Not a ski instructor

Just in case you thought Peta had picked up a ‘hot’ ski instructor in the snow you are wrong.



This is my cousin ‘Steve’ and while his partner ‘Justine’ may think he is ‘hot’, he is not a ski instructor and he is not in the snow.

Steve makes salt for Rio Tinto in Port Hedland. Here's how its done.

Sea water is pumped into a series of lagoons.



The water evaporates over 18 months and leaves behind a 2 foot thick slab of salt. It’s then graded, pumped into trucks, washed and used for a range of purposes including table salt, caustic products, mining and other things that I can’t recall right now.



Steve, Justine, Zac, Ruby and Clancy moved up here a couple of years ago from Gippsland. We had 3 great days at the Ezzy van park and timed our run nicely with Mary Ann and Brian also in town. Steve turned 42 on the Friday - he is so old!



Thanks for the tours, chainsaw impersonation, power and general good times.

This is Steve with a hat and some strange buccaneer pose.

Middle Lagoon

After staying in Cape Leveque for 2 nights we drove south 100 kms to Middle Lagoon, where we stayed for another two nights in a beach hut.



The beach hut was placed about 4 to 5 meters from the water!



We decided the hut was so enclosed that we ditched the tent and slept in the hut with our blow up mattresses and sheets.



It didn’t long for as all to fall in love with middle lagoon, it was heaven!

The next day we got in our bathers and got out snorkels and we snorkelled around this huge rock pool. It was so big and deep I spotted a string-ray wedged between a rock but it didn’t hang around for long when it heard be scream and swim (very quickly) to the nearest sand bank. I wasn’t really all that keen to get back in the water after that.



2 nights quickly passed and we had to leave middle lagoon and go back and pick up the caravan. I think we all wanted to stay longer, it was just amazing!



By Grace

Mud crabbing and whales

Next day we travelled 50 Km down the track to a place called Middle Lagoon. Before we departed the boys and girls went on an adventure.

Boys
I managed to get a mobile number of a local aboriginal 'crabber' called Fred – apparently he takes the odd tourist out to catch mud crabs. After driving the 30 k’s to his community ‘Mudnum’ Fred was gone so we went out with his cousin Dominic. We caught nothing because the tide was too full, so we came back the next day and ventured deep into the mangroves with Dominic and his brother Peter. A couple of thoroughly delightfull blokes.



Here’s Jesse’s account.

Peter showed me how to use the hook to find mud crabs hiding under the mangrove roots and in the tree trunks and in mud.



Peter was good at mud crabbing.



Peter showed me a mud crab hiding under some roots and I used my hook to get him. The trick is to get the hook around the claw and lift him up. You have to be careful cause their claws are so big they can snip a finger or toe off. Peter and Dominic were really nice they called me Jesse brother all the time.

We caught 2 huge mud crabs. Mud crabbing was fun!



Later that night we made a fire at our camp in the sand dunes and cooked the crabs in the coals.



Then we ate them. They were yum.



Girls
While the boys went mud crabbing us girls went on the glass bottom boat it was amazing. Most of the time we were watching whales and dolphins so we didn’t look through the glass much. The first thing we saw was 7 dolphins which was amazing the way theywould dive up and down. One even came right next to the boat. The next thing we saw was a reef with coral and fish and for the first time on the cruise the tour guide spotted a barramundi cod. Then we went whale watching and saw at least a dozen whales, they were my favourite part.They would just jump out of the water one by one and make a big splash.
They were amazing.
By Sophie

Cape Leveque

So we left the apartment and gave our van a holiday in a storage facility in Broome and travelled the 220 km sandy, corrugated road up to Cape Leveque on the Dampier peninsula. Dotted along the peninsula are 6 camp spots owned and operated by indigenous communities. We made our way to the tip at Cape Leveque and setup camp.



Given the access issues this place doesn’t see many folk, and that is where the magic lies. You can walk for hours up here and the only person you will see is your reflection in the water.



The rest of the day wasn’t all that complicated.

We went for a bit of drive…



Then had a dip…



…snared a few rays



…tide went out a bit.



Then the sun went and warmed someone else up.



So we ate and then nested.

Cable Beach

After seeing Cable Beach for the first time I decided it was my favourite beach in the world! Cable beach is absolutely amazing, the sand here is white and it glistens when the sun hits it. Not to mention the beautiful clear water! The water is clear and in the shallows it’s almost white, as it gets deeper it turns into beautiful greens and blues.

As soon as we arrived we quickly set up our caravan and headed down to the beach. The temperature was 30 degrees out of the water and 22 in. We were straight into the water and were amazed by how warm it was! The waves there were nice little 1 ½ footers so Sophie, Jesse and I got out our boards for the first time in 5 weeks. Although the waves there weren’t much we still had an awesome time surfing at cable beach.

When we caught a glimpse of the sunset we decided to bring our little BBQ down and have some sausages.

We sat in our deck chairs and watched the beautiful pink, orange, purple and red sky as the sun slowly went down for the night .Cable Beach was one of the most fabulous places I’ve ever been to and I really hope to come back some time soon!

Tunnel Creek

A few hours drive from Fitzroy Crossing is tunnel creek. Dad, jess and I were brave enough to do the tunnel creek walk. The dirt road was corrugated and there were about six river crossings. The dirt road was in the middle of a cattle station so we saw lots of big bulls cows and calves. Dad loves boabs probably a bit more than he should so you could imagine how exited he was when we found a forest of them. He was out taking photos while Jesse and I stayed in the car playing D.S.



The walk was 1.7 k under a huge rock hill and we had to walk through knee deep water with a torch because it was completely dark at times. We also saw one ghost bat hanging from the roof of the tunnel.





At the end of the tunnel Jesse and I had a swim in a billabong.

Bungle bungles

So we continued to make our way west across the Great Northern Highway. Destination: Bungle Bungles. It went something like this.

We dropped our van in Turkey Creek and packed a tent and some rations for our overnight stay in the Purnululu National park. We then drove 50km on bitumen followed by 53km on dirt and rock. The state of the road into the bungles is a shocker – metaphor intended. The drive was like sitting on a jack hammer looking at nice things for 3 hours.



Lots of water crossings.



So we arrive at our campsite mid afternoon reasonably exhausted after the pounding and setup tent alongside a dry creek bed. Stars were out in their trillions, pack of dingoes cased out the site, freezing cold night, Grace boycotting use of drop down toilet and we all smelt.



Carved over 350 million years, the bungles were inhabited by the Kija Aboriginal people for over 20,000 years, calling the area Purnululu.

The area was only discovered about 30 years ago by white man. In that time the Purnululu National park has earnt a worldwide reputation as one of the most striking sandstone formations going around.



Next day we drove 30 mins into Picaninny Creek.

We did the dome walk. The maze of curious orange and black striped beehive shaped domes was the most striking rock form I had seen so far.





Then of course Cathedral gorge. This circular gorge is a result of a giant wet season whirl pool.





Ambled through Picaninny creek.



And that was the guts of a night and day that no photo will ever accurately portray.

As for the weird name – it is guessed that the Bungle Bungles is a mangled version of Purnululu, or maybe it stems from the name of the bundle bundle grass that grows in the region. The facts are light on this subject.

The best drive in the world

If you are into dramatic rocky escarpments then take the 200km drive from Katherine west to Turkey Creek. This forms the early part of the Kimberleys and hits you in the guts from start to finish. Hard to trump the Great Ocean Road, but this one is the boss!



By day they are a craggy uncompromising tough guy and when the lights go down at about 5pm, they take on a soft glow, the bravado slinks away and all they want to do is talk about their feelings.



Baz and his movie sure got this part very right.

Katherine

Our next stop after Darwin was a shady caravan park in Katherine. We were told there was hot springs just behind the back gate of the park. Our first attempt failed because we took the wrong turn and ended up on the banks of a river with crocs. The second attempt lead us to a beautiful hot spring. We all agreed that Katherine springs were our favourite of all.
By Sophie

Kakadu safari

With Peta and kids catching their breath in Darwin, I split ranks for a couple of days and travelled 300 kms east to check out Kakadu.

The main aim to learn more about aboriginal bush craft and to get a better understanding of how to live from the land, without the convenience of safeway.

First stop was several 1000 year old rock art. Rock art provide visual evidience of aboriginal ‘dreaming’.

Dreaming is a myth based on ancient heroes who once roamed the land. They carried out the tasks that the present Aborigines do today including camping, making fires, digging for water, fighting each other, and performing ceremonies. When these heroes became tired Dreamtime came to an end.

Sure Dreamtime was in the past, but it is the Aborigines present religion and culture. It dominates all aspects of aboriginal behaviour. Because of their beliefs in 'the dreaming,' ceremonies and rituals are held, stories are told, pictures are drawn, and daily life is defined.

Safari

Next a day/night animal tracks safari from Cooinda in the southern end of Kakadu. We set off in a 4WD into a large tract of land owned by an aboriginal community. Meet one of their pets. This guy was caged as days earlier he nearly ate someone.

We dug up bush carrots, discovered that aborigines cover themselves in mud when they hunt to shut down body odour, so that animals can’t detect the hunters scent. We ate a fist full of green ants – these have a citrus flavour and boost the immune system (our version of a cough and cold tablet) We ate a few berries that tasted like olives.

We learnt they drop this tree sap into small waterholes to poison fish. The sap when mixed with water takes on a soapy consistency, clogs the fish gills and they float to the surface. Hey presto barramundi for many.

Check out this traditional granite mortise and pestle. This is not only used for grinding berries etc but also animal bones.

Warning Ruth, Anna and other vegos – this gets quite ugly.

Next operation eat magpie goose following traditional cooking methods. This is how it went.

Goose was plucked.

Fire made – coals resulted – clearly.

A thick sheet of moistened stringy bark was placed over the coals. This was then lined with damp gum leaves for extra flavour. The goose, the bush carrots and a few spuds (from a spud bag) were thrown in.

Another sheet of stringy bark, coals on top, followed by an inch of soil. Cooking begins.

Then we waited and watched the sun go down. Millions of magpie geese circled and squawked. In fact, one flew low and gestured to the doomed one ‘You will never be remembered for being lucky Gordon’.

An hour later. We folded back the stringy bark oven, turned up the heat on the goose with some direct coal exposure.

The goose was portioned. Then we ate.

The flavour…well after reading this massive buildup it would seem wasteful if I said it tasted like rancid seagull. Good thing it didn’t – tasted smoked and ducky. I should know cause no body else ate any! Vegies good too.

Followed up with some damper and billy tea. Beat that.

The next morning at 6pm i took the yellow water cruise in Cooinda. From the freezing deck of a boat i checked out egrets, spoon bills, sea eagles, kingfishers, darts, crocs, pigs, brumbies, water buffalo, water monitors and more, as they sprang to life in the midst of the mist..