Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 26
The sun was out and it warm in Kununurra this morning (Happy 13th Birthday Jordan!!) As I was getting ready to load up the Beast, I heard a weird noise outside my room. Turns out, the top part of a palm tree had fallen off the tree!!! It was wild.
I drove Northeast toward the Western Australia/Northern Territory border (it’s only a 20-25 minute drive.) I just wanted to get photos of the signs. Across the border was a sign stating the speed limit in the NT is 110 km/hr unless otherwise signed, and a few meters down the road, was a speed limit sign stating 130!!!
I’m going to love driving in NT!!!
But I turned around and went back to Western Australia. I was stopped at the quarantine station. I told the guy I just got photos of the signs and turned around. He asked if I had a fuel or hotel receipt to prove that so he didn’t have to search the car for cane toads. I showed my receipt and was back on my way. I stopped back in Kununurra and got a new tire. (I knew it was the 16th, but not sure what day it was so I asked the guy at the tire store. He said it’s Wednesday and it’s a terrible day because it’s his birthday and he’s a year older. I told him it is also Jordan’s 13th birthday and he was excited to know it was someone else’s birthday. Another Gemini!!)
Then I drove to Wyndham. I stopped and saw The Grotto which is just a big hole in the ground, but it was lovely. It was 32°C (89.6°F), so I failed to walk down the 140 man made steps to the water which is estimated to be 0.9km (300feet) deep. It looks like in the wet season there is a river that turns into a waterfall leading to the pool and then a creek that drains into a larger river in Wyndham. (I’m going to have to get some shorts in Darwin!!!)
Outside Wyndham.
The stairs at The Grotto and the water at the bottom.
And there were so many Boab (sounds like Moab, UT) trees. These trees are awesome!! They come in all shapes and sizes, I guess depending on their age.
Then I headed back to the car without AC and drove toward Prison Tree. I wasn’t exactly sure what this was, but it was in my road atlas in between The Grotto and Wyndham, so I wanted to see it. I drove down the 22km dirt road and stopped to see Moochalabra Dam, which is the water supply for Wyndham and some Aboriginal Art Site/Cave Paintings. Both were cool. While at the dam, I asked a surveyor about the tree, and did I in fact have to cross water again?!?! He said not to worry, because this water crossing was so shallow that you don’t even need 4WD, so I’d be fine in the Beast! He also said that the hole in the front of the tree used to be a door in which the aboriginal people were placed. With a name like Prison Tree, I can only imagine the worst. He said the grill on the front had since been removed!!! (Again, I’m imagining the worst!!) But this is huge Boab tree and you can see that several grown men could fit in the tree at one time. I’m going to have to do some research and get back to you about the tree!
Moochalabra Dam
River crossing without water! Yahoo!!!!
The cave, the paintings and the cliff that houses the cave & paintings.
Pretty scenery on the way to Prison Tree.
Prison Tree!?!?
Notice the fruit...See photo below.
And then I drove to Wyndham to find another Big Thing - a Crocodile! I took photos of this and as I was getting into the car, an Aboriginal girl approached the car asking if I wanted to buy some art. What it was, was the fruit from the boab trees that she and her mom carve paintings into. It was quite impressive. Melanie must have been between 13 and 16. She was taller than me, but that’s not saying much. She smelled so strongly of alcohol (these things are a stereo-type for a reason!). She first said it was $40, but would take $35, then raised the price to $45. I said I only had $40, so she took that. She then invited me to have my picture taken with her in front of the Big Crocodile. Her mom was walking over to us, well staggering actually, and almost fell over while taking the photo of Melanie and me. (Why the photo is blurry!) The mom asked how much I gave for the ornament and I said $40 and she said that’s how much they are. I’m sure that I am just feeding their alcoholism, but it’s a cool ornament. They invited me for a cold drink, it was still 32°C (89.6°F) at 3pm, but I wanted to get back to Halls Creek before it got dark, and really?!?! So I headed back towards Halls Creek and did have an hour of driving in the dark anyway. I’d seen this whole drive in the daylight the day before, so it was ok. It was quite the Aboriginal culture day for me!!
No amphibians in the shower tonight!!!
I drove Northeast toward the Western Australia/Northern Territory border (it’s only a 20-25 minute drive.) I just wanted to get photos of the signs. Across the border was a sign stating the speed limit in the NT is 110 km/hr unless otherwise signed, and a few meters down the road, was a speed limit sign stating 130!!!
I’m going to love driving in NT!!!
But I turned around and went back to Western Australia. I was stopped at the quarantine station. I told the guy I just got photos of the signs and turned around. He asked if I had a fuel or hotel receipt to prove that so he didn’t have to search the car for cane toads. I showed my receipt and was back on my way. I stopped back in Kununurra and got a new tire. (I knew it was the 16th, but not sure what day it was so I asked the guy at the tire store. He said it’s Wednesday and it’s a terrible day because it’s his birthday and he’s a year older. I told him it is also Jordan’s 13th birthday and he was excited to know it was someone else’s birthday. Another Gemini!!)
Then I drove to Wyndham. I stopped and saw The Grotto which is just a big hole in the ground, but it was lovely. It was 32°C (89.6°F), so I failed to walk down the 140 man made steps to the water which is estimated to be 0.9km (300feet) deep. It looks like in the wet season there is a river that turns into a waterfall leading to the pool and then a creek that drains into a larger river in Wyndham. (I’m going to have to get some shorts in Darwin!!!)
Outside Wyndham.
The stairs at The Grotto and the water at the bottom.
And there were so many Boab (sounds like Moab, UT) trees. These trees are awesome!! They come in all shapes and sizes, I guess depending on their age.
Then I headed back to the car without AC and drove toward Prison Tree. I wasn’t exactly sure what this was, but it was in my road atlas in between The Grotto and Wyndham, so I wanted to see it. I drove down the 22km dirt road and stopped to see Moochalabra Dam, which is the water supply for Wyndham and some Aboriginal Art Site/Cave Paintings. Both were cool. While at the dam, I asked a surveyor about the tree, and did I in fact have to cross water again?!?! He said not to worry, because this water crossing was so shallow that you don’t even need 4WD, so I’d be fine in the Beast! He also said that the hole in the front of the tree used to be a door in which the aboriginal people were placed. With a name like Prison Tree, I can only imagine the worst. He said the grill on the front had since been removed!!! (Again, I’m imagining the worst!!) But this is huge Boab tree and you can see that several grown men could fit in the tree at one time. I’m going to have to do some research and get back to you about the tree!
Moochalabra Dam
River crossing without water! Yahoo!!!!
The cave, the paintings and the cliff that houses the cave & paintings.
Pretty scenery on the way to Prison Tree.
Prison Tree!?!?
Notice the fruit...See photo below.
And then I drove to Wyndham to find another Big Thing - a Crocodile! I took photos of this and as I was getting into the car, an Aboriginal girl approached the car asking if I wanted to buy some art. What it was, was the fruit from the boab trees that she and her mom carve paintings into. It was quite impressive. Melanie must have been between 13 and 16. She was taller than me, but that’s not saying much. She smelled so strongly of alcohol (these things are a stereo-type for a reason!). She first said it was $40, but would take $35, then raised the price to $45. I said I only had $40, so she took that. She then invited me to have my picture taken with her in front of the Big Crocodile. Her mom was walking over to us, well staggering actually, and almost fell over while taking the photo of Melanie and me. (Why the photo is blurry!) The mom asked how much I gave for the ornament and I said $40 and she said that’s how much they are. I’m sure that I am just feeding their alcoholism, but it’s a cool ornament. They invited me for a cold drink, it was still 32°C (89.6°F) at 3pm, but I wanted to get back to Halls Creek before it got dark, and really?!?! So I headed back towards Halls Creek and did have an hour of driving in the dark anyway. I’d seen this whole drive in the daylight the day before, so it was ok. It was quite the Aboriginal culture day for me!!
No amphibians in the shower tonight!!!
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About Me
- Laura
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!
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