!

Next morning we were headed off West towards Broome, and they had one more night before heading out to Lake Argyle for their first visit. They are in for a treat!!

Timber Creek & Victoria River

Lots of open spaces.

There isn't much between Katherine & the WA border, just huge cattle stations, breeding Brahman, and Brahman cross cattle, for live export, mostly to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East. You drive for miles seeing nothing, then all of a sudden a huge herd of cattle can be seen sitting and standing among the trees, a sure sign there is a good supply of water or a bore. Occasionally, you will see stock men mustering the cattle, usually heralded by a huge cloud of red dust on the horizon! The first sign of civilization is the Victoria River Roadhouse, right on the edge of the river. The place was packed! Didn't even try to get into the place. You can camp here, either in the Caravan Park run by the Roadhouse, or at the free camp sites dotted along the river. It is obvious that many people are doing just that. On these kinds of days, Carolyn packs us a thermos of tea, and we find a stop along the road, for our morning cuppa. One thing is for certain, these remote Roadhouses struggle with making coffee!! They make great signs to entice you in, but we have yet to find a backpacker barista!!!

Welcome to Timber Creek.

We stayed in Timber Creek back in 2013. In fact we stopped to do a cruise on the Victoria River that people had raved about, but when we arrived found they had packed up and closed early due to lack of tourists!! No problem this time!! There are two caravan park choices in Timber Creek. The one behind the pub, and the one behind the supermarket. Not a hard choice really!! The pub one has new owners. It is basic but clean and has a pool! The supermarket one has been taken over by a local indigenous group, and reports are that they still have a way to go regarding cleanliness in the amenities and camp kitchen!!

Timber Creek from the Lookout.

The Victoria River.

Next door to the supermarket is the Crock Stock Shop. It seems that the river cruise has expanded and now includes a shop, café and base from which the "famous" river cruise departs! John braved a coffee, and it was surprisingly good, made on a real machine by a non backpacker!!! We confirmed our seats, which I had booked by phone, for the afternoon sunset cruise, and headed back to the caravan for a rest and a little light reading. By now, the "House Full" sign is up, and caravans are being turned away. Walking back from the Croc Stock Shop, I checked the fuel prices at both the pub and the supermarket, and was shocked when I saw the price was 6 cents a litre cheaper at the supermarket!! I was further shocked when in the pub/office/café, when I heard a guy buying a carton of Hahn 3.5 Super Dry. In fact, I helped him back to his feet when the girl behind the bar told him the price was $88.00 a carton!!!

Neville bringing the nibblies!

Boarding the boat.

We all assembled back at the Croc Stock Shop just before 4.00pm for our river cruise. We met our driver guide and skipper for the day, Neville, who told us he had spent all his life in the area, working on cattle stations, until he and the missus started the river cruise business. The bus to take us to the boat was a 1988, Leyland ex school bus, and Neville assured us it was safe, having passed most of the regulations at the last rego check!! He assured us the brakes were particularly good, and as we slowly moved off, brought the bus to a shuddering halt to prove the point!! He opened the door to a German tourist who asked if he was too late to join the tour. Neville said no, and guided him to the shop to pay. However when the German jumped into his rented motorhome and headed into the caravan park, Neville said Bugger him, and we headed off!!

The old Police Station.

In memory of the Nackeroos.

Along the way we got a good smattering of the local history, local fauna and flora. Neville ran us through the various types of gum tree including the crocodile gum, whose bark resembles a crocodile's skin and when he mention the Dead Dog Tree, I cringed!! Sure enough a lady up front dived in head first and asked why is it called a Dead Dog Tree, to be met with a chorus of "because it has no bark!!!" Neville's humor was so dry I was getting thirsty!! We stopped outside the old police station and as Neville was letting us know the police history of Timber Creek, the local police paddy wagon pulled up, and out jumped the German and his wife!! They weren't going to miss the tour!!

The Gregory Tree.

There is quite a lot of history around the region. It was first

The bridge to Bradshaw Base.

explored in 1855, by Augustus Charles Gregory, who arrived by sea, sailing into the Victoria River in his vessel the Tom Tough! His initials and the year 1855, are engraved into a Boab Tree, The Gregory Tree, on the banks of the river. During the Second World War, following the strafing of Broome, a unique military unit was formed to watch the coastline from Broome to Cairns. Just 500 plus strong they patrolled a huge area on foot and horseback looking for signs of the Japanese. The conditions were appalling and many perished from disease, snake bite and crocodile attack. They were nick named The Nackeroos or Curtin's Cowboys, and there is a very good monument to their service at the lookout above Timber Creek. Military history continues with the vast Bradshaw Field Training Area to the north of the Victoria River. The Australian Government acquired the old Bradshaw Cattle Station in the mid 1990's, and spent millions on an access bridge, barracks, dirt airstrip capable of landing C-17 Globemaster Aircraft, communications tower. They now hold regular exercises there, often joined by allied troops from the US and Asia.

Tasting Boab Fruit.

Whistling Kites.

Neville got us safely to the landing, and after a tasting of the fruit from the Boab Tree, which won't go down as a new favourite, we were ushered down the gangway, and on board the boat for a fast trip some 35 kilometres down the river. We stopped along the way to see quite a lot of crocodiles and birdlife. Apparently, the water temperature is still quite warm due to the dry "Wet" Season we had this year, and as a consequence you don't see as many crocs out of the water, as they don't need to get out of the water to absorb heat. But they are there lurking!! We saw a lot of wallabies along the river bank. At dusk they come down to drink, and the crocs come out to eat!! Large crocs will even take cattle, and the stations along the river estimate they lose at least one a day!! Once you have seen a 5 metre croc up close, you know they aren't kidding!! We passed some guys who had beached their tinnie on a gravel bed and were fishing for Barramundi. They proudly held up one beauty they'd caught. With the crocs we saw, I'm not sure I'd be fishing here!!

Catching fish!

Happy Hour on the Victoria River.

It was an interesting trip on this big, wide river. We arrived at a pontoon anchored in the middle of the river, and Neville saw us all onto the pontoon, and went about setting out a spread of nibblies he had brought along for us. We had all been told to BYO grog, so we settled in for Happy Hour on a pontoon in the middle of the Victoria River, waiting for the sun to set. Neville grabbed a fishing rod and dropped it over the side, and quickly pulled up a small fish. A number of Whistling Kites were circling, and a couple of sea eagles as well. Nev wound out a gantry with the fish on it, and the sea eagle swooped down and grabbed it!! This was repeated a number of times, and it is fantastic to see these big birds of prey up close and in action. The nibblies were gone so it was back on the boat, and we wound our way home. The sunset was a bit of a fizzer that night, so we just settled in and headed back up river at speed. Along the way we saw a lot more wallabies, and Carolyn was madly shooing them away from the edge and away from the danger of crocs!

By the time we were back to the boat ramp it was dark, and we were pretty wind blown. We all piled back on the old bus and Neville had us back in Timber Creek in no time. At $90.00 a head, it won't go down as one of the best cruises we have done, but it was a fun experience, and one we had to do!!