Day 15 – Packed up the tent and departed El Questro for Emma Gorge. A 45 minute walk into the gorge but well worth the effort. A spectacular gorge with tall majestic walls surrounding a clear freezing cold pool into which water cascades down the walls like rain. We bit the bullet and dove into the water. It was absolutely freezing and made your arms ache. The cascading water felt like icicles when it hit your skin. Hundreds of photos later we walked back to the car and headed off on the final 70 kms of the Gibb River Road. More shaly rocks with the odd bit of bitumen thrown in saw us reach our destination without any drama. Our journey completed we headed for Kununurra where we booked into the Kimberley Grande for a night of debauchery and laundry!! We swam in the pool then went to dinner in the restaurant. How luxurious it all was.
Some vital information on the GRR:
• 1882 kms travelled
• 20,695,211 corrugations at an average height of 5.41 cm
• 17,148 large rocks
• 117 creeks, floodways and rivers
• 628 dead tyres
• 207 wrecked shockers
• 14 broken main springs
• 482 songs on the IPod
• 2 very happy people
Day 16 – We awoke fresh as a daisy after a good nights sleep in a kingsize bed. Reality soon checked in when we registered at the Discovery Caravan Park – trailer trash, or worse, tent trash yet again. We spent the day booking tours and replenishing our diminished food supplies. Fresh fruit and vegies were the order of the day. Most importantly we stocked up on grog, our two week ‘drying out period’ – well sort of – officially over.
Day 17 – Picked up at 8.00am for a tour of the Argyle Dam and Ord River. We travelled by bus to the dam where we went on a 2 hour cruise of the dam. Triple J run a pretty slick operation with tour guides who are very knowledgeable and provide lots of facts and figures on the making of the dam and its uses. After lunch we boarded another boat for a return cruise to Kununurra via the Ord River. Our tour guide, Cam, was a font of knowledge re flora and fauna and we spotted a Nankeen Night Heron and two Black Bitterns which are quite rare. We have done lots of tours during our trip and this one, along with the mailrun out of Coober Pedy, have been the best. As the boat pulled back into Lake Kununurra around 6pm we were treated to the site of millions (no exaggeration) of fruit bats flying into the sky as a full moon rose over the lake. Back at the tent I had received a message from one W J Wilding on my phone. Bill was also in Kununurra. After a lengthy chat we arranged to catch up with him in Broome. He was having dinner with the Josephite nuns that night and we were heading for the Bungles the next day.
Day 18 – Up at 4.30am – no I am not kidding – for a 6am flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles. To make a very long story short (not like me at all) Stephen, who was sitting on the right side of the plane saw everything and his photo finger was almost herniated. Anne, who was sitting on the left side of the plane, negotiated a $200 refund with the General Manager of the flight company - not happy Jan. Back to the caravan park to pack up and head for Purnululu National Park – the Bungle Bungles. The road into the national park was windy, rocky and had a number of very high crests and river crossings. Demanding drive but Stephen enjoyed the challenge. A long day with just enough time to go to the Kungkalahayi lookout for sunset. Dinner and then off to bed on a very cool night.
Day 19 – Up very early as we wanted to start our first walk at 7.30am as the heat can take its toll if you start much later. The Mini Palms walk was hard on the legs as it followed a creek bed with lots of pebbles. Thankfully the ankle is coping well and is getting stronger each day. After 40 minutes of boulder climbing and through tiny crevices (this walk isn’t for those who luv cheese) we reached a platform overlooking a chasm. At the end of the chasm was a tunnel that appeared to us to have a neon sign saying, “come and look at me”. We ventured past the No Entry sign and climbed down to the floor of the chasm because we all know that No Entry means Be Careful, right!! We also just happened to have a torch with us so we went through the tunnel opening to find – not much – just a very big hole, however it was a great view back up towards the platform. As we were there on our own we made lots of noise and enjoyed the cathedral like acoustics. Next we drove back to Echidna Chasm, a unique chasm which the photos will give you a better perspective than I can. We drove to the south end of the Bungles for lunch. It was now hitting about 35 degrees and too hot for us to try the Piccaninni Creek Lookout walk so we decided on the Cathedral Gorge walk as we were told it was nice and cool in there. The 60 minute walk took us 20 minutes – they must time this walk with the old lady factor included – and we were happy to find it about 10 degrees cooler than outside. We dallied in here for about an hour and when we emerged around 2pm the heat had gone out of the sun so we continued onto the lookout walk. By this stage we were a bit Bungled Out , however we finished the day with the Dome walk so that we could say we had done all the walks at the Bungles. As we arrived back at the camping ground a fellow camper had his hose out so we asked if we could use it to have a shower. Out came the soap and we soon felt human again. We cooked some chops on the open fire and Stephen wouldn’t let me go to bed at 6.15 so I had to wait until 7.30pm when I fell into the sleep of the dead.
Day 20 – Our day commenced at 5.20am when a flock of yellow-crested cockatoos landed in the tree above our tent. I swear they were louder than a Strathmore girls lunch . Fortunately they were toilet trained and our tent was saved. We drove out of the national park at 7.20am, a record. We were driving to Fitzroy Crossing today which would be our last night in the tent – yeah!! We made a couple of stops along the way at Mary’s Pool, Ngumban Cliffs and an aboriginal art gallery at one of the communities. We arrived at the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge at 2pm and couldn’t believe it when they told us they didn’t even have an unpowered tent site. Fortunately we had Plan B available down the road so at least we had somewhere to stay. Enjoyed a buffet roast at the Crossing Inn.
Day 21 – Well this is it – 21 days since we left Broome for our camping adventure. It certainly has been enlightening to see the Kimberley. The homesteads, aboriginal communities, gorges, waterfalls, chasms, rivers, roads, flora, fauna, bugs and insects have given us a wonderful experience and I only hope that one day some of you decide to take the time to see this fabulous part of Australia. I must say, we have had enough of the dust and can’t wait to find a bit of grass to rub our toes in. My gorgeous Stephen’s comment was: “You haven’t been anywhere until you have been bitten on the bum by a mossie at Mitchell Falls camping ground.” I guess that says it all.
• While watching the sunset at Kungkalahayi lookout in the Bungles one lady was heard to say: “I wonder how long this goes for?”
• Recently the Premier of WA, Mr Barnett, was addressing the Derby community regarding the viability of tidal power generation and made the following statement: “How can you be sure that the tides will occur everyday?”
Some people are just uummmmph - stupid
Photos: Stephen has gone a bit overboard on this edition but persist as they are very good.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek3?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTCwuvFvpK_KQ#
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Week 2 Gibb River Road - Manning Gorge – Drysdale – Mitchell Falls – Home Valley – El Questro 27 July – 3 August
Day 8 – What started as an early night (Day 7) proved to be an interrupted night’s sleep. A young German couple camped next to us decided to have a couple or 6 bottles of wine. The girl went quietly off to bed but the bloke decided to sit in his car and listen to (c)rap music. After several hours of the same CD over and over Stephen went to ask him to turn it off to find him fast asleep (pissed) and unable to rouse him. Stephen opened the door of his car and turned the volume off. About midnight he woke up and turned it on again and this time decided to sing as well!!! Fortunately he only ‘sang’ one song then turned it off and loudly got into bed. Hmmm, the joys of camping. We were on our way to Manning Gorge by 8am. Quite a difficult walk in but well worth the effort. A series of falls into a glorious waterhole. We watched the German people jump off the high rocks into the swimming hole. It probably wasn’t such a bad way to clear the cobwebs from the previous night. After much umming and ahrring we decided to drive to Drysdale around lunchtime and check out the road to Mitchell Falls. We had heard some horrendous stories of broken down cars and shredded tyres and that the road was in the worst condition it has ever been. The drive to Drysdale wasn’t too bad and when we arrived we were delighted to hear that the grader was currently grading the Mitchell Falls road. Yahoo, just in time. We booked in for dinner at the ‘bar’ then ordered a drink and rang the kids from a public phone housed in an old refrigerator. Great to hear Fynn and the girls voices and Cath, Julse and Pat’s also. Set up camp then back to the bar for dinner. We were chatting to some people when I spotted Kununurra Scott. He was supposed to take a group of 4 up to Mitchell Plateau but had been unable to get his trailer up there. He assured us that we would be okay as the grader had almost finished its job. We sat next to a couple who said they had driven/crawled for 9 hours to get to the falls but had a wonderful time and were very encouraging. We had lamb shanks and chocolate pudding for dinner and some very good company.
Day 9 – We left for Mitchell Falls at 8.30am. It was 105 kms to the falls turn off and we did that in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The last 20 kms were shocking with corrugations that went up to my elbow and there was quite a lot of rock. It was 87 kms from the turn off to the campsite. The first 7 kms were very bad conditions but after that the grader had been through which made it a lot easier. However, it was not an easy drive by any means, very slow and you needed to concentrate. The last 16 kms (which were not yet graded) were again very, very slow and hard driving but at 1.40pm we finally reach the Mitchell Plateau Camping Ground. We had made it unscathed but very tired. We found a shady spot, set up camp and did very little for the rest of the day. Lots of animals crawling around outside during the night.
Day 10 – We commenced the 1 ½ hour walk to the falls at 8.30am. Got to Little Merton Falls in about 20 minutes where we found lots of aboriginal art including some Bradshaw art. We spent 40 minutes walking under the falls and exploring the artwork. We ventured on to find more artwork along the way before finally reaching Big Merton Falls. These falls were dry but quite spectacular all the same. Took some photos and moved onto the top of Mitchell Falls where we waded across the water. We had finally reached our major destination for this trip. Much excitement. We went for a bit of an explore and found the track Dave had told us about which took us right around passed the falls to a ledge where we could look back and see all 4 levels of the waterfall. It was magical. We sat by ourselves and ate our lunch on the ledge looking at the most beautiful setting in the Kimberley. If we had walked 5 steps forward we would have plunged into the gorge below. With photos taken we put our backpacks back on and went back to the falls for a cooling swim. At 2.30pm we caught the helicopter back to the camping ground. Well, sometimes its just nice to take the easy option. Spent the evening with Rosemary and Bill, a couple of 'old cockies' from the Mallee.
Day 11 – 5990 kms from home we backtracked along the MF road to Drysdale. The grader had finished the last 16 kms and it was a nice smooth track out. We were accompanied by Rosemary and Bill and it was good to know we weren’t completely alone. Turned onto the Kalumburru/Drysdale Rd in under 2 hours. About 7 kms down the road we came across some poor bastard who had broken a main spring and was limping back to Drysdale. Not much you can do except let them know back at Drysdale that they are coming. Got back to Drysdale in 4 hours, an hour off our time going up. As it was lunchtime we had lunch with Rosemary and Bill and Jo and Donald, a couple from Kojanup in south WA at the pub then decided to push onto Home Valley. In hindsight this was not such a good idea as it was much further than we though and the road was shocking, shaly and rocky. We stopped at Ellenbrae for scones, jam and cream – yummy but $4.50 for one scone was a bit rich. We were getting a little concerned as it was almost sunset and as we came over the crest towards Home Valley we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Cockburn Ranges in full light from the setting sun. For the first time we put the tent up in the dark then hit the bar for a much needed and deserved beer for Stephen and G & T for me.
Day 12 – A day of rest. We were stuffed after the drive from the previous day so decided to spend the day rubbing our feet in the grass at Home Valley and swimming in the very nice pool. We are definitely sick of the red and gray dust and dirt and this little oasis of grass was just what we needed. As the sun set over the Cockburn Ranges we rang the kids from the lookout – unexpected phone coverage – and Ails to catch up on all the gossip and footy scores. Late in the evening while sitting by the fire a young couple, Anna and Brett from Port Melbourne, asked if we could keep an ear out for their sleeping children while they had dinner at the homestead. It was good to act like grandparents again.
Day 13 – Destination El Questro. After much uummming and aahhhring (again) we decided on the $30 a night camping option rather than the $2000 per night homestead suite (minimum stay 2 nights). The camping ground was very picturesque and shady and the amenities very good – I’m still thinking we chose the wrong option. We spent the morning at Zeberdee Springs, beautiful spring falls which ran rings around any other springs we had previously seen. In the afternoon we went to the Branco and Saddle back lookouts – real 4x4 stuff and Anne was a bit scared-y-catish. Great vantage points to look out over the property. Ran into a couple of donkeys on the way back. We also took a detour to Chamberlain Gorge for a sticky beak at the homestead. Also caught up with Tyreman and Shazza and heard their tales of woe of wrecking 5 tyres on the Gibb and having to limp into Kununurra for a complete set of 6 new tyres. They didn’t get to see or do much at all after we last saw them. We obviously had luck on our side.
Day 14 – We started the day early with a walk to El Questro Gorge. A lovely walk with ferns and crystal clear swimming holes. Feeling ready for a challenge we passed/climbed the halfway point where most people stop, waded through a pool up to our chests with our gear above our heads and climbed/or was pulled up a very large boulder. We came across some magnificent waterholes so clear you could count the pebbles on the bottom of the pool. A demanding walk but a lot of fun. Back to the tent for lunch then a river cruise up Chamberlain Gorge for 2 hours. Lovely gorge but we should have saved our money on the cruise and hired a couple of self drive boats, it would have been better value. Returned to the camping ground to find Anna, Brett and the new grandkids camped behind us. We sat around the fire after dinner chatting for several hours and it must have been at least 9pm when we crawled into bed!!
Lots of photos on: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek2?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2jnd6Sv8KIVg#
Day 9 – We left for Mitchell Falls at 8.30am. It was 105 kms to the falls turn off and we did that in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The last 20 kms were shocking with corrugations that went up to my elbow and there was quite a lot of rock. It was 87 kms from the turn off to the campsite. The first 7 kms were very bad conditions but after that the grader had been through which made it a lot easier. However, it was not an easy drive by any means, very slow and you needed to concentrate. The last 16 kms (which were not yet graded) were again very, very slow and hard driving but at 1.40pm we finally reach the Mitchell Plateau Camping Ground. We had made it unscathed but very tired. We found a shady spot, set up camp and did very little for the rest of the day. Lots of animals crawling around outside during the night.
Day 10 – We commenced the 1 ½ hour walk to the falls at 8.30am. Got to Little Merton Falls in about 20 minutes where we found lots of aboriginal art including some Bradshaw art. We spent 40 minutes walking under the falls and exploring the artwork. We ventured on to find more artwork along the way before finally reaching Big Merton Falls. These falls were dry but quite spectacular all the same. Took some photos and moved onto the top of Mitchell Falls where we waded across the water. We had finally reached our major destination for this trip. Much excitement. We went for a bit of an explore and found the track Dave had told us about which took us right around passed the falls to a ledge where we could look back and see all 4 levels of the waterfall. It was magical. We sat by ourselves and ate our lunch on the ledge looking at the most beautiful setting in the Kimberley. If we had walked 5 steps forward we would have plunged into the gorge below. With photos taken we put our backpacks back on and went back to the falls for a cooling swim. At 2.30pm we caught the helicopter back to the camping ground. Well, sometimes its just nice to take the easy option. Spent the evening with Rosemary and Bill, a couple of 'old cockies' from the Mallee.
Day 11 – 5990 kms from home we backtracked along the MF road to Drysdale. The grader had finished the last 16 kms and it was a nice smooth track out. We were accompanied by Rosemary and Bill and it was good to know we weren’t completely alone. Turned onto the Kalumburru/Drysdale Rd in under 2 hours. About 7 kms down the road we came across some poor bastard who had broken a main spring and was limping back to Drysdale. Not much you can do except let them know back at Drysdale that they are coming. Got back to Drysdale in 4 hours, an hour off our time going up. As it was lunchtime we had lunch with Rosemary and Bill and Jo and Donald, a couple from Kojanup in south WA at the pub then decided to push onto Home Valley. In hindsight this was not such a good idea as it was much further than we though and the road was shocking, shaly and rocky. We stopped at Ellenbrae for scones, jam and cream – yummy but $4.50 for one scone was a bit rich. We were getting a little concerned as it was almost sunset and as we came over the crest towards Home Valley we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Cockburn Ranges in full light from the setting sun. For the first time we put the tent up in the dark then hit the bar for a much needed and deserved beer for Stephen and G & T for me.
Day 12 – A day of rest. We were stuffed after the drive from the previous day so decided to spend the day rubbing our feet in the grass at Home Valley and swimming in the very nice pool. We are definitely sick of the red and gray dust and dirt and this little oasis of grass was just what we needed. As the sun set over the Cockburn Ranges we rang the kids from the lookout – unexpected phone coverage – and Ails to catch up on all the gossip and footy scores. Late in the evening while sitting by the fire a young couple, Anna and Brett from Port Melbourne, asked if we could keep an ear out for their sleeping children while they had dinner at the homestead. It was good to act like grandparents again.
Day 13 – Destination El Questro. After much uummming and aahhhring (again) we decided on the $30 a night camping option rather than the $2000 per night homestead suite (minimum stay 2 nights). The camping ground was very picturesque and shady and the amenities very good – I’m still thinking we chose the wrong option. We spent the morning at Zeberdee Springs, beautiful spring falls which ran rings around any other springs we had previously seen. In the afternoon we went to the Branco and Saddle back lookouts – real 4x4 stuff and Anne was a bit scared-y-catish. Great vantage points to look out over the property. Ran into a couple of donkeys on the way back. We also took a detour to Chamberlain Gorge for a sticky beak at the homestead. Also caught up with Tyreman and Shazza and heard their tales of woe of wrecking 5 tyres on the Gibb and having to limp into Kununurra for a complete set of 6 new tyres. They didn’t get to see or do much at all after we last saw them. We obviously had luck on our side.
Day 14 – We started the day early with a walk to El Questro Gorge. A lovely walk with ferns and crystal clear swimming holes. Feeling ready for a challenge we passed/climbed the halfway point where most people stop, waded through a pool up to our chests with our gear above our heads and climbed/or was pulled up a very large boulder. We came across some magnificent waterholes so clear you could count the pebbles on the bottom of the pool. A demanding walk but a lot of fun. Back to the tent for lunch then a river cruise up Chamberlain Gorge for 2 hours. Lovely gorge but we should have saved our money on the cruise and hired a couple of self drive boats, it would have been better value. Returned to the camping ground to find Anna, Brett and the new grandkids camped behind us. We sat around the fire after dinner chatting for several hours and it must have been at least 9pm when we crawled into bed!!
Lots of photos on: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek2?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2jnd6Sv8KIVg#
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Broome - Gibb River Road Week 1 18 - 27 July
Our fishing charter was a huge success. We came home with 9 big fish to fillet and put into the freezer, or should I say Ali and Dave’s freezer. AOC fishing charters did a great job and we thoroughly recommend them. A great day was had by all even if there was a ‘Dick’ on board who swore the best fishing ever was at the Florida Keys in the US of A. Needless to say he hardly caught anything all day while all around him reeled them in. At one stage I thought our placid Stephen was going to push him overboard.
The next few days were spent gathering stores and packing for our journey along the Gibb River Road and beyond. At the last minute we decided to leave our good chairs behind and bought 2 pack away chairs – “pink” Maggie – which fitted into the back of the car more easily.
As this adventure took us 21 days and is quite a lengthy edition I am going to divide it up into 3 weeks. I am relying on Stephen’s great photos to tell the story about the places we visited and I will provide some insight into the people and events that took place which hopefully will make it a bit more interesting.
Day 1 - On Tuesday 21 July we set off with Anne driving to Derby where we stopped for lunch and filled up on fuel. We found a fuel pump behind the information centre which was selling diesel at 12c a litre cheaper than the BP or Shell. Stephen could not believe his luck. Had chicken sandwiches at the park where we found a condom dispenser hanging from the tree limb. Hmmm!!! Stephen took over the driving and we turned onto the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge, our first stop. There were lots of people in the camping ground but we managed to find a nice spot under a tree. Walked to the Gorge late in the day. There is no swimming at Windjana as there are lots of freshwater crocodiles and the water is quite murky. When we returned to camp a couple had setup their camp on the other side of “our” tree and they had decided to sleep under the stars on their camp stretchers. Unfortunately the stars do not muffle the sound of snoring!!
Day 2 – The camp started to stir at 5.30am. What the !!! Apparently they were all up to see the sunrise. Hope this isn’t going to be a daily event. Just as we were heading off to Tunnel Creek a huge gust of wind came through the camp and blew the canvas off a camper trailer exposing all the worldly possessions of the owners, who were not there. Stephen and a couple of others pegged down the canvas as best they could before we left. The road to Tunnel Creek wasn’t too bad and we arrived at 8.45am – told you we were up early. A number of people were already there including 2 young fellas from Zimbabwe who were ‘racing’ around Australia in a ute and a motorbike taking turns riding and driving. They initially started with 2 bikes but found the going to difficult so had sold one bike and bought the ute. They were taking all the back roads, Tanami, Gibb River etc. Tunnel Creek was really interesting. It was a hideout for Jindamara (Pigeon) a rogue aborigine in the early 1900’s who caused the landowners quite a bit of grief until finally cornered and gunned down. A bit of a legend at the time. It is an interesting underground walk through the tunnel often wading through water. On the way back to Windjana we were hailed down by two old new best friends, Janet and Rob. We had not seen them since we left Kununurra so stood in the middle of the road and chatted. At this point I should point out that we had decided not to bring any grog with us on this part of our trip. You may now pick yourselves up off the floor and continue reading. There were two reasons for this decision, the first was that space was an issue and the second was we felt we needed to ‘dry out’. Rob was aghast when Stephen told him this and promised to call in at Windjana on his way back to Derby with a refreshing ale for Stephen. Back at camp while having lunch we noticed some familiar faces nearby, our NBFs Sandra and Richard. So the rest of the day went a bit like this. Rob and Janet called in so Stephen had a beer or two with Rob while Janet and I chatted, spent dinner with Sandra and Richard while the boys drank more beer and I chatted with Sandra. All this time I am drinking water and getting extremely irritated at Stephen’s ‘drying out’ phase. I should also at this point introduce some new campers who took the space of the snorer from the night before. At this time we will call them Tyreman and his missus. He had spent the afternoon fixing a tyre that had a slow leak and needed plugging.
Day 3 – Up again at sparrow’s fart (bloody campers) and on the road by 8am. Passed the camel man for the 4th time and hit some roadwork for a couple of k’s. The scenery was quite mountainous and the road windy but not too bad. We stopped at Lennard Gorge for a look see and a 3km walk. Sounds good. It was very hot and the first opportunity to try out the recovered ankle. The path to the Gorge was quite rocky but we made good time and were treated to a wonderful view above the falls. After a bit of exploring we discovered some pink ribbons which we thought was the road back on this loop walk to the carpark. After 30 minutes walking through scrub and an ever diminishing path and Anne starting to suffer a ‘meltdown’ Stephen made the decision we should retrace our steps and go back to the Gorge. We had just about run out of water by the time we reach the Gorge again so Stephen made me wait in the shade while he went back to the carpark along the original track and got some more water and something to eat. Meanwhile in the shade I was settling down for a nana nap when others arrived. How embarrassing!! We finally made it back to the car and immediately turned on the air-conditioning. We continued on to Silent Grove where we had a cold shower and spent the night under another shady tree.
Day 4 – We drove out of the camping ground at 7.59am (a pattern is emerging I think). The road to Bells Gorge was very rocky with some water crossings but generally not too bad. A rocky walk to the Gorge was well rewarded with a great day swanning around for hours in the water, eating, reading books and basking in the sun. A very beautiful place. Returned to our camp at Silent Grove to dinner then we listened to Collingwood thump Carlton on the radio. We were stunned that we could pick up reception because we were definitely out in the middle of nowhere.
Day 5 – On the road at 7.27am. Hmmm!!! Our destination today was Mornington Wilderness Camp which is owned by the Australian Conservancy Society. It is 90kms off the Gibb River Road but well worth the detour. The road in was quite smooth and we made very good time arriving at around 10.30am. What a gem of a place, great camping ground, great facilities and a restaurant and bar. We booked into the restaurant for dinner then set up camp. Unfortunately we broke a tent pole in our rush to set up and spent the next hour fixing it with some help (a battery drill) from a couple of old blokes camped nearby. We soon realised we were camped next to Tyreman and his missus – Bruce and Sharon from Bendigo. After lunch we drove to Sir John Gorge, a challenging little 4x4 track. We could not believe our luck when we realised we were the only people there. It was magic, just the two of us in this remote and very beautiful setting. We decided it was an optional clothing opportunity!!! Try not to think too deeply about this as it could upset your day. We shared a table with our NBFs for dinner. A very pleasant evening spent with fine food, NBFs and yes, red wine.
Day 6 – Finally got to sleep in. We hired canoes at the office and set off to Dimond Gorge at around 9.30am. We paddled down the Fitzroy River for several kilometres where we pulled onto a beach for a lunch of biscuits and sardines, snack bars and some water. We slowly paddled back in the afternoon surrounded by the walls of the Gorge and wrapped in serenity. Shame we had to share the setting with about 6 other couples. The drive into Dimond Gorge was another 4x4 and Stephen is having lots of fun crossing creeks and going over rocks beds. After dinner we went to a talk by the ranger on the work being done in the park. Since the society has undertaken a reduction program on wild cattle and donkeys and a controlled burning program some species of birds and small land creatures that were endangered have dramatically increased in numbers. This truly is a magnificent place, the wildlife and the scenery takes your breath away.
Day 7 – After a noisy evening we were up very slowly. The camping area here is huge and you can just about camp anywhere, however an elderly couple had arrived late yesterday afternoon and had decided they wanted to set up their tent on the doorstep of the old blokes. The old blokes were none too happy, which was fair enough. Unfortunately the old blokes had decided to enact revenge on the new arrivals and spent the evening drinking, playing canasta and making snide comments about people invading others space. This was all well and good but we were also kept awake by these irate and somewhat inebriated gray haired nomads. We packed up our little tent and heading for Manning Gorge. We were about 17 kms from getting back onto the Gibb River Road driving what could only be described as a freeway surface when we hear ph, ph, ph, ph, ph, ph. A flat tyre, poop. Stephen got down and dirty and in 30 minutes we were once again on our way with every rock now looking like a grenade. This was not a good sign as the most difficult part of the journey will be over the next few days. Along the way we stopped at Adcocks Gorge and Galvins Gorge for a swim and lunch. Feeling cooled and refreshed we stopped at Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we luckily purchased a secondhand tyre. We set up camp around 4.30pm at Manning Gorge. A night by the fire with marshmallows before yet another early night.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/BroomeGibbRiverRoadWeek1?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-Cm9y4zaLr8gE#
The next few days were spent gathering stores and packing for our journey along the Gibb River Road and beyond. At the last minute we decided to leave our good chairs behind and bought 2 pack away chairs – “pink” Maggie – which fitted into the back of the car more easily.
As this adventure took us 21 days and is quite a lengthy edition I am going to divide it up into 3 weeks. I am relying on Stephen’s great photos to tell the story about the places we visited and I will provide some insight into the people and events that took place which hopefully will make it a bit more interesting.
Day 1 - On Tuesday 21 July we set off with Anne driving to Derby where we stopped for lunch and filled up on fuel. We found a fuel pump behind the information centre which was selling diesel at 12c a litre cheaper than the BP or Shell. Stephen could not believe his luck. Had chicken sandwiches at the park where we found a condom dispenser hanging from the tree limb. Hmmm!!! Stephen took over the driving and we turned onto the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge, our first stop. There were lots of people in the camping ground but we managed to find a nice spot under a tree. Walked to the Gorge late in the day. There is no swimming at Windjana as there are lots of freshwater crocodiles and the water is quite murky. When we returned to camp a couple had setup their camp on the other side of “our” tree and they had decided to sleep under the stars on their camp stretchers. Unfortunately the stars do not muffle the sound of snoring!!
Day 2 – The camp started to stir at 5.30am. What the !!! Apparently they were all up to see the sunrise. Hope this isn’t going to be a daily event. Just as we were heading off to Tunnel Creek a huge gust of wind came through the camp and blew the canvas off a camper trailer exposing all the worldly possessions of the owners, who were not there. Stephen and a couple of others pegged down the canvas as best they could before we left. The road to Tunnel Creek wasn’t too bad and we arrived at 8.45am – told you we were up early. A number of people were already there including 2 young fellas from Zimbabwe who were ‘racing’ around Australia in a ute and a motorbike taking turns riding and driving. They initially started with 2 bikes but found the going to difficult so had sold one bike and bought the ute. They were taking all the back roads, Tanami, Gibb River etc. Tunnel Creek was really interesting. It was a hideout for Jindamara (Pigeon) a rogue aborigine in the early 1900’s who caused the landowners quite a bit of grief until finally cornered and gunned down. A bit of a legend at the time. It is an interesting underground walk through the tunnel often wading through water. On the way back to Windjana we were hailed down by two old new best friends, Janet and Rob. We had not seen them since we left Kununurra so stood in the middle of the road and chatted. At this point I should point out that we had decided not to bring any grog with us on this part of our trip. You may now pick yourselves up off the floor and continue reading. There were two reasons for this decision, the first was that space was an issue and the second was we felt we needed to ‘dry out’. Rob was aghast when Stephen told him this and promised to call in at Windjana on his way back to Derby with a refreshing ale for Stephen. Back at camp while having lunch we noticed some familiar faces nearby, our NBFs Sandra and Richard. So the rest of the day went a bit like this. Rob and Janet called in so Stephen had a beer or two with Rob while Janet and I chatted, spent dinner with Sandra and Richard while the boys drank more beer and I chatted with Sandra. All this time I am drinking water and getting extremely irritated at Stephen’s ‘drying out’ phase. I should also at this point introduce some new campers who took the space of the snorer from the night before. At this time we will call them Tyreman and his missus. He had spent the afternoon fixing a tyre that had a slow leak and needed plugging.
Day 3 – Up again at sparrow’s fart (bloody campers) and on the road by 8am. Passed the camel man for the 4th time and hit some roadwork for a couple of k’s. The scenery was quite mountainous and the road windy but not too bad. We stopped at Lennard Gorge for a look see and a 3km walk. Sounds good. It was very hot and the first opportunity to try out the recovered ankle. The path to the Gorge was quite rocky but we made good time and were treated to a wonderful view above the falls. After a bit of exploring we discovered some pink ribbons which we thought was the road back on this loop walk to the carpark. After 30 minutes walking through scrub and an ever diminishing path and Anne starting to suffer a ‘meltdown’ Stephen made the decision we should retrace our steps and go back to the Gorge. We had just about run out of water by the time we reach the Gorge again so Stephen made me wait in the shade while he went back to the carpark along the original track and got some more water and something to eat. Meanwhile in the shade I was settling down for a nana nap when others arrived. How embarrassing!! We finally made it back to the car and immediately turned on the air-conditioning. We continued on to Silent Grove where we had a cold shower and spent the night under another shady tree.
Day 4 – We drove out of the camping ground at 7.59am (a pattern is emerging I think). The road to Bells Gorge was very rocky with some water crossings but generally not too bad. A rocky walk to the Gorge was well rewarded with a great day swanning around for hours in the water, eating, reading books and basking in the sun. A very beautiful place. Returned to our camp at Silent Grove to dinner then we listened to Collingwood thump Carlton on the radio. We were stunned that we could pick up reception because we were definitely out in the middle of nowhere.
Day 5 – On the road at 7.27am. Hmmm!!! Our destination today was Mornington Wilderness Camp which is owned by the Australian Conservancy Society. It is 90kms off the Gibb River Road but well worth the detour. The road in was quite smooth and we made very good time arriving at around 10.30am. What a gem of a place, great camping ground, great facilities and a restaurant and bar. We booked into the restaurant for dinner then set up camp. Unfortunately we broke a tent pole in our rush to set up and spent the next hour fixing it with some help (a battery drill) from a couple of old blokes camped nearby. We soon realised we were camped next to Tyreman and his missus – Bruce and Sharon from Bendigo. After lunch we drove to Sir John Gorge, a challenging little 4x4 track. We could not believe our luck when we realised we were the only people there. It was magic, just the two of us in this remote and very beautiful setting. We decided it was an optional clothing opportunity!!! Try not to think too deeply about this as it could upset your day. We shared a table with our NBFs for dinner. A very pleasant evening spent with fine food, NBFs and yes, red wine.
Day 6 – Finally got to sleep in. We hired canoes at the office and set off to Dimond Gorge at around 9.30am. We paddled down the Fitzroy River for several kilometres where we pulled onto a beach for a lunch of biscuits and sardines, snack bars and some water. We slowly paddled back in the afternoon surrounded by the walls of the Gorge and wrapped in serenity. Shame we had to share the setting with about 6 other couples. The drive into Dimond Gorge was another 4x4 and Stephen is having lots of fun crossing creeks and going over rocks beds. After dinner we went to a talk by the ranger on the work being done in the park. Since the society has undertaken a reduction program on wild cattle and donkeys and a controlled burning program some species of birds and small land creatures that were endangered have dramatically increased in numbers. This truly is a magnificent place, the wildlife and the scenery takes your breath away.
Day 7 – After a noisy evening we were up very slowly. The camping area here is huge and you can just about camp anywhere, however an elderly couple had arrived late yesterday afternoon and had decided they wanted to set up their tent on the doorstep of the old blokes. The old blokes were none too happy, which was fair enough. Unfortunately the old blokes had decided to enact revenge on the new arrivals and spent the evening drinking, playing canasta and making snide comments about people invading others space. This was all well and good but we were also kept awake by these irate and somewhat inebriated gray haired nomads. We packed up our little tent and heading for Manning Gorge. We were about 17 kms from getting back onto the Gibb River Road driving what could only be described as a freeway surface when we hear ph, ph, ph, ph, ph, ph. A flat tyre, poop. Stephen got down and dirty and in 30 minutes we were once again on our way with every rock now looking like a grenade. This was not a good sign as the most difficult part of the journey will be over the next few days. Along the way we stopped at Adcocks Gorge and Galvins Gorge for a swim and lunch. Feeling cooled and refreshed we stopped at Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we luckily purchased a secondhand tyre. We set up camp around 4.30pm at Manning Gorge. A night by the fire with marshmallows before yet another early night.
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