Warmun - Day 43

Today we were up early for our tour, we were up and about by 6.45 and every other van in the park was up!  We go to bed late and are up by 7 but seriously what time do people start their day?  I watched the final of Dawsons Creek last night- thank goodness & was up till 1am to watch the stupid thing- well I cried like a baby.  Mack watches it today on the way and says at the end, "mum which bit was sad" either I'm too soft or she's a tough cookie!  We finally did our Geikie Gorge tour and wow it was well worth it.  $62.50 for a family for an hour, very well run, mainly by volunteers and the rangers.  The boat is amazing it is unsinkable, the coolest flip up seats and there was 13 of us so we all got to have seats on the edge for great views and the kids on board got to sit up the front.  I'm always suspicious though when on a boat they don't have a life jacket per passenger, there is one under each seat in every 2nd row?  Well we were ok we were in the row with jackets, sorry to the man and lady behind us you miss out!!  The ranger was so informative and the gorge was stunning.  It was 8am and hot already and they have free sunscreen which was needed.  They have applied to rename the gorge as Geikie was an English geologist who has never been to Australia so they are looking at renaming it Darn Goo (I think that's the spelling) which is what the aboriginals have always called it.  The local people of this area are called the "bunuba" and are very strong and loyal, the head ranger - our mate from yesterday!- was born and bred here and his people are very proud of their area.  They even have there own football team of aboriginal rangers.  Our tour guide wasn't aboriginal "scobes" but he was really interesting to listen to and spoke about the gorge, the aboriginal traditions & history and also the animals & vegetation.  Even at one point turning off the engine for a few minutes just for the silence and beauty of the gorge.  The details are amazing of the amount of water, the cave systems & how mother nature brings us such amazing wonders.  We saw a croc, which Mackenzie at the front of the boat spotted so she was pretty excited, it was being very cautious, in stealth mode he said, a few weeks further into the season they get a little more used to the boat engine and aren't as shy.  Today was the first day a little bird like a swallow had shown up, they come every year to breed, nest and stay for the dry season.  There weren't any yesterday but there were 100's circling around in front of us today.  We stayed and chatted for a while afterwards to the ranger and volunteers and then headed back to pack up the van.  Us and 1 other van were the only ones there and it was only 9.30.  We had a long day today, driving from about 10 till 4.30.  We stopped for petrol and lunch at Halls Creek.  Most of the town was shut being Sunday but we were just in time for the bakery- Dan in his element.  Even better for Dan- he got locked in the bakery!  The man was pulling in the sign and pulled down the roller doors like a garage door and went in.  The kids were horrified and asked "do you hope they let dad out?"  I said I hope they did because I didn't know the way but deep down I thought if Dan was going to be locked in somewhere for the night what better place for him to be.  I actually didn't know whether to panic or laugh so we just pretended it wasn't happening.  Well the man walked into the shop and jumped out of his skin to see big Dan in there, a couple of pies, a sausage roll and a free bag of hot chips later Dan was released from his heavenly prison a little disappointed I'd say.  We passed through such beautiful scenery & the landscapes changed as we drove further along.  There were so many cattle on the road and the brolga/jabiru birds as well.  We passed over Fletcher Creek but weren't able to stop for a photo, always the way.  We pulled into Warmun Roadhouse at 4.30 and set up.  A really small park of about 20 sites, attached to the roadhouse that is part of an aboriginal mission/community.  We had a swim in the pool which is probably the cleanest pool we have been in over the last 6 weeks.  The kids found a toad frog and after all the brochures and talks on the boat about the cane toad they were pretty freaked out that it was out to poison them, even more so when after about an hour he disappeared.  We got chatting to a couple who have been travelling for 3 years and working at this park for 4months.  They were telling us it was roast night and the meals were fantastic.  The lure of fresh vegies and someone else cooking was too much so we wandered over to the roadhouse.  The roasts were $15 each so we got 2 and thought we would bulk it up with something from the van to make it serve the 4 of us.  You have never seen anything like it, roast beef & lamb with gravy, the vegies were potatoes, carrots, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli & cheese & asparagus.  We all had a plate piled up like a mountain and there is still meat & vegies left for at least 2 for tomorrow.  They do a different theme each night.  The roadhouse is so well stocked and there is a dining room with aircon & flat screen tv, separate showers & bathrooms for the truckies.  The shop was flat out and food was heading out the door left, right and centre.  Another great day today.

 Our boat in the gorge, it seats 60 and they can join 3 together to make like a road train of 180 people per tour in peak season

                                the colors of the rock in the gorge is from the water levels

 the nests that the birds make which are actually quite big in relation to the size of the bird, these are left from last year as there wasn't much rain this wet season, normally they are washed away by the rising waters

                                          our quiet moment in the gorge, it really was beautiful

                   The face at the top of one section said to resemble president Richard Nixon