Day 17 Kununurra to Fitzroy Crossing

EVERYWHERE we go it RAINS! We are starting to take all of this (very unseasonal) precipitation personally. Humid sticky and in a constant state of sweat are we. This morning we waited in the early light to see if it would stop raining and decided that we would stay if it didn’t stop raining. Being so early, we had plenty of time to decide. It did stop of course, so we got going and headed out to a very long day of driving. We didn’t stop until we got to Halls Creek.
Let me tell you a little about the roads out here. For the most part they are fine, wide bitumen highways. But even a bitumen road feels like a tightrope when you are passing a 54mt road train. At least the gravel roads are wide enough to pull over. Some sections of the road seem so narrow that these monsters are going to suck you into their wake, turn you around and take you with them. This is coming from us who are in a car and van that combined weighs about 3 tonnes. Scary stuff.

Oh yes and a note about Halls Creek. This township is described as the “ugly duckling” of the Kimberley or the Gaza of WA and no, it is not a pretty place. We discovered the information centre which was an oasis of air conditioning and droll assistance from the very informed people there. We connected to the internet using our phone and laptop using their computer desk (their computer was out of order) and Justin was able to talk to his class on Skype. It was a heady moment to think that we were sitting in such comfort in such a remote community so far from home and we were there in class with Mr Baldwin and 4B.

We got into Fitzroy crossing quite late in the afternoon and decided not to go to the supermarket as it closed at 5pm. We would never have found it anyway. We did find out about some tours and decided to go and see Geike Gorge in the morning. We also chatted to the neighbours who had talked to a group who had come to the Kimberly via the Tanamai Road. Their tale sounded like a wallow in mud and chew through the diesel-fest. Not for us I am afraid and we feel better about our decision not to take that route.