TUESDAY 29 JUNE   MOUNT AUGUSTUS TO KENNEDY RANGE NP   272kms

John coughed very badly through the night, but said he was feeling a bit better this morning. I just felt tired, from lack of sleep!

We left about 9.30am.

On the way out of the property, we diverted to look at Cattle Pool on the Lyons River. There was more water in it, this time, and it looked a lot more attractive.

We drove west to “Cobra”. There was no fuel available there, despite it supposedly having same. It was a good thing we had filled up at Mount Augustus.

From there, continued sort of NW, then turned south on the Gascoyne Junction road.

From “Cobra”, this had been new ground for us, just as had been the drive from Mullewa to Landor.

The unsealed road was generally fairly good, though in places where it ran close to the Lyons River, there were lots of dips and floodways, and the going was slower.

It was quite scenic – just enough isolated hills and outcrops to maintain interest.

We stopped for morning tea at a crossing/ford of the Lyons River. There was a rather pretty, large water hole there.

After some time on the Gascoyne Junction road, we turned west again for the run of a few kms to the campground in the Kennedy Ranges. Here, these had the appearance of a flat topped higher area from the distance, but became more rugged in appearance as we got close to the campground.

The Kennedy Ranges, which stretch for a long way north-south, are very spectacular. They are an eroded former land level, so are mesa like. They are of sedimentary rock, with some lava intrusions, which make different features.

The little campground was basic, but alright. There was a pit toilet. With only one other couple there, in a slide-on camper, there was no problem finding a good place to park the rig.

The campground faced the Range and a big gully cut into it. The sunlight on the Range was dramatic.

After setting up, we went for a walk up the big creek gully. It was dry, of course.

The gully/gorge was very interesting because of the rock patterns, the shapes, the erosion forms. We walked quite a way up the rocky creek bed, including around one rock fall. It was good exercise.

We enjoyed the evening. No “people” sounds at all, just the wind through the mulga. And crickets, or something similar. The stars were so bright.

About 3am, the other couple – Swiss – woke us up. It gave us quite a fright, to have someone knocking loudly on the van door at that hour. They had locked themselves out of their camper! Toilet call, it was implied. They wanted to borrow scissors to cut their way back in through the flyscreen of the popup roof flap. John,  having hastily put on some clothes, went off with them to help. They managed it – he was not young, but still rather agile. Oh, the merits of a bucket, inside, at night!