We arrived at Shell Bolivar to find that Kim was already there. Jamie and Julie had already stopped in at our house to say that they would meet us at Port Wakefield. We had a quick lunch and waited for Len and Gary. Len arrived to say that Gary had some work to finish so he would meet us at Port Augusta the next morning. We all jumped in our trucks and it was the start of what was to become the ‘4 play in the Kimberley’s Tour June/July 2003’. We met Jamie and Julie at Port Wakefield and got to Port Augusta with no problems watched a beautiful sunset and had a great meal at the local sports club.

Next day we meet Gary and Jack at the Shell in town and off we went, up the Stuart Highway. We stopped at Coober Pedy and spent the night in an under ground camping site. It was different, a bit dusty but we have now done it. Not far from Alice Springs we detoured into the Henbury Meteorite Conservation Park. It’s only about 10kms off the main road and well worth the detour. Although we didn’t camp there, it looked like a good place to spend the night. We got in to Alice Springs late that night after passing through a small bush fire which looked quite eerie in the dark. We were all up early the next day (and a good thing too!) to get fuel, bread, milk, etc, etc. The circus music was playing as everyone was driving around Alice Springs looking for a Big W, which they don’t have.

20kms north of Alice Springs (when we finally got on the road!) we turned left on to the Tanami Track. The first 130km was tar but after the first 20kms it was only single lane tar. Once we got to the dirt it got rough. Len, Gary and Kim came back this way and after the Kimberley’s they didn’t think it was too bad. Must have been all the tar on the way up made us soft   After Tilmouth Roadhouse the road was good and we made it to just after The Granites Mine where we stopped for the night. We finished setting up camp and Len discovered that his auxiliary fuel tank was leaking It was to remain like this until we reached Kununurra. Len would fix it with various sealing compounds i.e. soap, metal knead it, fuel tank repair putty, etc, only to find that it would still be leaking, in the end it needed to be welded

Next day we were up early and off to the WA/NT Boarder and on to Wolfe Creek Cater. We set up camp then walked up to the crater to explore. I can tell you for free that it’s one big hole and I wouldn’t want to be around if it happened again. Next day was an easy day with the group only making it into Halls Creek. We set up camp and then went off to explore the area. That night Kim suggested we try the Pub for dinner. We had heard good things about it from the locals and Kim had been there before. Dinner was excellent but there were way too many bottles of wine. At the end of the night Kim suggested that we go to the “Animal Bar” to see how the other half live. To get there we had to go through the Gents toilet. This alone had put the girls off the idea. We talked them into it as it was only the corridor leading to the Gents and off we went. What Kim didn’t tell us, was that the door to the Animal Bar was self-locking.  So once the last person came through we were stuck. We then discovered that the Bar was shut and there was no way out. What then happened looked like a seen from Benny Hill with us all chasing Kim around to find a way out. We couldn’t even get out the way we’d come in! To cut a long story short it took us about 15 minutes to get out of the Pub. The moral to the story - Kim’s good at getting into pubs, but don’t expect him to lead you out.

Next day we left Hall’s Creek with some people wishing they were dead. We got to Fitzroy Crossing where we stayed 2 nights so that we could see Geikie Gorge. We only did the one tour but it was well worth the money, with everyone spotting the first fresh water croc’s of the trip. The next stop on our trip was Broome. Broome is a big place with everything you need, and it has PEARLS. Wendy was in her element. We spent one morning just going from Pearl Shop to Pearl Shop. It was very interesting and they have some very nice but expensive jewellery. Wendy and I saw one pearl necklace valued at $500 000.  It was nice but….!

One of the best parts of the holiday was the cruise we did on the Willie. The Willie is a replica Pearl Lugger that’s been geared to the tourist trade. We were picked up at the caravan park at 1:30pm and taken to the Willie. We spent the afternoon cruising off Cable Beach. Some of the time was spent boom netting – hanging on to the cargo net that was set up off the back of the ship. It was great just bring dragged through the water, but after an hour of it we only just had the strength to climb out. The rest of the afternoon was spent on deck drinking Crown Lager, eating and talking. One of the great things to do at Broome is watch the sunset over Cable Beach, but it’s even better if you are under sail off Cable Beach. It was well and truly dark when we finished the tour, and we could see why they picked you up, as I know I didn’t want to be driving after all that drinking.

The next day Gary decided that his shocks were definitely on the way out. He had asked Nissan to look at them before he left and they had told he they were all right. You only had to watch Gary go over a speed hump to know that Nissan were telling him porky pies. As you could probably guess there were none available in Broome but he did manage to arrange for a set to be delivered to the Spare Part Dealer in Derby. As Derby was only 4 days away, Gary decided they should last. 

From Broome we went up to Cape Leveque. Our first stop was at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm. We did the tour there, which was really informative. Also the pearls were cheaper than in town. I asked Wendy if it was too late to take the necklace that I had bought her (no not the $500k job) back, but she liked her one better than any she had seen before or after, so that was good.

That night we camped at Quondong Point. This was a really good spot and the first place that I wet my line. All I succeeded in doing was losing my lure, this was the story for the rest of the trip. I guess Wendy didn’t marry me for my hunter/gatherer skills. It must be for my good looks.

The next night was at Middle Lagoon, but not before we stopped at Beagle Bay for a look at their beautiful church. Just don’t eat pies and ice coffee from the store. Gary was very ill that night and that’s what he blamed it on. We reckoned that he was sea sick from driving a patrol with 4 shocks that weren’t doing anything.

When we pulled in to Middle Lagoon it was noticed that Jamie’s truck was leaking diesel. He had also cracked his auxiliary fuel tank. It turned out to be a lot worse than Len’s, as one of the bolts holding the tank in place had come adrift, putting too much strain on the over bracket, which had then broken. This had placed all the strain on the front brackets that had then cracked and started leaking. We fixed the tank back in place, and when we got to Derby out it came to get repaired.

The next day it was off to the tip of Cape Leveque. After about 100kms of some of the most corrugated roads that I have been on, we arrived at Cape Leveque only to find that it cost $10 per vehicle to get in and they preferred you to walk in rather than drive. We took 3 cars in, went around to the light house and then the take away shop for some lunch and then decided to head back because it was going to take so long due to the road conditions. So we really paid $10 per car just to eat lunch - oh well we were on holiday and the lunch was really good.

The next day we packed up (again) and were off to Derby. We took a little short cut, you turn left after Beagle Bay and just follow your nose and the occasional sign. The track for some way was one lane with trees growing very close to the road on both sides. As you would guess this is where we met 2 oncoming vehicles and after much manoeuvring we all got passed. The road comes out 110kms from Derby and is a much better road then the one from Broome to Beagle Bay.

The next 3 days were spent in Derby, doing the tourist thing and getting cars fixed. This includes Kim’s truck that got the first flat of the trip but not the last.  Wendy, Dad and I did the flight over the horizontal waterfall, and Jamie, Julie, Len and Kim did the flight in a seaplane, which also landed at the falls. They then went through in a small boat with twin 200Hp motors on the back. From what they told me it was great fun. It was at Derby where we saw the grave of the oldest man ever, Jack Marshall 1807 to 1969. Now that’s a good innings! 

From Derby we headed off to the Gibb River Road and to Windjana Gorge National Park. We spent two nights there and learnt a good lesson - sometimes it’s better to camp in the generator area as there are a lot less people there then in the ‘no generator’ area. Ripley’s believe it or !!!!!!!. We spent the days exploring both Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge and then moved on to Silent Grove for one night to see Bell Gorge. Bell Gorge was a bit of a walk in but well worth the effort.

At Imintji Store, where we stopped for lunch, Jamie experienced his first flat of the day and the trip. It happened just as he pulled in to the store  - not bad timing you would say. Any way he pulled it off put a tyre plug in to fix it and pumped it up only to discover another hole. This hole took 3 plugs and was still leaking air, so on went the spare. No problem until about 1 hour later on the way to Old Mornington Bush Camp when he got another flat tyre. This one was the same as the last one, with one small hole and one large hole that couldn’t be fixed. That’s why we all carry a spare casing on these trips. Thankfully, I had packed the R&R Bead Breaker. It was definitely worth its weight in gold, as our sponsor claims. We couldn’t have done without it, and I know I won’t be going bush without it now.

We spent 2 nights at Old Mornington Bush Camp. The scenery was great, but the $25 three-course meal we had was not worth 25 cents. I would recommend going there but don’t have a meal there.

Back to the Gibb River Road and we saw numerous gorges and stopped at Roadhouses for lunches and ice-creams-on-sticks. At the Gibb River we turned off the Gibb River Road and headed up to Drysdale River Station for 1 night. This is an excellent place to stay and I would recommend it to anyone going that way. We continued north from Drysdale to Kalumburu. The road was very rough and the trip took quite some time. On the way back from Kalumburu we found a family from Adelaide who had broken the spring on their trailer. We stopped to help and after an hour we had them back on the road. We found out later in Kununurra that they had made it to Kalumburu with our modification in place. Our next stop was Mitchell Falls. Everyone walked in to the falls with the promise of a helicopter flight out. It cost $50 a head for 8 mins but it was well worth it.

The next stop of interest was Emma Gorge, which is part of El Questro Station. We left for Emma Gorge from the King River and passed Drysdale River station again. The day leader asked if everyone would be right for fuel until Kununurra as this was the last place until then. The replies were ‘we’ll get there on vapours’; this came back to haunt Kim as he run out of fuel 15Kms short of Kununurra. Emma Gorge was beautiful but they know how to charge there at $12.50 a head for a pass.

We spent 3 nights at Kununurra, seeing the sights and fixing up the vehicles as required. Ivanhoe Crossing was fun with water about ½ a metre deep and moving fast. You could definitely feel the water trying to push you off the crossing. One night it was decided to have a pizza night. The whole caravan park smelled of pizza and as normal we brought too much so we had lots of pizza for breakfast and lunch the next day. The next night once again no one could be bothered cooking so it was decided to have a chicken night. Jamie and Kim were dispatch with orders to Chicken Treat, Only to be told the Chicken Treat had No Chicken. To cut a long story short the lads did great work and arrived back at camp with chicken as requested.

The scenery on the drive down to the Bungle Bungle National Park, past the O’Donnell Range, to name one, was nearly as spectacular as the Bungle Bungle Range itself. Julie, Jamie, Wendy, Dad and I spent 3 nights there but the rest of the boys had to go home. Gary and Jack left after one night and Kim and Len left after the second night.

The remainder of the party went back to Kununurra for another 3 days so that we could do the Argyle Diamond Mine Tour and a sunset cruise on Lake Argyle. By the last day in Kununurra  we’d discovered that we didn’t have time to make it to Darwin as planned so we went across the Buchanan Highway to Dunmarra on the Stuart Highway for the drive home. Not long back on the tar and  I discovered that my main battery was cooking itself. It would start the car but what a smell we were getting from it. I replaced it at Ti Tree and everything was well again. At Alice Springs we headed down towards Finke along the Ghan Heritage Trail. From Finke we went through Hamilton to Oodnadatta. About 20km out of Oodnadatta on the way to William Creek Jamie’s back left hand wheel  and brake drum decided that they could go it alone. End result was one Surf parked at the side of the road with its back left axle buried into the Oodnadatta Track and the tyre about 400m further down.

While Jamie and Dad stayed with the car we took Julie back to Oodnadatta to ring the RAA. On the way I went through a washout too fast, the engine light came on and the car started to miss and play up. It never rains, it pours! I stopped to have a look but couldn’t find anything wrong and as it was still drivable we kept on going. (Jamie and I found the problem the next day - the lead to the crank angle sensor had come loose. We replaced this and the Land Rover was ready for anything again.) The RAA was not much help so Julie and Wendy booked into the pub while I went out to help Jamie. By this time Jamie and Dad had found all but one of the missing wheel nuts. After some blood and sweat we got the wheel back on enough to get back into Oodnadatta. We had arranged with the local mechanic to get 6 new wheels studs sent out from Coober Pedy which were fitted the next day. After spending 2 nights at Oodnadatta I can recommend the Transcontinental Hotel as the place to stay in Oodnadatta.

The next day we left Oodnadatta for Coober Pedy and home. We came into Adelaide in the middle of a dust storm, followed by rain. The thought of heading back north was very much in everyone’s mind. It was a great trip and I would do it again in a second. Thanks to everyone who came along for making it such a great trip and we’ll see you for the next 4-play trip (wherever that might be)!

Ian McKeown