Kununurra - Shaka's Last Stand

Our departure from Darwin was delayed by a few hours while I arranged to have 4 new tyres fitted. The Yokohama Geolanders were an expensive exercise at $1100 but our current tyres were on their last legs, the steering leaning noticeably to the right. By midday we were ready for departure and just as we were about to set off, Shaka began to have another episode. We gave him valium which settled him down but it was a concern. The early morning episodes had been occurring frequently for the past few weeks but having one occur this late in the day was an unwelcome development. We decided to forge on, arriving in Katherine late in the afternoon. We again stayed at the Riverside Tourist Park & it was noticeably quieter than when we were here two months prior. We scored a shady sight where we weren’t required to unhitch the van. This was convenient as we would be leaving for Kununurra early the next day.

The following morning Shaka had his worse episode to date. The symptoms were more intense & we watched his stomach contract as he cried out in pain. He settled with medication & we asked ourselves if we should take him to the vet in Katherine to put him down. Sure...we have talked about when is the right time to let him go but this was the first time we actually considered it. The thing is...outside of these episodes he seems quite fine, has a voracious appetite, can seem quite bright & all other bodily functions are working reasonably well. We decided to complete the next leg of our journey, the 500kms to Kununurra & reassess him there.

As the day progressed & the odometer steadily clicked over we made our way into the Kimberley region. The landscape morphed into low, ochre coloured ranges, savannah grasses & boab trees. Tomoko & I played a game of ‘That’s my Boab’ where the first to spot one & call out the catchphrase is rewarded with a point. I must say I was well in front when Tomoko called the game off, claiming unfair advantage while she was on driving duties. 40kms out of Kununurra we crossed the border into WA. At the 24 hour quarantine station the ute & van were searched for prohibited items, namely fresh fruit & vege. Luckily we were forewarned & Tomoko cooked all our remaining veges while we consumed the fruit on the way. We arrived at the very pretty Kununurra Lakeside Resort mid afternoon & were given a shady site.

After we set up the van I still had an hour of daylight left & went in search of reported barra hotspot, Ivanhoe Crossing. It’s basically a road that crosses the Ord River that has water flowing over it most of the time due to a steady supply of water, released from a dam upstream. Supposedly, there are crocodiles here & I watched on as some game locals walked the crossing in knee deep water. I threw some soft plastics at the base of the crossing without any strikes. Ex-resident Henry had told me the indigenous locals like to ask for stuff and they were true to form. Here's a transcript of our conversation. If anything I admire her persistence.

Local: You got the time on your phone?

Me: Yes. 5PM

Local: You got credit on your phone?

Me: Aaaaah...no.

Local: Can you give me & my two small kids a lift into town.

Me: (shows back seat filled with gear). No. I don't really have the room.

Local: How about just one kid?

The next day I returned to the crossing at dawn. The peacefulness of this time of day promptly interrupted with action when I hook a small barra, only for it to escape on it’s first leap out of the water. That was the only strike for the morning & I returned home for brekkie. I took Shaka for his morning walk & arriving back at the van, he had a repeat of the previous day's episode. Then & there we made the decision to put him down & I rang the vet to enquire about euthanasia and cremation services. We certainly shed some tears on this morning. It was a Friday & although we made the decision to let him go, it was still a half hearted one & we weren’t quite ready to do the deed. We made a tentative decision to do it after the weekend & who knows maybe he might improve some.

We decided to spend the weekend at nearby Lake Argyle, Australia’s largest fresh water lake. It was just an hours drive away but as we neared our destination, Shaka had another episode in the car. This time he lost control of his bowels as well & it quelled any doubts about our decision, hardening our resolve. He settled down with medication & slept most of the afternoon. Tomoko & I left him dozing in the aircon while we had a swim in the popular infinity pool.

On Sunday morning we went for a drive to explore the dam wall. The views were stunning & we searched for one of the reported 30,000 freshwater crocs that are said to reside here. Henry said fishing for large catfish here can be entertaining but Shaka's failing health dampened the mood & we spent the afternoon watching over him in the aircon of the van. He didn't have a good afternoon & we decided to ask the local vet if she could euthanise him on Monday's public holiday.

Come Monday morning, Shaka didn't look too flash. The vet kindly agreed to meet us at 10am at the clinic in Kununurra & we packed up & left. Shaka was lying down on the way into town, lifting his head on occasion to see what was going on. We parked just around the corner from the clinic & I took him for his last walk in a shady park. Afterwards I lifted him in the back of the ute like I have done countless times. He didn't even try to get to his feet & gave a long moan when I laid him down. I carried him to the clinic & gently placed him on a table. At this point the tears began flowing from Tomoko, setting me off as well. The vet talked to Shaka about the place where he was going, where he could run & play as much as he liked. There was more but we weren't taking a lot in with all the emotion. We crouched in front of his face to look into his eye & pat him on the head while he was administered the lethal injection. He let out a couple of gasps in his final moments, his body fighting to the very end & he was gone. The three desperadoes became two. His one eye remained open. Somehow I thought it would close.

The following days we tried to adjust to Shaka’s absence. At times I would see him clearly in my mind’s eye – standing next to me peering out the front windscreen while driving or enthusiastically following Tomoko around the kitchen while she’s fixing dinner. Other times I would wonder what he’s up to only to remember he’s no longer with us.

A new fishing adventure seemed like the appropriate therapy. I decided to fish the other side of Ivanhoe Crossing, a bit of an adventure involving a 40 minute drive down a corrugated dirt road & keeping a keen eye out for any wandering cattle. I threw soft plastics at the base of the crossing but it was much shallower than the town side & I didn't see any action. Unlike the other side though, I did have access upstream & I roamed the shoreline for a few hours without so much as a nibble. I could see some unfishable rapids downstream & decided to go for a walk through the bush to see what I could find. It wasn’t long before I came across a deep hole & I watched on as a flash of gold launched from a nearby snag onto my lure. After a brief fight I had landed my first WA barra, albeit a small one. I went to take a selfie with it but it wriggled out of my hand onto the dirt, not making for the best picture. As the sun rose higher I could see a good sized barramundi idling under the safety of a tree branch but no matter what lure I sent it’s way, could not tempt it to strike. The day was starting to heat up & I decided to head back only to find the ute wouldn’t start. I immediately looked at the light switch to find it in the 'on' position. Oops. I had left the lights on. I hadn’t seen another car all morning so the chances of enlisting the help of a random stranger was unlikely. I swore at my phone when the coverage read ‘no service’ but fortunately I was able to get 1 bar & contact NRMA roadside assistance. An hour later the technician rocked up, ironically trailing behind another vehicle & I was soon on my way.

​One early morning we drove out to the town of Wyndham. It was a pretty drive but the same couldn’t be said for the tired looking town. The few shops here had mostly closed down, suffering from the iron ore mine redundancies earlier in the year no doubt. The one bright structure was the recently constructed fishing jetty. I grabbed my gear & as I neared, saw a croc floating menacingly underneath the walkway. I called Tomoko over for a look but it had submerged. Who knows where it might resurface? Anyway, I started throwing lures from the pontoon but the tide was ripping in & I soon gave it away. We drove up to the Five Rivers Lookout above the town for some splendid views before heading back to Kununurra.

We decided to spend our first weekend without the dog at El Questro Wilderness Park, a million acre former cattle station on the famous Gibb River Road. We left the van in the caravan park, packed the under utilised swag & headed off on the hour’s journey. The road is sealed bar the last 16kms where we were faced with a creek crossing. It was our first one & we made a nervous but incident free crossing. Actually, it was kinda fun.

After setting up camp & refuelling with lunch we went exploring. We took the track to El Questro Gorge & soon came across another creek crossing, reportedly a deeper one. I walked it, the water coming up to my mid thigh. The sum of our 4WD creek crossing experience experienced just a few hours earlier, we debated if we should continue. Tomoko’s position was an adamant ‘no’ while I was still in two minds. During this discussion a 4WD approached from the other direction & all talks were suspended while we watched & learnt. The Land cruiser ambled through the water & the bonnet became partially submerged while transversing a dip, eliciting gasps of surprise by us. He made it through unscathed but we wisely (though some would say cowardly) postponed our crossing, with the intention of asking for advice back at the station. Plus it was bloody hot & we forgoed the hours of trekking for relaxing in the shade by a cool waterhole.

The next day's adventure began early with a short drive to Emma Gorge, El Questro's premium gorge. It was an hour of scrambling over boulders & meandering along a dry, rocky creek bed before we reached the base of the 65m chasm. It's a pretty gorge & the water icy cool, just the thing to revive us for the return leg. Next on the agenda - Zebedee Springs, a permanent thermal spring hidden among palm trees, a veritable oasis. We found a shallow pool to lounge in. I would have preferred the water to be cooler but hey...it is a hot spring after all. The gates close at midday for the high roller tour groups so we left for lunch. We decided to treat ourselves at the restaurant, Tomoko launching into a tasty steak while I tackled the barra. As the day came to a close I visited the bar to watch the NRL grand final & what a game, the Cowboys eventually prevailing in a tight one. With Manly not contesting the GF this year, it was the least painful of outcomes. I did feel for the friendly & boisterous Bronco supporter from Gove though. His enthusiasm for the game provided great entertainment & he was gracious in defeat. It brought back painful memories of us being robbed in the dying moments of the 97 GF & I have to admit he handled defeat much better than I.

​I did two more fishing expeditions to Ivanhoe Crossing. Having experienced success at the deep hole just downstream of the crossing, I ventured further along the river bank. The water became shallower in places & occasionally I would disturb a croc basking in the sun, my sudden prescence prompting them to frantically dive into the water. There were some deeper sections though & I had to find gaps in the trees to access the water. I was lobbing soft plastics into the snags just a few feet away when a barra grabbed one. It took some deftness to steer it away from the hazards but I safely landed it. At 44cm it was still undersize but it was a step in the right direction.

The second session began later in the week. I arrived at the first deep pool & in the early morning light noticed a rock that wasn't there previously. It was in fact a solid looking croc, immediately putting my nerves on edge. I was fishing periously close to the waters edge & had images of a croc launching itself at me (damn that croc jumping tour). I flicked a couple of plastics but when the croc moved into deeper water & submerged I took that as a warning to move on. I explored even further than before, catching mostly catfish. They provided some entertainment but were a nuisance to unhook & in my mind, out competing any barra they may wish to pounce. At one spot I fished a tight space between some trees. I knew it would be difficult to land a fish in these conditions but the submerged snag was too irresistible to ignore. My plastic had only just hit the water when a big barra engulfed my lure. He took off & with two head shakes bit through my 20lb leader...maybe I should have used the 40.

We were really missing Shaka in the week after his death & we gravitated to every dog that came into the caravan park. We dogsitted Rusty (11 year old red kelpie), played with Bluey (5 year old blue healer) and almost adopted a stray scruffy terrier with one eye (just like Shaka) who wandered into camp. It took some persuasion to convince Tomoko it wasn't Shaka reincarnated.

In our final few days in Kununurra we ticked off a few tourist attractions - the Zebra Rock Gallery (the only known deposits in the world are found nearby), the Sandalwood Factory (world leaders in Indian Sandalwood) & the Hoochery (the oldest continuously operating distillery in WA & self proclaimed producer of 'bloody good dinky-di Kimberley Spirit'). With the exception of landing a 1 metre plus barra (or even just a keeper) we had seen all we wished to & were ready to head for the West Coast (why do I have a sudden urge for a cooler?). Until then with a heavy heart...adios amigos.