Something different today ... we arrived very early for a 6am flight with Kingfisher Tourist flights. The only person there at 5.15am was the pilot, Bintu, who greeted and then weighed us to calculate the seat allocation (to keep the plane balanced) ...
... fortuitously, Kaspars – our expert photographer – was assigned the co-pilot seat as he was the biggest passenger ...
... Anubha and myself were assigned the back row. We shared the plane with four other passengers, while Ion went on the next flight, departing one hour later ...
... right from the takeoff this ride was fascinating – we followed the Ord River through irrigated farm land, learning about the two crops, mangos and sandalwood, which actually is a parasite on another tree ...
... from the irrigated farms we headed out over Lake Argyle, home to 35,000 freshwater crocodiles, 80% of which are female (apparently variable water temperatures determine their sex) ...
... we passed over cattle stations and the Osmond Ranges which were once over 30,000 feet high when the tectonic plates collided. They are now weathered and eroded down to approx. 3000 feet ...
... the highlight for me was the close look at the Bungle Bungles. They were re-discovered in the 1980's when a film crew were doing a story on the cattle stations. They came back and made a documentary on the mountains themselves and once it was shown around, the local councils jumped into an advertising campaign with WA Tourism and suddenly tourism in the area exploded ...
... they are now one of the most recognisable natural features in Australia. Their characteristic orange and grey stripes are the result of iron oxidation and blue green algae. The rounded, pitted features are the result of the predominantly south-easterly wind blowing across the Tanami Desert and sand blasting the rocks into their unique shape ...
... the pilot was a mine of information and obligingly did left and right turns above the gorges so passengers on both sides could see into the narrow gorges ...
... on our way back we flew over the Argyle Diamond Mine, which produces more diamonds than any other in the world. Most of these are industrial diamonds and only a very small percentage are the famous pink diamonds ...
... this was a truly memorable plane ride and we are truly grateful to the team at Kingfisher Tours who provided 3 free tickets for the Peace Run ...
Kununurra, the last town before the Northern Territory border, is a thriving town in the magic East Kimberley region which provided many unforgettable moments for our Peace Run Team. Though remote, it is a very peaceful part of the world ...
... our engagements today were with the two local schools – St Josephs Catholic Primary School and Kununurra District High School, both only a few hundred metres apart ...
... knowing that these were the last two school visits before we reach Queensland in a few weeks – as the schools in Northern Territory will be on vacation – we were extra grateful to be with these charming children ...
... John and Brittany received the Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary ...
... passing the Peace Torch around and making a wish for peace, is always a highlight of school visits ...
Meanwhile, one of our boys teams had started our running for the day ... though even before we left our beautiful campsite in Kununurra, two of our neighbours at the Kimberlyland Tourist Park – Alan and Coral from Warnbro, WA – quizzed us on the run and got to hold the Peace Torch. Coral actually had worked at the Tourist Park before meeting Alan. This holiday was their honeymoon (2nd time around) ...
... Drishula set off for the first of the 5km of his 18km he will run today. You could not ask for a more perfect start ...
... Sarankhuu runs next, like an excited young pup, an 8km start to his day ...
... Bayarkhuu follows, the sun already betraying what's in store later in the day. He also warms up with with a 5km, 13km to go for later on ...
... and hands over to myself, Steve ...
... revived from our team meeting last night when we had a quiet moment of reflection together to gather our inner capacities for the days ahead, Monday seems full of newness ... well, at least my first 5km does ...
... the blue-frilled lizard runs next (because of the head gear he wears) – an interesting fact about these creatures is their blood group is B positive, but with Prabuddha it's more of a lifestyle choice ...
... we decide to visit Lake Argyle, the 2nd-biggest man-made lake in the world, "because it is just there" ...
... here's a secret – we didn't actually run to the lake as it was off-route. This photo is posed!
... we meet Jenny and Max from Geelong on top of the dam wall ...
... a magnificent panorama (click on image for larger version) ...
Drishalu spots our first crocodile ...
... as we descended to the base of the dam wall to get a closer veiw of the croc, which we reckon was at least 4 metres in length – no, let's make that 5 – a freshy, so they say ...
... we met Robin and Ian Cuerden. Robin, a keen walker and Ian, a keen kayaker, have a daughter who used to compete in the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon in Canberra, and is now a champion long-distance swimmer ...
Back in Kununurra, our other teams have moved on to their second school, Kununurra District High School ...
... the presentation here was a happy and friendly occasion ...
... Pepeta and Shayleen represented the school and received the Certificate of Appreciation for Kununurra District High School ...
... one thing that has really impressed us in the country schools here in the Kimberleys is the sense of family you feel whilst at the schools. Today’s schools were certainly a glowing testament to that experience. From the teachers you feel such great dedication and concern for the children and from the students a great sense of love for another ...
... our heart’s gratitude to the schools of Kununurra. Warmer greetings for our final school visits in Western Australia we could not have asked for ...
... following our school visits we continued our journey on the road towards Darwin. Today the girls team had another 80kms to run, and were relieved the day didn’t heat up as strongly as first anticipated ...
Mongolian massage therapy ...
Caravaners we greet respectfully ...
We cross into the Northern Territory after six weeks plus in WA ...
... crocodile territory it seems, as immediately signs begin to appear ...
... an unusual wild flower was picked to sweeten the van's atmosphere ...
... after crossing the border into the Northern Territory the countryside soon seemed much drier and there was also a lot less traffic on the highway. Many of the vehicles were dusty 4 wheel drives that looked like they were being put to very good use ...
... some of the girls were a little sore today after some solid running the last few days ...
... it was 6pm before we finished, weary perhaps but full of joy for being out on the road in this great Peace Run around this ever changing and stunning continent ...
... we are most grateful to the management and staff of the Timber Creek Hotel and Circle F Caravan Park for furnishing us with such a lovely camping ground for the night ...
... on arrival at our very picturesque caravan park we were treated to a fire work display that continued late into the night ...
