HALLS CREEK to FITZROY CROSSING

Saturday, 15/9/09 - Thursday, 24/9/09

Left Kununurra at 8am for the approx 350 km drive to Halls Creek. On the way we stopped off at Turkey Creek - what a top spot!!

Everyone we've spoken to has told us to keep driving and not to stay at Halls Creek, but we don't like driving longer distances. Halls Creek has a bad reputation due to alcohol abuse but we found it a nice, neat and tidy town and didn't have any problems. The caravan park was basic but it had a nice pool (gee you need a pool out here!!) and a lovely old boxer dog called "Duchess" lived there.



Since the end of the gold rush, Halls Creek has existed as a service centre for the surrounding cattle stations and for the traffic passing through. That's still the case today.

The historical Halls Creek town site was abandoned due to lack of water and because of the re-routing of the main road (today's highway). The move to the new site, only 15km away, started in 1948 and was completed in 1954. You might recall some years back where 2 jackeroos left a property because of a dispute with the station manager, and their car broke down and they attempted to walk to town but died on the way; they were found out in the bush. Well, that was 50kms south of Halls Creek. It's very, very barren out here.



Today the ruins of the original town site are a tourist attraction (although there's not much to see). You used to be able to look around amongst the ruins, but no more. All the ruins are now covered and fenced off. That was necessary to preserve what's left, but it significantly reduced the appeal of the site.

The new town is also looking a bit tired. The signs proclaiming it to be "The Oasis of the Kimberley" don't really induce enthusiasm. However, there is a lovely green park for the kids to play and a tiny supermarket with a good butcher. The visitors centre is really nice and the staff are friendly.

We ventured into the Kimberley Hotel which was across the road from the caravan park and it was like walking into an english manor house, however, the sports bar out the back brought us back to earth!!

The population of Halls Creek fluctuates a lot. Apparently it is around 1300 but I imagine that number would include all the surrounding cattle stations and Aboriginal communities. The town itself is a lot smaller and the population is mostly Aboriginal.



Outside of the town is an interesting rock formation which is a wall of rock that they call China Wall.



Left Halls Creek after an early night and drove 320kms to Fitzroy Crossing. Fuel 174.9.


Arrived mid-afternoon and surprised to find nothing but a Resort - the Fitzroy River Lodge to be exact - with a caravan park. There's no town here - just a visitors' centre and a service station with a few aboriginal houses across the road. Fuel 150.5.
The resort is really nice with a pool, a tavern and restaurant, a great deal of land that I really don't know what they do with. It's hot, hot, hot so the first thing is a dip in the pool. Freezing! While in the pool we met a couple who were at Halls Creek - Mary and Michael, a Maltese couple now living in Melbourne, and also travelling around Australia in their A-Van.

Fitzroy Crossing, on the Fitzroy River, is in the middle of some of the best pastoral country in Australia.


The next morning, we decided to do a bit of an explore around the place. The map of Fitzroy Crossing doesn't give us much of a clue what to see, except that there is an Old Fitzroy Crossing, and the Old Town began where there was a suitable place to cross the river by a "ford" or crossing, just out of reach of the flood waters. The original causeway crossing the river can still be seen, so off we went.
The former post office still stands and has been turned into a backpackers hostel.
It's pretty secluded out there and until 1984 there were only 2 telephone lines! There was meant to be the original police station and footbridge crossing the river but we couldn't find it. We did, however, find the Old Fitzroy Crossing Inn and decided to move on in rather a hurry!

On the way to the Crossing, we noticed an old supermarket on the left but it's been burnt down. Someone with a sense of humour has painted COLES in red writing on the outside wall but the place is surrounded by a cyclone fence. The fire occurred in July and the supermarket has been moved to the inside netball court - too bad for the kids.


That night the police were called to the restaurant and bar in the resort because some aboriginal boys were playing up (too much beer but I don't get it - who serves these people!!)

The next morning we headed to the pool for a swim and met up with Mary and Michael and they told us that they were too frightened to drive too far from the resort, so we took them out to the crossing for a look and, as there were now 4 of us, decided to be brave and visit the Old Crossing Inn. In we went and we were the only white people there, except for the backpackers serving behind the bar.


We had a quick drink and Mary was a real hit - being from Malta, she has dark skin and an aboriginal man came over to shake her hand and asked her where she was from. A few photos and off we went.

Ken and I had dinner in the restaurant at the Resort - $28 for fish and chips - then an early night before our trip tomorrow to Geiki Gorge.

Geiki Gorge was absolutely beautiful. Here are the photos:







On the road again and Derby here we come!!
Love to all.