#HereWeGoAgain

They still have pizza on the table – a far cry from the repast we had just enjoyed. I get talking to some. They all love Shaun. He is hoping to do a trek into the wilder Kimberley during his time off and tells me of the preparations

Sure enough the girls return from their exploits with stories of the capture on film of rare birds. The leader of the tour was amazed at the number of twitchers she had, including a couple of young boys, hellbent on plying their trade.

The dirt is now encaked all over me as I scrambled under the car vainly trying to position the jack. I emerged in a cloud of the clinging particles.

But fun must end, and we return along the river to the ramp, hugging the shade. As part of the ride we had been offered bubbly and orange juice. Just enough to take any edge off. Soon enough we are done and back at the ramp

Happy hour tends to suggest half price drinks. Not here under new management. The discount is reduced to only 20%. It does not stop us from wetting our whistles

The red dirt and rock glows in the fading sunlight. The white of the stunted ghost gums contrasts the encroaching darkness. Perched in a spot where I have an uninterrupted view of the setting sun, Robyn joins me and we sit, enjoying the show Mother Nature is putting on

This is a big park. Big enough that management afford entertainment at night. Not that the entertainment of Silver Leader trying to manoeuvre their van into place did not cause much merriment and once his heckles had been soothed Silver Leader joined in on the mirth.

Silver Leader is introduced to bourbon, the way I like to drink it, in a 500mil tin mug with enough Wild Turkey to be able to taste it against the Coca Cola filler. He tries one, then tries another and the is glad he is not driving back to the park actress the dam wall.

Service is a thing of importance, not something that is a consequence of business. Here in the Kimberley the supply and demand of tourists runs the economy. Operators struggle with the whims of our politicians playing one upmanship, closing borders and slamming lockdowns into place.

We are beckoned out of the line of traffic and pulled aside by the police, quickly have our passes checked, the quarantine staff do their bit and we are back on the road. Not sure why we were short tracked around but we appreciated it.

For us at least protein was not going to be on the menu. We had to cook everything and we did, adding where we could fit it in, Rose’s supply. The leftovers will carry us through for a few days and we will not be “wasting” any food at the border.

The planning, the lockdowns and what we might be able to do in the next few weeks is the subject of a large discussion. We at least have options at the moment. We need to get into Western Australia first – the forms supposedly allow that, but then what.