1st September 2008

This morning was different we took a tour to Geikie Gorge which is about 20 kms east of Fitzroy Crossing. We went in a small bus operated from Fitzroy River Lodge Resort. It is a tour worth doing if you are in this area. We picked up some more passengers that had flown in from Broome especially to go on this tour. We were shown various points of interest

Undoubtedly the town's most famous building is the old Crossing Inn which, in spite of the fact that it is well distanced from the banks of the river, has still been the subject of numerous floods. In the wet the river has been known to rise over 10 metres and to spread out from its banks for a distance of up to 15 km. The Crossing Inn was originally built by Joseph Blythe in the 1890s as a store and pub for passing stockmen, prospectors and bullock team drivers. There was some interesting art work on display along with a mural that was done in 2000 and has stopped graffiti on the Inn walls.

A few kilometres out of town (on the Geikie Gorge Road) is the old Fitzroy Crossing townsite which is now no more than a few disused buildings. Nearby is the old low level crossing of the river which, while serviceable in the 'dry', obviously had limited use in the wet season. All the buildings have been condemned due to the ever present termites eating into all the wooden structures.

Fitzroy Crossing's premier attraction in Geikie Gorge National Park. Lying 20 km north east of the town it was named after Sir Archibald Geikie (a noted British geologist) by Edward Hardman who travelled through the Kimberley region in 1883.

Geikie Gorge, Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge are all part of an ancient 'barrier reef' which developed during the Devonian Period about 350 million years ago. It is estimated that the reef, which started to the east of Kununurra and swept around in a huge arc to the north of the Kimberleys before crossing the current land mass near Derby and becoming exposed to the south and north of Fitzroy Crossing, was 20 km wide and over 1000 km long. The waters of the Lennard and Fitzroy Rivers have cut through these ancient reefs exposing them and forming beautiful gorges.

Geikie Gorge abounds in wildlife which includes the harmless Johnson crocodile as well as Leichhardt's sawfish and Coach-whip stingrays whose saltwater ancestors swam up the Fitzroy River millions of years ago. The gorge has good camping facilities. Swimming and bushwalking are catered for. We went on a beautiful one hour cruise on the river and through the Gorge with a great commentary from a ranger.

As we returned into the town, we dropped off the aircraft passengers. Then we continued around the town. Going to and from the airport we drove beside an aboriginal community, one of about 50 near Fitzroy Crossing, which has reasonable homes but not well cared for. After this we drove past the near $30 million high school and hospital. The hospital is only about 12 months old and the school will be ready for 2009. The SES and Police have nice buildings but a lot of others in the town are very unkempt. We notice one home that must have had 20 people of all ages living in it. The real estate is worth between $450000 and $750000. I personally would not pay more than $50000 for some of the homes but the Aboriginal Land Council own the land and will not release any more.

When we arrived back at the Lodge Resort we went for a nice refreshing swim. During this time we had a down pour of rain. We had not see rain since June. It helped cool the air down and made it more enjoyable. We spoke o many visitors around the lovely pool. Most were on a coach and some were travelling like us.

We prepared as much as we could for our departure on the following morning and had a relatively early night.