I'd been looking forward to this weekend away for so long as we've been starved of anything to do in Broome and the thought of live music was too enticing to ignore.
We were up at the crack of dawn and on the road by 7.30am. Couldn't leave town until I'd had a cuppa and Mollie Bean although busy was just perfect.
It was a perfect day for a road trip and there is no doubt that the travellers are on their way. The number of caravans, camper vans, camper trailers etc was a dead give away.
It's been many years (19) since we've driven the road to Kununurra and I'd forgotte n how uninteresting the portion from Broome to Fitzroy Crossing is. The vegetation is mainly tall shrubs (three to four metres) with trees up to five or six metres. The trees and scrubs were
generally quite thick and it was hard to see far off the road, much easier sitting perched in the bus.
Speargrass grows thickly along both sides of the road. The road itself appeared no better than it was all those years ago and all the single lane bridges were a nightmare. For Highway # 1 with so many road trains up and down it's really not acceptable. Termite mounds were widespread; sometimes in thick patches. There were some seriously huge ones about. Beautiful boab trees were everywhere, many clusters of these magnificent bulbous trees are always a delight. However with the number of cattle grazing and walking on and near the road, I had to be ever vigilant while on cattle watch!
We only stopped in Fitzroy Crossing long enough to fuel up (ULP about 25c/litre dearer than we pay in Broome), have a bite to eat and visit the pleasant toilets in the visitors centre.
Onward we pushed and the landscape changed, there was plenty of evidence of recent fires and some still burning which can always be a little challenging with smoke across the road. Finally we were driving through country which reminds me so much of the Pilbara, fantastically rich ore coloured hills dotted with spinfex.
It was a big day of driving, just over 1,000km and Kimbo did it all, after all that's what he does all day. I did what I do best; observing, reading, keeping him awake and taking photos!
The sun seemed to drop even earlier than it does in Broome right now, I'm sure it was about 5.00pm and the colour of the landscape changed from deep red to beautiful violet, simply stunning but can never be captured well in photos while driving.
Finally we arrived in Kununurra just before 7.00pm and booked into our very attractive "1960's stylized villa" at Town Caravan Park. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was all we could get when I looked for accommodation months ago. I knew this weekend was one of Kununurra's busiest and I was grateful that we'd found anything.
We ordered a pizza for dinner and while we waited had a drink at Gulliver's Tavern (great name) and wished we'd made the decision to stay there for dinner. Never mind, it was the most "interesting" pizza we'd ever had.
Saturday morning we leisurely made our way to The Pumphouse for brunch and so did everyone staying in Kununurra it seemed! Although there was a cool breeze blowing, the setting (Ord River) was spectacular so we were happy to wait and the staff were doing the best they could.
After brunch we drove out to Lake Argyle and my what a difference 19 years makes. There is now an amazing infinity pool that looked spectacular but not hot enough for me to venture into.
The caravan park has expanded and updated and all the staff working at the resort seemed so happy. A part of me wished I was working there. We drove across the dam wall and down to the picnic area at the spillway. I always have a bit of a moment when at the base of a dam wall, not quite sure what that's all about .   

We stayed for a couple of bevvies at the bar at the resort and then made our way back to Kununurra for the main event - the Kimberley Moon Experience which is the grand finale of the week long Ord Valley Muster.
We packed the esky (I couldn't believe we could take 12 bottles of beer and 2 bottles of wine to the concert), we didn't take that much as neither one of us would have been conscious to listen to the bands. We walked 5 minutes to the Kununurra Country Club and caught a free bus to the event which was absolutely stunning. An ampitheatre effect with the backdrop the banks of the Ord River at the Kununurra Golf Club. It was a perfect night, and we had a great spot with an uninterrupted view. It was a really well organised event and given the number of people and the amount of alcohol, there was not a problem.
The bands were an eclectic group including; Megan Washington, The Whitlams, Dan Sultan and the main act The Living End, so most musical tastes were catered for. We caught a bus back to the resort and were home by about 11.30pm, so easy.
Sunday morning we leisurely left our salubrious accommodation and had a fabulous brekky at The Wild Mango Cafe, I had the biggest egg and bacon sandwich I've ever had. Cannot recommend the cafe highly enough, (now one open in Broome so much visit) the girls were under the pump with the amount of people who were leaving Kununurra and stopping there for brekky, they did an amazing job.
The trip home was much more leisurely as we'd decided to break the journey on the way back. We stopped at some of the overnight stops to check
There were still plenty of fires burning and some terrible caravan drivers on the road. They seem to panic when a car comes behind them and they put their foot on the brake and dive to the left, doesn't help anyone.
We only stopped for a cuppa near Warmun on the way and devoured the enormous muffin we bought from the cafe.
I did my share of driving but Kimbo's not a great passenger so it's always a challenge.
Sunday night we stayed at Fitzroy River Lodge at Fitzroy Crossing and stayed in a safari tent, advertised as; The Safari Tents are ideally suited to corporate stays with a difference, or to the "luxury camper". Not too sure about that, but I'm happy to say I had no creepy crawly anythings invade my space but not sure I'd call it a "corporate stay with a difference". Like everywhere else on the weekend, the resort was really busy, the restaurant was packed when we got there for dinner but patience was the key, plus we had nothing else to do as the tent was, to be honest (absolutely basic) the light wasn't good enough to read by and Kimbo had no TV. Had to watch out for the wildlife as we walked from the tent to the restaurant - loved it! The food was OK but overpriced but we had a peaceful night's sleep.
Monday morning and it was time for brekky before the final leg home. I'm always intrigued that I have to pay for a "proper coffee" as that never comes under the umbrella of buffet breakfast. There wasn't much to choose from when we arrived for brekky, never mind we probably won't be back there again.
I had another stint of driving and we made it home just after 1.00pm.
It's always nice to be home but really glad we made the effort to go to the event. I'm not sure if we'll be here next year for it, but gives us plenty of time to add it to our plans.