BURN-OFF FIRE BY THE ROAD
The grass stood a metre high and there was lots of evidence of burning-off having taken place whilst the foliage was still damp.
PALMS AMONGST THE GUMS
At the Mitchell Plateau turn-off,a road sign said that the Kalumbaru road was not yet open, so I decided to explore the track to the plateau first. It was terrible-really extreme 4x4 terrain and to get to the falls would have been a bone jarring experience. At the 8klm point I confronted the King Edward river crossing-it was a lovely spot and there were signs of previous camping and picnicing.
DODGY KING EDWARD RIVER CROSSING(Not as benign as at first looked)
There was nobody else about , the depth of the crossing looked suspect and as I had been warned that I might not make it without a snorkel and did not want to risk wading it on my own, I had a tea break and then beat a retreat back to the main road. This was very frustrating as I had counted on seeing the rock art on the plateau.
Back on the road I ignored the sign and set off north towards the Kalumburu mission station. Then things really began to get testing of the vehicle and me.There were deep gullies,rock hard ruts, long boggy sections one of which had held up a Telstra truck for several days.These were best circumnavigated by bashing through the bush alongside the road to create a parallel side track.There was plenty of wild life around , especially cheeky, challenging dingos which trotted in front of the car before loping off into the bush when the car was Getting up to 60kph.
DINGOS RULE,O.K?
in addition, huge bulls, wild horses, emus and even a few kangaroos stood in or crossed my path on the dirt road.
A VERY ROUGH ROAD AHEAD
I was relieved to meet some guys coming the other way( one towing a caravan)who assured me I would get through and I did. The river crossing was easy and graders had cut through what would have otherwise been impassible sand dunes, thrown up by retreating wet season floods.
I arrived at the mission-one of the remotest in Australia-around noon as everything was closing for lunch and there appeared no certainty that the community centre, where I needed to get a permit, would re-open that day.Thre was a general air of manjana and nobody seemed ( or more likely admitted to knowing) to Know anything.I tried to find camp sites on the sea shore but to no avail. I became frustrated ( wrong attitude)and having failed to get help or advice from the nuns and brothers in the mission store, perhaps unwisely I left at 3pm-heading back south the way I had come.
kalumburu was far from inspiring.The mission was founded by a member of the new Norcia community and in its modern manifestation, all the community buildings were protected by steel shutters and grills.The walls were plastered with posters about government sponsored schemes. The army was there, doing infrastructure work and offering trade skill training via the inducement of a get-to-know you barbecue.Men's groups were advertised and opportunities to get "real jobs"( their words not mine)-fruit picking etc in Kimberley rural areas.There was plenty of evidence of lively kids, overweight mommas but no sign of any men, other than a youth in a phone box, wearing the latest gangster-rap style basketball gear and a beanie(in the tropics!!)On the other hand the drivers of bulldozers, graders and trucks moving earth for road works were invariably white, soldiers and civilian contactors.
The road back was a real challenge, especially as within 4 hours it became dark.There was river wading,rock crunching, mud holes that covered the wheels-little wonder that Avis charged such expensive rates.I almost hit a mob of cattle on the road as I came round a bend in the dark.relieved to make Drysdale River station again by 7pm. I was tired and my head aching from the constant judder and jolting. To have driven the round trip in 9 hours was certainly a test of stamina-must have been crazy.
Bugger it! I thought and elected for ham egg and chips(at $28)and several anaesthetising beers.A jolly party who were heading north for a fishing camp at Honeymoon Bay asked about the condition of the road.When they realised I had been there and back in a day-they declared me a "Legend".Feeling far from legendary I took my headache to bed and having slept surprisingly well in my swag, awoke to a freezing dawn.
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