2nd August - 17th August 2016
Next day Zebedee Springs and El Questro Gorge.
Plenty of room.
Bush mechanics. Hopefully all good! Like I've always said....he's very handy my Dezzi! An amazing effort. All this while in a lot of pain from falling over in the Bungles. We're pretty sure he has slightly fractured something in the chest. It only hurts when he breaths and coughs. Bloody awful.
Last morning in Kunnunurra. Morning coffee in bed soaking up the serenity of the Lake.
A stop on the way out for a look at the Ord River Diversion Dam.
Looking downstream.
And here we go! Hopefully everything holds together. Had extra heavy duty rear springs fitted on the Paj. Axle double bolted. Fridge and bar full!
Emma Gorge
First gorge on the list. This is part of El Questro. Pretty easy hike in.
Halfway mark.
Bit of a rocky scramble in parts.
Then the gorge. Beautiful and soo inviting in 37 degree heat.
Left my toggers in the car. Oh well...dress will do!
El Questro
Goodbye bitumen, hello corrugations! Time to air down.
Crossing the Pentecost River.
Our camp for a few days. Plenty of room. It was great.
Time to explore. Great 4WD track to Pedgeon Lookout. Amazing view of the Pentecost and Chamberlain Rivers.
More creek crossings.
Up, up up.
Pentecost River.
Chamberlain River.
Chamberlain River.
So inviting for a swim. Bugga about the crocs!
A glimpse of the fancy homestead accommodation. Sadly not for us!
A cool off in the Pentecost River at the camp. Sooooo good!
All the waterholes and gorges are really cold. This was such a treat.
Incredibly lush and tropical. An oasis in the desert.
Soaking up the Sprite go with Lee Hepburn and crew.
Next onto El Qestro Gorge hike.
A trek through the swamp. Turns out Dezzi took us the wrong way!
This is better.
Gary Hepburn skipping the rocks.
Lee's turn.
Finally at the end after lots of rocky clambouring. Dezzi minding the towel and camera!
Bit chilly, but we're in.
A bloke had a drone. Dezzi liked it better than the view I think!
Yep....fantastic!
The water is so clear.
Then, the trek back.
This is the proper path we should have taken at the start, instead of the swamp path!
Back over the Pentecost. Fabulous day.
While we were at El Questro Dez got under the car to do an oil and filter change. Checked the newly fitted heavy duty rear springs to discover one had not been done correctly! *{]+^#^+%}#{^+}{>,<!}
So back to Kununurra after calling the workshop and having a little whisper in his ear to get it fixed. 250 klm round trip!!!
The Gibb River Road is bitumen to the El Questro turn-off, then the gravel fun begins!
Airing down, again!
Only around 10,000,000 corrugations to go!
Crossing the Pentecost River.
The look of concentration, and that thought....why am I doing this ha ha!
Home Valley Station
Great campsite down by the Pentecost River. Even if there was no grass! Not too many people here. Ahhh the serenity. Until about 7.00 o'clock. A large group of Kununurra Footballers decided this was their private party area. The camp is 4klm of windy dirt road to the main camp and homestead. They partied loudly all night topping it off at sunrise with an almighty fight! We fronted reception at 7.00 o'clock in the morning to complain. Sincere apologies, refund of camp fees and the manager would "speak to them". Others went and did the same. Turns out they are repeat offenders!!! Fair dinkum. Don't let them in! Anyhow, they left that day and left all their rubbish behind! The next two nights the silence was heavenly.
Camped on the banks of the Pentecost River, so our nightly sunset view of the Cockburn Ranges was stunning. Cool drink and nibbles and watch the changing colours.
Also pretty good downstream.
Pretty hard to tire of amazing sunsets every night, and then brilliant night skies.
The only place to get phone service was a 4klm round hike up to Mount Baldy....so off we went. We wanted to call our Chelsea Blossom for her birthday. Sadly we didn't get her 'cos she was busy at a Cheerleading competition. We did have a great catch up with Juz and Bec, though. It was certainly worth the view of Home Valley Station and the Cockburn Ranges. Such vastness.
Bit of a scrubby walk.
Lots of lizards along the trail.
View from the top.
37 degrees and still smiling! Thinking about the pool back at the station!
Pentecost River in the background.
Home Valley Station nestled amongst the trees, where we had walked from.
The Kapoc pods are starting to open. The filling is so incredibly soft. Pods opening means the crocodile eggs are hatching!
This was a great spot, despite the dirt.
The fantastic aspect of this journey is the comeraderie. We have met so many great people (more than once) and shared plenty stories and laughter.
Some people you really click with, like Allan and Jane from Cairns. Looking forward to seeing them again in Broome.
Next stop Ellenbrae Station. Renowned for delicious scones with jam and cream! A little green oasis in the middle of the dirt.
Only 100klm down the road and there is Allan and Jane! And the scones...soooo good.
So sad. Such dynamic young men died too soon.
While we were stopped Dez did a check of car and camper. Car all good, but the saddle plate that sits under the suspension/axle had come loose and moved. Out with the tools and hopefully fixed. All part of the Gibb River adventure I guess.
Couple of hours later on the road again.
Russ Creek Free Camp
Pulled into a free camp a bit in the bush away from the road. Lovely and quiet, and only us there!
Set up in time for sunset drinks.
Next morning a bit of exploring.
Huge flocks of Black Cockatoos all around us.
Second morning Dez checking all things mechanical...Bugga, Bugga, Bugga! The aforementioned saddle plate is gone! And the axle has moved about 3cm. Looks like a drive to Barnett Roadhouse about 130klm away to see if they hopefully have one. As luck would have it about 30klm before Barnett we came across a wreck, and low and behold the bits we needed! After much spraying of lubricant and gentle persuasion Dez managed to remove three saddle plates. Now, back to the van 100klm back on the shake rattle and roll road.
Not exactly what we had planned for the morning. It was supposed to be fishing in the creek.
Collecting the spare parts.
While I kept an eye on the bull.
Back to camp. Lunch. Into it. Hot, hard yakka!
Just to get an idea, the bit attached to the bracket on the top left should be aligned with the hole in the middle of the bolts.
To move the axle back into position he used the heavy duty ratchet strap.
Cut the acquired spare part to size.
Next morning, did the other side.
It's amazing how many bikers travel the Gibb River Road. I think they're nuts, but they seem to enjoy it. Had a great chat with this bloke at the only rest stop. He was topping up his fuel.
I asked him if his bum got sore with all the vibrations. He just laughed and said no, he stands up while riding most of the time!
Barnett Gorge
Just a stop for lunch and a swim.
Another dusty track.
To a beautiful swimming hole.
Floated around here for most of the afternoon.
Manning Gorge
Barnett River Roadhouse is the halfway mark. Yippee!!! The campground is at the entrance to the Manning Gorge. Every gorge is different. Whether it be the vegetation, rock formations or landscape surrounding it.
So just another dry and dusty campground with very average facilities. Same old same old there. However, it is situated right on the Barnett River. Swim, swim, swim. Heaven.
The gorge walk is a 3 hours return with a sensational waterfall at the end. To kick off you get across the river in this very leaky boat. This is our little mate Hugo who we first met back in Alice Springs. It's amazing how you keep running into people! He had a fabulous day being ferry master!
The river swimming area. Sooooooo good!
Then...the gorge walk!
Spectacular views from the top.
Follow the trail markers.
And jump right in!
It's easy to spend so much time in these waterholes. The water is always cold, cold, cold.
There were quite a few people there when we arrived, but after about 15 minutes it was all ours. Peace and serenity!
There was a dragonfly on my finger for ages, but as soon as Dez grabbed the camera he flew away!
This is the Rainbow Bee Catcher. They are all over northern Australia. So pretty, but very quick and hard to get a photo. Got him this time though.
Then the track back down. Lucky there is a swim at the end.
Back on the road and frequent stops to make sure everything is holding together!
Galvan Gorge
Morning tea stop and easy stroll to this gorge.
A bit of rock art.
Cute little frog.
Bell Gorge
Next gorge on the list is Bell Gorge. National Park campground. Pretty good, except for the yobbo who thought the whole campground wanted to listen to his music. The Ranger soon fixed him, so all lovely and quiet by 8.00 o'clock!
This was a very rocky walk.
Top of the falls. Bell Creek.
Looking down into the gorge waterhole. Now for the scramble down.
Hhmmmmm...looks a long way. Dez stayed up top. His chest still extremely painful. So he took some landscape photos while I clamboured down for a swim. If there is water, I've gotta get in it.
Absolutely love all the waterholes.
Short walk to Bell Creek behind the campground. Very pretty.
So peaceful sitting here for a while before hitting the corrugations again. There is something so calming about tinkling water.
Our friendly wake up call. No sleep in with these guys around. Flocks of about 30-40 at sunrise!
Very cute though.
All packed up and ready to leave Bell Gorge.
Smoko stop along the road. Cold oranges - yumm!
Another check of all things mechanical.
Just liked this tree.
Windjana Gorge & Tunnel Creek
Last stop on this insane road is Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek.
National Park campground so once again a lovely patch of dry dusty ground. Nice hot showers and flushing toilets though. It's the little things that make you happy! The view of this Devonian range is breathtaking. It is massive!
Set up and time for a cuppa.
Just a 15 minute walk into the gorge. WOW....talk about leaving the best till last. This is by far the most breathtaking, spectacular, colossal gorge of all. You walk through a small chasm....
.... along a path....
...a few freshwater crocodiles along the way.....
and end up here!
The photos just don't do this place justice. It is enormous.
At sunset the gathering begins. There are loads of freshwater crocodiles in the water waiting for their nightly feed of fruit bat. Just on sunset thousands of bats fly over and skim the water for a drink. Bam! Mr crocodile gets his dinner.
I didn't manage to get a still photo of a crocodile snapping his dinner. Only on video and I can't upload video to the blog. But it was really cool! Plus it is almost dark when they fly over, so hard to get a good shot.
Fossils in the rock walls.
There are hundreds of these screechy, noisy Corellas.
Phone home....well Joel. And you could only do reverse charges ha ha ha! Turns out our five minute call was $25!!!!!
Last Gibb River camp.
Massive termite mounds everywhere.
Tunnel Creek
Day two and a leisurely 37 klm trip down the lovely(?) road to Tunnel Creek cave. This was so cool. Walking through water with a headlight torch to see where you are going. 750 metres from one side to the other.
The entrance is so disguised. Just as well there was a sign.
Dez at the entrance.
Yep...in there!
The rock is mostly limestone. It's beautiful.
There is an opening halfway along with fruit bats just hanging around.
The other end of the tunnel. U-turn and back to the start.
This shot shows how big the main cavern is. Dezzi at the lower right.
The limestone is stunning.
Back at the beginning.
Quick stop to look at some ruins.
The Road
Over 1000 klms in total with the actual road, driving into the gorge campgrounds, and trips for spare parts. The experience is something you need to have done to understand. The road is insane. Corrugations fit to shake the fillings out of your teeth. Dust and dirt. Hot, hot days. Spectacular gorges and swimming holes. Fantastic people. The Australian outback at its most challenging.
Are we glad we did it? Yep.
Would we do it again? NEVER.
And so it begins.
Airing down to hopefully get a smoother ride. Yeah....right! The Britz rental clowns have their tyres on 50 psi and drive in 2WD. Madness.
These corrugations are babies.
A few river crossings.
There are so many wrecks. A warning to be vigilant, drive to the conditions and hope your car and van is up to it.
This guy lost his wheel in the bush. Dezzi went and found it. He had to leave his car. Drive 150 back to Kunnunurra and get a new axle then drive back and fix the trailer!
Wreck.......
....after wreck....
...after wreck...
...after wreck. And these are just a few.
Lost count of how many ruined tyres.
We almost made it without a flat. 230 klm to go! Damn!
Fun in 37 degrees, in the dirt.
The spare is a bit dusty.
We discovered there are different types of road. Red = the worst corrugations. Grey = smaller corrugations but rocky. Cream track = clay that was a little bit smooth.
And then there were very, very, very small patches of bitumen just to tease you!
No kidding!
Almost get out and kiss the bitumen ha ha!
Really? Haven't started yet?
And then there is small stretches where the grader has just been.....heaven!
The landscape is ever changing.
And then there is the end!
Well...we thought it was the end. We hit bitumen and it went for a bout 20 klms. We got a bit excited. Stopped. Pumped up the tyres. Took the photo. Got back in the car. About 5 klm up the road.....red dirt again. Aaahhhh. It was hilarious.
But it did end....
And Dezzi was very happy.
Long, straight and smooth.
Next stop Derby.
Comments
Post a Comment