We were literally driving out of the caravan park, when The Great Unhitching brought us to a sudden halt. All had gone well that morning. The caravan seemed to silently glide onto the tow ball. Now that was unusual enough to remember but no reference point for concern (now THAT has all changed). Locked in just like normal and we headed for the entrance in high spirits. In retrospect I think a speed hump may have bounced the van off initially and all it took was a slight incline to do the rest. We had learnt from the shredded tyre and rim back on the Stuart Highway to NOT ignore grinding noises, so we quickly pulled to a stop and there it was, our four ton van reclining ‘au natural’ on the bitumen with only a fig leaf of chains and sway bays preventing a very undignified roll back and reveal all in the reception area. Like sailors, vanners will swarm from everywhere to help out in a crisis so help arrived almost immediately. Wheels were chocked and a summit of wise heads was convened. Luckily my 4.5 ton hydraulic jack earned it’s keep and once lifted to a respectable height, the jockey wheel was re-installed and the hitching process went off…without a hitch. It was made much easier by the help, who knew exactly what to do without asking. Tamika’s nerves were a little frazzled by this unfortunate event and it took 30klm of very conservative driving before she could start to relax.
We had picked out a few spots in and around Kununarra but as luck would have it, found a vacant block next to the pub that had attracted a number of RV’s doing a stock up at the local Coles. We parked discreetly against the back fence in the shade of a large tree and hoped no-one would notice or, if they did, not care that much. We unhitched and took a run out to the local distillery. Tamika had been clued up by our boat cruise skipper Claire about the pink gins and after that morning’s drama, decided she needed something else to calm the nerves. On top of everything else, our Swannies were playing the crunch round of their season against Collingwood the next day and the tension was already affecting us. The Hoochery seemed a very popular destination, not that there’s a lot to do on a Saturday afternoon in Kununurra.
We settled in for the night, in spite of the band next door playing every torch song from the 80’s and the next morning I tip toed out of the van at first light to see Mirima National Park before the sun started blazing away. Mirima is literally 5 minutes from town and for those baulking at the 60klm trek along treacherous road to the Bungle Bungles, it will do nicely. Early morning or late afternoon is best and apart from the initial uphill scramble it’s mostly level’ish if a little unstable (it’s like the landscaper laid all this slate and then forgot to do the concreting). The views are awesome and the colours and rock formations photo-ready. Two hours and you’re all done.
Back at the van, it was heating up early, both inside and outside. The footy started at 1pm and we needed somewhere shaded and breezy. I’d spied a disused service station in the industrial area the day before and with minimal effort we set up under the awning, just in time for the big match. We had pies for lunch and so did Sydney!!
Due to the time difference, the sun was already going down at 4:30 so we stayed overnight before heading out to Wyndham. The barramundi and crocodile pies had been recommended and, since we were apparently in the mood, thought we’d take a diversion to check them out..