Bungle Bungles and Lake Argyle

Stopping in the East Kimberley to work as a film runner for 9 weeks, has been one of the most fortunate, unexpected, absurd and unbelievable experiences I could never have imagined doing.

Last weekend I joined Julie, one of our Producers, plus a couple of tourists on a scenic flight over Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungle), and Lake Argyle. 

Our ride

Diversion Dam leading in to Kununurra

There were still a few fires burning, so unfortunately it was quite smoky. Not perfect for photos, but the view was still great.

I realise that the point of a scenic flight is to go slow so you can take it all in, but I secretly wished our pilot/plane would go faster. Our little 6 seater was like putting wings on a Volkswagen and chugging along above the ranges. Not the safest feeling in the world, but there hadn't been an 'incident' since a crash 4 weeks ago, so um, I had hopes another wasn't due.

Bow River 

We flew over Bow River, made famous in song by Cold Chisel. Apparently guitarist Ian Moss's brother worked here, and his tales from here were inspiration for the song. I can't find any reference to this anywhere, so will just have to take the word of our pilot. (Who looked about 22yo, and has lived here since May)

Flying over Lake Argyle was fascinating. Covering over 1000 square kilometres, it's the 19th largest lake in Australia. And the second largest man made lake (by volume) in Australia. And the largest freshwater lake in the north of Australia. Our guide obviously shared just the last statistic with us.

The spectacular Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle

Next it was on to the main attraction which was formed over 360 million years ago, the Bungle Bungle Ranges. For an area so old, and large - is that it was really only 'uncovered' in 1983. Up until then it was known mostly by local Aboriginals, stockmen, farmers and a few helicopter pilots. 28 years ago a film crew were in the area, and a chopper pilot offered to take the cameraman for a look at the hidden ranges, and obviously when he returned with footage, word got out!

Bungle Bungle Ranges. Like looking at a Vincent Van Gogh piece of art.

 Bungle Bungles 

After a great view from the air, our little plane landed (safely) and we headed in on foot.

During the Dry season the rocks turn shades of grey, but during the Wet, they are stripes of orange and grey. Although it would be tempting to climb, it's absolutely forbidden as they're sandstone, and would crumble with not too much effort.

It was around this spot that our small group heard rustling in the long grass, and I saw about 50cm of the back end of a snake disappear. It was black and thin, and we've come to the conclusion it was a juvenile King Brown.

The sandstone under the surface

Cathedral Gorge. This is where we stopped for a picnic lunch.

Piccaninny Gorge. You might recognise this spot from the Qantas ad. 

Some Aboriginal art work. There is no story told here, it's more like a signature. See the hand prints?

Elephant Rock

Can you see the Scottish Terrier?

It was great to have a look around not only for ourselves, but also for our film crew. Most of which were heading there to film for the last 3 days of our shoot. We chose not to tell them before they left about the ever increasing presence of snakes. Including the death adder. This information was passed on to them when they arrived so they could be vigilant. And yes, they all came back alive with no snakes incidences.

Death Adder track

After a fantastic day, it was back on the little plane taking in the views of the Lake Argyle Diamond mine on the way back to Kununura.

Coming in to land at Kununurra Airport

I filled in the rest of the week without any troubles at all. We packed up base camp as the crew headed to the Bungles. A big Garage Sale at our production house was really successful as we sold all those things I'd spent the first weeks buying - pillows, camp lights, printers, generators etc, plus all the camp gear.

Olive Python outside the Production House

Then I drove the hired makeup/wardrobe van back to its depot, in Darwin. It's a 812km drive, but I had company with one of the backpackers who had been helping us at camp hitching a ride.

My ride

Stayed the night in Batchelor, on the edge of Litchfield National Park before driving in to Darwin the next morning to return the van and catch a flight back to Kununurra.

Outside my room in Batchelor, WA

That's almost it for this week, but I can't finish without mentioning the cane toads. As the build up to the Wet Season has begun, so have the appearances of these pests. I've run over a couple...and it's horrible. Their heads explode! Probably because the rest of their skin is so thick and rubbery. Eeew!

Cane toad

Simple Stats

Days since departure: 148
Distance travelled: 10,161km (+8701km for work)

Cane toads run over: 2

Snakes run over: 2

Portaloos towed: 2

Weeks worked as Runner on film: 9

Whale Sharks swum with: 2

Emergency mechanic stops: 1

Kangaroos hit: 0

Wyndham returns to normality, as we LEAVE!!

This has been a week of change. We're in the last couple of weeks of filming this movie, and are now on the move. Being based for the previous 7 weeks in the Kimberley region's oldest and most northern town, the very dry and dusty Wyndham was certainly an experience, but for the remainder of the shoot, Kununurra is our new home base.

Last Thursday and Friday I spent with some extremely helpful backpackers we found at the caravan park, taking down tents, then erecting them in our new location. Packing up and moving all the stretcher beds, mess tent and production office furniture, scaffolding, and of course luggage. Lots of it.

The drive from Wyndham to Kununurra is 101kms, a journey I'm very familiar with, and one I will never forget. The view changes almost every time you do it, depending on the time of the day. As the sun hits different parts of the ranges the colours are spectacular, the silhouettes of the boab trees ever changing, and always new wildlife to look out for.

These are the lucky ones that haven't wandered in front of a road train. Or me.

The Aussie version of 'Where's Wally'. Can you spot the bird standing on a rock?

A striking boab with eagles nest

Here's some things I WILL miss about my time in Wyndham. 

- Being asked daily by the locals 'How's it all going?'

- The incredible scenery around the town, and driving across the mudflats

- Fuzzy the Caravan Park donkey, and the other friendly caravan park locals

- The 'Boab Bar' - if you ever stay at the Caravan Park and hire the permanent tent near the big boab, you can create your own.

- The locals (and the search for them on 'shoot' days)

- Warriu Park with its BIG Dreamtime Statues. I'll have to go back to take a photo. Completely forgot until now!

- The Big Croc

- The view from the Bastion lookout of the Five Rivers

- Bertie Humperdink, the dog we looked after briefly. I won't actually miss him, but I'll have fond memories.

Here's some things I really WON'T miss about Wyndham

- Being asked daily by the locals 'How's it all going?'

- The dust

- Mosquitoes/sandflies 

- having to swat away those mosquitoes while in the shower/toilet

- The threat of snakes and saltwater crocodiles

- Sweating as soon as I've left the shower block, then my wet feet getting covered in dirt/dust before I get back to my van

- The heat

- The odour! From me....and others.

- The curlew birds. They are nocturnal and they migrate here till the end of September for breeding. The male uses their 'haunting calls' to attract a mate. I suppose if their mates are attracted to a high pitched shrill that we have compared to the sound a pterodactyl might make, then they shall continue to breed.

Lots of the things on my second list will stay with me on more of my travels I'm sure, so I can't really cross them off just yet.

The road trains are big, and slow. And I'm sure I haven't seen the last of them.

The second thing to change this week was the weather. For almost a week we had a cool change with temps getting up to only around 33C, and down to around 12C overnight, so a nice bit of relief for everyone. Back up to a daily average this week of 38C again.

You like rum? Visit 'The Hoochery'. They even have a rum marmalade.

Just turn left at the ride on mower painted like a cow. You can't miss it!

Can you see that little stretch of road up the top between Wyndham and Kununurra? That's where I've clocked up 7889km in 7 weeks. Maybe a couple more trips before we wrap.

So for now Kununurra is home. It's green and is on the banks of Lake Kununurra and the Ord River, so it feels like an oasis. Lots to see and do over the next couple of weeks, and I can't wait till I show you what I get up to this weekend....I'm very excited!

Simple Stats

Days since departure: 138
Distance travelled: 10,161km (+7889km for work)

Snakes run over: 2

Portaloos towed: 2

Weeks worked as Runner on film: 7

Whale Sharks swum with: 2

Emergency mechanic stops: 1

Kangaroos hit: 0

On the beaten (Karunjie) track

Number one rule when travelling in the harsh Australian outback, is be prepared. Make sure you have plenty of water, enough to last days could be necessary. Make sure you let someone know of your plans and where you'll be travelling. And be well acquainted with your car in case of problems. On all accounts last weekend, myself and friends Fiona and Jesse failed. Big time.

We started a weekend trip to Kununurra by heading in to see the Prison Boab Tree. It's a hollow tree that dating back to the 1890's was used as a temporary lockup for wrongdoers, as police escorted them to Wyndham. It's hollow with a hole cut in the side to make an entrance. It would have been horrific to be caged inside, no matter how much time they had to spend there!

Prison Tree, Wyndham

The tree is on the King River Road, and we knew that this road eventually lead back to Gibb River Road, and therefore closer to our destination. On a whim, we chose to do the drive. Our journey started on some harsh corrugated road till we got to Diggers Rest Station. This is where a lot of the film 'Australia' was located. Not too much to see, so we pushed on to the gate where the Karunjie Track began.

Diggers Rest

Diggers Rest

The scenery was pretty unreal as we crossed mudflats that seemed to go on forever. All you could see in the distance was the glow of heat rising, almost looking like a lake surrounding us. It was at this point when we realised how remote we were, that we checked our water supply. About under 1litre between us. And we hadn't told anyone where we were going. Oops. Temperatures are between 36-39C at the moment so hydration is pretty essential.

Looking right

Looking left

One of a number of gates along the track

The back of the Cockburn Ranges, from the Karunjie track

The track itself is pretty much a guessing game all the way along. You're just following other people's tyre marks, and hoping the previous person got it right. The mudflats soon ended, then the real adventure began. We crossed deep soft sandy tracks and some steep rocky river beds, always with fingers crossed we were heading in the right direction. Some pretty amazing views along the way compensated for the rough ride.

The were a LOT of cows along the way

Karunjie Track, Western Australia

If I could have taken photos of the track itself I would, but it was like riding a very bumpy rollercoaster. As Fiona screamed out at one point "People actually choose to do this for fun!!!!! Why??!!"

There's a lot of cows and birds and other sights to see, but when I spotted this old wrecked car, I wanted to stop and take a photo.

Here's where it started to go REALLY wrong

It was here that the other two decided they needed a toilet break, and with not much shelter, and no one else around, one chose the privacy near the front of the car, and the other at the back.

With everyone happy we got back on the road, and heard tales from the one who used the front toilet (okay, Jesse) about a switch she had discovered. We talked about it and wondered for a while what its purpose was, then moved on to other conversation.

FINALLY, we spotted the Pentecost River so knew we would see people again soon, and wouldn't die from dehydration in the middle of nowhere. We'd crossed it before, so did it again just for fun.

Pentecost River, WA

As soon as we got to the other side, the car stopped, dead. It's one of these fancy new cars that don't even have a key, you just press a button to start it. Nothing worked, not even the horn! And because it's what you do in these situations, we popped the bonnet (which took 5 minutes) and had a look under to see if there was anything obvious. Engine, check. Battery, check. Yep, everything looked fine! We even had a look at the fuses. They're very small. 

So after about 10 minutes Fiona flagged down a fellow traveller to see if a jump start would fix the problem. After about 2 minutes of looking, he said "You know your immobiliser switch is on?"

Oh right, so THAT's what that switch on the front is!!!!

That switch over there on the right of the dead bird

And so the journey to Kununurra continued, this time with the conversation turning to "what if that had happened 15 minutes earlier on the track, or even as we crossed the river?" But it didn't, and we were lucky.

Our weekend in the big K was great. For my birthday this week Fiona spoilt me by checking us in to the Country Club Resort where we dined at real tables with real chairs, no dust, no mosquitos, and air conditioning! Beautiful food too.

Crocodile, kangaroo, duck and Bloody Mary shots

The next morning we joined up with some more of our crew for brunch at the Pumphouse, where catfish swim right underneath the boardwalk waiting to be fed, and water skiers pass by.

The Pumphouse, Kumunurra

Then a stop at Molly's Springs on the way home

Molly's Springs, WA

One other thing I need to mention this week are the bushfires. You may have heard the horrible news about the extreme marathon runners burnt in fires at El Questro. Controlled fires have been burning around this area for the last month, each day a different area, clearing out dry scrub and grass in preparation for regeneration during the wet season. A couple of times the fires have been a bit too close, but mostly okay.

Bit too close!

They're pretty amazing to watch, especially dozens of eagles flying low overhead waiting for their prey to flee the flames. Out of the flames and into the fire!...as they say.

Eagles swoop overhead

Writing this blog has taken some time and our Producer Julie had a great suggestion for it. She said "it's hot. The end". That probably would've worked. Maybe that'll be my next one :-)

Simple Stats

Days since departure: 130
Distance travelled: 10,060km (+7182km for work)

Snakes run over: 2

Portaloos towed: 2

Weeks worked as Runner on film: 7

Whale Sharks swum with: 2

Emergency mechanic stops: 1

Kangaroos hit: 0