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Its a bit of a long one this time - in 12 days we have seen so much and have so many stories of this 655km track of land through north western WA. An absolute highlight of the whole trip. Everyone wants to do it again. Huge thanks to Jed from explore-wa.net who made it all possible.
The Gibb River Road
We’ve started on this iconic road – initially a track used to move cattle to ports like Derby and Wyndham, its now a wider dirt track much more frequented by tourists than cattle (though we did see old fashioned horseback cattle mustering today).
Our first day was a gentle drive from Derby to Tunnel Creek and then to camp at Windjana Gorge. We had heard about the creepy crawlies (and the things that go SNAP) in the waters of Tunnel Creek that we might encounter and Elizabeth and Jonathon were definitly hesitant… to begin with. It didn’t take long before they were hooting and jumping through the sandy base and looking for twin yellow eyes in the shallow water – the freshwater crocs didn’t disappoint, we spotted them hugging the edges of the great caverns we waded through for nearly 1km, the only light being our head torches. Although we are fairly confident that the crocs were more scared of us than we were of them, we can still say with accuracy that we have trekked through croc infested waters!
The landscape out of the tunnel was similarly amazing. Fat boab trees seemingly growing on the rock of escarpments and gorges, and the pinks and white of the quartz boulders, interspersed with reddish brown rock with high iron content. We drove past a bushfire metres from the road, they burn low and slow here and although categorised as controlled burn offs, there isn’t much to control them, and not a lot is needed, a single lane bush track will stop the fire in its tracks. The birds of prey were going crazy over the fire, chasing and swooping the small rodents that must live in the grasslands. And you know you’re in hot, remote bush country when you start seeing Brahman cattle grazing the sides of roads and cattle stations don’t seem to have boundaries.
Windjana Gorge was immense, vividly colourful and totally croc infested; we counted over 20 in one pool alone (we didn’t swim). The photos will never do it justice, but we tried. Camp was great – a campfire and stargazing as Elizabeth pointed out constellations to our fellow travellers. There are 6 vehicles in total, including Jed, our guide. We are the only family and the only ones towing a van, others are set up in roof-top set ups or similar. But it doesn’t seem an issue; we expect to do 200kms or less most days so there is plenty of time for R&R and setting up.
Today we drove to camp at Silent Grove and then drove another 10kms to Bell Gorge. The days activities consisted of rock climbing to the bottom (and then the top) of Bell Gorge so we could swim in the pool… nature’s pool, complete with water snake and goannas and all. We all loved it and stayed for nearly 3 hours, baking on the slabs of smooth rock that served as ramps into the water in between swims. You know it’s been a good day when you can say that you spent at least half an hour just watching a goanna trying to catch dragonflies and bugs to eat. Ah the simple things.
Only 2 days in and we have already ripped off half of one of the stone guards – must of flicked up a largish rock and its torn it clean off. Some of the roads have obviously been recently graded and others are like driving on creek beds (sandy and then rocky without warning); these haven’t been too prevalent yet thought which is good. It’s all certainly giving the car and van a work out, as is the heat – our freezer is struggling a little but currently the only victims of defrosting have been the Zooper Doopers. Obviously the kids would prefer all the fish and meat defrosted than the Zooper Doopers, but we tend to disagree.
12/5/18
The following day was an easy drive to Garvan Gorge and then a 15 minute walk to the gorge. Both the walk and the gorge were picture post card perfect. The walk had little pools full of water lillies, some of which were in flower; the large waterhole was filled by a moderate waterfall that was an easy swim to sit under, a rope swing, a boab tree at the top of the falls… Even aboriginal rock art. We have seen so much of this that it is almost an incidental finding. The following 2 nights we stayed at Mt Barnett Roadhouse campground. This was right next to a large flat beach with a dinghy to transport people across the river and back via pulley system. We spent the hot afternoon in and out of the water, crocs could be seen here at night but we didn’t see any whilst we were there. We had bought marshmallows at the roadhouse so for these 2 nights we had a lovely communal dessert. The following morning we were up early because of the absolute racket that the billions of birds made – corellas mostly, the sound is the same as of home. They started just after dawn, about 5:30am. Went crazy in the trees for an hour or so and then flew off; should of just waited it out and we could of gone back to sleep. However, we were up and went for a 6km round trip walk to Manning Gorge – these gorges have gone from stunning to spectacular and breath taking. This one followed suit and was a mix of tropical with the ferns and palms (although all of a very spikey variety) to gum trees and boabs. We saw so many dragon flies of all colours and sizes, small sky blue ones, large dark blue ones, little orange ones and brown ones. Another 2 goannas.
Today we drove to Mount Elizabeth which took maybe an hour. Here we unhitched the van and took off for another hour long trip in the car to Wannamurra Gorge – much more off the beaten track and we were the only people there. It was equally as stunning as the others, just much harder to get to; it was an hour of full on proper 4WDing, in low range the whole time and we had to get out and check the terrain a number of times.
Mozzies have been less of a problem these last few days and the nights are actually cool. We’ve had flush toilets every night so far and most places have had showers and water to use for washing up at least. We filled our water tanks and containers yesterday at Mt Barnett Homestead so water isn’t a problem. We’ve become used to seeing Brahmen cattle on the side of the road, even seeing some calves. We hadn’t seen much native wildlife until today when we have seen lots of Rock Wallabies. There have been fewer frogs than in the first few days – even flushing the toilet prior to use didn’t flush out the green tree frogs hiding under the lip of the toilet bowl. I checked the cistern one day as the toilet wasn’t flushing and there were at least 3 frogs sitting in there… Stubborn little things.
16/5/18
Mount Elizabeth was a wonderful green oasis with large climbing trees and peacocks. We spent Mothers Day making damper and doing washing as it was only a short drive to Drysdale Station which was our next stop. This again is a great stop – fuel, a small shop, trees in which to set up rope swings, excellent toilets and showers, and even a bar and meals. So we spent a great evening here in the ‘beer garden’ area with a drink or two. The following day we drove into Mitchell falls NP, the road has only been open for a couple of weeks and is still in really good condition. We crossed the Drysdale River easily, although a few weeks ago this would of been impassable; it’s amazing to see how quickly the water levels recede, but I’m glad we are here now when there is still so much water around.
We camped the following 2 nights at Munurra Campground, right next to the river. The stone here is an incredible rich red, almost purple in colour, dotted with deep holes having been created over the millennia, approx. 2 metres deep and 40cm wide. The stone we walked on was incredibly smooth, slippery even when dry. We held Elizabeth and Jonathon’s hands fairly tightly so we didn’t lose them into a hole.
The red dust may have been a novelty to begin with, but its caused some casualties since. The gas stove has been flaring up and down and after dismantling it, there was red dust in the jets. There was red mud in the fridge overflow which is behind a couple of panels at the back of the van; the fridge has been working fine but its easy to see how leaks or problems may happen. The van door latch keeps jarring so we can’t shut the door, we’ve unscrewed it on an almost daily basis for 3 days now to blow the dust out. Everyone has cleaned their car air inlets. The corrugations have generally been manageable but even so the CB aerial has rattled loose twice and yesterday actually just broke off. Dave treated it like a broken leg and did an ‘external fixateur’ on it, plus some gaffa tape, and so far its been great! Others have had leaking tyres, pipes rattling loose in their engines, and drawer knobs come off – all par for the course for this type of travel!
It took 2.25 hours to drive 80kms into Mitchell Falls, another newly opened road, it was actually pretty good going for the most part. We saw 3 dingoes along the way and some more cattle. At Mitchell Falls we all decided to take a helicopter flight over the falls to the top, and then walk the 4kms back. The flight was incredible – the chopper had no doors. It was beautiful to see the countryside from this angle, as well as the various waterfalls, and not having any doors just made it unforgettable. The 4km walk back to the cars was abit hot and long but the countryside varied a lot. Almost rainforest in some areas to dry scrub land, and it’s hard to pinpoint just one highlight. Walking across the Mitchell River is definitely one of them, having lunch behind a waterfall and later swimming in the ‘infinity pool’ above it (Little Mertens falls) is another, as was seeing an aboriginal painting of a Tasmanian Tiger. The drive back to Munurra campsite was, however, horrendous. The road had deteriorated so much through the course of the day’s traffic that it took us about 3 hours to get out. It was slow going and tiring for all.
It’s light at 5am and dark by 5pm so our body clocks have reset a little. Some days we have been up by 6am breakfasting in the sunshine, and we are all regularly in bed by 7pm and asleep by 8pm. The campfires have been fun but we are just too tired to partake much!
This morning we were lucky enough to have 2 aboriginal NP rangers guide us through some local aboriginal rock art. It was only their second ever tour, as they are learning how they can share their culture with tourists, and everyone loved it. We learnt that the smaller, thinner, darker (red and purple) pictures are older than the larger artworks which can include yellow and white ochre. The older works may be 50,000 years old and the newer ones still 15,000 years old, it makes the mind boggle.
Jed has managed the ‘timetable’ perfectly – there has been enough down time to relax, since this is still meant to be a holiday, but has also included some awesome tough 4WDing, an excellent mix of campsites, some long and other short days.
21/5/18
The following few days were a blur of river crossings, unexpectedly beautiful station stays, and relaxation. Until we got to El Questro on the last night there were no more gorges, but the places we stayed at were like oasis in the desert. Kimberley Burgers at Drysdale were the best tasting thing we had ever eaten (circumstance obviously playing a part here), but it felt like we were back in civilisation when we arrived here (they had a coin operated phone in a fridge to keep the dust out!). We stopped at Ellenbrae Station for scones, jam and cream and a cup of milo/tea/coffee for morning tea one day, and stayed at the oasis of Home Valley Station. Here we stayed 2 nights, the evenings were fun either spent at Dusty’s Bar or around the campfire sharing meals and damper and more stories. El Questro was our final stop of the tour; we celebrated with a sundowner at Pigeon Hole Lookout and cheese and crackers supplied by Jed, and then singing a bit of Dolly and Daryl with the guitarist at the Swinging Arm Bar… definitely our latest night – we were up till 9pm!
We said goodbye to our tour group the next morning as everyone was going their separate ways – to Toowoomba, Perth, Boorooloola, and us to Kununurra. But before we left El Questro, we did an hour long trail ride, crossing creeks and the Pentecost River on horseback and ambling through the scrub. It was Elizabeth’s idea, and she and Jonathon did an impressive job steering their steeds along the track. Next was Zebedee Springs – thermal springs, which was like sitting in a spa, absolutely perfect after horseriding for an hour! It was incredibly beautiful and rainforest like with the palms and green undergrowth, but like the other gorges, the greenness dies away rapidly as soon as you are out of the protective shade of the cliffs, and gives way to harsh scrub, often scarred with signs of bushfire. Emma Gorge was our last stop on the Gibb River Road, and it didn’t fail to impress. The waterfall was small but the cliffs were HUGE, meaning that the water was freezing cold, except for the small natural thermal spring that Dave and the kids found coming out of the cliff face to the right of the waterfall.
‘Would you do the Gibb River Road again?’. ‘Yes, but we need to stay longer’, says Elizabeth. ‘Yes, but we need to stay twice as long’, says Jonathon. Big praise indeed for a 12 day trip that had no internet access, rough car rides, red dirt everywhere, limited pantry stock, random access to ‘amenities and facilities’, lots of bugs and bites and little privacy. But we all hope that one day we will get back to this remote, beautiful and fun part of the world.