It was so cold this morning that
again we laid in bed for as long as possible.
When Josh and I finally got up, we woke the kids and moved them from
their own beds and into ours so that we could start to pack things away. Maddi came around and wanted the kids to
play, so up they got and went out into the warm sunshine. We eventually pumped up the tyres and made
our way in a northerly direction. We
sent Shaun and Liz a few messages while we had service, arranging to meet them
later in the day to start the Gibb River Road and asking them to pick up a
couple of supplies for us along the way.
On our way down The Great Northern Highway on our way to the Bungles
Bungles, I noticed a fantastic boab tree that was half missing so Josh marked
it on the GPS for stopping at on our way back out. We stopped at this lovely boab tree at March
Fly Creek for a few photos before continuing to Turkey Creek for fuel. It took a long time here to fill the fuel
tanks - their system was crap where you couldn’t fill past $99 worth, which
doesn’t work for us when we need $200-$300 for full tanks. Josh gave them a piece of his mind on their
service before we continued on. We
stopped again at Don Doon for fuel as this was the last garage before beginning
the Gibb River Road (GRR). Mid afternoon
we met up with the Harris family (who were coming from Kununurra), we took a
few photos of the road signs and started our journey. The road was bitumen until we reached Emma
Gorge, but the corrugations were ahead of us.
We pulled over and the guys let all the tyre pressures down before
pressing on. We were travelling along
the corrugations at a maximum of 30km/hour before coming to Moonshine
Creek. I had wanted to take photos from
the other side as Josh drove across but although the water was scarce and
shallow, I still had crocodiles on my mind so gave it a miss. There was one more river crossing before
reaching The Station and that was across the Pentecost River – it didn’t seem
as bad as in pictures but Josh assures me that there is another crossing of
this river nearer to Home Valley. It was
after sunset when we pulled up at The Station - just in time to see a trail
ride of horses arriving back. We booked
in and then, in the dark, had to find somewhere to set up camp. The night temperature here wasn’t much
different to that near the Bungle Bungles – it was bloody cold at night. We sat up for a few drinks outside, and
although we had long pants, jumpers and jackets on, we couldn’t get warm
enough. Maybe we were now just
accustomed to the lovely northern weather such as Darwin?
We had booked in for a few nights
here at El Questro as there was so much to see!
We were in the cars by late morning after deciding what to do for the
day. We stuck to the north western side
of The Station out past the Durack Boab and bound for Branco’s Lookout via
another fairly low and dry crossing of the Pentecost. This was a pretty steep low range climb to
the top of the track but so worth the effort.
Once we arrived at the top, we had a spectacular view of the Pentecost
River and beyond. In the distance we
could see the El Questro Homestead sitting very high and pretty overlooking the
water’s edge. It was stunning and very
hot, fortunately there was a little bit of shade whilst we cooked up lunch
whilst checking out the breathtaking views and watching the crocodiles
below. We got talking to other
travellers whilst here, before heading back down the mountain for a quick look
at Explosion Gorge (although the road right in was closed) and then to Branco’s
waterhole, where Josh and Matt pulled out their fishing rods. Josh was standing too close to the water’s
edge for my liking but he figured the crocodile we saw in the distant (not sure
if it was a saltwater or freshwater) couldn’t jump up the small rock he was
balancing on. No luck in the fishing
department but we did catch a bit of a tan.
We made one final stop in towards Chamberlain Gorge where we found the
boat tour departure point. The kids had
a great time throwing rocks into the river from the jetty whilst the adults
enjoyed a cold beer. We ended our day back
at camp and went for a swim in the safe section of river near to camp. After a quick change, Sami and Olivia went to
reception to join in on Junior Rangers where they did some craft, learnt the
bushies way of how to start a fire and then got to eat lots of marshmallows
over their fire – and in the meantime us adults were preparing dinner for the
night. Our night ended with a game of Family
Trivial Pursuit – good for a few laughs but the night air was bitter again.
Friday, we opted to do the Zebedee
Springs (which is only open until noon) followed by the well-known Emma Gorge
today. We took off to Zebedee Springs
leaving Liz and Shaun behind to sort a few family matters out and hit the short
road to this lovely place. Once we got
there it was only a short walk from the carpark up the hill to the
Springs. There were people scattered everywhere
in the small pools and trickling waterfalls of water. It was quite full and there wasn’t much room
for us to plonk our butts but it didn’t take long for people to vacate areas
and we ended up with a great spot at the top of all these pools in the crystal
clear, and mighty warm, water. The
Harris family turned up before too long and we made some room for all 8 (plus
an additional boy, Lucas) to fill our tiny pothole of water. It was before lunch time when we departed the
Springs and hit the corrugations once more until we reached the Emma Gorge
Homestead. As we drove into this
additional El Questro owned property, the surroundings were same same, but
different to El Questro. It was
smaller but lush and green and it had a large restaurant and bar area right
near the reception with picnic tables in the grassed shady area alongside. We pulled out our rice paper rolls for lunch
and went to sit at the picnic tables for lunch.
Upon cleaning up our mess, we got appropriate shoes on, packed the water
and donned on our hats and hit the track bound for the Emma Gorge
waterfall. The track was first
surrounded by long grasses, followed by lots of small rocks and a path which
followed the creek. The kids decided to
race off ahead while us oldies took our time and enjoyed the views. The rocks gradually got bigger but we still
didn’t’ manage to see the kids slowing down ahead. The bright orange cliff faces surrounded us
and the waterholes appeared more frequently.
Shaun and Liz slowed down behind us (probably enjoying the peace and
quiet) while Josh and I caught up to Sami and Olivia who had lost Matt and Zoe
ahead – Sami was extremely concerned for Zoe’s safety at this stage and on the
verge of tears with worry. A few kind
words and cuddles consoled her and it wasn’t long before we caught up to Zoe
sitting on a rock waiting for the rest of us.
Matt on the other hand had continued along the “blue” track and beaten
us all to the waterfall. All in all our
walk took about an hour from one point to the other of Emma Gorge and every
step was beautiful – the sun was shining down, the reflection off the rocks and
water holes was lovely and the serenity of the place was surreal. We also crossed the path of many other
tourists doing the same walk and it was nice to say your g’days or stop and
have a chat. The actual waterfall was
running but it wasn’t heavy. The shady
side of the cliff faces surrounding the pool were covered in leaves and moss
which was very pretty. The floor of the
plunge pool was all rock and there were big rock overhang sections above the
pool too – it was very pretty. The kids
climbed up the rocks on the right side of the plunge pool where they found hot
spring water coming up from the rocks and forming a small pool of water that
then trickled down into the main pool.
They spent most of their time giggling in the top pool having an
absolute ball. The signs upon entering
here all stated that it closed at 3pm so by around 2.30pm we were on our way
back out of the gorge. Again, Matt and
Zoe raced back to the car, whilst we stayed on the heels of Sami and Olivia to
get them back safe. Back at the carpark
we had a bit of a look about the reception, restaurant and small shop to fill
in some time before grabbing ice-creams and fighting our way back to the El
Questro campgrounds along those mighty corrugations. We decided to drive up to Saddleback Ridge
Lookout to enjoy the sunset tonight and what a site it was. Branco’s Lookout was amazing but this Lookout
took the cake. It was a really slow climb
to the top of this mountain and we had to pass the group of horse-riders on
their way down the hill. Once we reached
the top, there was a viewing platform and only a couple of people to contend
with for the best view. We weren’t there
long before it was time for the sun to set and you had to be quick to get some
good pictures as the sun disappears behind the horizon very quickly. The 360 degree view that surrounds you from
this lookout is magical! It was worth
every effort to get to this point! After
showers and dinner tonight, we all settled in for another game of Trivial
Pursuit in the cold night air.
We woke up Saturday morning
without any aching muscles from our big day of walking yesterday. Josh went down to the reception area to
extend our stay for an extra night, see about booking into dinner (a night off
from cooking!) and at the same time asked about the other walks that would lead
to great sites. I thought we were going
to walk into Amalia Gorge today but when Josh got back to camp he announced
that the best one to do was El Questro Gorge.
I’d previously heard that this was the hardest of them all… excellent –
we had a challenge on our hands, especially taking the kids with us! The Harris family were tossing around the
idea of hiring an electric boat to float down some rivers today so we went our
separate ways. The El Questro Gorge
turnoff is not far back across the Pentecost River but there was also another
water-crossing to get through which was even deeper – about half a metre high. We took it slow and steady and it really
wasn’t too difficult. It didn’t take us
long to get there, tie our joggers, pack our water and set off. The first 30 minutes of this walk was a blue
track again, but mostly through rocky creek beds, followed by areas of mini
palms, across planks and over fallen trees – that is until you come to a lovely
waterhole, perfect for swimming at.
However, to get further into this gorge you actually had to wade through
the waist height water whilst holding everything above your head to avoid it
getting wet. The depth was actually
higher for the kids so Josh and I carried their clothes across and they swam to
the big boulders that we had to climb out of in order to get to the next
section. Josh, thankfully, was able to climb out first. I passed everything up to him to keep it
clear from the water and then he literally held the kids hands and yanked them
up out of the water one at a time and onto the first level of the three ledged
boulder. Thankfully, he was still there
to help me out too as I couldn’t do it on my own. Majority of walkers stop at this point and
now we see why. We decided to leave what
we could, such as the kids’ clothes, here at this boulder mark as it was
pointless carrying it further when we had heard there were more water
crossings. The markers also changed
colour from this point – it was no longer a blue walk, but instead a red
track! Yes, it became even more
difficult. We were gradually climbing
higher the further that we walked into the gorge and the rocks became bigger
and harder to climb or find a way around.
The kids were coping remarkably well even though there was the
occasional stumble. As we kept on along
the track, we passed aboriginal rock art, had to scale around a large rock over
the top of a waterhole and also had to scale up the side of a small waterfall –
thankfully we all got through it safely.
We had the benefit of shade throughout a large part of our hike which
helped us not to tire too quickly. After
two hours of a rather quick hike, and only passing one other couple in the
gorge (they only went as far as marker no. 14 out of the 17 markers) we finally
reached the main waterfall. I was so
proud of the kids for making it all the way in!
The waterfall was flowing and we had the place to ourselves. The water was a little cool but I’d swum
through many waterholes in my clothes along the way, so what the heck – I was
going swimming! We all had a dip but the
kids didn’t stay in too long. They were
more interested in opening the Twisties, the only food that we’d brought in
with us. Josh and I on the other hand
swum over to the waterfall and climbed a little way up – it was fantastic to
have achieved such a big walk without injuries or complaints. However, then we had to make the trek
back! I had warned the girls that they’d
just done the easy part – the two hour hike in and now they needed to keep
their concentration to stay safe on the way back out. Our legs were all feeling it on the way out,
it was more of a downhill and we really needed to use our balance and thigh
muscles to stop us rushing down the rocks.
On our way out, we passed one other couple that were nearing the main
waterfall, and then further out there was one other family that also had two
(older) children. They were at the point
of scaling the side of a small waterfall so we just encouraged them to keep
going. We found the clothes that we’d
left near the first challenging waterhole.
Here, Josh decided to jump off the rock instead of climbing down the massive
boulder. Once he was down, I passed him
the small bags and kids clothes and then helped the kids to get down into the
waist high water again. Thankfully the
walk out was a bit quicker than the walk in as it only took around an hour and
a half. Josh and Zoe went off ahead
while I stayed close behind Sami and she followed the markers to find our way
out too. Back at the car, we celebrated
this massive walk by finally having some lunch and then driving just down the
road. There was a billabong nearby but
we weren’t sure how far away it was or whether it was worth visiting. Josh waved a passing car to a stop for
information. They wound their window
down – only for us to notice a couple who we had previously met at Banka Banka
and Daly Waters Pub. After a quick
discussion with Graeme and Sharon, we thanked them for the advice and offered
to catch up for a drink back at the pub.
When we arrived back at the van, the Harris family was nowhere to be
found so we headed straight for the showers, then did a load of washing, and
then headed to the bar while the girls went to Junior Rangers. Graeme and Sharon soon met up with us for a
few drinks and were hanging around for dinner so sat with us for the night. It was around 6pm by the time the Harris’s
returned – they’d driven back to Kununurra for a last chance to stock up on
supplies before continuing on our journey along the Gibb River Road. I was thankful that they’d also bought
another case of wine to stock up my own supply too. We all had a fantastic night sitting by the
outdoor campfire, enjoying the great country music, and eating some great food
that we didn’t have to cook! Thankfully
it didn’t seem as cold tonight – but that could have just been the wine….
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