Around The World Without Flying: Across the Kimberley Part 1

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!