.JPG) |
| Emma Gorge |
It is finally time to tackle the Gibb River Road. We left at about 9.00am, & after dropping our caravan off at the lady’s property, we set off. This road is in the central Kimberley region & is approximately 700km in length from Wyndham to Derby. It was initially constructed as a beef road to transport cattle from surrounding stations to the ports of Wyndham & Derby. It’s a dirt road renowned for corrugations and sharp rocks that don’t agree with tyres. Punctures are a common occurrence. So Craig’s first job was to let our tyres down a little, & then our first stop was Emma Gorge Resort, about 25 km along the road, & only 2 km into the resort. Emma Gorge is part of the El Questro Wilderness Park, so we had to buy a permit to see the gorge. After a bite of lunch we tackled the 3.2km return walk. This was a little bit challenging as the path was very rocky, but well worth it as you came to a beautiful waterfall & swimming hole that was enclosed on three sides by 65m sheer cliffs. The water was freezing cold so we didn’t go swimming, even though there was a thermal spring that fed into the pool. The walk took about 2 hours. Then it was time to hop back in the car and head to El Questro Station where the camping grounds are. We didn’t arrive until about 4pm as the track in is fairly slow. It was another 11km along the Gibb River Road & 16km into the Station. This is a 4WD only track as there were a couple of water crossings that had to be made to get to the campground. For the price you pay for the permit ($20 per adult) and camping fees ($20 per adult per night), the camping area was a little disappointing, but it was clean.
.JPG)
We headed out this morning to investigate this vast property (1 million acres), firstly visiting Zebedee Springs, which is a series of thermal pools set in a lush and tropical landscape. It was lovely to relax in the pools which were around 28 degrees and take in the surroundings. The pools are only open from 7am – 12pm for guests so the tour groups can come in the afternoon. We then headed to El Questro Gorge where the road takes you through a 500mm water crossing and a sandy track. The walking track was again challenging as it took 1 hour to get to the half way pool, which was as far as we went, but the beauty of the palm and fern-clad escarpment made it worthwhile. On the way back we decided to drive up to Saddleback Ridge Lookout which is a very steep track up to a platform that provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding escarpments. This track was for experienced 4WD only, so it appeared a bit daunting at first when you see the track, but we enjoyed it and it wasn’t really that bad. Situated a further 8km from the Station is a place called The Homestead which is an exclusive retreat costing $2000 a night to rent. Unless you’re staying there you are not allowed anywhere near it, but we saw a picture of it in a brochure. It looked spectacular.
.JPG)
We packed up camp & left by about 9.30am. There is a lot to pack up when you are in a tent, & 9.30am seemed to be the average time we left, unless we had a big day ahead of us & we put a big effort in too leave earlier. It was an easy trip today with a 34km drive to Home Valley Station. This is a 3.5 million acre working cattle station. It has got lovely grassy sites with a huge undercover playground for the kids, along with a resort style pool, which cost $37 for the night. We arrived at about 11.00am & set up camp, and then went for a drive to the Bush Camp on the Pentecost River where there is a stunning backdrop of the Cockburn Range. On returning, we were a little disappointed that it appeared that there was nothing much to do here except fish or take a tour on one of their horse trails, which was very expensive. However we enjoyed the grass and the playground. For a bit of trivial information, this is where Sam from The Farmer Wants A Wife is living & working, & the 3 girls who joined him, & El Questro is where he took Jodie for their overnight date.
.JPG)
.JPG)
Drysdale River Station 27/07/12
We drove 240km today to Drysdale River Station, which is 59km north of the Gibb River Road on Kalumburu Road. This road is in a little bit worse condition than the Gibb River Road, but still ok. We arrived at Drysdale Station which is basically a homestead with fuel and a workshop. It cost $30 for the night. We have heard that the meals here are good so we headed up to the restaurant for dinner and had a nice roast meal.
.JPG)
We left Drysdale Station not really knowing if we were going to go to King Edward River (70km from Mitchell Falls) or continuing up the less used road to Kalumburu, which is an aboriginal community that was set up by the Catholic Church right up the top of the Kimberley’s. The road condition leaving Drysdale Station was fair, but not as bad as some people had reported as the grader was working on the road. We made the decision not to turn off onto the Mitchells Falls road and to continue going north. The road started off ok but it soon deteriorated to the point where it was hard to see where the track was actually going. We could not work out how this was the main road up to the community, but eventually we arrived on bitumen roads and the town. We were recommended to stay at the Catholic Church campground which is in the middle of the town. There were a couple of other campers there, but because it is Saturday nothing is open including the campground office. We picked a spot in this small campground and set up camp, then went for a small walk around town. Once back at our camp we had a visit from one of the locals wanting us to buy a painting, and he asked about the road coming up. Craig asked him how often he goes on the road and he said that he has never been on the road as they fly in a plane when they have to go somewhere. Roothy & his car Milo from Australian 4WD Action DVD’s are up here filming at the moment. They are staying here in cabins.
King Edward River 29/07/12
.JPG) |
| Kalumburu road condition |
We had a chat and took some photos with Roothy this morning. Braydon loves watching their DVD’s, so was very excited to meet him, & he gave him a free DVD. They were in the process of fixing Milo his car which is just about had it. They had to push start it as the starter motor was broken. We then headed out of town to a nice camping spot called McGowan which is on the beach. We then headed around to Honeymoon Beach that everyone raves about, but we were disappointed. We went back to camp, had an early lunch, packed up, & left Kalumburu ready for the trek back down the goat track to King Edward River. The trip seemed to take forever as you have to go so slow as the road is so bad. It took 3.5hrs to travel about 150km. We finally arrived at King Edward River at about 4.30pm, & it cost $14 a night. There were no showers here so we had to set up the camping shower. The toilets were the non-flushing type, but were nice & clean. This is a lovely camping spot right on the river, with a nice little waterfall downstream, & quite a few little freshwater crocodiles.
.JPG)
Our big boy has turned 5 today, so we decided we would stay put so he could enjoy his day. As with all birthdays he got to choose what he wanted for all his meals, but when you are camping those choices are pretty limited. He had a great day playing with his birthday presents and playing with some kids from the next camp. We made a cake in the camp oven which believe it or not tasted very nice when you haven’t had cake in a couple of weeks. We sang Happy Birthday with his new play mates and cut the cake.
.JPG)
This morning we packed up camp for the trek up to the Mitchell Plateau in the Mitchell River National Park, on a notoriously bad road. We did not find it too bad after doing Kalumburu, but it did take us a little over 2hrs to do 70km. When we arrived at the Mitchell Falls campground, costing $14 a night, we set up camp on the dirt as usual, but we did have some lovely shady trees to get out of the sun. What we would do for a grassy site to put the tent on. We also had to pay $11 for the Entry Pass into the National Park. There are no showers here either so we set up our camp shower, but the toilets were again nice and clean. We were amazed at the helicopters coming and going from the campground as there are 4 choppers available to view the falls. Luckily they are only allowed to operate between the hours of 8am-4pm to keep all the campers happy. We had a look around the huge park and then cooked dinner on the campfire.
01/08/12
.JPG) |
| Mitchell Falls |
We left to do the Mitchell Falls walk at 8am this morning to try and beat the heat of the day, as everyone we talked to so far has only walked one way to the falls and got the helicopter the other way. This is a 6 minute ride for $95pp, which is probably pretty cheap for a chopper ride, but we thought we would give it a miss and save some money as we are hoping to do the Horizontal Falls Tour from Broome which is very expensive. From all reports this is a tough walk that takes 5hrs to go up and back (8.6kms return), so we were all geared up for a big day. The walk up seemed to go very quickly as there is lots to see such as aboriginal art, waterfalls, swimming holes and lovely creeks. Before we knew it we were at the falls with helicopters buzzing overhead. Unfortunately to see the falls you had to walk a further 1km and wade through a creek, but it was so worth it. This is one of those times that you are in awe of what you see and think it is just like in all the postcards. Di said that it was the highlight of the trip for her so far. After about an hour at the top it was time to start walking back. It was funny seeing an organised tour group crossing the creek, as they were all holding hands wearing their socks and no shoes as apparently this is the safest way to get across. I must admit coming back did seem a lot harder and my back was killing me from carrying Aaron, but Braydon did a great job walking all the way with only complaints coming in the last km or so. We are so lucky he loves doing his bush walks. Finally we made it back to camp and we were all exhausted, and it did take us 5hrs to complete the 8km walk. It was early to bed for all of us.
We left the Mitchell Falls ready for a bigger slow drive today. We made the 70km, two hour trek down from the plateau on the sandy track till we reached the Kalumburu road. We then headed for Drysdale Station again which was a further 110km away and took us 2.5hrs. We set up camp and filled up the car with fuel and all the water containers with water.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
We went on the Manning Gorge walk this morning, which starts off with a deep creek crossing that there is normally a boat on a pulley system that you pull yourself the 100m across the creek, but unfortunately the boat sank a couple of days ago. So it was either go for an early morning swim or follow a largely unmarked path downstream where there were some stepping stones of sort across the creek. We chose the stepping stone option which added a couple of km to the trip but we would not have to walk in wet togs. It was supposed to be a 2km, 1.5hr walk, but everyone we ran into on the track said it was a lot longer than that. We agreed, and think it would have been about a 4km, 3hr walk, as it was up and down and scrambling over rocks. It was all worth it when we arrived at the waterfall which was beautiful. Braydon and I had a paddle at the falls while Di and Aaron stayed on a rocky outcrop in the shade overlooking the falls, as it was a steep descent to get to the falls pools. Before we left on the walk we were thinking that once we got back we would pack up camp and move on, but we were all exhausted so we stayed an extra night.
.JPG)
We left Manning Gorge and firstly picked up an ice block at Mt Barnett Roadhouse for Braydon as a reward for doing such a big walk yesterday. We then drove 50km south on the Gibb River Road, and then 43km into Charnley River Station, which is a working cattle station with a couple of creeks and gorges. There were only about 10 campers at the station, but it was a nice shady campsite with our campfire and wood supplied. It cost $35 a night. We set up camp and then went for an 8km drive to Donkey Pools, which is a series of rock pools in a river system. The pools were slowly drying up from the wet season, but the last one was a nice swimming spot where Braydon and Aaron had a good paddle. There is lovely wildlife here as well.
.JPG)
This cattle property is approximately 750,000 acres, with about 5000 head of cattle. They have handed back about half the property to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. We had to drive about 30km to get to the first gorge, Dillie Gorge, which was only a short walk from the track, & quite nice. We then drove another 15km to Grevillea Gorge, and walked a short distance to a nearly dried up river system. We climbed down an extension ladder that was tied up to get down the gorge onto the river system. We then, with the help of some people we had met at a few campsites, climbed down some waterfalls to a beautiful rock pool. The other people were scared off the rock pool as there were a couple of naked guys down there swimming, but with the help of Braydon cooeeeing all the time on the way down, they followed us down for a closer look at the pools. The guys had put their clothes back on by the time we arrived and it was all good. We then drove 700m to Lillys Pools, & after having lunch firstly, we walked down to Lillys Pools which was quite pretty. It was great driving on the property as the cattle were calving so there were hundreds of newborns everywhere. The campsite also had peacocks and lots of kangaroos which was great for the kids. The camp hosts put on a sausage sizzle for dinner so many people at the campground sat around a bonfire and had dinner.
.JPG)
It was a relatively short drive today and we arrived at the Silent Grove campground at about 11am. On the way we stopped in at the Imintji Store, where we again ran into a lovely couple that we keep running into. This time though, their Quantium Offroad Caravan independent suspension trailing arm had broken, and they were waiting on a tilt tray to take it to Derby for repairs. Luckily they had RACQ premium cover so they did not have to pay the towing bill, and as the caravan was fairly new, the manufacturer was going to supply them with the parts, but it would take two weeks for delivery. This was very sad as they had all the right gear and were taking it so slowly. As soon as we arrived at the campground we decided we would have a special treat and make some pikelets for morning tea, but they started getting bigger so we made pancakes and called it lunch. This is a nice campground that has been packed out the last couple of months but has just started to quiet down in the last couple of days. It cost $22 for the night. We set up camp and then drove the 30min trip to Bell Gorge. The walking track was only 2km return so it was fairly easy until you got to the waterfall and had to climb down to the base pool which was rather challenging with the kids, but well worth it. The pools were freezing cold so we didn’t go for a swim, but just had a paddle. The Gibb River Road is a place that a lot of people are seeing the same things as you, so you tend to run into the same people all the time, which is nice.
.JPG)
We left Silent Grove and headed along the Gibb River Road before turning off onto yet another corrugated road heading down to Windjana Gorge National Park, which cost $22 for the night. We also had to pay $11 for the Entry Pass into the National Park. This is yet another gorge but the rock is like coral with fossils of fish in it. It is only a short walk from the campsite, but the other highlight was the freshwater crocodiles everywhere. These crocs were not scared of people as you could get within meters of them. We did see one crazy guy pick up one of the crocs tails for a photo, but the croc just got up and went for a swim. Talking to the ranger later in the day he said the problem is not if the croc bites you but the infection you get from the bite. So we have now finished the Gibb River Road (but not the dirt & corrugations), although it continues another 125km to Derby.
.JPG)
We left Windjana Gorge at 8.30am and headed south for 37km to a National Park called Tunnel Creek, which is a 1km tunnel that you walk through. Tunnel Creek flows through a spacious, water-worn tunnel beneath the limestone of the Napier Range and features many stalactites. We all had torches and Braydon had his swimming ring as you have to walk through the creek which is in the tunnel. At times the creek got up to 500mm and the water was freezing, but it was just the most amazing experience and nothing like we have done before. We all came out with big smiles on our faces. We then got back in the car, and after about another hour of driving we finally hit bitumen. Craig found the driving so much easier with no longer having to dodge rocks & potholes, & doing 100km/hr felt so fast. We got fuel & lunch at Fitzroy Crossing and then continued through to Halls Creek. We did not arrive at the caravan park till 5pm, so it was just a quick set up, dinner, then bed. The Hall’s Creek Caravan Park cost $29.50 for the night.
.JPG) |
| Sunset at the Bungle Bungles |
Halls Creek is largely an aboriginal community with the caravan park being in the middle of the town, & it is very noisy from the locals yelling at each other into the night. We left Halls Creek at 9.30am and did a bit of shopping at the IGA on the way out of town, and headed for the World Heritage Listed Bungle Bungles (Purnululu National Park). After turning off the bitumen we took 1.5hrs to travel 53km, as it is up and down gravel corrugated road with a number of creek crossings. At the first creek crossing we met a guy from Holland who did not know what to do as this was the first time he had driven on a dirt road never mind a creek crossing, so we showed him how to do it. The deepest creek crossing was about 500mm but all the ups and downs got the better of Di and she felt car sick. We first of all went to the Visitor Centre where we paid $11 for the Entry Pass into the National Park, & $22 a night for camping fees. We then set up camp in the National Park at Kurrajong Camp, and then went for a small walk up to a lookout and watched the sun go down on the rocky escarpment. There are no showers at this camp site so it is back to the shower tent and the camping shower for us tonight.
.JPG)
We drove 37km from our campsite to the Piccaninny Creek car park. It was a most amazing drive to the car park through all the rock formations. The beehive-shaped sandstone domes are striped with orange and grey bands. You can’t describe in words what you see but it is definitely worth the drive in there. We did 3 walks in this area; one to the Domes, one to Cathedral Gorge which led to an amphitheatre, and one to a lookout. We really enjoyed the walks as they were flat and generally a lot easier than what we have done in the past, and it was so interesting. We drove back to camp and had some lunch and a rest, and then in the afternoon we drove 7km to the Echidna Chasm and lookout. This is a very narrow chasm that is only about 1m wide but it goes straight up on each side 200m, and continues for a few hundred metres. What a great day as you are in sensory overload.
Gibb River Road stats
.JPG) |
| Bath time camping |
.JPG)
1 broken CB antenna
1 broken pair of sunglasses
1 broken Navman
1 filthy car with dust inside and out
No flat tyres
No broken eggs
No broken glass bottles
 |
| One Dirty Car |
No comments:
Post a Comment