R1200GS Around Australia: Aug 20, 2010

Halls Creek W.A. - another donga, a fellow GS rider from Melbourne (Eric) going around Australia the opposite way to me, and best of all, a good quality straight road out of town.

It pays to look where you are standing out here.

Between Kununurra and Halls Creek, there were many wondrous geological formations. I do not profess to be a (formally trained) geologist, but I did recognise some of the features.

These are mountain things with rocky bits atop.

The Hema map for this region shows this bit of road as bitumen.

There was an unusual amount of moisture in the air (for winter) as I rode into Derby. It produced crisp lines of cumulus clouds. I am told that blue skies normally prevail at this time of year.

All hang glider and sailplane pilots will recognise this as a ticket to straight-line level flight under the cloud street for as far as it goes.

Great hospitality in Derby with hang gliding friends from Melbourne, Adam and Ness.

Adam and Ness extract more from life than most.

Happy sailing next week!

This is Maxine, or Maxy Dog.

Maxine is an aging old girl who is starting to look a little weary. But that did not stop her wading in the Twenty Kilometre Wetlands south of Derby, oblivious to any croc danger. Maxy dog assumes the lying position by lowering her hind quarters a little then letting gravity do the rest. There is usually a nasty clunk and thump as her head and bony bits hit the ground or floor. I am told she has always done this.

Water lilies, reeds, stands of eucalypts and boabs, grassy plains – when you add water to the country around Derby this is what you get.

Away from the water, things are a little thirstier.

Sunset occurs quickly in the tropics, and is always a sight that makes you take pause.

From Derby Jetty

Derby Jetty

Windjana Gorge (east of Derby, off the Gibb River Road) – it was here that I finally came face to tail with one of the critters officially excluded from entry to my Kathmandu tent.

Fresh water croc basking in the sun at Windjana Gorge.

Obviously it is beneath the opposite bank where the croc victims are stashed.

Heading towards Windjana Gorge from the west, the first thing you see is this range on the horizon rising unexpectedly from the undulating scrubby plains.

Windjana Gorge

Plenty of good caves nearby, but even the bats like it out in the open here at the Gorge.

I was having a Bear Gryls moment, and was about to take this vine to the other side of the river, but as I was taught in the SAS always look before you leap. Good thing I did! I stopped the Bear Gryls thing at that point, recognising that Bear would have gone on to eat the croc raw and make a sports coat from its skin.

While the salties are of course not amenable to training, it seems that freshies are. It only took me a short time to train this croc to balance the reed on his nose, with the rule being that he was not allowed to eat it until I said, “Now!” I had a bit of fun with him saying things like ‘Shnow!’ and ‘Cow’ until he mastered the trick.

One of the differences between a saltie and a freshie is that in teaching this trick to a a saltie, they generally don’t wait until you get the reed on their nose, they just eat you straight away. Salties are characters and have their own bag of tricks, but trying to teach them new tricks can lead to disappointment.

These birds are becoming less fashionable for model shoots.

The staff at the Malcolm Douglas croc zoo in the middle of Cable Beach couldn’t believe it and neither could I when in just 15 minutes I taught this croc to smile. Apparently all they need is a bit of love, and simple rules applied consistently.

These are the main elements of what the coast up here has to offer. This view is one of the few things in Broome that is free.

Sunset on Cable Beach, looking east.

I would, and in fact did, ride 10,000kms to see this woman. I would, and indeed am about to, do it again.

Sunset on Cable Beach. This was the last we saw of this swimmer – irikanji or box jellyfish, saltie, shark, went home - take your pick.

Cable Beach donga

Liz admiring the GS, and probably regretting that she only rode 500kms on the back and not 18,000-20,000kms.

On Tuesday, Liz and I rode to Derby and back (450kms), and while there borrowed Adam and Ness’s 4WD in which we did a 280km round trip to Windjana Gorge. Excellent day.