Hi everyone and welcome to Week 43 of my Tour Downunder Western Australia - and this week we reach the end of the Gibb River Road - hence the end of the dirt....for now....
but before we do a couple of final pics of the Gibb River Rd.....one of the last of the big 4WD road treks in Australia....we wanted to turn around and go back the other way and do it all again! We certainly didn't see everything we could have, but unfortunately time was a factor - but we plan to come back sometime to see the Mitchell Plateau, and stay at some of the station stays....next time.......
A view from Inglis Gap....
The rock formation in the centre of the pic is called Queen Victoria's Head - I am sure you can see the resemblance....
And the flat plains just before we reached the bitumen - we were amazed to see this flat treeless plain after the rugged country we had been through.
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From Western Australia
At the end of the Gibb River Rd we turn north and do a quick tour of Derby. Located on King Sound north of the mouth of the Fitzroy River, Derby was established to service the Kimberley cattle industry. The town is set on a peninsula of slightly elevated land above the surrounding flat tidle marshland.
In this photo below we see the sea and the mangroves. The mangroves crowd the shoreline of Derby.
Here we see the Derby jetty. At low tide the jetty and boat ramp are completely out of the water. Derby has the highest tidal range in Australia - 11.8 metres - one of the highest in the world. The ladies you can see are fishing - perhaps hoping to catch a mud crab.
This is Myall's Bore - a cattle trough built in 1911. It is 120 metres long and thought to be the longest in the southern hemisphere. It was originally filled from an artesian bore and supplied water to a thousand cattle at a time while they were being driven to the Derby jetty for shipment.
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This has been an enjoyable trip for us armchair travellers, the size and space is overwhelming, it is immense. When you live in a small country where the furthest you can get from the sea is 45 miles, the distances you have travelled is unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteBillmac, Scotland
I did it - I finished the tour and now eagerly await the next installment.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't work for Tourism Australia you should! I've always wanted to visit Australia but now more than ever.
I can't pick a favorite photo so far, but some of the highlights for me were the rainbow bee eaters, fresh water croc, wave rock, tree top walk, old mine, and light house. Not to mention all the beautiful beach/landscape and flower pictures.
Thanks for sharing Jill!
Devel, Canada