Parrys Creek Farm – Ivanhoe Crossing – Kununurra
I woke up at 4:20AM in order to revisit Marglu Lagoon, and photograph the birds at sunrise. I arrived before sunrise, and was rewarded with views of flocks of various birds, including brolgas and pelicans, flying west away from the rising sun. I spent a couple of hours photographing various birds including: brolgas, jabiru, magpie geese, eastern swamp hens, moorhens, whistling duck, night herons, a sea eagle, pelicans and surprisingly (to me) bee eaters, which I had last seen in Kenya. At one point, there was a huge commotion further down the billabong, and we surmised that the resident saltwater crocodile had scored another duck.
On the way back to Parry’s, I stopped at the (an?) old telegraph station, which offered extensive views back across the billabong. After a quick breakfast, we packed up and drove east towards Kununurra. On the roadside, we stopped to watch eagles and kites feasting on a dead wallaby. We took a 4WD track into Middle Springs, and had lunch beside a still stretch of water, surrounded by an incredible variety of trees: palms, baobobs, gums, and others.
We tracked up the Ord River along various unmarked tracks, before reaching the famed “Ivanhoe Crossing”, which lived up to its reputation as a wet, long and slightly hairy crosssing over a long causeway.
Ivanhoe Crossing on the Ord River
We reached Kununurra and decided to stay at Ivanhoe Caravan Park for four nights (three for price of 4 nights!), as I needed to restock and have the 240V output on the car fixed. We quickly set up the camp, and went to pick up Duncan, who had flown for 40 hours from Aberdeen to Kununurra via London, Singapore and Darwin. Notwithstanding this, Rob decided we would take in the sunset on his last day, and we visited Kelly’s Knob (seemed appropriate somehow). It was a great start to Duncan’s trip, and after a quick wash up, we ate at the Pumphouse Restaurant on Lake Kununurra, and had an excellent meal.
Another huge day! [No wonder I am enjoying my 3 day break here!]
