Day 25 13/06/2013 Silent Grove to Derby.....the end of the GRR.
Before we left this morning we had a short walk along the Silent Grove Creek. Then we packed up, hitched up the trailer and checked lights...... no brake lights again......obviously a more serious problem than just the fuse! We were hoping we could get it sorted in Derby. The first part of our journey took us through the King Leopold Ranges with some breathtaking scenery. We also passed a rock formation which, from a distance, looked like Queen Victoria's Head! The road was pretty good..... some sealed sections and some gravel. Then the last 40km or so into Derby was sealed, but just a single lane strip....of course we had to meet a road train on this section! Fortunately there was room for us to pull over; it was better than meeting it on the dirt when we would have been swallowed up by his dust!! So......we survived the GRR! We have travelled on good roads, rough roads, and very rough tracks, and lost count of how many creeks and rivers we have crossed. We are all 'gorged out' !!! Looking at all the gorges and waterfalls in the Kimberley is a little like looking at all the Cathedrals in Europe....similar in many ways but all having their own unique character. There is no doubt that this is a stunning part of Australia.
Arriving into Derby......pronounced Dirby, not Darby..... we headed straight for an auto-electrician. He was taking bookings for two weeks away and suggested we might have better luck in Broome! THEN we noticed that the engine system warning light had come on in the vehicle and it wasn't pulling in fuel, putting the vehicle into 'limp mode'. We called the Nissan service agent in Broome. He thought it might be a fuel pump problem..... we had that problem in Mt Isa two years ago, and a new fuel pump put in......OR it could just be a glitch in the electrics, so he suggested we disconnect then reconnect the battery. We did this, and lo and behold, the problem seems solved. Fingers crossed!
We had a stressful couple of hours but then relaxed with a cold beer at the campsite; caught up with phone calls and chatted to our neighbours, Tim and Dee, who are from NZ and who both drive milk trucks for a living!
We had Fish and Chips on the Jetty for dinner .....no cooking and no washing up!
Off to Broome tomorrow.