I have decided to take a tour of the Kimberleys as it is a baragin basement tour. It was reduced from $1650 to $1000, and is done by 4x4 into the Kimberleys. Apparently if you want to get into the Kimberleys you need to do it this way otherwise you dont get to see half the great things out there. It was pretty much all inclusive of food, swags (sleepings bags), and a guide who can tell you which spots to swim in without being eaten by crocs!!!
I started at 6am and knew it was going to be a massive trip as the Kimberleys are bigger than Germany and the first day was going to be a long drive from Darwin - about 1000km. The group seem like a great bunch with 3 Germans (Gurda, Diana and Armin), 2 Brits (Cally and Suzie), and an Israeli, Shy. I decided against making any jokes about Shys name as she used to be in Israeli intelligence and was actually doing some field ops, need to know etc... We spent the first day driving and getting to know each other - which also involved giving Suzie a full update on the last series of Dr Who and what the new Doctor had been like since taking over from David Tennant. Fortunately we had a couple of stops and were able to have a small dip in the Katherine Hot springs.
Cam was our Ozzie tour guide, and driver, and chef... well generally everything. He seemed to know what he was doing in the bush and we all mucked in with setting up camp. The first camp site was a fantastic place overlooking a river. The site was actually on a croc farm, and the river was full of salties (saltwater crocodiles). We were advised against going near the water in case the crocs fancied us for take away! We have been advised to expect some changing weather as it was the wet season and so storms might be part of the trip.
Day 2 saw us head to Lake Argyle and taking a fantastic boat trip, dipping in the water, drinking beer and generally messing about. I managed to watch the sunset floating in the lake with a cold beer - fantastic.. Before we set up camp Cam decided to do his Crocodile hunting experience and dived in the lake and caught a freshwater croc (these are OK to humans assuming you dont annoy them). He got it on board and I had a hold of the Croc. I woke the following morning in my swag on the edge of an island beach to watch the sunrise over the Lake. Quite stunning.
We headed from there to the Bungle Bungles ( http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Oceania/Australia/photo155084.htm ). The Bungles were formed up as almost a ripple effect when the Australia landmass was formed and so the rock rises up. The strange dark lines are actualy bacteria which forms on the rock. We had a good nosey around the Bungles, and was impressed with Cathedral gorge.
The next 4 days we travelled along the Gibb River road in a leisurely fashion. Stopping at different waterfalls, and gorges and enjoying swims, quite often with freshwater crocs as our neighbours!!
We finally ended up at Windjana gorge which is an ancient coral reef, now inland and completely exposed. In the formation there is a long cave which we ventured into 750m of dark tunnel with headtorches and a bit of intrepidation. There were bats and freshies to keep us company though so I think we were happy. Finally we arrived in Broome.
I really enjoyed the trip and sleeping under the stars was a real treat, living off a camp fire was fun and Cam managed to even pull off a couple of cracking meals, including a lamb roast, which on a camp fire is no mean feat. However after getting bitten to bits by mosies I was glad of a bit of pampering and laziness in Broome..
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