The Brooke Blog

Here are a couple of photos Laurie and Matt sent through from the guys weekend.

Guys Weekend Nov 2011

Here are some photos of a recent getaway with the guys up the bush for some 4x4ing, walking and just chilling out around the camp fire. We had very wet weather on the Saturday, however no recoveries were required even though two of the four vehicles were ‘softroaders’.

Most of you will now know we are home now, however if you are not up with news – we are home now.

We arrived back in Melbourne on Virgin Airlines from Broome via Adelaide at 10:20pm on the 20th of August.

Sunday was spent catching up with family. The next few days were just weird and uncomfortable as we came to terms with the sudden change in our surrounds, the weather and all the traffic on the roads. Why is everyone in such a hurry all the time?

Generally we’ve taken our time settling back in to life in the burbs again. Liz will start back with some work 2-3 days a week however Dan has had a major set back with a disc prolapse after sneezing and returned home Friday morning after 6 days in hospital.

We are really disappointed we couldn’t visit our friends the Hicks Family in Meekatharra but in hindsight thankful for not having to drive all the way home. We’d have been due to arrive home this weekend had the car not broken down. On the matter of the vehicle and van, it’s still due to be delivered to Berwick on the 9th of Sept.

The is the last post for this adventure. We’ll re-design the blog site and still use it for further news and updates for which we’ll let you about of course. Thanks again for your interest!

Love from the Brooke Fam, Dan,Liz, Aidan and Missy.

A dramatic headline for an unfolding drama that is largely not getting the press it should. We are well aware there are some many social and humanitarian needs around the world and even within our own nation that don’t get enough coverage in the media or the right attention they deserve to solve the problems.

Furthermore we want to point out that it’s not normally our disposition to be ‘green’ and be vocal about environmental issues however this is one that has grabbed our attention. Hopefully it will also get your attention especially if our blog has captured your imagination or dreams as we’ve shared our journey in experiencing the beauty and complexity of our land. This is particular with regard to the Kimberley.

The crisis that has unfolded is the construction of a gas refinery on the coast north of Broome, on the Dampier Peninsula. Specifically its location is at James Price Point and it will be the largest in Australia and second largest in the world! Before proceeding, we’d like to bring you back to how much we’ve loved visiting all the unique and beautiful places in the Kimberley. A large part of what makes it a draw card for us and most of the travellers that venture here is its not easily accessible (costly in some way – time, money or both), it’s a wilderness and relatively pristine in comparison to many other areas in the world let alone Australia and it possesses a natural beauty in its own right. Until now, there have been no major developments to tarnish this such as mining or large scale production. The Kimberley is a mix of cattle stations, national parks and reserves, and aboriginal land. The area is serviced by several large towns most of which rely on the tourism to the region. Broome is both a major tourist destination in its own right and gateway for many fly in or self drive tourists. Kununurra is the other major town at the east end of the Kimberley serving a similar role. Eco-tourism is a growing business important for local jobs, but also for national tourist revenue. From what we’ve seen tour operators are environmentally aware and seek to operate in a sustainable way to protect the way of things here.

On the other hand is the cultural and social make up of the Kimberley. The lifestyle is relaxed and so are the people! Life so far from big city ways leaves people more friendly, in less of a hurry and generally more ready to serve one another. Life is generally more simple, people are more trusting and easy going. Okay, we’re not saying it’s without problems. There are some deep seeded social issue particularly in many of the aboriginal communities, however this is not time to discuss that. Otherwise the traditional owners of the land and their culture is also recognised and respected. That is, unless you are a multi-national company focused on profits at any cost.

Setting the scene is important to emphasise the importance of this matter. There is bucket loads of information about the subject on line so we’ll let you look further if you need to know more and verify it all. Below are some links to websites with info, and details for the Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke if you can write a letter.

Some brief points;

• While it seems there hasn’t be been the necessary approvals in place, and its been challenged legally machinery stormed the Manari Road Blockade and proceeded to the site to begin land clearing.
• In the process of clearing land sacred sites were destroyed.
• Should the plant go ahead this beautiful coastline would be changed forever and no more fishing or free camping in the area.
• A huge concrete breakwater is planned extending kilometres out to sea in important whale breeding grounds and levelling rocks and cliffs that are site of fossilised dinosaur footprints, and cutting through coral reefs.
• Pollution and emissions are a direct threat to the environment and health of the local community posing a direct threat to Broome and Cable Beach and of course tourists to the area.
• Broadly there is not opposition to the mining of the gas reserves off the coast, however there are alternatives to processing the gas at James Price Point.

Please take some time to look into this further, or forward this Blog to your friends. If you even think you’d like to visit Broome or the Kimberley, or see the value protecting the region and the well being of those that live here for our kids and their kids please do something. You might be living at the other end of the country and think its so far away and doesn’t make much difference to you or your way of life however it’s nearer than you think!

The views expressed in the following websites are not necessarily those held by us.
www.savethekimberly.com
http://handsoffcountry.blogspot.com/
www.environskimberley.org.au
suggest.getup.org.au
http://www.abc.net.au/news/search/?query=gas+kimberley&x=0&y=0

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/broome-against-boom/story-fn59niix-1226108570248

Write to Tony Burke, Federal Minister for the Environment

The Hon. Tony Burke
Minster for the Environment
P.O. Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

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Some family and friends have had the benefit of personalised updates however for the rest of you a few more tit-bits of our travel traumas. No, in actual fact after a day or so of feeling deflated our spirits have been lifted again and our bodies relaxing in the coastal beauty that is Broome.

After re-organising our gear, we left what we couldn’t take or didn’t require in the car and caravan trusting it will still be there when they arrive back in Melbourne in 2-3 weeks.

The lovely couple we met who pulled in to the site next to us the day after we arrived so generously and kindly offered to assist us. Firstly in loaning their car if we needed to drive around town for anything and then to give us a lift out to Geikie Gorge. We’d planned to go there, as had they, so we all bundled in to do the river tour Saturday morning.

The gorge was wonderful of course. It’s quite unique in its make-up being that of limestone largely that was formed from a fossilised seabed a long, long time ago. The limestone is wearing away both from rain and the yearly flooding creating interesting formations in the rock. A clear line and colour change is the evidence of the average level the waters reach each year during the wet season. Wild life is abundant (lots of freshwater crocodiles) and perhaps more so than in the Katherine Gorge as the dreaded ‘Alien’ – the Cane Toad, has not yet reached this far west as yet. To fill in the blanks here, the cane toad is responsible for a sharp and dramatic reduction in the numbers of many native animals such as larger lizards and freshwater crocodiles that eat them. The toad’s toxic glands kill them, as they’ve been ignoring the ranger’s warnings not to eat them!

Back to the Fitzroy River and Geikie Gorge… that floods each year during the wet season. There have been some particularly large floods in recent years and we saw some photos that were mind-boggling when you have references for them on the buildings around. Apparently once the river has passed through the gorge it spreads out to be up to 30kms wide in flood, turning the town of Fitzroy Crossing into an island! This can be the case for local cattle stations in the area also and lasting for weeks at time, food drops by aircraft are required.

The rest of our day was spent re-arranging our gear in preparation for catching the bus Saturday night. Our friendly caravan park neighbours Kevin and Heather continued to offer their help by driving us to the bus stop (at 1am!!) and moving our van to the storage spot the next day. It was a real blessing to have Kevin drive us with all our gear and help us load up, especially given there were a few rowdy youth hanging around making a bit of trouble.

The kids settled back to sleep well for the duration of the bus trip and we managed a few hours ourselves, with the journey ending in Broome around 6:40am at the local information centre. A taxi ride to where we booked a cabin meant we were way early for check-in however the cabin was cleaned and available to us by 8:30am! The rest of the day was filled with not that much really given where we were was not within walking distance to anything much… a little TV, Liz and the kids swam in the pool and we began making plans for our week.

Monday morning and a rental vehicle was arranged. The little two-door Suzuki Jimny isn’t much like the Prado, however even though it’s a tight fit both kids’ car seats and any bags we need for the beach or other outings just fit in, albeit rather neatly! Monday we just explored town, getting orientated with where the beaches and various sights were. We went to Town Beach for a swim where there was also a water play park for the kids. Then later drove to Cable Beach and had a camel ride. The half hour was just long enough, but ‘wow’ what amazing creatures! After a bit of a walk (tide was going out) and splash in the water at Cable Beach we watched the sunset which was amazing.

Come Tuesday and we headed north to Willie Creek Pearl Farm where we’d booked on a tour to learn about the pearl farming industry. This was an excellent tour and highly recommended! Very informative, well organised and set in a beautiful location 16kms as the crow flies from Broome at the top end of Cable Beach. After a talk about how pearls are grown, included were hot or cold drinks and a delicious freshly cooked beer damper – Yum! Then a boat ride showed us how the clams are suspended from rope on a chain, how they are cleaned and then a short run ‘up the creek’ introduced us to the local environment. There was a king tide which was rather dramatic. The tide can have a high and low difference of more than 24 metres explaining the long walk for our swim the night before! Scenic helicopter flights were offered and kids agreed they’d like to go, so we enjoyed a stunning 5 minute fly over the local area. Both Aidan and Missy loved it, though Missy did get a bit upset at one point as the doors were off on one side and wind blew her untied her all over her face! Liz made a small purchase however not from the local sea pearls as the prices are rather extraordinary!

On our return to Broome from the pearl farm we stopped at the road junction of the Cape Leveque and Manari Road where a blockade and peaceful protest was in place over a gas hub development at James Price Point. Suddenly it clicked for us that this was where the people were headed that stopped to help us when the car broke down. We’ll pick up from here in the next post that will solely focus on this matter.

In short summary the rest of our time in Broome has included more swimming at the beaches and pool where we are staying, the ‘Pearl Lugger’s Tour about the history of Broome’s mother of pearl industry and a hovercraft ride at low tide around Roebuck Bay, learning some more of Broome’s history and then seeing some fantastic fossilised dinosaur footprints. Now without the rental car we’ve had our feet up enjoying the weather, more swimming in the pool all before we fly home to the cooler weather, departing Broome Airport a little after 3PM local time Saturday.

Thanks to those that have given feedback on the blog. We’ll get more organised with photos when we return, posting more on line and compiling an album and video of our adventures so we won’t forget it.

That’s right folks! The end is coming and it’s closer than expected! We last posted from Halls Creek, leaving to get to Fitzroy Crossing some 290 kms west on the Great Northern Highway. Well, long story short – the engine in the car has blown up and we are forced to cut our trip short. Shocking, we know! And yes, all true. So the details for those who want to know…

We left Halls Creek after midday after thinking we’d be driving on the smell of an oily rag (oil burners* can do that) when the Shell had run out of diesel. There were many vehicles with caravans circling like vultures and there was a hungry atmosphere developing into a mild panic as people like ourselves searched for another fuel outlet. The other service centre didn’t sell diesel, however we found a Toyota service centre that was also selling fuel so we filled up there. Soon there was a line of vehicle waiting behind us. We said ‘Thank you’ prayers and continued to say how it was great we’d no issues on our trip (so many other people’s accounts of multiple flat tyres, mechanical failures etc.) and had said to Liz’s parents the very same thing and Dan had also said this when talking to our four wheel drive mechanic Matt on the phone, both that morning. We are not superstitious in any way, but what about the timing eh?

*oil burner being a diesel vehicle

So we hit the road with a full tank of fuel and about 60 clicks down the road the air conditioning stops working. Dan pulled over in some shade which was a rare commodity indeed, but after checking fuses and belts etc couldn’t see what was wrong. We pressed on feeling a little cooked but thinking that with no phone service until ‘The Crossing’ we’d be best to get it looked at there. Best guess was that the AC needed re-gassing or something. For the mechanics reading this, ‘Dan might be handy, but he’s no mechanic’ hence the reason the vehicle has an extended warranty and gets serviced by Toyota.

Then it happened. Only 40kms out of Fitzroy Crossing the service lights came on, then shortly afterwards the motor simply stopped and we rolled to a standstill on the side of the road. Some helpful folks stopped and helped us move the vehicle and van off the shoulder, then gave Dan a ride closer to town for mobile service. Total Care is totally awesome! We had a truck pick us up, along with the car and van and drop us at a local caravan park within 90 mins.

Friday morning was spent figuring out the ‘what now?’ The answer is that the motor is definitely ‘baked’. Local service centres in the region are so busy with the extra load of the tourist season however this is also due to the larger number of breakdowns in the area due to the harsh conditions. Toyota in Broome said they couldn’t even look at it for 3 weeks and then it would be 4 weeks to get the work done. Based on this RACV will recover the vehicle to Berwick for us, and will cover our costs to get home (a flight out of Broome).

We’ve decided to make the best of a bad situation and stay another week in Broome. The disappointment is setting in a bit now, however we are grateful that we are safe and that we weren’t more remote. In fact we had planned to travel to the Wolfe Creek Crater which is off the northern end of the Tanami Road south of Halls Creek. Had we done this we’d have been 150-200kms away from a town with less passing traffic, no phone coverage and most likely copping a much higher recovery cost.

The other part of the saga is that we haven’t made it to see the Hicks family in Meekatharra and that was the major reason we set out to plan this trip in the beginning! We explored a number of options like renting a car to continue on with our plans or even to just get to Meeka, or even flying there. Flying isn’t an option unless we fly to Perth first so we didn’t even get a price for that, and the car is just too expensive. If we could get a car (and there’s not much available) we’d need a large one to tow the van, but being a regional area there’s a limit of 100kms a day then 30cents a kilometre on that. It adds up. Don’t forget the fuel cost on top. We are getting a pounding we won’t forget when it comes to understanding the size and nature of our country when it comes to exploring it by road! So we are very disappointed to not be able to visit the Hicks, but it does give us an excuse to get back out here and attempt a visit again soon!

We’ve managed to find some reasonably affordable accommodation in Broome (still a ridiculous $200 a night which was the cheapest!!) that took Liz all afternoon to organise as the Broome Cup is on and the town is overflowing. We’d heard it was busy anyway and we had the same thing with the Darwin Cup! This means we’ll stay a week and fly home Saturday the 20th.

We catch the bus from Fitzroy Crossing 1:30AM Sunday Morning and arrive in Broome at 6:40AM. Yee-haa! That’s going to be fun. But thanks to some lovely fellow travellers, they are giving us a lift to the station at 1am! Now to get some cheap stripy bags to pack our gear in…

We took caution and left our caravan in storage before heading out to the top end of the Gibb River Road. In asking around we’ve had such varied opinion and report on the condition of the road. Sometimes you wonder if it’s the same road people are talking about! It seems people who don’t normally travel off road or on dirt roads will report it to be ‘pretty-rough’, ‘terrible’ etc and add all the warnings and stories that go with that. At the other end you get those that say, ‘yeah it was corrugated, but it was otherwise pretty good’, and ‘don’t know what all the fuss was about!’ So in the end you have to see for yourself. Our experience was of the latter. It’s a dirt road (done plenty of them), it has some pretty good sized rocks that are quite sharp (don’t run high tire pressures, slow down and don’t drive off the beaten tire tracks where possible), and it was corrugated and even rough in sections but definitely not as bad as some other roads we’ve been on already. Having said this, while we could have taken the van in, we’re glad we didn’t because the rocks flying up are an issue and did more than enough damage on the Oodnadatta. Moving on…

Stopping at El Questro Station we decided to stay in the end and got the last private campsite, which turned out to be more than alright! Situated a few clicks down the track from the main village area we could have been by ourselves out there with no other camps in sight. There was just enough time to squeeze in a four wheel drive over a rocky water crossing of the Chamberlain River, then through sand and over rock to look at the sunset and then to view a gorge about 15 ks from the village. We had a glimpse of the homestead from across the river which is kept off limits to rubber-neckers unless you are prepared to sell one of your children so you can stay there for a night! For dinner we enjoyed a magnificent buffet dinner prepared and served outside with live entertainment and bonfires to-boot.

Continuing down the road we stopped the next night at Home Valley Station. Also very beautiful it seems to cater better for families with a huge playground complete with its own ‘shed’ over it to provide shade and a lovely swimming pool. There were a lot more kids there too – perhaps more than we’d seen the whole trip! So the kids spent their whole time playing with the other kids and we camped next to the play area so they could come and go as they pleased. Home Valley looks back over the Cockburn Range that is spectacular as the sun sets on it. The Pentecost River runs by, and if you fancy a swim the crocs will be pleased to make a meal of you. We kept to cooling off in the resort swimming pool! Nonetheless, the fishing is supposed to be good there however we had nothing to show… again…

There is so much to say about this area; its remarkable beauty with hidden gems amidst the seeming arid appearance of sand, rock, mountain and dry river beds. It will eat you up in a moment if you don’t respect it. Being prepared to enter the region is so important from a preservation point of view, however equally in regard to seeing things with new eyes. There is life and beauty in places you don’t expect. Kilometre after kilometre could become monotonous at times however there are constant changes around and always something new to see and learn about.

Naturally we’ve been drawn to water, as are all (in their hordes it seems!). Emma Gorge was a special place. A challenging walk for the kids, we were rewarded at the end with a cool swim and an incredible place to just rest in one of creations treasures. A high walled gorge that narrows at the end with a deep pool and water spilling from an overhanging ledge took ones breath away. The walk was over very rocky ground, at time requiring hands and feet to negotiate. With encouragement the kids made the 3.2km return walk mostly by themselves – ice-creams in the end were a great reward!

We returned to Kununurra to pick up our van then proceeded as far as possible to a roadside stop for the night. The next day we drove into Purnululu NP to see the Bungle Bungles. For those not familiar with the Bungle Bungles, they are a unique mountain range recognised as a World Heritage Area for their geological formations and incredible natural beauty.

Scenic flights are popular over the Bungle Bungles as no doubt this is a great way to get a good overview of the area, but also because access to the range and park is by four wheel drive only. Many commercial tours run, and the drive in takes around 2 hours when conditions are good. If it’s wet, between 30 and 40 water crossings are required! We only did a dozen which Aidan loved! We made camp at the Walardi Camp to the south of the range. As we checked in we were handed our Census forms! You can’t escape a Census even when you’re camping in a National Park. Our address on the form is ‘Walardi Camp, Purnululu NP.’

Liz cooked scones in the camp oven that evening, and shared them with a number of campers around the campfire (they were delicious too!). In the morning we packed up camp and drove to the start of yet another gorge walk. This time the variation and nature of the geology was just so unique it seems almost straight out of a sci-fi movie or from an alien landscape. The pictures just won’t do it justice. Sandstone formations in giant domes and ridges, with bands of black and red, dry river beds with large river stones and beautiful wild flowers all around. For Dan, this was one of the most interesting and special places we’ve visited.

Driving to the north end of the range, the kids fell asleep so Dan walked into Echidna Chasm by himself. This extraordinary place is one of the reasons Purnululu got its World Heritage listing. A gorge walk up a stony creek bed quickly narrows with tall palms either side until vertical walls of stone close in to as little as a metre. Near the end a ‘round room’ opens up. Dan had the privilege of being in the place for 10-15 minutes all to himself. There was initially a bird calling with the echo bouncing from the walls, but then even the bird became silent. The place took on the atmosphere of a sanctuary. Sitting for 10 minutes in the silence was a very precious time and had there not been the need to keep moving might have continued for hours!

We drove until after dark reaching Halls Creek where we managed to get a powered site. The morning has been spent doing washing and trying to catch up on emails, the blog and other ‘house-keeping’.

Each day as we hit the road we pull out the maps and books and have a look to see where we are going. Sometimes we do this the night before, but mostly once we get going on the road. This includes figuring out what we’ll see and do and also where we’ll stay. We’ve not booked ahead for accommodation in most cases, and we’ve not been ‘on the side of the road’ unless it was our plan at a rest stop area that we intended as our overnight place. When we left Katherine we’d been talking to some other folk who mentioned they were going to Darwin for the Darwin Cup. We soon realised accommodation may be an issue, so as we hit the road a quick ring around found there wasn’t much available however as usual we found somewhere suitable called Aurora Shady Glen CP.

We allowed half a day for washing etc. while Dan took the car for a 100K service that we’d booked in for a few days earlier. We’d been told this would take 2 to 2.5 hrs so Dan planned to either wait or walk into Darwin proper. Long story short, we got messed around wasting a heap of time and the best part of our day. Had we been told the right things we could have made much better use of the time while the car was being serviced. After all this, we visited Dan’s great uncle and auntie, Albert and June and had a lovely afternoon tea and catch up with them. June is Dan’s Pa’s sister (Pa is Heather’s Dad). Also cousin Felicity (Lissy) dropped in. They adorned us with fresh produce from the garden and scorned us for not staying with them! It was a good catch up for Dan and introduction of the rest of the family.

From our family catch up we drove to Mindil Beach Market and watched the sun set over the ocean (along with thousands of others), then wandered around checking out the stalls, music, and other live performances that were there. Dan even became a participant in the climatic finish of one performer who juggled fire sticks from a pole held up by four ‘strong’ men from the audience. The market was the jewel in a day that could only get better, and it truly did.

Friday 29th of July saw us head to a local Adventure Water Park which was free, provided as a NT Government initiative. We all had a great time playing, swimming and riding the waterslides (Dan and Liz only on the slides). After some shopping at BCF (camping store) for a few supplies the kids fell asleep, then Liz followed. Dan had ‘man time’ at the local aviation museum discovering interesting facts about the Japanese bombings and seeing the B-52 that is on display there. The only B-52 outside of the US. That evening we had an explorative drive around Darwin and saw a number of things to do ‘next time’.
Our relative short stay in Darwin ended with us chasing The Ghan (train) until we finally saw it! We then visited the Crocodylus Park which is a working crocodile farm, and also home to a range of other animals both native and exotic including big cats, monkeys, ostriches, brolgas, dingos and other lizards and snakes. The tour was excellent and we learnt lots about both fresh and salt water crocs as we had opportunity to feed them from a platform above their enclosures. Very cool! At the end Dan, Liz and Missy held a baby salty but Aidan decided against it.

We then headed south again, for Litchfield National Park. Again, time being against us we didn’t even plan to visit Kakadu NP. That’s added to the ‘next time’ list. Two days in Litchfield NP, only 160kms from Darwin provided enough time for us to cover most of the things we wanted to see however you can easily spend more time in this beautiful place. Four wheel drive access to many areas opens up some treasures that would otherwise be missed. We especially loved Surprise Creek Falls that had multiple swimming holes, with waterfalls spilling onto the next pool. Each pool so deep that even in the clear water with the sun shining behind you, there seemed to be no bottom to them! There were various places to jump in from, ranging from the water’s edge to ten or more metres if you dared. We spent a couple of hours here swimming and exploring before making our way back along the track over the various river crossings, open wood land, termite mounds and finally back to the blacktop.

Returning to Katherine for a what was to be a single night, became two when Dan’s back which had been giving trouble for a week or so, got much worse. Not able to see a chiropractor, one was tracked down and booked in Kununurra later in the week. In the mean time we took it a little easy with a massage, swimming in the local Katherine Hot Springs, a picnic by the river and an attempt at fishing. We also celebrated Missy’s 3rd birthday with a delicious chocolate cake and Missy enjoyed her present of Barbie and Ken’s Wedding dolls. Funnily, the next morning when we woke Missy asked if it was still her birthday hoping to do it all again! As we left town we visited the historic Springvale Homestead, one of the earliest homesteads established in the NT and the oldest remaining intact. A beautiful spot made especially so by a number of huge ‘Rain Trees’ that cast shade over the area around the buildings.

Progressing west, we drove to around 170kms east of Kununurra to a rest stop for the night where we cooked dinner and dessert on the campfire (yum!). The next day as we drove toward the WA border and Kununurra we surrendered our honey to border control (pest and disease quarantine) that was the only thing we hadn’t managed to use up before getting there. The landscape became increasingly more interesting until there was no doubt we’d reached the East Kimberley.

First stop was the information centre where we discovered accommodation was tight, and all we managed was an unpowered site. Kununurra is a nice town being clean and tidy and catering to tourism in a huge way. So far this place rocks the record for most caravan parks and tourist population that we can tell!

Dan’s birthday and yet another warm sunny day, we set out to find more waterfalls, swimming waterholes and other natural wonders that make you ‘oooo’ and ‘aaaah’. Taking a four-wheel drive access only route we visited a couple of springs, a dried up waterfall and the most amazing billabong area in flood plain near Wyndham. In Wyndham we drove to the five rivers lookout that very nearly takes your breath away with the views. Wyndham is known as the ‘Top town of the West’ being the highest main accessible town in Western Australia. It has also played a role in history as this is where Charles Kingsford Smith landed on his flight from England to Australia in 1933. Wyndham was then bombed in 1942 by the Japanese.

Our return to Kununurra was much quicker down the sealed highway. On dusk Dan dropped a fishing line in at Ivanhoe crossing hoping for some Barra for dinner, however it seemed they weren’t biting as all there went without a catch. Next blog will tell of the spectacular wonders along the Gibb River Road…