In Fitzroy Crossing today. By the way, David thinks you all need to know that the Fitzroy River is named after Captain Fitzroy, captain of the Beagle, of Darwin's fame -well, now you know. Had a lovely walk in Geike Gorge (part of the Kimberley's Devonian Reef). We intended to take a cruise on the Fitzroy River but the official which we took to be the guide was so rude that we decided against it. But this is the exception, on the whole, the hospitality has been friendly, if often basic (we have had to stay in shared-facilities "dongas"as we refuse to pay $400 for a motel room)
As we said in this blog before, that is the price you pay for the mining boom. Again and again, we witness the contrast between the rough and ready mining and the wonderful, unspoilt National Parks. We see the 2km long trains taking iron ore to Port Hedland where impossibly huge tankers glide in and out of port. By the way, the truck you see in the photo is one single vehicle (53m), try and overtake that in a hurry! But as well as utilitarian Tom Price and Port Hedland we also visit magical Karijini Gorge, swanky Broome and hug wonderfully cuddly boab trees. We checked out the tides at Derby ( see the photos of the pier, 11 vertical metres difference between low and high tide). Derby experiences the second biggest tides in the world (1st is somewhere in Canada).
Tomorrow, Halls Creek. We will soon be back on the Stuart Highway in Katherine and then we will have to decide on a route back to Daylesford. Our only commitment so far is to be back in Melbourne on the 17th September for Julia's wedding. Maybe we will throw a pin at the map to decide.
No comments:
Post a Comment