Kununurra

 Day 6 at El Questro we headed back into Kununurra – needing to stock up on groceries and fill the tank before embarking on the Gibb River Road adventure.

First stop for the day was the Ivanhoe Crossing. The crossing was currently closed to traffic and we could certainly understand why – it was flowing fast! No way would you risk taking a 4WD across, let alone a van –  two concrete bollards were in place across the road (just in case some dummy attempted).

We then drove back through the Ord Irrigation Area to Kelly’s Knob, a lookout spot over Kununurra, having stopped in at the Ivanhoe Café along the way for a famous mango smoothie and a piece of mango cheesecake – yummo.

We enjoyed a mid-morning stroll through the Mirima National Park, also known as the mini Bungle Bungles, which are located right on the edge of Kununurra township. The park had several small walking trails including a lovely board walk that took you beneath the awesome rock formations. It was then onto Celebrity Tree Park, where we enjoyed a cool drink from the back of the car while Andrew did a phone consult with his GP back home for an updated script.

After a successful visit to Coles and the bottle shop, we headed back to El Questro.

Day 7 we took it easy with a late breakfast and a morning coffee sitting watching the flowing Pentecost through the campground and then another beautiful soak in Zebedee Springs – this time nabbing the waterholes up the top near the springs – a must experience when visiting El Questro. That evening we packed up and were ready for the next part of our adventure.

El Questro - Emma Gorge, Champagne Springs and Chamberlain Gorge

 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!

El Questro Station, Zebedee Springs & Amalia Gorge

 

Booking 7 months ago to ensure a site (as this was a must stay), we settled into our nice shady spot under a couple of large trees and went for a walk to explore. El Questro is located along the banks of the Pentecost River and has a natural swimming hole with rapids and lovely green grass under some shady trees. It also has the ‘Swinging Arm’ bar and dining (that had pizza!) and the Steak House Restaurant, which we highly recommend. Most nights, during our 7 night stay) we wandered up to the bar in the balmy early evening and listened to the live music on offer.

Day two we headed to Zebedee Springs and Amalia Gorge.

Zebedee Springs is situated under dense Livistona Palms and is a series of thermal, rocky swimming pools. Although one of the busier places we have encountered thus far, we still managed to find our own water hole with small waterfall and spent over an hour soaking in the warm water. Bliss.

Then we ventured off to undertake the Amalia Gorge hike – a Grade 5 track of 3.4km. It was a beautiful walk over a valley floor of river rock with a few decent rock climbs and cliff (with chains) navigating around drops. Not for the faint hearted, but we managed, and were rewarded with an amazing large waterhole with 32 metre plunging waterfall. After some convincing (the water was very cold) Sippy and I swam out to the waterfall, (about 50 metres) and enjoyed swimming under the crashing water. This waterhole was not very busy, most of the time we were the only ones in the water – no doubt due to the difficult walk in – so we relished the peace and quiet and sat in the sun to warm while listening to all the birds singing and calling. The cockatoos were very loud in the serenity. Another beautiful day.

The Grotto and the start of the iconic Gibb River Road!

After a leisurely start to our day, we headed off to ‘The Grotto’ (back down along the Great Northern Hwy). The Grotto is a beautiful waterhole, over 100 metres deep! We climbed the 150 steep stairs down to the bottom of the gorge and then swam in the cool, clear water – a beautiful experience.

It was then back on the road and the anticipation was building … we were about to turn right onto the famous Gibb River Road! We pulled in under the rather depilated sign and took about 50 photos! We even got the ladder off the front of the BT to enable us to climb up onto the sign platform for the iconic photo. We had fun and Sippy was smiling. It was 20 years in the planning, and he had made it!

Back into the car and along the Gibb for a few km’s (at this stage bitumen) until we turned off for El Questro Station. Once again we had hit the dirt. The 16kms along the El Questro driveway was a bumpy and corrugated ride with numerous water crossings about 40 - 50cm  – but we made it in and celebrated with a woo hoo! We now have 7 days of relaxation and exploration of the gorgeous waterholes in the area.

Parry's Creek Farm & Wyndham - Australia's most northern and hottest town

Leaving Lake Argyle we drove 45mins to arrive in Kununnura. Here we visited the tourist information centre to get details on Wyndham and the latest on the Gibb River Road conditions. We then stocked up on groceries and had a coffee while waiting for the bottle shop to open - Sippy needed some beer re stocked and the store didn’t open until midday.

Back in the car, we headed further north to Parry’s Creek Farm, getting our first view of the Cockburn Ranges. Parry’s Creek was an awesome two--night stay. After checking in and setting up with no neighbours in the non-powered section, we went over to view the river and there on the opposite bank in full view was a 3-metre salt-water crocodile! It was massive. A little concerning – we definitely checked under the van as we exited each morning – well Sippy did as I sent him out first!  We had set up camp about 40 metres from the river, after being warned about the salt-water crocs at check-in, but a family with small children and a dog chose to set up right along the bank – argghhh. Just not sure why??

At dusk we were back in the car, unhitched, and bounced along a 4WD only track down to Marlgu Billabong Bird Sanctuary, within the Parry Lagoons Conservation Park. This was a magical experience – similar to the scene in the movie The Notebook – but better! There were so many beautiful birds, feeding, gliding along the water and flying in formation overhead. The symphony from them all was so, so beautiful and we had the place all to ourselves! As Sippy took a close up photo of one water bird (from the raised deck platform we were standing on) he captured the head of a crocodile as he lowered – so they were watching us even though we didn’t see it! We do have it captured on camera though. We stayed to watch the sunset over the water and then dragged ourselves away, so as to be safely back at the campsite before it was too dark. We were glad of Sippy’s big spotlight and the bumper bar as we drove back, dodging a snake scouring across the track.

The next day we headed into Wyndham, only 24kms up the road. Wyndham is Australia’s most northern and hottest town, with an average daily temperature of 36,6 degrees. Thank heavens it was only 32 when we visited – as it was still very hot. On the way we detoured across a salt lake, via King River Road to view the Moochalabra Dam and the famous Prison Tree. Again, a very rustic 4WD track that involved a few water crossings and dips and dives. We made it to the dam, and 400m from the Prison Tree, but the last tiny bit beat us. The dirt road had turned into a track of quite large river stones and we were too frightened to get out and walk the last little bit to see the tree as it looked very crocky! So alas we turned around and headed back. We did however on our adventure see creeks full of mauve water lillies that looked just like an Aussie version of a Monet painting. Just beautiful and all viewed safely from inside the Landcruiser with the windows down, We are sure there were crocs lurking about.

Wyndham was an interesting visit. At the park with the Big Croc, we were greeted by a very eager Aboriginal woman, Julie, in her 60’s, who was keen to show (and sell) us one of her carved Boab nuts (which we ended up buying). We then headed for the Five Rivers (Bastion) Lookout which afforded a birds-eye view over the Cambridge Gulf and the surrounding Durack, Pentecost, King, Forrest and Ord Rivers. An amazing lookout!

A drive around the town to see the Port, the Warriu Dreamtime Statues, the biggest Boab in captivity, which was over 2,000 years old (located in the Wyndham Caravan Park) and the Croc Bakery and we were done with Wyndham. We headed back to Parry Creek Farm for an afternoon lying around the palm-fringed pool.