Derby - famous for its Jetty, its high tides and the Horizontal Waterfalls

We were happy to leave Halls Creek early (all items accounted for) and headed down the road to Fitzroy Crossing.  Decided we might check out the old heritage Fitzroy Crossing Inn that was due to open at midday for lunch.  Changed our mind on this one and did a bit of a u turn out the front under the watchful stare of an ever growing number of local locals keen for a drink at opening time – from the bar that was basically a small hole cut out the front of a corrugated iron (but nicely decorated) shed. We continued down the road for a bit before stopping for lunch, and then arrived in Derby at around 4pm, dodging some cows along the way.

 

Kel was disappointed to find out that despite a good rating, this caravan park did not have a pool.  There was nearly a tantrum, so we parked the van and headed straight out into Derby central in search of a pool. We had a nice swim, and then took off just before sunset to the long jetty that extends out from the mudflats into the ocean to watch the sun go down over an ice cream. We stuck around for a fish and chip dinner at the jetty, likely the best thing about Derby, before heading back to the van for bed.

Next morning we rose early to tackle the western end of the Gibb River Road.  The heat was still killer so we wanted to get back to the pool asap.  Bumped our way out to Windjana Gorge, one of the highlights of this end of the Gibb.  To enter the gorge you have to squeeze your way through a crevice within fossilised coral reef, the coolest spot in the whole place.  Once in the gorge, all along the walls you could see the remains of marine creatures frozen in time.  Being the end of the dry season, the water level was low but when we found it there were plenty of freshwater crocodiles enjoying the cool water.  Lucky things!  We were sweltering on the banks as we watched them.  We only managed to walk for about 15 minutes.  Our water bottles were emptied only a few hundred metres in.  Walking in the open along the sandy floor of the gorge was just too much for us and as lovely as it was, we had to call it a day.  Retreated to the car and turned on the air conditioning!  It was so hot, Kel opted to make lunches on her lap inside the car.  The temperature gauge read 43 – the hottest temp any of us have ever experienced!

We hesitated to keep going another 30kms to Tunnel Creek as we had planned.  In the end we decided we had come this far and it would be a shame to turn around being so close.  Lucky we did, because Tunnel Creek turned out to be one of the coolest things we have done so far.  The entrance to the creek was mercifully close to the car park and the creek ran through a cave, so we could escape from the heat of the day.  The best part though was that you had to wade through the creek in some parts, by torchlight!  It was a scary and exhilarating at the same time.  There was a small waterfall along the way and a rock fall that opened out into the sunshine.   A huge colony of fruit bats lived in this more open area.  Ghost bats lived in the darker reaches.  We walked to the end of the cave, some 700m long, in some places a huge cavern with stalactites and in others as low as head level.  It was magical!

Next morning, Kel delivered Rich and the kids to the airport for their scenic flight over the Horizontal Waterfalls.  She wrestled with her fear of flying but in the end decided that going on the plane so that everyone could die together was probably not a great reason to go.  Rich joked about teenage pilots and regretted this when a young man, recently out of his teens, walked out to meet them.

They climbed into the tiny four seater plane and Rich remarked to the pilot that the doors on the plane were remarkably similar to his old Holden Kingswood. The pilot asked what year the Kingswood was produced (around 1975), and then offered up that this plane was built a few years before that. The plane taxied up the empty airport, took off (to a cheer from Rich, Dylan and Ari) and then proceeded over to the Horizontal Waterfalls.

The Pilot and Rich, Dylan and Ari were all connected via headphones and microphones, so we all got to hear Dylan’s million questions for our young pilot, including one asking what the Titanic was made of (WTF?!?).

We did a few laps over the Horizontal Waterfalls before heading over the blue water and the many islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago (including two that were full-on mining operations), a Barramundi farm, and the mudflats on the way back to Derby.

We came in to a safe landing and we all cheered the young pilot on his skill – and the fact that we were still alive.

Kelly was delighted to see everyone safe on the ground and we returned to the van.  Made a brief stop at the Prison Boab – the story goes that the tree was used as a prison (or campsite) for police and others transporting Aboriginal men to work on trawlers and pearl farms.

It was matched in its misery by the old Derby gaol in town, which was basically a big cage with rings still set into the concrete floor for restraining people.  There are many sad stories from around here about interactions between white people and Aboriginals.  Derby still has a massive modern prison in its midst.

“Enough of this desert $#!T”, Kel declared.  So we left Derby behind, very excited to be leaving the red dust and intense heat for our next destination, Broome!