We stayed in Derby (back at the Kimberley Entrance van park where we had stored the van) and did something that we had wanted to do for years - we went out to see the Horizontal Waterfalls.
The tides in this part of the world are huge with ten to fourteen metres being the regular big ones. Out at the Horries the ocean has broken through a couple of ranges of hills and the narrow breakthrough points form a "tidal pinch" where as the tide piles up on one side or another the water rushes through the gap like a waterfall but it's a horizontal one and not vertical!
There is a company that organises trips out to this place and we booked a flight out and to spend the night on their floating hotel. Sound like fun? Well it damned well is!
We were picked up by the float lane just outside Derby and headed north west to the harbour and the hotel. The flight took us over the tidal mud flats that surround much of Derby. Looks interesting from the air, but I'd hate to be walking there.
As we got closer to the harbour the country changed to be rugged hills and inlets.
And then we got our first view of the Horries - you can see the water rushing through the pinch.
The plane banked low over the area and we got a great look at it.
This is Karen with the plane we flew in on. Gorgeous place and a fantastic way to travel.
Almost as soon as we landed we were off in the power boats to run through the waterfalls.
It was a little disappointing really - they won't go through them when the wall of water trying to get through is too tall and they wait until it settles down to something resembling a NZ river in flood spate. Still, it was pretty exciting anyway.
The helicopter pilot was trying to drum up some business and did some trick flying.
Somebody was enjoying it was't she?
After the thrills of running those waterfalls a few times we went for a gentle cruise to check out the country. Pretty place but rough and rugged too.
We went back to the floating hotel and were straight away able to jump in the shark cage (the sharks are on the outside) and check out the sharks as they buzzed the cage and were fed by the crew.
Fascinating stuff to be able to be so close to big beasties like that.
Then it was dinner time and we were fed fresh grilled barra and salads and able to tuck into the BYO grog. The crew left us to chat and we met a few great people over the cold beer and wine. However, that ran out and we headed off to a great night's sleep in a beaut cabin.
Next morning we had a splendid breakfast before jumping back in the boats to buzz the waterfalls again.
Then we flew back to Derby, via a scenic look along the coast, to rest our heads and take stock of where we are and to get our minds around what a fantastic time we have been having.
It was time to go so we left Derby and headed around the bitumen on the way to Kununurra, but before we left we called into the prison boab. The police used this a an overnight stop when they were marching a chain gang of aboriginals off to the courts. It seems they'd fit up to 20 people inside this tree. These days it is not recommended to climb into the tree because it is often home to a snake or two.
And so we travelled, overnighting at Mary Pool which is a beaut free camp along the bank of the river and under shady trees. The toilets have improved immensely since the last time we were here and are now actually usable without holding your breath and dashing in and out quickly. We weren't in a hurry so we stopped at another roadside stop for a night before reaching Kununurra .
We stocked up with food and grog and headed into the nearby Lake Argyle for a few nights.
This is a van park, but I have to say that it is the best van park we have come across. The infinity pool that overlooks the lake is stunning as is their kitchen and bars.
We took a sunset cruise over the lake and had a ball.
Crocodiles were abundant.
The views were wonderful.
The wildlife on the islands was tame.
And the sunset was breaktaking - just check out these shots.
Before we saw the sunset we stopped mid lake and dived in for a swim. The crew threw us cans of beer as we floated around (they also gave us pool noodles to make the floating easier) and floated out lifebelts with trays of wineglasses on top.
Bloody magic.
But, we had to keep going and we headed across the border and back into the NT and stopped off in the Keep River NP.
There had been a bush fire recently and the place was blackened but fresh green growth was coming through.
Keep River was notable both for its beauty and the fact that while we shared the camp area with two or three other travellers, they were all people who kept to themselves - no happy hour drinkies and story swapping there.
And so we travelled on and stopped at a free camp near Timber Creek.
The pic below, taken in the National Park on one of our drive/walk explorations, shows a rock "flow" that is quite amazing when seen live.
The Nat Park was fairly dry, but still pretty spectacular and we explored around most of the northern half. The southern half is more remote and the tracks into it are rocky and uncomfortable to drive so we left that area.
For much of the drive along we were alongside the Victoria River and it's a cracker!
Insert stuff about the trip here
Getting close to home we met up with our friends Joan and Rob who were in their catamaran in Hervey Bay.
We were invited on board and we all sailed around Fraser Island for a few days and just lived the life of a sailor.
As you can see, Karen was finding it particularly gruelling.
Karen and Joan hard at work reefing the mainsail or something.
Twin tracks from the twin hulls as we speed along.
Moored off Fraser Island - after living in the Territory we find even these mild temperatures a little cool. Wonderful days though.
Sunset - always special
We couldn't miss the opportunity of stepping on shore on Fraser of course and the boat allows us to get to places that you'd find it hard to get to in a 4WD including this old jetty and the half buried tractor left over from WWII operations.
The view of the catamaran from the island. Lovely eh?
More WWII relics from the Z-Force training camp
And another magical sunset.
Sadly, our cruise had to finish and we headed back to Hervey Bay to climb back into the Pajero and caravan and head further south towards home.
We didn't want our trip to end so we thought we'd break the journey out the back of the Sunshine Coast at Maleny and spend a few days there.
We checked into the Showgrounds (cheap, good facilities and just a ten minute walk away from the town) and relaxed for the rest of the day.
We went to sleep that night in a peaceful place with good weather and slept the sleep of the just.
ntil we were woken the next morning by the sound of V8 engines rumbling around - the Showgrounds were being used for a car show and people were moving their exhibits into place. For a vehicle lover (like me!) it was just wonderful being able to wake up and walk around the show and check out the engineering.
This is what it looked like:
Some people went to extreme lengths with their car builds - this boot in a Commodore has a racing fiel tank and a high pressure fuel system - lovely!
The front of the same beast had some cool custom work done too - and I bet this thing can just fly.
It wasn't all car shows though - we took a drive through the ranges and watched the weather deteriorate over the Glasshouse Mountains - time for a beer in our favourite pub in the area.
