Friday, 23 July
Halls Creek certainly didn’t live up to its reputation last night – not a sound to be heard. We also left the blue faced honeyeater behind in Kununurra, so weren’t awoken at 4.00 am either. There was a definite rush for the gates this morning, with all those travelling to Fitzroy Crossing trying to leave early. (Fitzroy Lodge Caravan Park does not make bookings, so first in get the powered sites.) We also had a rather brisk start to the morning, with the temperature hovering around the 15 degrees!
The road from Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing was very good – wide, good surface and long straights, except for the final 10 kms when it became narrow with one lane bridges. The country was very flat today, with only a couple of ranges close to the road – our fuel consumption was very, very good, which helped make up for the 10 litres we paid for yesterday and didn’t receive. Shell also have a Coles Express at Fitzroy Crossing, with accurate pumps!
The Fitzroy Lodge Caravan Park is very nice, part of a large resort. The resort accommodation is built on stilts and the amenities block is perched on top of a large mound – the Fitzroy River floods to a width of 18 kms evidently. The sites are grassy, very large and shady.
This afternoon we crossed the old Fitzroy crossing, which is a concrete causeway, on our way to the Geikie Gorge. We are starting to get “gorged out” a bit, but this one was well worth a visit. To see the gorge it is necessary to take a boat trip along the Fitzroy River, so while we were waiting, we went for a little walk through the limestone outcrops. The gorge is actually part of the Devonian Reef, laid down 350 million years ago and is limestone, not sandstone like all the other gorges. The boat was actually two seating barges pushed from the rear, the back barge was filled first and we were lucky to be told to sit in the very front row of the very front barge! The colours in the cliffs were incredible, ranging from white to red to blue/grey. The cliffs had been eroded over time and were full of holes and caves – truly stunning. Of course, the river was full of freshwater crocodiles!
Tomorrow we head for Derby (getting close to pearl country now!).
Halls Creek certainly didn’t live up to its reputation last night – not a sound to be heard. We also left the blue faced honeyeater behind in Kununurra, so weren’t awoken at 4.00 am either. There was a definite rush for the gates this morning, with all those travelling to Fitzroy Crossing trying to leave early. (Fitzroy Lodge Caravan Park does not make bookings, so first in get the powered sites.) We also had a rather brisk start to the morning, with the temperature hovering around the 15 degrees!
The road from Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing was very good – wide, good surface and long straights, except for the final 10 kms when it became narrow with one lane bridges. The country was very flat today, with only a couple of ranges close to the road – our fuel consumption was very, very good, which helped make up for the 10 litres we paid for yesterday and didn’t receive. Shell also have a Coles Express at Fitzroy Crossing, with accurate pumps!
The Fitzroy Lodge Caravan Park is very nice, part of a large resort. The resort accommodation is built on stilts and the amenities block is perched on top of a large mound – the Fitzroy River floods to a width of 18 kms evidently. The sites are grassy, very large and shady.
This afternoon we crossed the old Fitzroy crossing, which is a concrete causeway, on our way to the Geikie Gorge. We are starting to get “gorged out” a bit, but this one was well worth a visit. To see the gorge it is necessary to take a boat trip along the Fitzroy River, so while we were waiting, we went for a little walk through the limestone outcrops. The gorge is actually part of the Devonian Reef, laid down 350 million years ago and is limestone, not sandstone like all the other gorges. The boat was actually two seating barges pushed from the rear, the back barge was filled first and we were lucky to be told to sit in the very front row of the very front barge! The colours in the cliffs were incredible, ranging from white to red to blue/grey. The cliffs had been eroded over time and were full of holes and caves – truly stunning. Of course, the river was full of freshwater crocodiles!
Tomorrow we head for Derby (getting close to pearl country now!).
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