16-30 degC another perfect day in the North
A lovely quiet night in the free camp, everyone was very considerate.
A quick brew and we were on the road by 6:30am. Another magnificent stretch of highway, thanks WA. No sign of wildlife which is always a bit of a concern that time of the morning. Although we only had 171 km to drive we left early to ensure a site at the Kimberley Entrance Van Park in Derby. We probably needn't have concerned ourselves as the park has 285 sites, not including the overflow area, although they are not all powered. We like a bit of 240v even though the van is well set up to go unpowered. We were so early (8:45am) that the previous van was still on the site (#125) they had allocated to us. We just waited in the wings for them to leave and then moved in. An early mornos followed.
We had done some research so we knew what we wanted to see. So off we peddled, firstly to check out the Mowanjum Wandjina Art and Cultural Centre along the Gibb River Road. However, being a Sunday it was closed. Not to worry, back to the highway, left turn and not too far away was Myall's Bore, cattle trough, Frosty's Pool and Boab Prison Tree. The trough is 122 m long and is the longest water trough in the southern hemisphere, according to the brochure. The trough is fed by the Bore which is 322 m deep. The tree has a girth of 14.7 m and is believed to be 1 500 years old. Frosty's Pool was built in 1944 as a bathing area for troops stationed here during WWII. It was constructed by the 3rd General Transport Company and was named after the platoon member Charles LV Frost.
From these points of interest, it was back into town to find the Friendly Trees - a Boab and Snappy gum entwined in a loving embrace. You would think that for a point of interest, they would make sure it was easily accessible and easy to photograph. Well, it is adjacent the BP servo and has a great big sign in front of it. From there it was a short ride to the Norval Gallery which was open. Norval is a white guy who has an affinity with the indigenous artists and their community. His artistic creations often include aspects of the indigenous way of life and reflections. The gallery also displays work by indigenous artists who work on the premises. The owner of the gallery, Mark Norval and his wife were present, extremely busy and very much involved in the customer relationship thing. There were dozens of paintings wrapped up ready to be dispatched to their new owners or marked "SOLD". We enjoyed looking but didn't see anything that we'd like on our wall at home.
Back home for lunch and a rest, then a bit of reading, etc. Apparently, both the sunrises and sunsets here can be amazing. So, whilst Wendy prepared dinner, Greg went in search of the best sunset ever, which didn't quite eventuate.
Tomorrow we explore more of what Derby has to offer.
Sunrise at Ellendale Rest Area
Drive scenery today
Clouds against the yellow of the wattle was stunning
A really big boab somewhere along the road
Us waiting for our site at Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park
The Trough
The Prison tree (read the blurb on the pictures above to know why it is called the Prison Tree)
The Friendly Trees
Some carved boab fruits/nuts at Norval Gallery (can't buy any as they contain seeds/nuts)
Some of the art at Norval gallery
A boab tree near our site, a little but naughty!
Sunset, not too bad, but not the best we've seen
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