Arriving at Halls Creek Caravan Park is a big contrast from our little Spring Creek spot, very hot, dry and dusty! After settling and lunch, the afternoon is spent catching up with washing again, some shopping in one of the two small, very expensive grocery stores and a swim in the van park pool to cool down.
On Saturday morning we set out to Old Halls Creek, a 15km dirt track out of town where the original town stood. All that is there now is the remains of a mudbrick post office and some old street signs, as they literally moved the town in to the highway! On the way to Old Halls Creek, we visit Chinamans Wall, a quite amazing rock formation running along the top of the hills, apparently running all the way to the Bungle Bungles if you wish to follow it! There are some water holes sitting below the wall, making it a very pituresque landscape.
On our return trip, we make a turn off to Caroline Pool, a gorgeous spot with rocky cliff edges and lovely big gum trees surrounding a pool coming off the creek running through. We picnic here in the cool shade and the kids have fun in the pebbly sand and water. We soon discover the dusty hot dry spot is pretty much confined to the van park and you don't need to go far from the town centre to experience the beauty surrounding it!
On Sunday, the plan was to pack up and tow the van to visit Peoples Church, recommended by a friend back in Springvale, then move on closer to Fitzroy Crossing. But...there was no fuel left at the servos!!! So we decided to stay another day as the fuel was coming in "later" whenever that would be. The people (and dogs) we met at Peoples Church were absolutely beautiful, warm and inviting, and church extended to lunch and then a stop in at the Naidoc Celebrations in town for Aboriginal Sunday. A fantastic and emotional day, and I think Halls Creek could easily worm itself into our hearts (or maybe it already has)!
We now have fuel and Ngumban Cliff Lookout was our next overnight stop on Monday. An amazing area, as we had been driving through fairly flat country for a while until we started seeing these small cliff formations rising out of the landscape. When sitting on top of them you feel like you are on top of the world because of how much you can see before you, but you are actually not that far off the ground. The lookout was a windy spot (we even got the kite out for a while) but a beautiful spot come sunset! The wind and the openess made for a pretty chilly night!
After restrapping down the roofrack due to the wind overnight, we set off for Fitzroy Crossing, only about an hour further west, to do some more walking and exploring through Geikie Gorge. This gorge runs along the magnificent Fitzroy River, so the walk is hard going at times in thick sand, but it was worth the views at the end, even the kids agreed! Fitzroy Crossing is a pretty fascinating town as it floods nearly every year due to the size of the river, and the photos taken in the wet season are incredible, kind of making you wonder how the town keeps existing, but it just seems to be normal for them.
After a picnic lunch at the National Park, we head out to Ellandale Rest area for the night, another lovely spot on the top of a hill with great views again, but much more protected from the wind, thank goodness. We feel so blessed and thankful to have these beautiful free spots to camp all around Australia (some with better loos than others) as we travel.
Its Wednesday, and we head to Derby (the West Kimberley entrance town) for a few days to do our last bit of Kimberley exploring. Today, after settling in the van park and looking around town, we sat and watched the most amazing sunset on the Derby Jetty. It was breath-taking!
We did plan to head out to Tunnel Creek today, but on closer investigation, found it was a 5 hour return drive on part corrigated dirt road, to walk through a cave of thigh deep water inhabited by freshies and bats, in darkness with no guide and only torch light! Sounds fun doesn't it?!? Not for me! I am adventurous, but even I didn't feel my clostrophobic tendencies or my heart could take it, especially when the water would be neck height for my children!
So instead, we had a great morning checking out a huge cattle trough built to water 500 cattle at once in 1916, still working today, Frostys Pool where soldiers used to bathe on there way into Derby, and a huge Boab Prison Tree, where captured Aboriginals were kept inside overnight on their way to the ships where they were made slaves for the pearling industry. We then went to Mowanjum Art and Cultural Centre, where I really enjoyed the history and future hopefulness of this community and the fantastic display of their art and culture. The centre is 100% owned and governed by its own community. Going into different Aboriginal communities in different areas, even in the same state, is so eye-opening as each culture and art is so unique and individual.
Friday was a very easy going day, a walk down the jetty to check out the amazing low tide and its turning, watching as the water came rushing and swirling back in so quickly, then watching the float parade in the afternoon for the commencement of The Boab Festival. The kids are now well-stocked in lollies for travel again tomorrow when we head to Broome.
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