When we booked our bus tour for the next eleven days around the Kimberly region we had not realized how close the whole tourist season was to being canceled due to the heavy flooding end of last year and heavy rains beginning this year. Many of the roads and bridges in the region were damaged.
Lucky for us they decided to go ahead with the tours even though they had to alter the route as parts of the Kimberlys were still closed.
We were picked up really early at our hotel. After collecting more passengers (turned out we were the only foreigners in the group) we drove to the Boab Prison tree. It is difficult to determine the age of a boab tree as they don’t grow bark rings. This specific tree is estimated by experts to be 1500 years old.
The inside of the boab nut is high in vitamin C and tastes a bit stingy as it is very acidic. It contains four times as much vitamin C as an orange.
While out tour guides we getting groceries we went to an gallery and cafe where we tried boab coffee. They roast and grind boab seeds and grind them up and brew them just like coffee beans. We drank a mixture of both coffee and boab beans and really enjoyed the taste. Just like the fruit the coffee tasted a bit more acidic but the flocor is quite pleasant.
The Gibb river road quickly turns into a gravel road. So letting down the tires some makes the driving easier.
For the first time on the trip we crossed the Fitzroy River that day.
Last stop before setting up camp was along the road with a fabulous view over Bell Gorge. Once again this country does not disappoint.
