Kimberly, Conner and Franklin
They say the Fitzroy River in full flood is truly something to behold, so the first thing we did after lunch, even before looking for a vehicle, was rent two of the highest rated Aquayak kayaks we could find. Then we rented this hot little SUV, strapped the kayaks to the roof and took off.
“Welcome to the GAFA!”, said the rental agent as we pulled out.
After two hours of nothing but bush and bugs, we understood completely why the locals call it that, the Great Australian Fuck all.
Rolling into Mount Hardman just before dark, we get a room at the Inn, have a bite to eat and down a couple of Tooheys. Kimberly has been jabbering all the way from Broome, but the beer hits her pretty quickly and she decides to crash, giving Conner the opportunity to lay into me.
“I told you; I fuckin told you. I mean, she’s driving me nuts already!”
“I know, I know. Let’s just see how she is after a good night’s sleep, okay?”
A couple more Tooheys later we finally put the Kimmy situation to rest and move on to more important questions, like is this or is this not the best fucking beer we’ve ever tasted.
At breakfast this morning, Kimberly is a little groggy, but seems very relaxed and quiet. I thank all the gods that I can think of for this minor blessing. Conner takes the wheel, I take shotgun, Kimmy curls up in the backseat and we hit the road with less than two hours to Fitzroy Crossing and that amazing raging river. I take a few videos for the YouTube intro, which we have been doing since we left Boston, and make some notes in the log. We’re about half way there now and Conner and I are so totally stoked that we…
“Conner!”, hollers Kimmy, but it’s too late.