Day 3 at El Questro we headed off early for Emma Gorge, one of the Kimberley’s most well-known and spectacular gorges. This meant travelling back along the 16km El Questro corrugated driveway, with its numerous water crossings, as the turn off to Emma Gorge was back along the bitumen section of the Gibb River Road.
The hike into the gorge was only
1.6kms, but it was across many river stones, up and over boulders and at times
through overgrown growth along sandy tracks, but we were definitely rewarded at
the end, with a huge waterhole enclosed on three sides with sheer cliffs and a
35m waterfall that was certainly flowing well after the big wet. Again, we were
the only ones in the water as we swam out with the Go Pro to play under the
thundering waterfall. We also enjoyed swimming through the droplets that
tumbled from the cliffs and ducking under the rock shelf, where the warm waters
from the thermal spring on the right-hand side mixed with the cold water of the
gorge. Just delightful.
Day 4 was the most challenging of the El Questro adventures, undertaking the 12km Grade 5 hike to Champagne Springs. This walk commenced from the campground and started out along the shaded banks of the Pentecost River. Very picturesque, but we were both rather croc wary as at times the track led you right down to the waters edge. After we passed the halfway mark, at the beautiful and majestic old Boab tree, things got interesting. We swapped our hiking boots for our reef shoes and hot footed it through the swamp section (this definitely had my heart pumping and my eyes keen for both crocs and snakes) to reach the rocky, red, hot terrain section with amazing views of the ranges all around. After another couple of kms we reached a series of cascading waterfalls and swimming holes. This walk gets its name from the thermal springs that bubble out of the ground like champagne and then flow down the rocks to make the waterfalls. It was truly beautiful and we had to pinch ourselves often – not quite believing where we were! We were very remote and not another soul around. AMAZING! We swam, lay in the waterfalls, ate snacks and marvelled at the tourist helicopter that flew over our heads at one stage, sidewards through the gorge to give the 2 passengers a thrill. We had the thrill for hours as we soaked up the isolation and sheer beauty. Exhilarating.
Day 5 was a relaxed morning at the campsite with an afternoon cruise along the Chamberlain River, which meandered through the Chamberlain Gorge. The sky was blue and the Kimberley rocks glowed red as the sun got lower. At the end of the gorge, we fed archer fish while we ate watermelon, drank bubbles and chatted to a lovely couple who were sitting behind us – low and behold from Bangor! After the cruise we were back in the Landcruiser quick smart and headed further up the 4WD track to watch the sun set over the Pentecost and surrounding ranges up at Pigeon Hole Lookout. This involved following a 9km track through lots of bulldust, a rather deep and challenging water crossing and a steep climb up the hill to reach the lookout. We marvelled at the view and watched the sun set along the ranges but decided to head back down before the golden reds of the evening arrived – Sippy not keen to cross the bend in the river in the pitch black and be surrounded by the other 15 4WDs dust. Good decision!
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