We hadn't booked into Kununurra taking a chance on getting a spot. I chose the park that was closest to the centre of town for the convenience, and had no trouble getting a spot. Just one block walk to the shopping area, so very handy. So after setting up, we headed to the information centre and the supermarket for some fruit and vegetables to replace the empty larder. And joy oh joy, I got a hairdresser appointment for the afternoon. It's hard when you are only somewhere for a few days. I had tried in Katherine but wasn't able to get in.
After my haircut it was getting late into the afternoon, so a good time to head to the Kelly's Knob lookout. What wonderful colours as the sun began to sink, and great views to the town and the irrigation area.
View down to the town
Rock colours starting to change
Late afternoon reds
The next morning it was more washing catch up, then we went to see about new tyres. The front ones were starting to look a little worse for wear, and had done quite a few miles. Another big expense, but essential. We were there quite a long time as they had trouble getting the front wheel nuts off. Lucky we didn't get a flat on that tyre in the middle of nowhere! With our shiny new shoes, we headed to the Parks Office for an annual pass and then on to Ivanhoe Crossing. Despite the crocodile warning signs, there were people right out in the middle of the water fishing. Very brave indeed.
Braver fishers than mine
Can you pick the new tyres?
We drove through a lot of the irrigation area and stopped at the Sandalwood Factory. Indian and Australian sandalwood are grown in large areas here. There was a huge array of products and I bought some moisturiser. Back to the van for lunch, and then off for more exploring. We looked around more of the town and around the lake area. Our final venue for the day was the Hidden Valley Mirima National Park, our first use of our Parks Pass. It is right next to the town, and more great scenery.
Great scenery from the Hidden Valley walk
When we returned to the caravan park, we discovered all that had happened overnight. About 4.00 am we had heard a car burning rubber and revving loudly. Apparently some of the "locals" visited during the night and stole the car three sites from us. They left their keys in the annex apparently, so easy pickings. But the poor couple next to us who have been sitting here all week waiting for a new water pump to arrive are in a camper trailer. The thieves entered the camper and stole all their cash and the wife's rings. The husband heard the zipper but just thought it was his wife returning from the toilet. Later that morning they found the purse thrown into a drain with all the cards still in it, so they were very grateful for that. We don't leave anything outside and lock our door, but during the night I had thought I heard the front boot rattle. Not that they would find much in there unless they like hoses and buckets.
They have caught a 14 year old so far. Because they had cash they went to the local service station for fuel, but the manager was suspicious and called the police. The others hightailed it. It seems they were planning on driving to Katherine to try and sell it. We were also told that about three weeks ago a car was stolen from the site we were on, consequently crashed and one of the offenders killed. I guess this is the downside of the park being so close to the city centre.
We were going to drive out to the Ord River on Wednesday, but decided 140 k's wasn't worth doing. I hadn't realised the turnoff was 35 k's before Kununurra or I might have gone there first. So today was a bit of a maintenance day, descaling the coffee machine and electric jug from all the hard water, and putting the washing machine through a cleaning cycle. Lots of shopping with a big restock was in order, especially before we head out into more remote areas.
Overall we quite liked Kununurra. It is a very young town (40 years) with good facilities and quite attractive with the lake and lots of green lawns. But there is obviously severe underlying social problems.
Thursday morning it was time to pack up again and make our way to Wyndham, the most northern town in Western Australia. It was an easy drive of 100 k's with the usual beautiful clear weather. I don't know if it is because we are further north or just a change in weather, but temperatures are hotting up again with Saturday expecting 35. The day we arrived in Kununurra it was a top of 26 and felt almost cool. Our overnights are getting warmer too. This is supposed to be another of those great fishing meccas. We will see how Jim goes.
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