Across the Kimberley Part 2 - Tunnel Creek

Goodness, it is 30 March already, local time - Good Friday! I wish you all a very happy Easter or celebration of the Passover!

I have been very busy helping organise a number of big events. There were two in the same week just a week ago, involving a total of about 160 guests.The first was a celebration of NowRoz, the Afghan New Year, which was held to raise funds to help train science teachers, teach some young men carpentry skills and teach widows to read and write and to sew so they could support their families and villages, and the second was a ‘mini-reunion’ of people with whom I went to secondary school, and a couple of our teachers. Both were a great success and well worth the considerable work that went on behind the scenes.

But although I am now helping organise a big chemistry teacher professional development day which will be held at the end of May, and setting up other initiatives for the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, it is time to do a bit of catching up on my blog. 

In my last post I wrote about the Fitzroy River. I have now gone back to all the notes we were given, and must clarify where the river cruise actually took place. It was along what is known as Geike Gorge, which the notes say is ‘an ancient limestone barrier reef that was carved out about 360 million years ago’. This explains the spectacular limestone formations we saw. I can only encourage any visitors to the area to take that superb cruise - but make sure you use tropical strength insect repellant. 

That night we stayed at Fitzroy River Lodge, a big hotel-motel in Fitzroy Crossing. It was a very enjoyable stay. 

The first thing we did the next day was to drive to Tunnel Creek, a 750 metre long, natural underground tunnel in the Napier Range. To get into it you had to climb down over huge boulders. I could not have done so without Chappy’s strong, steady hand, which also was always there to help me inside the tunnel in the spots where it would have been easy to trip. 

What a spectacular, unforgettable experience that was, walking in our river shoes along the creek bed through the shallow cool water, with shafts of light piercing through gaps in its ceiling and revealing the creek bed and intriguing limestone formations. The cool temperatures in there were a welcome relief from the relentless heat outside - it was around 40 degrees Celsius, the wave of hot air ‘blasting’ us whenever we left our vehicle. 

But what I most remember about Tunnel Creek, in addition to its sheer beauty, was the story of Jandamarra, an Aboriginal man who eventually became the leader of his people in fight against the English settlers who not only grabbed all their land but also butchered so many of them. What many of the early settlers did across Australia to our Aboriginal people, who we now know had been there for about 60 000 years, is simply appalling! Tunnel Creek was Jandamarra’s sacred place and was where he was tracked down and killed. Chappy shows us an ABC film of the story of Jandamarra after we left Tunnel Creek.  It is simply called ‘Jandamarra’. I now proudly possess a copy. 

The following photos show you a little of Fitzroy River Lodge, then take you on a journey to and through Tunnel Creek. Unfortunately some did not work out because it was hard to stand still, and the spaces were sometimes too large for the flash to work well. 

The view from a balcony at Fitzroy River Lodge.

Along the track to Tunnel Creek.

 Shafts of light reveal some of the limestone formations and helped us see our way; the rest of the time we used torches.

The roots of trees snaked their way though the rocky ceiling to the creek bed.

The other end of the tunnel. After a rest we had to go back through the tunnel.

The brilliant colours of minerals in the rocks were stunning.

Back into the tunnel.

There were some beautiful reflections in the water.

Some information about Jandamarra. Unfortunately that was all I could capture on my camera. The light was incredibly glary. When he was a child he was brought by his mother to live on one of the cattle stations. It was only as an adult he saw what the station owner, who had been quite kind to him and his mother, was doing to his people, along with other white settlers.

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Across the Kimberley Part 1 - the Fitzroy River

Early the next morning I eagerly awaited the arrival of our tour guide-driver and the small tour group with whom I would be setting off on a16-day adventure across the Kimberley, to Katherine Gorge, the famous Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land. 

It transpired that only one couple from the Oceanic Discoverer were in this group, though fortunately we had accidentally found this out when we met on the ship and had got to know each other quite well. Unfortunately, however, I have to confess that while they were friendly and very kind to me, they were a very difficult couple to travel with because the wife constantly harangued her husband. Her nit-picking was to drive everyone mad over the next 16 days when we were all at close quarters with one another while travelling hundreds of kilometres each day in the heat in the 20-seater bus. Many eyes rolled time and again. When another passenger confronted her in the end, saying something like “For goodness sake give it a break!”, she said she thought that was how to make a marriage alive! And they were in their sixties, I would say . . .

But overall the passengers were fascinating, really friendly and pleasant adventurous people. They included a very bright and cheerful, very fit English couple and a retired Australian Diplomat. I am delighted to say some of us are still in contact with one another. 

Anyhow, we all agreed how very lucky we were to have our tour guide-driver, know to all as ‘Chappie’.  What a wonderful man he was! A real salt-of-the-earth character. He knew so much about the region and told us so many interesting tales, was an excellent driver, and looked after all of us beautifully. This was just less than a year after I had a dreadful fall in which the main damage was I fractured and partly crushed one of my vertebra, so I was rather concerned I might trip and fall. This was really, really rocky country, but whenever the tracks we walked on looked dicey, he would hold my hand and arm very firmly to ensure I did not fall. A couple to times he stopped me going along a track that would be too dangerous. This included a long trek to see the Mitchell Falls. Thanks to his care, I did not fall once! 

I would add, ours was no ordinary bus. It was basically the cabin of a bus sitting on a 4-wheel drive truck.  We had to climb quite a few steep steps to get in and out of it.  But we need a very tough vehicle, because the roads were unmade and only graded for the most part. This regions is subject to big floods in the Wet Season. Sometimes we saw flood debris as much as 20 metres high up in trees, and we often saw broken-down vehicles, with their chassis snapped by the rough roads and the dry, rocky creek beds over which we often had to drive. Talk about a bone-shaking experience! We were rotated around the bus each day so everyone shared the worst of the seats. When you sat above the back wheels in particular, even your teeth rattled uncontrollably! This is not a region for taking anything but the very toughest of 4-wheel drive vehicles. 

That first day we set off off for the Fitzroy River. Along the way we saw countless boab trees. Of these, one stood out as the most incredible, massive tree know to the locals as ‘Big Billy’.  Chappie told us an African legend about these trees. Apparently they use to preen themselves as being the most beautiful of trees, which made all the other trees very jealous and very angry. So one day, to teach them a lesson, the gods pulled them out and stuck them back in the ground upside down! And they really do look like their roots are sprouting out of the top!

At the Fitzroy River, we went for a cruise along the river and a picnic with billy tea with an Aboriginal man. The river was just beautiful in parts, and the water was the most incredible colour. The place where we landed was full of picturesque vines. I was spellbound as he sat there and explained all the family relationships between Aboriginal people and some of their other customs. They were so intricate and inclusive, I thought, not for the first time, we really need to listen more to our Aboriginal people and learn from their wisdom. A very memorable campfire all told! 

On the way back, the Aboriginal man, who was sitting right behind me in the boat, said to me to keep very still. He then swiped his hand across on my back, not so hard that it would hurt, and said  “Good. That’s gone!” Realising it had to have been some kind of insect that had landed on my back, I asked what it was. He said “You don’t want to know!” I never did find out . . . We had not experienced insects on our cruise, but here there certainly were lots of mosquitoes. Obviously this had been a much large insect than that. I am glad I did not see it. 

By the end of the day, we were all very ready for the enjoyable smorgasbord dinner we had at the local hotel-motel that night. 

Enjoy the photos! 

'Big Billy'

Up close to Big Billy

Our 4-wheel drive 'bus', with our red 'carpet'! 

Some beautiful wattle growing near Big Billy

Along the Fitzroy River.

Near our picnic spot.

Our Aboriginal guide is at the campfire boiling up the billy tea.