We slept in until 6.45, and then cooked sausages and onions for breakfast while packing up the campsite. This morning we could enjoy the beauty of the early morning light on the river by our campsite. On our way out of El Questro we visited Zebedee Springs again. Chris and his group came along soon afterwards. This time we stayed in the water for two hours. It was a wonderful place.
Then it was time to leave this wilderness area. Soon we were on sealed road, and how good it felt. What easy driving! We stopped at the "grotto" outside Wyndham for lunch. Then we made a tour of Wyndham, our first town for nearly a week. We inspected the world's largest boab tree, in the town caravan park. It was more than 2000 years old. We saw the long pontoon jetty – with its warning signs about salt- water crocs – and were surprised by the strength of the ebb tide. Then we visited the crocodile farm. Cheryl was determined to see what these creatures looked like, and how big they were. Some were impressively huge, and were accompanied by alarming stories of their antics before being brought to the Crocodile Farm. One had taken to eating dogs being walked on leashes by their owners. On the side of the large ponds containing the gigantic crocodiles were several houses for young crocs, being raised for their skins and meat. They were clearly nurseries, each full of young animals at various ages and sizes. Despite seeing this, Cheryl still bought John a crocodile skin leather belt – quite clearly the skin of a single animal.
After leaving the crocodile farm we found our way up the mountain to the five-rivers lookout. There were great views out over mud flats on all sides as we walked around the tracks at the top. The sun was getting low in the sky. It was approaching 4pm. If we had had an extra day we would have considered joining another couple in staying overnight at this beautiful place and enjoying the sunset, and moonlight. However, the next afternoon we were booked to fly home, so we needed to travel further. Reluctantly we headed down to find the highway out of Wyndam.
We turned off the highway to find Parry's Creek Farm. It was tricky driving as many birds had settled on the road for the night. Flocks would fly up as we approached, and we had to concentrate hard in the failing light to avoid hitting them. We found the resort with just enough light to set up our tent. It was a huge place, and we chose to camp under a large boab tree. We swam in the resort pool and showered before having dinner in the restaurant. While Cheryl was showering she noticed a dark patch about the size of a 20cent piece on the shower curtain. This shadow suddenly jumped to the floor: it was a small frog. Dinner was lovely: our last meal of barramundi, followed by sticky date pudding. After dinner a family showed us a group of miniature frogs they had discovered in their torchlight. We walked around this interesting resort. The walls were made of corrugated iron, and all resort units and central offices were built on high stilts, and connected by above ground walkways. One of the walkways crossed Parry's Creek. Each unit had a covered outdoor sitting area with walls of insect screen material.
