Kimberleys Trip 1 June 2019

Morning greeted us with a cold buffeting wind although it was 10oC so not as bad as the previous day. It was so windy we couldn't keep the gas alight to boil water for breakfast, so we packed up and headed up the road. We tried stopping along the way to boil up, but it was still way too cold and windy.

It was nice to see 2 emus wandering through a paddock. We stopped at Renner Springs and I asked if I could buy a flask of hot water and the lady said "..no, just fill up from the big urn"...very friendly! A lot of the land was burnt and the wind so strong that dust being blown across the road. There were plenty of galahs on the side of road, and more horses. 

The map showed a large 'lake' so we tried to get to it at Elliott. This meant driving through the town, which was very depressing, but we only found a large green football field. Newcastle Waters rest area was the stop for morning tea. Even with the cold wind there were still flies, although not as many as further south. From this area north we were actually seeing dead Kangaroos & Wallabies on the side of the road. All along the way anthills on the side of the road were dressed up with shirts and even hats on them. (It gives us a laugh but I wonder if this kills the colony?) Half a dozen Black Cockatoos were off the road and a big white Brahman bull. We even saw some dead hares. We stopped at Dunmarra for fuel and information on the Buchanan Highway, but there was no mobile reception unfortunately.

Along the unsealed Buchanan the termite mounds changed from slender red to lumpy grey and larger then after a few kilometers changed back. We stopped by the railroad for lunch in the hope of possibly seeing the Ghan go past, but it didn't. Several cattle trucks were on the road coming towards us, and the dust was amazing. Darryl pulled over and stopped as it was impossible to see the road. 

There were even some anthills built on the road! In trees near the road were a Grey Apostle bird family, and a Plains turkey near a group of cattle. 

After Top Springs there was a Wedgetail Eagle on road which really did not want to move out of our way. I wasn't quite quick enough to get a photo, but you can see him at the edge.

There were 14 derelict, upside-down cars along this section of road in only 50km. We pulled into Dashwood Crossing on the Victoria River and found a very pretty area with water and nice pavement-like stone. 

Hundreds of water beetles swirling up from the bottom of the river

Just after we stopped an other couple arrived in an offroad van. We waved them in to join us. We had just started dinner preparations when a car stopped on the causeway. It was then joined by 3 other vehicles, and obviously had problems as they had the bonnet up. The couple with us were Malcolm and Narelle from NSW. Darryl & Malcolm went out to try to assist. Apparently it was electrical, but eventually the stockman towed them to the nearby Victoria River station. We had a nice evening chatting, and eventually we found out that their surname, and it was one I recognised from my family history! Both Darryl & I have this unusual surname in our family trees. Malcolm had relations from Mareeba where ours are from, so it's pretty likely there's a link there. We chatted until 9:30pm by the fire so it was one of our latest nights since starting the trip. Both of us are broadly heading in the same direction.