With a big day ahead of us, we made a quick getaway from Mitchell Falls campground, leaving well before 7am. We literally got out of bed and folded the camper up, although a couple of sleepy heads allowed me time to get a brew made. After a breakfast stop at Lawley Hill, we paused again near the King Edward River to check out some more of the exquisite art painted in the rocks around here.
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| The art gallery was amazing in every way |
We found some beautiful Gyorn or Bradshaw figures. These paintings are around 17 000 years old, and remind me of traditional Indonesian puppets.
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| The Gyorn (Bradshaw) figures were incredibly detailed |
I sat for a moment looking at the paintings, and then out at the Pandanus Palms and Savannah woodland. I wondered how much the view had changed in this area in the thousands of years since the artist painted their figures, and if there would be anything as beautiful left behind from our generation.
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| The view from one gallery |
We left the plateau, and topped up with fuel (and fabulous bowl of hot chips) at Drysdale River. We enjoyed lunch on the banks of the Gibb River itself - in the shade of the paperbark trees. Not a huge river, it was nonetheless a pretty spot to picnic or even camp.
The Gibb River Road was busy, dusty and we settled in the dust trail of another vehicle. We contemplated stopping at Ellenbrae Homestead, but continued on to the Durack River. The Durack was deep, rocky and stirred up so we couldn't see the bottom. With fingers crossed we drove across with no dramas at all, and it was on to Home Valley Station.
As we came down the hill towards Home Valley Station, the magnificent Cockburn Ranges was opened up in front of us, and we pulled over to take a photo. It also turned out that this viewing point is well known as the only patch of mobile phone range on the whole road, so there were several people paying homage to the communication-god doing strange dances with their phones held above their heads. It had been well over two weeks since our last communication with the outside world - and it had been bliss - although it had also been well over two weeks since our last grocery shop and the fridge and pantry was starting to look decidedly bare.
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| The Cockburn Ranges |
We checked into Home Valley Station for two nights. We had covered 414km of some of the roughest road in the country and we were all a little rattled. We pulled up, and after a quick dinner and shower all retired early.
The next day was a rest day - and for the kids of course that meant schoolwork. I spent most of the afternoon crawling over and under the car checking for anything that might have come adrift during the last couple of weeks. The main task of the day was cleaning all the rubber seals in Rocky and Matilda. They had done a sterling job of keeping the fine red dust at bay, but were getting caked up with the stuff. The only real damage we sustained as a bent guard where an errant rock had done some handy work, and a couple of bend D-shackles when we bottomed out on a particularly sharp river crossing departure. A hammer and a block of wood fixed the first problem, and in my box of spares, two shiny new D-shackles took care of the other. Whilst we hadn't finished the Gibb River Road yet, with only 40km to the blacktop, we were starting to feel confident the worst of the road was behind us... except for the mighty Pentecost River that is.
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| It will buff out Dad, wont it? |
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| The worst of our damage on the Gibb... We were lucky |
We treated ourselves to dinner at Home Valley Station, which was a very welcome change from our normal routine. We had a wonderful time and soon all four of us were up and dancing along to
Corey Colum's guitar. In fact we encouraged several others to dance along too, but when the boys (all three of us) started doing the 'Sprinkler' and 'Shopping Trolley' dance, Mum called stumps. So unfortunately on that evening, Home Valley Station failed to see 'The Wounded Bull'. Another day perhaps.
The Pentecost River crossing is the most feared on the whole road, and also the most picturesque. We drove across it without a drama - but came back the following evening to capture a crossing with the afternoon sun on the Cockburn Ranges. This is one crossing you don't wade across as there are Estuarine Crocodiles lurking in the clear waters. It is beautiful and we took many photos. For the record, this photo shows the car heading west - I had to go back to pick up my wonderful photographer :)
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| Crossing the mighty Pentecost River |
We made our way to the stunning Emma Gorge and walked up the rocky path to the head of the valley. The gorge was beautiful and we nearly went for a swim at Turquoise Pool, before continuing to the main pool under the falls itself.
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| Emma Gorge Turquoise Pool |
The falls were beautiful but the water was numbingly cold. The boys wisely chose not to go for a swim, but Mum and I made it in for a brief swim. This was a wonderful place to sit and watch the mist swirling around the gorge - after you were dry and thawed out again. Emma Gorge is part of the El Questro Resort, and usually has two coach loads of tourists staying each night, let alone those that do day visits. We were starting to feel back on the main tourist circuit - but like all places so far, if you're prepared to wait fifteen minutes or so, the crowds soon disperse.
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| Emma Gorge - numbingly cold |
With trepidation we drove into El Questro. It is the sort of place everyone has an opinion of, and not many were complimentary. We realised that we were back in a different tourist bracket with the number of all-wheel drive softroaders that we saw on the road in - a change from the dirty 4WDs of the past couple of weeks. As we checked in, we acted on a hot tip from our friends Paul and Bron, and asked if they had any of their private riverside camps available. They did, and for a measly $16 extra a night we had our own patch of riverside camp, with no neighbours within cooee. The camping fees were on a par with anywhere else, the facilities good, and whilst many complained of the $20 per adult access fee (for a weeks pass), it is obviously put to good use keeping the roads in excellent condition and again is similar to any National Park access fee.
Our first activity was to go and check out the property, and we soon found ourselves negotiating a steep rocky track down to the Chamberlain River and Pigeons Water-hole. It was steep and rocky, with soft river sand at the bottom. Great fun, and The Little Helper felt most important when he was asked to hop out of the car with his new two-way radio and guide me down a particularly rocky patch.
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| Putting Rocky through his paces - the photos never do it justice |
We found ourselves at the top of Saddle Back Lookout, overlooking the township and camping areas. There is no denying that this ancient of landscapes is rugged and beautiful. This property could well be a National Park, and we loved it.
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| Saddle Back Lookout |
But lookouts is one thing. the Kimberley is also about water. In the wet season it has lots of water. We went down and checked out Chamberlain Gorge as the sun sank low in the sky. This gorge is just upstream from the iconic homestead that you have seen on every tourist brochure of the place. Looking up the river, it is beautiful.
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| Chamberlain Gorge |
As with all really beautiful places, you need to do a bit of walking and we chose to explore El Questro Gorge. The drive in crossed Moonshine Creek, a deep crossing that rivalled our earlier crossing of the Pentecost for depth and length. The gorge was in a word, stunning. The water in it was crystal clear and inviting, and for once I remembered the goPro and captured some video of it.
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| Lunch Stop - El Questro Gorge |
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| Half Way Pool, El Questro Gorge |
But there is no denying we saved the best until last. On our last morning we packed up and headed to Zebedee Springs. Zebedee Springs is the most popular swimming place at El Questro, and once you get there you can see why. Thermal springs feed the pools to a very comfortable 32-28 degrees. In no time at all we were splashing about in the warm waters. I got out my mug of coffee and made everyone else envious as I sat back and got on with some serious relaxation.
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| The only way to improve Zebedee Springs - add a hot cup of coffee! |
It was a fitting way to end our time on the iconic Gibb River Road. We had travelled over 2 000km since leaving Broome, on one of the most notorious roads in Australia, with barely a hitch. The car and camper had both performed faultlessly and with supreme comfort. It had been a wonderful adventure within our adventure. It was time to head to the big smoke to resupply the pantry before an adventure of a completely different nature.
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| We made it!!!! |
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