Kununurra Market is partially responsible for Sandra making and selling craft g
oods on this trip to Australia. In July 2005 we found ourselves in Kununurra and Sandra, looking for presents, went to the market to buy some locally made craft goods. Unfortunately what little that was available was of very poor quality and Sandra’s comment was that she could do better herself – and five years later she came back to prove the point. She was also pleasantly surprised to find that the market was much bigger and the range and quality of the craftwork had improved immensely. It was also the friendliest market she had been at and she managed to sell quite a lot of goods – particularly to one of the other stallholders who, I suspect, as soon as Sandra was out of the vicinity would start to replicate her stuff! After the market, at which she made a few hundred dollars, we had a relaxing afternoon back at the Lakeside Resort lounging around the pool – it can be a hard life sometimes!
On Sunday, our last full day in Kununurra, we packed in a lot of touristy things. Sandalwood, traditionally grown in India for perfume and incense, is now one of the main agricultural enterprises in the area and the Sandalwood plantations in Kununurra are some of the largest in the world. It appears that Sandalwood, in particular the oil, is a new wonder product with a multitude of medicinal and cosmetic applications – it will do everything from clearing acne to making Hindu temples smell as they do - not to mention being the base for a vast range of scents, creams, lotions, soaps, deodorants etc. A visit to the Sandalwood plantation shop allowed Sandra and Johann to re-stock their cosmetics bags, no doubt at great cost!
This was followed by a trip to the annual Kununurra
Bushmans Rodeo – a three-day event at which tall, lean young men in blue jeans, cowboy boots and big hats came in from the surrounding cattle stations to display how easy it is to be thrown off a bucking bull! The attached photo shows the winner of the chariot event in which an old oil drum, with wheels attached, is harnessed to a terrified bull and let loose in the paddock. With several chariots competing simultaneously, to a set of totally unfathomable rules, it was reminiscent of the chariot race in Ben Hur but without the subtlety!
The afternoon concluded with drinks under the mango trees at the Ivanhoe Café on the outskirts of town – nae a bad day! Then we were off – to El Questro.
El Questro, which we had visited five years ago, was originally a huge cattle station but has now been developed into “one of the world’s most original tourist destinations” with accommodation ranging from 5 star to basic bush camping on the banks of the Pentecost River. Being as we are now intrepid bush campers we headed for one of the basic bush sites. Basically “basic” means no facilities and, as it was delicately put on our El Questro information sheet, if “you have to go” please do so 100 metres from a water course making sure your waste is buried at least 30 cms deep. When anyone was seen disappearing over the horizon with a spade over their shoulder we knew what they were off to do!
The Kimberley is gorge country and El Questro has some of the most impressive gorges in the area including Amalia Gorge, Emma Gorge and El Questro Gorge – all of which were duly visited. These visits did not entail a drive to a car park and a leisurely stroll into the gorge – rather a several hour clamber through a boulder-strewn landscape and usually uphill – absolutely knackering! After two days I was “gorged-out” and gave El Questro Gorge a miss.
The Kimberley in the dry season is guaranteed to be rain free,
much welcomed by Sandra and I who have been dogged by the rain since landing in Sydney six months ago. However the Rain Gods have really got it in for us as, unbelievably, on our second day in El Questro an unseasonable rain began to fall and IT WAS COLD. Sandra bought me a hanging chair in Bali and it’s very pleasant to lounge in reading a book although, as the picture shows, when doing this in the Kimberley, it pays to have blankets, waterproofs and an umbrella handy!
We also had a trip to Zebedee Springs – a thermal pool with waterfalls. See the attached photo in which, for the sake of modesty, Sandra donned a swimming costume!
After three enjoyable, and not actually all that wet, days at El Questro, we set off along the Gibb River Road heading for Mornington Wilderness Camp which is run buy the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and was recommended to us by Graeme, one of the AWC Directors who we met some months ago in Queensland. However, as usual, things did not go to plan as we had a puncture and had to stop overnight at Mount Barnett Roadhouse to get it repaired. There was a hidden benefit to this as next day, as I was negotiating repairs, Sandra, Johann and Stretch got in yet another gorge which was near where
we camped for the night – the Manning Gorge, apparently very beautiful. There was much excitement when another camper a 65 year old Israeli on his way back from the gorge, went missing and was lost overnight. However he was found alive and reasonably well after a night in the bush avoiding crocodiles and snakes.
Puncture repaired and so on to Mornington.
oods on this trip to Australia. In July 2005 we found ourselves in Kununurra and Sandra, looking for presents, went to the market to buy some locally made craft goods. Unfortunately what little that was available was of very poor quality and Sandra’s comment was that she could do better herself – and five years later she came back to prove the point. She was also pleasantly surprised to find that the market was much bigger and the range and quality of the craftwork had improved immensely. It was also the friendliest market she had been at and she managed to sell quite a lot of goods – particularly to one of the other stallholders who, I suspect, as soon as Sandra was out of the vicinity would start to replicate her stuff! After the market, at which she made a few hundred dollars, we had a relaxing afternoon back at the Lakeside Resort lounging around the pool – it can be a hard life sometimes!On Sunday, our last full day in Kununurra, we packed in a lot of touristy things. Sandalwood, traditionally grown in India for perfume and incense, is now one of the main agricultural enterprises in the area and the Sandalwood plantations in Kununurra are some of the largest in the world. It appears that Sandalwood, in particular the oil, is a new wonder product with a multitude of medicinal and cosmetic applications – it will do everything from clearing acne to making Hindu temples smell as they do - not to mention being the base for a vast range of scents, creams, lotions, soaps, deodorants etc. A visit to the Sandalwood plantation shop allowed Sandra and Johann to re-stock their cosmetics bags, no doubt at great cost!
This was followed by a trip to the annual Kununurra
Bushmans Rodeo – a three-day event at which tall, lean young men in blue jeans, cowboy boots and big hats came in from the surrounding cattle stations to display how easy it is to be thrown off a bucking bull! The attached photo shows the winner of the chariot event in which an old oil drum, with wheels attached, is harnessed to a terrified bull and let loose in the paddock. With several chariots competing simultaneously, to a set of totally unfathomable rules, it was reminiscent of the chariot race in Ben Hur but without the subtlety!The afternoon concluded with drinks under the mango trees at the Ivanhoe Café on the outskirts of town – nae a bad day! Then we were off – to El Questro.
El Questro, which we had visited five years ago, was originally a huge cattle station but has now been developed into “one of the world’s most original tourist destinations” with accommodation ranging from 5 star to basic bush camping on the banks of the Pentecost River. Being as we are now intrepid bush campers we headed for one of the basic bush sites. Basically “basic” means no facilities and, as it was delicately put on our El Questro information sheet, if “you have to go” please do so 100 metres from a water course making sure your waste is buried at least 30 cms deep. When anyone was seen disappearing over the horizon with a spade over their shoulder we knew what they were off to do!
The Kimberley is gorge country and El Questro has some of the most impressive gorges in the area including Amalia Gorge, Emma Gorge and El Questro Gorge – all of which were duly visited. These visits did not entail a drive to a car park and a leisurely stroll into the gorge – rather a several hour clamber through a boulder-strewn landscape and usually uphill – absolutely knackering! After two days I was “gorged-out” and gave El Questro Gorge a miss.
The Kimberley in the dry season is guaranteed to be rain free,
much welcomed by Sandra and I who have been dogged by the rain since landing in Sydney six months ago. However the Rain Gods have really got it in for us as, unbelievably, on our second day in El Questro an unseasonable rain began to fall and IT WAS COLD. Sandra bought me a hanging chair in Bali and it’s very pleasant to lounge in reading a book although, as the picture shows, when doing this in the Kimberley, it pays to have blankets, waterproofs and an umbrella handy!We also had a trip to Zebedee Springs – a thermal pool with waterfalls. See the attached photo in which, for the sake of modesty, Sandra donned a swimming costume!
After three enjoyable, and not actually all that wet, days at El Questro, we set off along the Gibb River Road heading for Mornington Wilderness Camp which is run buy the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and was recommended to us by Graeme, one of the AWC Directors who we met some months ago in Queensland. However, as usual, things did not go to plan as we had a puncture and had to stop overnight at Mount Barnett Roadhouse to get it repaired. There was a hidden benefit to this as next day, as I was negotiating repairs, Sandra, Johann and Stretch got in yet another gorge which was near where
we camped for the night – the Manning Gorge, apparently very beautiful. There was much excitement when another camper a 65 year old Israeli on his way back from the gorge, went missing and was lost overnight. However he was found alive and reasonably well after a night in the bush avoiding crocodiles and snakes.Puncture repaired and so on to Mornington.
