Fitzroy Crossing...this is really the outback. We were on our way. We had heard much of this town, both good and bad. It was time to see for ourselves.
As is our habit we hauled out of Derby early in the morning. This was to be another relatively short day. Two hundred and fifty or so kilometres south-east into the East Kimberley and we would be there. In WA terms this was but a jaunt.
We had not been long back on the Great Northern Highway when real reminders of where we were loomed large in the windscreen.
A huge boab tree and an approaching road train. Now that's the Kimberley for you. I think I have mentioned earlier that I had become utterly taken by these incredible trees. Whilst I happily accept that no two trees are exactly the same, boabs are so individual they seem to have personalities.
The 'boabab' tree, or 'Adansoina gregorii' as it is known on a formal occasion, is not native to Australia but actually calls Madagascar home. No one is quite sure how they came to be here. One theory holds that seeds floated across the Indian Ocean and took root in WA. Others posit that these trees were growing here when Australian and Africa were still joined as a single continent. Whatever their origin, these wonderful additions to our outback bush scenery thrive in the Kimberley and have been adopted as one of the most recognisable symbols of this region. They apparently produce a delightful fragrant flower in the wet when the stark bare branches of the dry season flush into leaf.
Obviously we were not to see that, but we did come across quite a number of the large nuts which follow flowering. Thanks to 'outbackjoe' for this photo which gives a good idea of the size of a boab nut.
Carved and/or painted boab nuts (such as these in this shot from 'nomadart') can be found throughout the Kimberley and beyond.
Well, after that short detour, let's get back on the highway, where we were soon to have another reminder of just where we were travelling. In this part of the country, signs warning of wandering stock are to be taken seriously. Fortunately these lumbering bovines do not leap out without warning like roos and emus and can be avoided with relative ease, although we do keep a very good lookout on these highways nevertheless.
This area of The Kimberley is still reasonably flat, but from time to time the odd mesa shaped hill does rise out of the surrounding plain to provide some welcome visual variety.
We were acutely aware that we were travelling through really remote country
where the vast grazing plains of the Kimberley cattle stations are dotted with the ubiquitous boab and myriads of termite mounds.
As we approached Fitzroy Crossing we did note a change in our surroundings. Yellow became the predominate colour of the much drier landscape
The 'boabab' tree, or 'Adansoina gregorii' as it is known on a formal occasion, is not native to Australia but actually calls Madagascar home. No one is quite sure how they came to be here. One theory holds that seeds floated across the Indian Ocean and took root in WA. Others posit that these trees were growing here when Australian and Africa were still joined as a single continent. Whatever their origin, these wonderful additions to our outback bush scenery thrive in the Kimberley and have been adopted as one of the most recognisable symbols of this region. They apparently produce a delightful fragrant flower in the wet when the stark bare branches of the dry season flush into leaf.
Obviously we were not to see that, but we did come across quite a number of the large nuts which follow flowering. Thanks to 'outbackjoe' for this photo which gives a good idea of the size of a boab nut.
Carved and/or painted boab nuts (such as these in this shot from 'nomadart') can be found throughout the Kimberley and beyond.
Well, after that short detour, let's get back on the highway, where we were soon to have another reminder of just where we were travelling. In this part of the country, signs warning of wandering stock are to be taken seriously. Fortunately these lumbering bovines do not leap out without warning like roos and emus and can be avoided with relative ease, although we do keep a very good lookout on these highways nevertheless.
This area of The Kimberley is still reasonably flat, but from time to time the odd mesa shaped hill does rise out of the surrounding plain to provide some welcome visual variety.
We were acutely aware that we were travelling through really remote country
where the vast grazing plains of the Kimberley cattle stations are dotted with the ubiquitous boab and myriads of termite mounds.
As we approached Fitzroy Crossing we did note a change in our surroundings. Yellow became the predominate colour of the much drier landscape
and the termite mounds were fatter and more stumpy in shape than the needle like towers of their more westerly cousins.
We were almost there.
Around another bend in the road and the water tower of Fitzroy Crossing came into view on the horizon.
Our destination, the Fitzroy River Lodge lay beyond the town itself, so we drove past the surprisingly green park at the entrance to the township
and one of the two service stations on the approach.
A kilometre or so to the east and another of the single landed bridges of this part of the world carried us across
the seasonably low waters of the Fitzroy River (we were later to learn just how different this can be in the wet....this really is one heck of a creek!)
Shortly thereafter the blue sign of our turn-off beckoned.
The Fitzroy Rive Lodge (and caravan park) is an impressive place. Built on the river flood plain, all the main buildings are either high on earthen mounds or on stilts which we soon discovered as we made our way up the cement entrance driveway
and past the bar area
to the imposing facade of the front entrance.
With check-in completed it was off (downhill this time) through the lush lodge grounds to the caravan park area
some considerable distance away from the main buildings.
On our left we could see 'highrise' motel rooms
and to the right the 'dongas' used to house workers in the area.
We were still quite a way from our site. In fact the caravan parking area is at least half a kilometre from the main lodge buildings, but to our real surprise, delight and relief the entire area is covered with grass. Dust is not a problem here.
The Fitzroy River Lodge caravan park is 'self service'. No sites are allocated....this is very much first in best dressed. We finally reached the road into the powered sites area where, much to our relief, we found it almost empty. This was the case on most mornings, but we soon discovered that things did become hectic later in the day.
After a couple of laps around the sites on offer we made a decision. And what a patch it was. Sites do not come much better than this one. Large, flat and fully grassed, easy to access and with just the right combination of sun and shade with no trees directly over the van. Once again we had demonstrated the advantage of leaving early and beating the arrivals rush.
Notwithstanding our early arrival we soon had a visitor. This park local was completely unperturbed by our presence on his turf and wandered by in his own little world (under the very watchful eye of your scribe!)
The Fitzroy Lodge park is a cracker. We had arrived with no real plans to stay for any length of time, but that soon changed. We spent a very pleasant and entertaining four days here before moving on, including a sunset tour of the nearby Gieke Gorge, a real stunner.
We were almost there.Around another bend in the road and the water tower of Fitzroy Crossing came into view on the horizon.
Our destination, the Fitzroy River Lodge lay beyond the town itself, so we drove past the surprisingly green park at the entrance to the township
and one of the two service stations on the approach.
A kilometre or so to the east and another of the single landed bridges of this part of the world carried us across
the seasonably low waters of the Fitzroy River (we were later to learn just how different this can be in the wet....this really is one heck of a creek!)
Shortly thereafter the blue sign of our turn-off beckoned.
The Fitzroy Rive Lodge (and caravan park) is an impressive place. Built on the river flood plain, all the main buildings are either high on earthen mounds or on stilts which we soon discovered as we made our way up the cement entrance driveway
and past the bar area
to the imposing facade of the front entrance.
With check-in completed it was off (downhill this time) through the lush lodge grounds to the caravan park area
some considerable distance away from the main buildings.
On our left we could see 'highrise' motel rooms
and to the right the 'dongas' used to house workers in the area.
We were still quite a way from our site. In fact the caravan parking area is at least half a kilometre from the main lodge buildings, but to our real surprise, delight and relief the entire area is covered with grass. Dust is not a problem here.
The Fitzroy River Lodge caravan park is 'self service'. No sites are allocated....this is very much first in best dressed. We finally reached the road into the powered sites area where, much to our relief, we found it almost empty. This was the case on most mornings, but we soon discovered that things did become hectic later in the day.
After a couple of laps around the sites on offer we made a decision. And what a patch it was. Sites do not come much better than this one. Large, flat and fully grassed, easy to access and with just the right combination of sun and shade with no trees directly over the van. Once again we had demonstrated the advantage of leaving early and beating the arrivals rush.
Notwithstanding our early arrival we soon had a visitor. This park local was completely unperturbed by our presence on his turf and wandered by in his own little world (under the very watchful eye of your scribe!)
The Fitzroy Lodge park is a cracker. We had arrived with no real plans to stay for any length of time, but that soon changed. We spent a very pleasant and entertaining four days here before moving on, including a sunset tour of the nearby Gieke Gorge, a real stunner.
No comments:
Post a Comment