Road Rule #1 – DO NOT put anything on the roof!

We had to part ways with our new friends after the Bungles trip, Thibaut and Shir headed toward Broome via the highway while Stacy and I headed north to connect with the Gibb River Road. We hope to all meet again in Broome soon.

It was dark when Stacy and I arrived in Kunanurra, so we decided to stay the night and begin the 4WD track toward El Questro in the morning. After paying $120 to fill up the tank with petrol we were feeling extra cheap and we didn’t want to pay to park the Jeep in a caravan park.  Instead we figured we could find a quiet spot somewhere in town avoiding a ticket if we could get up early enough. Covered from head to toe in Outback dust we did need a shower bad, so we decided to sneak into a campsite and use the shower.

We found a deserted parking lot next to a boat launch that seemed as good a place as any to crash for the night. We had already unpacked the car and were all set up to go to sleep when I noticed my shoes sitting on the roof. It all came back to me … I had put my shoes and a small bag on top of the Jeep when I was digging through my backpack back at the camp site. Panic rose quickly as I realized we had driven around town with my bag on the roof and it must have fallen off at some point!  Stacy and I frantically threw everything back into the Jeep, jumped in and began to retrace our route. She hung out the window with her flashlight looking in the roadside ditches, but there was no bag in sight. I wondered if this karma for stealing a shower?!

My cell rang and on the other end I heard a thick Aussie accent, “Hi Kelly Wetherington, I reckon you have lost something and I have it.” Barry lives in the campervan site where we had showered and had found my bag in the parking lot. Waiting for us with a big smile was my Guardian Angel #4. Barry told us he is a retired police officer and we were lucky my bag found it’s way into honest hands. He was a talker and told us all about where we should visit during our stay in his country. He also seemed to know a thing or two about me after inspecting the contents of my bag. He did not like the idea of us two girls driving Gibb River road. He reckoned if we insisted on doing the drive we should buy a 2nd spare tire and bring more water as it is quite possible one could get stranded for long periods in the remote corners of the Outback. I promised him we would be fine and gave Barry a big hug thanks.

Stacy and I were both exhausted and slept easily that night, Stacy with her “screamer” in hand, me at peace that I found my bag.

We both agreed that under no circumstances should we ever put anything on the roof of the Jeep again!

To see photos of Kunanurra CLICK HERE