Fitzroy River and the Gibb River Road
Fitzroy River
It was time to leave Broome and say goodbye to my friends. The next morning, after a coffee I hit the road north into the Kimberley. Rugged country, tough country that is what I was expecting. Beautiful and stunning country that is what I got.
Some 140 km north of Broome there is a turn off that leads to the lower reaches of the Fitzroy River. There are no signs at the turnoff except for the Boab trees (baobab in Africa). The road quickly turns into a track that goes on forever. Eventually one reaches the banks of the river. It is wide, especially at high tide. You can see the course of the river for a few kilometers. There are a good few tents and caravans camped in the bush on the banks of the river as the insiders know that this is a killer Barramundi spot. The place is littered with massive Boab trees and it is dead quiet here; very relaxing. There are heaps of big crocks in the river as well. Luckily the bank along the river is very high.
The land is privately owned/leased and there are many mobs of Brahman cattle running around so you have to be careful on the tracks as the Brahmans loom over your vehicle and do not always get out of the way.
Fitzroy river
The tracks follow the river bank for miles. I did carry on towards the mouth of the river and eventually found a great camping spot under some trees where I could set up my camp and roll out my swag. Conditions were perfect for open air camping. Had a look around the general area and as the pics will show, the river banks alternated with grassy areas and treed sections where one could find shade and shelter…and ants and other surprises. Read on.
Home sweet home (:-))
I walked around and found a few fishing spots. Finding firewood was a bit harder as it was late in the season and much wood had been harvested already. I made a fire, cooked some food and turned in. I was getting comfortable in the dark but it was very humid so I stuck my one leg out from under the sheet. I was just falling asleep when I heard and felt that ‘plop’ as something wet and cold attached itself to my leg that was resting in the fresh air. It felt like something slimy had sucked it self onto my leg. Not one to panic I Reached out for the torch (I never sleep in the bush without a bright torch and heavy stick next to my bed). As the light switched on I saw the two eyes of a green Australian frog look at me from my leg; see pic. He left me and continued hopping around the camp for the rest of the night. Talk about strange sleeping partners.
My sleeping mate!
Several hours later I was woken up by the snorting and hoof thumping of a mob of Brahman cattle. Turns out I had set up camp on the trail for their nightly migration along the river bank. They were about to walk over me when the camp smell and the car spooked them. Once again my torch saved me. I switched on the bright light in the middle of the night and that shocked them and spooked them. They turned and fled as one.
I got up early and did some exploring and fishing for the mighty Barra. After losing most of my lures I eventually caught a decent size Barry on a crappy old lure I had purchased at Kmart for less than $4 some years ago. I apologise for the bad pic, but just to make sure I did catch & land one Barra.
I need to explain that I ate very well as I have a 40ltr car fridge that allows me to carry milk and meat etc for days without spoiling. The fish was tied to a tree branch with some rope and within an hour the ants had found it and had navigated to the fish via tree n\and rope, I had to wash them all off and store the fish in the fridge.
After another brilliant evening in the bush I departed early the next morning. I planned to get back to the main road to Derby and head for the Gibb River road. This iconic outback road heads north a few kilometers outside Derby.