Wyndham

Our plan for Wednesday was to drive up to Wyndham. Although a few people (including a random tourist in the caravan park swimming pool) had told us that it wouldn't really be worth the drive, it actually turned out to be one of the best days we had away.

We started off by taking another unmarked track from the highway to a place called Molly Springs. Given the lack of signposting, it was surprising to come across a very well-made picnic area complete with tables and BBQs at the end of the track. It looked like quite a popular spot with the locals, but we had the place completely to ourselves. A short walk up the creek ended in a shaded grotto with a cascade of water falling into a crystal clear pool at the bottom. It was a truly beautiful spot, and probably one of our favourite places of the trip (made better by the fact that it was very much off the beaten track).

We continued further north up the highway, with another stop at the Grotto. This was a deep gorge cut into a rocky hillside. It took us a bit of hunting to find the steps leading down to the base, but eventually we made it to the pool at the bottom. The falls themselves were dry, but the shady water was another oasis from the heat. We saw a couple of water monitors swimming about and sunning themselves on the rocks, and rested a bit to watch and photograph them before ascending back into what felt like a furnace up above.

Then it was on to Wyndham. We spent time exploring every "attraction" the town had to offer. These included the "Big Croc", which, not unsurprisingly, was indeed a very big croc. We stopped briefly at the pioneer cemetery which was mostly filled with the graves of workers who died during the construction of the meatworks. A bit further down the road was the Port of Wyndham itself - not much to see there, and a bit of a mystery as to where the water itself was (so far we had only seen mudflats as we were driving down). We also sought out the Dreamtime Statues - giant sculptures of an Aboriginal family and assorted animals (these were actually quite well-done and an impressive sight).

And last of all we drove up to the Five Rivers Lookout - the main reason most people visit Wyndham. This very much lived up to its reputation - giving expansive views down over the township and the huge tract of water that we had been unable to see from lower down. Lots and lots of photos :).

From there, we headed back out of town to check out Parry's Lagoon. Along the way we stopped at the old telegraph station - a collection of ruins perched above the river and swamplands below. The main station building had been relocated to Wyndham, leaving one chimney and all the footings behind.

Then we drove down to Marlgu Billabong. There was absolutely zero shade to park in, but a short boardwalk led to a birdhide where we sheltered for a while. Unfortunately most of the birds had taken off in a huge flock as we approached, but we still spotted some ducks and geese and a couple of brolgas on the far bank. No crocs though (not that we could see anyway...)

Then we decided to take a drive down the Old Halls Creek Road. The road itself was the original stock route from Wyndham to Ivanhoe Station (close to Kununurra), and had been built with convict labor back in the 1890's. They laid kerbing stones both sides and filled the centre with gravel to create an all-weather road. Most of the kerbing stones were still visible (impressively) along the entire length of the track. They looked neatly and carefully laid - must have been a huge (and very hot and hard) job. We stopped briefly at the site of an old stock camp, where there was also an old stone watering trough built the same way.

A couple of other diversions down sidetracks led us to a Lily-filled billabong, as well as the "Croc-hole" - a large pool of greenish water that could well have hidden a few residents of the reptilian kind.

The road eventually joined back with the Highway, and from there we had an easy drive back to Kununurra. Our day was complete with a swim in the caravan park pool, then watching the sunset over the lake. After the previous largely sleepless night, we also decided to try sleeping in our backup tent (my old lightweight hiking tent brought along in case of rain - newer and more waterproof, but also much smaller). We left the fly off and slept under the mesh alone, and managed (with the aid of a coolish breeze) to actually get some sleep (although Ryan's toes protruded through the zip during the night and let in a bunch of mozzies)(he scored one large bite under his toes which drove him crazy for the remainder of the trip)(true to form, I already had dozens by then).