Day 20 - Wednesday 11/7/01
Start -
Kununurra Stop -
Kununurra Trip Odometer - 96.6km
Stopped time - 5.2hrs
Moving average - 40.7km/hr
Moving time - 2.21hrs
Max speed - 7.42hrs
We headed up Parry’s Creek Road today to stop at the 3
rock holes for swimming and for barra fishing in the Lower
Ord River. The turnoff to the first
rock hole – Valentine Springs is only about 10minutes drive west of
Kununurra. The turnoff on the right-hand side is
well marked and
well used by tourists. 2WD access is currently possible for the 6km run to this
rock hole, but water crossings and soft stretches of sand make further travel along Parry’s Creek Road only possible for 4WDs.
North of Valentine Spring, taking the right-hand turn at the Y-
junction will take you to the northern end of the
Ivanhoe Crossing, where we stopped for some time.
Doubling back to the Y-
junction and continuing straight-on we came to the Middle Spring turn-off on the left-hand side. This spring was becoming stagnant, although some locals had setup for a day with the kids there. As much as these spots look ideal for
bush camping signs are prominent stating “No Camping Fines up to $1000”. Further north on Parry’s Creek Road on the left is the turn-off to Black
Rock Pool and the access track was quite soft and sandy, claiming one 2WD
Tarago! The funny part was we recognised him as our “neighbour” from the caravan park and thought he could repay his “recovery” by taking us out on his boat…
After pulling out of Black
Rock Pool we saw the marked turnoff to Button’s Crossing, a
well-used
fishing spot on the lower
Ord River. David and Colin patiently tossed lures around but no result. There are numerous tracks all over the place here, so we took off along some to find some more fishing spots. The Ord is a fantastic sight and it really did look like barra would be here. Dave and I ended up getting bogged when we missed the track and found ourselves in a soft bit of alluvial sand where the river once ran but after letting some air out of the tyres we made our way out and back onto the track. With still no barra, we went back to the
Ivanhoe Crossing and watched the locals and their skilled cast netting efforts. They were quite surprised that they weren’t netting any bait fish and said that meant no barra so we called it a day and headed back to town in time for setting up for sunset photos.
David gave me “an hour off”, which meant he took care of Leah and her dinner whilst I drove out with the tripod and cameras to find my own bit of peace and serenity to end the day… only thing missing was a bottle of champagne, but then again… I’m still breastfeeding so such luxuries are still out of reach for a while yet.