4 – 5 June 2022, 12300kms.
Miriwoong Gajerrong Country.
Leaving the Gibb with a big exhale, fridge empty and hearts full, the day ahead was a touring one, making our way to Kununurra via Wyndham, a bush camp on the Ord River and the iconic Ivanhoe River Crossing. Onto the bitumen, first stop a waterhole called The Grotto, an utter disappointment with stagnant algae infested water (unlike the lush waterfall fuelled waterhole it is in the wet!), resulting in a Talia meltdown. Went to check out Wyndham, the northern most town in Western Australia, famous for its converging 5 rivers, we picnic at a lookout, and descend via the town’s ‘big crocodile’, stopping by the supermarket to get some bait – high hopes of catching dinner, the Ord being famous for barra!
Onwards we go, along Parry Creek road, the back way to Kununurra, in search of our next bush camp. We pass the unsigned turn off two or three times before we nail it. Travelling in we soon discover this is a very rough and rocky road! A few scrapes and hair razing moments, we find the Ord and I am suddenly overwhelmed by croc fear – they’re salties around here. The river is fast and flowing and stunning, but I have zero desire to spy out any crocs, as is so lauded in the wiki camps reviews. So we camp a few hundred metres back from the river and wander down there for a brief fish. We tangle a few lines, catch nothing, dart around as the croc fear pervades, and chat to some locals who quell our fears and show us how the Barra catching is really done!
The morning is fresh, we take a wander along a dry creek bed, spotting animal tracks in the sand before heading off, eager to tackle the dirt road out unscathed and hit up the Ivanhoe crossing. We get there, it’s epic! A concrete bridge with the river gushing over it, we’re driving on water!! Adrenalin fulled and exhilarated, we are finally in Kununurra, a lush green town with shops and a powered campsite!
Wyndham
Ord River Bush Camp
Ivanhoe Crossing
