Day 73

Dear hubby first thing he said to me this morning was Happy Birthday....wow he remembered. Then I showed him the new handbag he had brought me in Katherine.

Bit cooler today 3/4 pants and a T shirt today bit cooler today. No air con on in the bus.

Just remembered a tip. The best place to get information from is the pool. You don't have to get in water and talk to people you just have to listen and you find out where people have been and the best spots and what or who to avoid.

Anyway on to Fitzroy Crossing for us tonight. Gerald was going to take me our for tea then that got to just going to the bar for a drink, but it looks like we will be staying in after washing the bus. He is stressing about his TV again, now he thinks his card has packed it in. We still have Austar.


There were some strange buses that we parked between its surprising that they well one in particular allowed to stay is such a nice park. I suppose it was well in the back.

Day 72

I was a lovely day yesterday. Just up set about the ending. Even when we got back to the caravan park we were suppose to move to site 35 but that was taken and there was great confusion, but they fitted us in. Just typical of the day.

Anyway we moved on today it was a bit windy and we used the petrol instead of gas in a few spot its rather hilly. Nothing about this place being flat and boring, every time you look up the landscape has changed. We even saw green grass for the first time. Saw a few wild horses, they took no notice of us at all.

We got two Choc-Wedge at Timber Creek $8.00 and not long after we actually forded a creek, the tyres got wet.

We stayed in a free camp called Spring Creek. Thank goodness for Camps 5 book. I rang and organised for the books to be sent to us at Katherine but when we looked there it was in all the bookshops and camping stores. Oh well re refer to it all the time and the Caravan Park Book too.

Day 71 Monday 27th July 2009

This is a hard entry to write.

Dropped the bus off at the Spring Works at 8am and they ran us back to the park where we picked up our tour at 8.40am. Travelled all over the town picking up people in a Tassie registered tourist bus. On to the boat and up the river the guide stopped several times, well lots of times to point out things birds, rocks, crocs. We stopped for lunch on the banks of the river where the company had a permanent site with toilets table and chairs. The guide brought ashore several eskies and in them there was a magnificent array of meats and salads hot and cold soft drinks. After lunch back on the boat and then we had to got up across the rapids....excellent the guide used to be jet boat driver in NZ. At the dam we transferred to a bus for the trip back to Kununurra, there was a DVD about the construction of the dam and in no time we were back.

Back to the spring works to be told that the bus was too big to fit in their shed. Take it to Perth.

Day 70

Up to Wyndham today. Once the meat works closed in 1988 the town seems to be gradually dying. There was once seven pubs and looking at the plans for the town in the museum it was to be huge.

Several things had be recommended to see. First the lookout and that was worth a look and the museum but we got there at 1.40pm and it closed at 2pm you needed more time. We got Barra and Chips for lunch $14.00 per serve mmmmm. A lady there told us that they are having trouble getting people to man the museum and most people left in the town are trying to do two jobs.

Day 69

Sheet washing and towels day today, the sheets were dry before I hang out the towels it's so hot.

More touristy things today. Out to where they cut and polish the Zebra rocks. They do have some wonderful colours and Gerald wanted to buy me one for my birthday. But there was nothing that I fancied and what was I going to do with it. I would rather have something more practical and I will know it when I find it.

Next was the Celebrity Tree Park where famous people have planted trees. It was lovely just walking round in the late afternoon and reading the plaques. The park is the place where all the water trips start or finish from.

In the park here there are so many permanents that live here. One couple had retired but arrived and went back to work, They had been here four years (found out that he works at Coles Liquor Mart, saw him there). Another couple said they will be here a year before they move on as they had spent five months overseas last year and had to save up. So there must be plenty of work.

Day 68

Today we looked at a lot of the things in the area. First up to Kellys Knob Lookout, its amazing how the Ord scheme has made so much land available for agriculture they grow a diverse range of crops here and you can see a lot from the look out. Next was out to Ivanhoe crossing, where we chatted to a fisherman with no fish and a lot of snags, there was also a croc warning so not too near the water.

The Hoochery Distillery for lunch ....well coffee and cake and several samples, for me anyway, Gerald was driving. While we were waiting we talked to a couple from Qld and the husband does the same thing in his shed as Gerald and we were at a distillery so they had a good old chat. Then we did the tour, they mainly make rum. They had an interesting Painting behind the bar.....

Left over Taco's for tea again tonight

Day 67

We went to a springs works in Kununurra and the guy there said that if we would commit to stay at least a week here he would fix the bus. But he couldn't work on it till Monday then he will take the bushes out and see if there any in stock that will fit if not he will make the parts.

So then we had to find a place to stay. Went to the information centre and the lady rang round and the Ivanhoe Park said they might have something. We arrived there and the only thing they had was an en suite $43 per night and we can only have that for 4 nights that gets us through till Monday morning ....if Gerald can fit the bus on the site. Because when we came over the boarder we had to surrender all our fruit and veg, we had to go shopping, but Gerald easily got the bus in the spot.

We had to book a tour on Monday so have something to do while the bus is being worked on. Its really hot here so you really need air con.