Vikings in Australia - Víkingar í Ástralíu

Mornington Wilderness Camp: 18 – 21 August

We were in no rush on the Saturday as we had plenty of time to drive to the Mornington Wilderness Camp. We headed out of Derby and turned off into the Gibb River Road. The distance to MWC is around 342km or 252km from Derby and 90km down to MWC from the turn off on the Gibb River Road.

The last time we drove through the Napier range I did take a photo of the Queens head, but all three photos were over exposed, for some un-explained reason. It would appear that the Queen didn’t want her photo taken at the time. This time around, I triple checked everything and managed to snap this photo, with her off-guard!

We then drove through the King Leopold range and this is where we encountered a very rare species of wildlife seen on the Gibb River road. This is the almost extinct “Grader”. These beasts move along the road and feed on the corrugations that are everywhere. Unfortunately this one “Grader” was not enough to finish off all the corrugations as they were plentiful once we passed it.

We also stopped at the Imintji store. It’s around 227km out of Derby. It has fuel and a small store with a variety of things available for the needy traveller. We had a chat to the couple that manage the place and found out that they had been there for a couple years and came originally from Sydney. A bit of a sea change, I must say.

Once we came to the turnoff for the MWC, they had a shed with some radio equipment. It’s a requirement for visitors to radio ahead to check if there is camping and/or other accommodation available at MWC. You would hate to drive the 180km return, just to find that you could not be accommodated! Of course they were more than happy to let us in, so onwards we went. As it turns out, this time of year, things have slowed down as we were one of a handful of campers staying at the campsite for the next three nights. On the way there are some magnificent Boab Trees. Sibba couldn’t resist the temptation to hug one. It’s amazing to see how different each one is, especially the bigger one.

Upon arrival we checked in at the office, handed over the usual plastic and were directed to the camping site. We set up camp and for the remainder of the day, planned the next two days. The main things to see are the two Gorges, Diamond and Sir John Gorge’s. We chose to rent a Canoe the following day to see the Diamond Gorge, but use our willing feet to walk along the banks of the Sir John Gorge the next day.

Later in the evening we went to the bar and had a couple of drinks, before attending a presentation from one of the wildlife officers of the AWC that manage the place. He briefed us on the work the AWC and what they do. I must say we were pretty impressed with what they have achieved over the years, plus the fact that all their work is based on meticulous scientific research. Sibba could of course find faults with some of the statistical graphs the showed, but that was to be expected!

They told us that they had managed to put in place eco management practices that were likely to lead to increases in populations of a number of endangered species of mammals and birds. Especially mentioned was the Gouldian Finch. No, we didn’t see one. If we had, we would be signing autographs in shopping centres! They are quite rare and endangered. These are very small birds, but exceedingly colourful.

Queens head, captured while being distracted by Sibba!

Black Rock in the ranges!

Sibba and Kylie at the Imintji Store.

The check in radio at MWC.

Sibba Hugs a Boab Tree!

Diamond Gorge – 19^th of August.

We woke up early as we wanted to head into Diamond Gorge early. We went to the office and picked up the paddles, life wests and the instructions for finding the Canoes at the gorge. We then drove the 23km track to the gorge and parked the car. It’s only a short walk down to where the Canoes are, so once there we picked one and headed out into the gorge paddling. It’s certainly a different way of viewing the gorge by using a Canoe. It saves a lot of shoe leather and sweat, as it’s about 2.5km long until you hit the next set of rapids and can’t continue. It was a lot easier to paddle to the end and then land the Canoe. We then had a short walk and our lunch. I must say, this Gorge is pretty magnificent. It’s cut a deep ravine through the tilted landscape and it certainly shows. We were told that back in 2002, due to heavy summer rain, the water overflowed the gorge. By the way, the gorge is on the Fitzroy river. The same one that flows through Geiki Gorge and on occasions floods Fitzroy Crossings. Geiki Gorge is only around 90km down stream from Diamond Gorge. After paddling back, I jumped in and had a swim, while Sibba took some photos and relaxed in the shade with Kylie. Kylie did make a friend on the Canoe. She met this friendly stick insect that was quite interested in Kylie, so Kylie put on her best behaviour.

When we set out in the Canoe, there were a couple of other tourists Canoeing around the gorge as well. On the way back we were by our self, except for one Canoe. We spent quite some time Canoeing around, exploring the different parts of the gorge, whereas most others simply paddled towards the end and back again in less than an hour.

We then drove back to Camp, but did also stop at the Cadjeput Waterhole. This one is around 6km return off the Diamond Gorge track, so one has to be keen to go there! This is where there is a large pool of water that has formed in the river. We drove right to the edge of the water and had our lunch, sitting in our chairs. There was no-one else around, so the only chatter was us and the wildlife. While there we saw a number of birds flying about trying to catch flies in the water. The other thing of interest are the trees. Most of them lean towards where the water flows. It’s probably an awesome sight to see the river in full swing. Our location would probably be many meters below the surface, so thankfully it was not in full swing at this time. On the way back from Cadjeput Waterhole, we came upon a few Australian Bustards. These are large ground dwelling birds. Once pretty common all over Australia, but now only found in isolated spots and sanctuaries. They are very shy of people, but tend to be more relaxed around cars, so I managed to snap a photo of one of them. Once back at the office, we returned the paddles and life wests and headed back to our camp site.

Approaching Diamond Gorge to find the Canoes!

Canoes found!

This is towards the end of Diamond Gorge, where we had our lunch!

Diamond Gorge, view towards the start!

The landscape has at one time been tilted sideways!

Kylie with her Stick Insect friend.

Diamond Gorge!

Diamond Gorge, Up-Stream.

Cadjeput Waterhole

Australian Bustard (Bush Turkey)

Sir John Gorge 20^th of August.

This time around, we were in no hurry to wake up early so we had a lazy morning. The Sir John Gorge is only around 12km from the camp site, so we got there around 10am. We did stop on the way at some wet lands, where there was supposed to be a lot of birds, but we must have arrived too late as there wasn’t a lot of activity. We did see a group of the red tailed black cockatoos as we were about to leave.

The Sir John Gorge is quite long and wide in places. It’s a short walk from where you park your car to where the lookout is. You can then walk right down to the water and then along it for a few km’s, both up and down steam. Here the Fitzroy River has also left a couple of large pools of water in a wider section. We walked up stream along the river bank and explored both of the pools that are separated by rocky sections where the water trickles through into them or between them. Walking along the stream bed is like walking on giant footsteps. You constantly step from one section to the other. This is how the geology has been shaped in this place and the Fitzroy exposes it more explicitly for all to see and experience, especially if you are light footed! While there we saw a few birds along the pool edge. The Rainbow Bee-eater was very tame and willing to model, so I snapped a good photo of it. Also in numbers were the Fairy Martins, the mud nest builders.

They say that this gorge is best explored by Canoe, but I must say we enjoyed the walk and saw as much as one would have seen in a Canoe. During all our stay at the Sir John Gorge, we were the only ones there. Maybe we have started to smell too much, but honest we do take showers!

Once again on the way back we also stopped at the Bluebush pool, which is only a short drive from the Sir John Gorge track. There we had our lunch. The pool looked pretty inviting for a swim, but I didn’t feel up to it this time around. We put our picnic blanket on the bank and had our lunch. Just below us, a couple of medium size fishes showed up and moped about. I decided to feed them and used some of the salami sticks we had to pinch a small piece and throw in. This caused quite a stir and suddenly there were seven or eight of them fighting over the salami crumbs.

Back in camp, we waited until just before sunset and then took a walk along the banks of the Annie Creek. This is where one is most likely to see the rare Gouldian finches. Of course they didn’t show up as planned!! Despite that it was a pleasant walk, that ended near the office, so we of course tuned it into happy hour and went to the bar for a couple of drinks. Then it was off to have our dinner and then to bed.