Ok, where did we leave off? That’s right, 1 day spent in Kununurra, Ladies Day done and dusted and now time for the 2 day road trip home. If you missed yesterday’s blog post you can catch up HERE.
It was a little sad leaving Kununurra after such a quick lovely stay. All was not lost though because we weren’t really in any rush to get back to Katherine – where we were overnighting. Apart from losing one and a half hours on the way back there was nothing really to worry about. So we headed to The Pump House one last time for breakfast with the gang.
I will just never get sick of looking at the gorgeous Ord River. What a view.
Then it was back to Katherine, through the stunning Victoria River Region again, some lunch at the Vic River Roadhouse and back in Katherine in time for wine time and a lovely dinner once again at Knotts Crossing Resort.
We were up and at it early the next morning for the last leg which was about 950km. We had stocked up on some travel food the night before because once you go past the Hi Way Inn at Daly Waters the only stop for the next 7 hours is a fairly ordinary roadhouse at Cape Crawford so we decided we might pack our own lunch. We were feeling quietly smug too. We packed a bbq chook, a pre packed salad for each of us and a thermos with coffee – see Blonde Nomads…
I felt like DD & Rexy (my Mum and Dad for any newbies out there) whipping that silver thermos out, I even had a packet of Nice biscuits in the car which would have impressed DD no end. Anyway, turns out this roadside stop wasn’t as lovely as we had first thought (because it looks so lovely and all doesn’t it)…
Pity I didn’t have a can of WD-40 in the old Prado. It felt like some erie scene out of Wolf Creek and that John Jarrot was going to come flying out of the bushes any minute in a truck like a crazy man.
The clouds were starting to close over and we thought we had best get a move on. We still had a good 4 hours of which a fair whack of that was dirt. Of course any time I want to travel anywhere lately it rains, of course it does and this trip was no different. We got about 100km down the dirt road and there it was – black soil with a heap of water, always a pleasing sight to the novice four wheel driver…
For those of you experienced in mud driving you will know that black soil and rain do not mix well. And lets just say the old Prado isn’t really actually designed for sloshing through mud. I think she would prefer to be doing a school drop off in the city.
Toyota – you really need to get your act together and realise that we need these cars for bush driving, some of us actually live off the beaten track (or should that say on the beaten track?). The Toyota’s these days are certainly not build for bush roads, even the utes. Toyota rant over! #obviouslynotsponsoredbutthinkIshouldadvisethem
I must have been looking quite nervous because it didn’t take long before Mrs Savvy B suggested that perhaps she should drive. I didn’t fancy getting out in that sticky mud so we had to shuffle around the car as if we were performing an act out of Cirque de Soleil.
It was very slow going, the wheel arches were filling up with that mud so once we got onto some not so sticky ground we pulled up and had to try and get the mud out of the arches. This is certainly not an easy task – it basically turns to clay upon drying. Not good my friends, not good. We had to use the jack spanner thingy (you know, that metal thing you put together to pump up the jack, yep that one) as a stick to try and get the mud out with our hands. We had a lovely mud french manicure by the end.
So lets just say the old Pradie Dard wasn’t looking so flash by the time we were finished with her. We did manage to unclog the wheel arches enough so that we weren’t burning rubber on the mud. The road was pretty good once we made it through that mud so we did eventually make it home. The girls ended up staying the night at Chardy Central and Mrs Savvy B’s private jet came to collect them the next morning…
The End.
So there you have it… our whirlwind trip to The Kimberley. 5 days, 3 blondes, 1 car, 3,048km. Gosh it was fun. Thanks so much for the invitation Bab’s and thanks for travelling with me girls, we made some great memories and I am glad we can jump on this blog and look back on it.
How do you go driving in mud?
Hello Miss Chardy! Loved hearing about your road trip. I don’t miss black soil. At all. My Pajero sulks when she is subjected to dirt/snow/vaguely 4WD conditions. Much prefers being a city yummy mummy accessory…..
Ha ha ha ha, too funny Judy!!!
I have left no end of Prado mud flaps and the odd bit of plastic cladding on many roads. I always have a supply of zippy ties in the glovebox for repairs when finally nearing my destination.
I am hearing you Kate!
I have to say, as i sit on my commuter train in England, that I don’t tend to have that mud problem. I do have train strikes to contend with though. I came across your blog from Nicki and will be a regular reader. Your life seems so different from mine.
Ha ha ha, no mud, but train strikes would be annoying! And all those people in your face. I used to live in Sydney and catch the train and I think I would rather the mud, ha ha ha. Thanks so much for reading, great to hear from you!! 🙂
Good to see your 5 days adventure Miss Chardy. Such fun and exciting adventure. I’m glad to see you all survive in the mud. You are all so strong to clean up the muddy tires. What I learned from your experience is that be ready with all kinds of weather, wet and dry.