2 Sep 10 - Kalumburu

By Craig: The road to Kalumburu improved after passing the turn off to Mitchell Falls. We will head out to Mitchell Falls on the way back but will camp at King Edward River and leave the trailer there.

Although an improvement in corrugation the road had sections made from nasty sharp rocks: tyre killers. So caution and tyre pressure critical if we were to save ourselves from a flat or two.








The road also had a few rough sections and floodways to get through before we found our way to Kalumburu and then on to our final destination McGowans Island.
Kalumburu is the most northern Aboriginal community in the Kimberley, still sporting the mission originally established in the 1930s.




When we rocked up to the designated spot to get our permit to visit, we found some cranky locals outside who advised us that the centre wasn't open. Just coz. So we picked up a few groceries and headed out to find a campsite at McGowans Island.



Now we’re talking. What a spot, camp site almost out on the beach with beautiful views and great fishing.



















There was a great combination of time to chat with fellow campers with sunset beers on the beach, time to fish and time for Sam and others to play and catch hermit crabs which meant time for mum to relax (Dad was already in the tinny).








The fish weren’t plentiful however a catch of snapper and trevally with a shark or two thrown into the mix was fun to say the least.





Bree and Dan, a couple I had an opportunity to go out and fish with, found my catch of shark quite funny as it towed me with tinny and anchor. Never did actually see the shark but I was happy with that. On the other hand Bree had a small tiger shark do the death roll beside their tinny and on another occasion Bree brought just the head of a beautiful size fish to the boat, teeth marks and all.

Our stay at McGowan Island was a welcomed rest, sunshine and a great time which of course had to end and we found ourselves back on the road heading for Mitchell Falls.



















By Lou: There were only a handful of campers at McGowan Island and of course Sam honed in on the one with kids. Renee and Sacha, and their girls, Tenille and Jaz are a lovely family from Kilcunda in Victoria and were also getting into the relaxed vibe of the place.

At night the ground would teem with hermit crabs and it was impossible to take 3 steps without a bit of a crunch underfoot. They also gravitated to water so the kids had a field day “researching” hermit crabs.


They decided to take them to market and pranced around selling hermit crabs for “just $2”. Bargain. They were delighted when they were given 20c each by an older couple who also showed them how to run hermit crab races. Once word got out that they’d scored 20c each, other campers must have realised there was a bargain to be had, and the 20c just poured in…if you count 60c each a goldmine.

Sam and I managed to get some school done and as part of an English component about writing instructions, Sam wrote out a treasure hunt for the girls. Composing it took 3 hours, executing it took 2 minutes. Sam also wanted to play MasterChef and whipped up some crumbed chicken strips for dinner.






All up it was a lovely stop and well worth the bumps to get there. On the drive out we watched the erratic dance of a whirly-whirly cross the road in front of us.

















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