The Top End

 With a few days up our sleeves to go between Katherine and Darwin, our first stop on the way north was Umbrawarra Gorge. On the road in was Copperfield Dam, this used to be a caravan park but is now just a nice grassy rest area overlooking a large expanse of water. We were sorely tempted to hop in, however didn’t know whether it was safe to (supposedly is, but still not sure if we would swim there) and was sure the gorge down the road would satisfy us aplenty.

Umbrawarra Gorge is about 25 km off the highway, most of which is corrugated dirt with some washouts/dry creeks. This at least meant it was quiet - there were only three cars there when we pulled up. The walk in was easy enough, starting off well-formed but with a bit of rock hopping as the water came into sight. We had a great swim and explored upstream a bit, but the large boulders on ungainly angles made this tricky and we only went so far before we returned to the main swimming area; you could easily go for ages though.

The pool we spent happy hour in at Umbrawarra Gorge.

With the day progressing and both the beauty and quiet of the place, we decided we would stay the night at the campground. At $3.30 per person we weren’t going to complain, and within no time had camp set up and plans to head back to the water for happy hour. This time we had the whole gorge to ourselves. With a camp oven meal planned, we started up the fire and got the coals red hot, producing a stunning lamb casserole that would be feeding us for the next few days.

The morning started early as we watched the sun rise in bed, with a slight chill in the air from the night before. We were quickly on the road, feeling it better to explore new places than enjoy the beauty of Umbrawarra Gorge yet again. We ventured out to Pine Creek where we spent a little time making contact with the outside world, and checked out some history from the area – some dating back over a hundred years. This area used to be a goldfield, with a super old open cut mine that has now been filled with 135 metres of beautiful, fresh water. The train line from Darwin to Adelaide (via Alice Springs!) eventually wound its way through the town (sounded like there was heaps of issues finalising the deal and making the northern and southern ends finally connect), and also houses the oldest restored train engine in Australia. This old trooper started life in 1877 in England before being put to pasture in 1945.

Thomas has nothing on this old beauty!

With plans to reach more water, we headed north along the highway for a little while, seeing a dump truck on the back of a semi trailer (luckily pulled over for pies, it would have been twice as wide as a standard car), and a quick glimpse of an old 1910’s car on a trailer (there is a Show’n’Shine on in Katherine on Sunday, sadly we just missed it). The rest of the road was pretty boring, until we made it to our turnoff. This led us past the old Fenton Airfield and Base Camp, from when troops were stationed here in WWII. It was great to drive through the old camp and get some information and wonder about the hardships here in both the wet and dry season. There were only a few bits of rusted metal left, however most of the cement foundations were still near perfect. As the info sign stated, white ants quickly wreaked havoc with the old timber floorboards, so as payback the men crushed down the termite mounds and made what seems like very structurally sound concrete.

Although that was fun, our main hope was to go to the airfield and have a look for some old plane wrecks. This was not to be, however, as all the gates in were padlocked – we might try and find another way in tomorrow…

Our aim for the day was to reach Butterfly Gorge, and after travelling a bit further down the road and along some gravel, we made it as far as the campsite at Douglas Hot Springs NP. We had a quick look around, a quick chat to the American couple we met several times along the Gibb then it was time to hit up the 4x4 track into the gorge. We aired down the tyres to give us some extra suspension then proceeded on. I made Michael take the chicken track right at the start, feeling it unwise to get stuck in what looked more like a river than the actual track. Michael pretended to be disappointed, but continued on anyway and we enjoyed the rest of the drive in, with a couple of small creek crossings, some good wheel placement and once again a lot of corrugations (the dash has a few more rattles than it did a couple of months back…). We welcomed the sight of a couple of fourbies parked up, including another one that we recognised at the couple with the flat tyre at Galvan’s Gorge (also from the Gibb), as it meant we were at our destination. It was time for a quick lunch then get ready to go in.

Just as we had everything packed up and ready to go, the couple from Galvans came out and had a quick chat, telling us where to go to get some peace and quiet (and a great view/swimming hole) and that we were well over prepared as we had to swim to get there! This was sounding to be a great adventure and we got straight into it. The walk in was simple enough (didn’t need the hiking shoes, oh well), then we ditched the shoes and backpacks at the first pool of water – a deep river crossing, and packed light to continue on. The main pool was gorgeous, with a nice white beach surrounded by green palms and gums on two sides, the river on the third, and a huge rock wall with a gap down the middle right in front of us. That gap was our destination, leading up to the upper pools. We had a quick swim over, then were greeted by a slim, slippery gorge that we had to work our way firstly out of the water, then over a boulder caught in the middle, then slide our way back into the water on the other side. The pleasure of making it past that first obstacle was great but short-lived, as we were faced with smooth walls on three sides, and one section where the water enters this pool that looked like we had a chance. Michael got through easy enough (damn long arms and legs), however being somewhat shorter in limb, those hand and footholds were slightly out of reach for me. This was only a setback though, as we eventually worked out how to get up and we made it to the next pool. This one was only shallow (we couldn’t touch the bottom in the last two) but the small waterfall was great fun to stand under. This area was once again beautiful, however we were on a mission and wanted to get to where the beauty was either going to blow us away, or slowly peter out and we could then choose where to hang out. I managed to somehow fall into the shallowest pool and land on my butt and jar my wrist and shoulder – not great with the rock climbing we were about to do.

Swimming into Butterfly Gorge.

We gingerly walked up the super smooth rocks and made our way to another large pool with deep walls on either side. At the far end was once again a rock obstacle that once again long-limbed Michael made it up, but that I was dragged up by my (jarred) arm. Ouch but worth it. This top pool was beautiful and warm, and we sat around for a little while, played slippery-dips on the super smooth and moss covered rocks, chatted to another couple we ventured up with, then began our descent back down. Knowing how the rocks dropped off at each of the waterfalls we had climbed up made it much easier to descend – jump! After a while we were back at the river crossing, not wanting to get out because of the warmth of the water, but the allure of a nearby campsite, chats with the neighbours, and of course beer o’clock we hopped out, dried off, walked back (barefoot) and were back on the track in no time.

One of the many pools we climbed/swam through.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting away with the two couples we met on the Gibb, swapping stories, trip plans, food and drink. Leslie and Allan (from Galvans Gorge) made an offer we couldn’t refuse and so we spent the evening there eating a wonderful dinner and chatting through the night. I think we ended up staying up later than the young Darwin locals who had their music blaring from the car so the whole camp could hear. Eventually the cold got to be too much and we called it a night and went to bed.

The next day’s plans were all but non-existent, composed mainly of going for a swim in the thermal pools and possibly go a bit closer to Darwin in preparation for Michael to fly to Sydney on Wednesday. By mid-morning it was obvious we were staying put – what’s the point of saving an hour the next day if it means leaving paradise to stay in a rest area. So we lazed about, had some more chats and exchanged details and watched the campground slowly empty around us. A few odd jobs later, another swim and a bit of a walk and the day was done.

The next morning we rose with a purpose, by the end of the day we would be in Darwin! We packed up and farewelled the Springs and hit the road north. It was still only mid-morning but we decided our first stop was the pub! The pub at Adelaide River has been home to Charlie the Buffalo for the last 50 odd years, made famous by the film Crocodile Dundee. Once upon a time this big fella was the family pet, then when he got famous he hung around giving kids rides. Now he just stands around on the bar – dead, stuffed and mounted.

Charlie - still going strong but I think his joints have seized...

We found our way into the outskirts of town and started seeing dual lane roads for the first time since Perth. First stop was Casuarina, home to a Westfields and therefore more shops than you can poke a stick at. We needed to shop around for a suit for Michael’s interview, and luckily the first one we went to came up with the goods. We wandered around the rest of the shops for a little while before venturing into the CBD. This ended up being a breeze, and we had found a car park in no time and looked around. With elections coming up, we also managed to fill in an away vote, and was sooo easy, with almost no hecklers trying to show you “how to vote” and no line whatsoever, we were in and out in no time. With Michael flying out the next day and me holding down the fort, the best move was to book into a van park, opting for Oasis on the outskirts of town.

I spent the next few days doing odd jobs, trying to cool down in the pool and experimenting with different ways to make cake in the camp kitchen - mugs and microwaves=success! The days flew by and before I knew it I was back at the airport picking Michael back up. He made it through to the final nine (from +500) but didn’t get the job, but at least got to go home for a night and say hi to his folks – so jealous, I might just have to meet mine in Darwin ;)

Lesson of the Week: Good deeds are great for the karma kitty, but can also bring you beer and chippies – lend a hand whenever you can.

The return to the N.T.

A split second decision saw us travelling towards Wyndham instead of back to Kununurra; we knew we had enough fuel to get there and had a couple of days before our friend was free to see us in Kununurra, so off we went. We passed The Gibb River Road turnoff and were sorely tempted to take it, however continued on our way. The Grotto was our first major stop for the day, where we looked down into the gorge and had it not been so hot we may have tackled the 200 odd stairs down. We could just see the water through the trees, which looked somewhat slimy and stagnant so was really not that enticing either. Instead we chatted to another couple that were chilling out up top who informed us that we’d stumbled into Wyndham on the busiest weekend of the calendar – the races! They recommended that we join the after party (which is apparently the big thing) and our night was planned – we thought.

As we approached the town we were stopped by an RBT unit, who informed us that the whole town was closed down as a result of the races (“hope you’ve got supplies on board because you won’t be getting anything today!”). With the fuel gauge on empty we had to book into the van park to play it safe, luckily it was still manned and turned out to be a great place, with a cool pool, the largest boab in “captivity” and a resident donkey (Scruffy) to keep us amused.

Scruffy coming by for a pat.

6 o’clock rolled around and it was time to get gussied up and head to the party. As we pulled up we watched people in tuxes and dresses flooding the carpark, most looked like they’d had a little bit too much fun that day (the races and after-party were two separate events and therefore everyone was kicked out in between for another entry fee). The carpark became a hoard of dressing rooms as girls changed into their evening wear and the men changed into all sorts of weird and wonderful outfits, my favourite being hot pink lycra suits. The couple we had met earlier found their way to our van and invited us over to theirs for happy hour, turns out the gig didn’t start for another hour, so we sat, ate and drank whilst we watched fireworks people randomly set off. Eventually we could start to hear the sound testing of the band inside (Dr Elephant, who we had heard in Alice Springs) and people started to move towards the gates. One of the fellows we were with didn’t have enough money to go in, so instead we opted to stay in the carpark and chill out. Although not quite how we planned we ended up having a really great evening with “free” live entertainment and good company, you can’t go wrong.

The next morning we awoke to find that a market had set up within the van park full of all sorts of goodies, including fresh local fruit and veg – yum! We gave Scruffy a pat and an apple as we wandered around. Once our fridge was brimming it was time to leave the park and continue along the back road to Kununurra. The first stop was the Five Ways look out where five of the mighty rivers converge and meet the ocean – a pretty spectacular sight. Then we went to Marlgu Bird Hide, which was truly an oasis in the middle of nowhere. The pond was full of lilies and birds and we saw our first wild salt water crocodile. We also saw Brolgas for the first time as well. 

Spot the Croc! apparently he's full because he's not eating all the plump birds around.

We then continued to meander down Parry Creek Road to Mimbi Island boat ramp, located on the Lower Ord River. This place is well known for its salt water crocodiles, which was made all the more evident as we watched a man launch his boat with his missus holding the rifle ready to let loose if need be. After a few tense minutes of trying to get the engine started he was on his way and the stress seemed to die down. We wandered along the track after lunch and spotted several salties on the opposite bank – some of great size! We once again felt surrounded by wildlife with wallabies, a resident cow and birdlife – a change from much of the Kimberley’s. If we had more time we would have camped here the night, but instead we continued along the road to see some of the other attractions including Middle Springs, Black Rock Falls and the Ivanhoe Crossing (now closed due to structural reasons). 

A couple of Brolgas we spotted on the Lower Ord.

Once back in town we went straight to Mary-Ann’s house, it was great catching up and also reuniting with her beautiful and energetic dog – Bindi the Kelpie. We ended up staying a couple of nights which allowed us to slow down, see Kununurra and clean the dust off some of our stuff. 

Bindi and Michael driving her crazy!

 

The Sandalwood Factory was a great visit, all heaps of information of the industry, including a 20 minute doco. We then headed further up the road to The Hoochery – Western Australia’s longest running legal still, the guy even had to wait for the government to change the law to include stills along with wineries and breweries. This visit changed from a quick taster to a 3 hour session with a full lunch of barramundi, salad and chips (amazing!), a full tasting compliment and then a lavish cheesecake desert laced with chocolate liqueur and cream (seriously heavenly). Had we more money and space we would have bought a lot here, but settled with a bottle of 40% proof rum. When it was safe to drive we checked out the other side of the Ivanhoe Crossing and a couple of Zebra Rock galleries around town. Feeling content that we had experienced a lot of Kununurra we decided it was time to move on, although would happily return one day – especially to The Hoochery! We said our goodbyes, packed up and headed east into the Territory once more!

Crossing the border!

The next attraction to head to was Lake Argyle, the largest freshwater lake in Australia, and its all manmade through the damming of the Ord River. The only way to really explore this piece of work is on a cruise, however with tours not lining up with our schedule we opted for the slightly more out of the way Zebra Rock Mine. This property is on the north-eastern side of the lake in the wetlands area, and is operated by a lovely family trying their hand at a number of business ventures, ranging from mining through to tourism. The campground wasn’t anything flash, but it was all the extras that really make the place what it is. The moment we walked in the door we were met by a friendly face, booked onto the evening boat tour (dirt cheap at $80 a head) and invited to come back in 10 minutes when the scones were ready – just bring a donation. We couldn’t wait and quickly set up camp under a tree then came back to the gallery to pretend to look at all the zebra rock jewellery as we could smell the scones cooking.

Just looking at them makes me want more - YUM!

4 o’clock came around and we wandered over to the shop where the 4x4 bus awaited us to shuttle us down to the river. The guy running the tour had lived here his whole life and had a heap of stories to tell, including from when he rode this land on horseback before the damming of the Ord and subsequent flooding of the area. The boat took us through wetlands and islands, where great trees once stood, but are now just majestic skeletons after being long submerged. This area has only seen tourists for the last couple of years thanks to this family, so we felt pretty privileged to be seeing it, once again something a bit off the beaten track (but probably not for long the way word of mouth is going for the place). The boat ride was great, with a cooling dip in the freshwate (some people more worried about the possible presence of crocodiles than others, freshies only though). After cruising through the edges of the lake for a while, we pulled up on a remote piece of land complete with green grass, shade-cloth, table and logs to sit on. Happy hour had been prepared for us – an antipasto plate and all you could drink beer, wine or bubbles provided – they sure know how to treat their guests well. Apparently they’ve never ran out of beer, and as much as we tried there was still a couple of cans left by the end of the night. We watched the sun slowly sink over the horizon making an amazing array of colours and contrasts. We hopped on the boat once the sun had disappeared, continuing to see its colours and also the rising of the full moon behind us. Come 8:30pm we were back at camp, had a quick feed then walked up behind the shop where there was a raging camp fire to sit around. Still quite hot, we were not sitting very close, braving the heat every now and again to turn the damper.

some pics of the cruise...

One of the few crocs we passed - this one freaked out a few of the ladies on board.

The final attraction we enjoyed here was to fossick for zebra rock in the creek bed (of course after some fresh scones for brekkie). We didn’t hit the jackpot, but feel we came out with a couple of cool looking specimens. We left the Zebra Rock Mine to continue for Katherine. We stopped briefly at Gregory National Park to see the Gregory Tree, which is a massive old boab with dates carved into it from an early explorer – dating back to the 1800’s, with the inscriptions now ½ metre tall due to the growth of the tree – cool to look at. We stayed overnight at a rest area in Gregory N.P. near the highway on the banks of the river. Katherine was our aim for the next day, and with nothing much to see in between we made good time. First stop was the trusty information centre, then we hit up the hot springs, just 2km out of town. After spending too long here, and Michael doing some more stuff on the computer for interviews, we opted to stay at Springvale Homestead Caravan Park for the night. The park was full of Muscovy ducks, wallabies, turkeys and a croc named Elvis – all in all a nice stop that gave us some time to prepare for our drive north to Darwin.

The Gregory Tree  inscribed July 2nd 1856

Sun setting over camp at Gregories N.P.

Lesson of the Week: It’s the family run operations that give the best bang for your buck.

Purnululu NP and Surrounds

We booked into Hidden Valley Caravan Park for a couple of days in Kununurra. This park backed onto Mirima NP, often referred to as a Mini Bungle Bungles, and therefore a great introduction for our plans to come. The weather had started to pick up in temperature – hitting 40 odd degrees in winter in plain scary. We spent a day relaxing and swimming in the park pool then began our epic adventure down to the Bungle Bungles.

On the way out of town we waved to the friendly Belgian Backpackers on the main road (with their thumbs up once again), then travelled down one of the rural roads to check out the famed Zebra Rock Gallery. Kununurra/ Lake Argyle is the only region in which this rock is found, and is affectionately known as being more rare than diamond, however without the massive price tag. There is a lot of mumbo jumbo to go with the Zebra Rock story, but basically it looks cool, isn’t found in many places, and the majority of it was flooded when the Ord River was dammed, making it pretty dang hard to get your hands on. Even to get it out of the ground is no mean feat with the weather up here, but of course I wanted some and am now one rock heavier in my collection. As if Zebra Rock wasn’t impressive enough, the gallery bordered on the Upper Ord River, and had hundreds of catfish that came to the jetty for a feed of bread, a must do, amazing to see the size of some of these guys.

Just a few cat fish ....

A little further down the road was Oria Orchards, which had a whole load of different plantations along the driveway with signs saying what they were and when they were harvested. This was interesting, however the farm shop left us wishing we were here a few months later, with just some fresh veggies on offer (we want mangoes dammit). We settled for a bag of dried mango and some sweet potato instead and continued on our way. The next few hours was an epic journey of boring blacktop, broken up by a boring rest area for lunch and some amusing boabs spotted on the plains bordering the road. We pulled up at a rest area almost opposite the Purnululu entry and immediately realised we were not the only ones with the same idea. The lower (shady) area was overflowing with caravans (and a massive bus towing a mid-size 4x4) and so we had to settle for the upper area, which at least had a few perks.

One of the perks! ..and some boabs below.

Our overnight stop left us in a great position to begin our Purnululu/Bungle Bungle experience, being within a kilometre of the gates and dirt road into the park. With previous accounts warning us of the road conditions and 2+ hours driving time, we prepared ourselves and the car after closing the entrance gates. Like with many of these warnings, we found ourselves pleasantly surprised with the time it took us to get into the park. Unlike the Gibb, this road kept the speed down due to the many twists and turns and although corrugated we had definitely experienced worse recently. A quick stop over at the visitor centre gave us a bit more information and a bumper sticker in preparation of what was to come. Our first night was set to be in the southern section at Walardi camp and proved to be a nice, shady site (and prior recommendations to not go in site 13 resulted in less toilet fumes). It was 10:30 by the time we set up, and the mercury was already easily hitting 30 degrees. An executive decision to stay put and get up early to do the walks in the cool morning air was made. Somehow the day passed, doing very little, except socialising with some neighbours, getting good ideas on where to go and what to do over the next couple of months. Travellers going in the reverse direction is one of the best info sources about.

We arose with the early morning light and watched the sun rise as we ate our breakfast. Having packed up mostly the night before we were off to a flying start and were back out of the car and into our hiking boots by 7:00. The southern walk trails range from a 700m loop walk of the famed Bungle Bungle Domes, through to an overnight hike through the gorges. We set our sights for “The Window”, knowing that the return trip, along with other points of interest, would add up to a 10 km walk.

The Hulk meets the Bungles

The Domes loop provided some great vantage points to view the black and orange bee-hive-like structures. These domes have alternating horizontal rings of black cyanobacteria and orange iron oxide that each play their part in preserving these magnificent ranges from the harsh, eroding conditions of the tropical wet season. Following this was a short walk to Cathedral Gorge, a stunning, deep gorge with a small pool at its end. There was a short moment of peace and serenity until the masses entered the gorge along with us, at least we were 5 minutes ahead. Continuing on, the track exited the scrubland and spinifex and followed the dry creek bed onwards to Piccaninny Creek Lookout. This creek bed spanned some 15 metres in width, and ranged in terrain from soft pure white sand to large smooth river stones and bare bedrock with numerous gaps and holes, some Michael could easily hide in and took pleasure in doing so (however wishing they were full of water).

A look at the creek bed we walked along.

The lookout provided an elevated view over the surrounding savannah plains and Bungle ranges. We admired the view and took some happy snaps then both squeezed into a patch of shade for a bit of reprieve and a quick bite to eat. As more walkers came along we made our departure and headed back to the main track to continue a bit further up to The Window. With low expectations after our socialising the night before (“it’s a rock with a hole in it”), we were happy to have made it this far and enjoyed looking around and climbing the rocks for some great views and shots. With the heat barrelling down on us, we did not even consider continuing on and instead made our way back along the creek bed to the car. We had one final glance at the magnificent Bungle Bungles then hopped in our wonderfully air conditioned car, and drove to the northern section of the park for the evening’s camp site.

I give you a hole in a rock - the window!

Along the way we stopped in at a lookout, were aghast that we had to walk up a hill to get a decent view (we had just done 10 kms…) but continued nonetheless and took a few more photos and sung songs (potentially hysteria/delusions had set in).

We made camp in the midday sun, happy to have once again picked a shady site, this time at Kurrajong camp ground, and hid from the worst of the heat under the awning, playing games, eating food and just chilling.

The view from the lookout - if you look closely you can spy hulkie hiding.

The next day started similarly early, with grand plans for a long morning walk. We watched the sun rise as we had our toast and tea, then finished packing up and headed for the starting point of today’s walks – The Bloodwoods car park. From here it was a 4.4 km return journey through Mini Palms Gorge, during which time we looked at hundreds of palms, many of which were hanging precariously from the edge of the cliff in search of sunlight and water, and protection from fire, while others had to do it the hard way, having grown over twenty metres so the sunlight reaches their fronds for as long as possible deep within the gorge.  The walk took us through a dry creek bed, over rocks, through small gaps in the boulders and up some ladders to a walkway overlooking the “amphitheatre of mystery” at the end of the gorge. Being so early, we had most of the walk to ourselves and enjoyed the cool air within the gorge while listening to the echo of the bird whistles and taking in the sights.

As we exited the gorge we were hit by the hot air, it wasn’t even 8:30 and it would have easily been over 30 degrees. Even so, we soldiered on, quickly refilling the water on the way past the car on our way to the other walk here, Homestead Valley Gorge. This walk provided some great views of the surrounding palms and sheer rock cliffs, however with the wider gorge came a much greater heat as the morning wore on. Obviously others had felt this way, and at the end of the 2.2 km walk in there was a shaded pavilion with a couple of benches to sit and recover, preparing for the return walk through the scrubland and creek bed (dry again, as was all of the park).

Echidna Chasm 

Feeling ambitious, and with the recommendation of viewing Echidna Chasm in the middle of the day for the shaft of light that penetrates the deep gorge, we drove down the road, prepared a quick morning tea and were once again walking through a dry, rocky creek bed. The cool air hit us instantly as we entered the gorge, immediately surrounded by more Livistona palms reaching for the sky. The gorge was full of contrasting colours and textures, with red cliffs spotted with dark river stones, green palms and blue sky. The lower walls of the chasm were bleached white from the yearly wet season flooding, and were quickly diminishing in width to a point where you could touch both sides. Venturing on we had to manoeuvre around a couple of fallen boulders, climb a ladder, and all of a sudden we were at the end of the chasm looking straight up 100m to the blue sky above. On the return walk we experienced the magnificent colours as the sun moved overhead, lighting up different sections of the walls. This was a truly spectacular experience.

With 10.8km under our belt before we had reached midday, we felt that it was time to once again return to camp for a feed and relaxing afternoon trying to avoid the heat that comes with winter (36+ degrees…). We finished our day with a cold shower (water provided J by the park) and a stunning steak and chip dinner on the fire (wood provided J by the park).

Purnululu NP and the Bungle Bungles was a great detour and one not to be missed, and a scenic flight alone would not do it justice (despite what many nomads have suggested). In total we walked over 22 kms in two days (mornings) and really got a feel for why this area is World Heritage Listed.

Lesson of the Week: It is called the dry season for a reason!!

Mitchell Plateau and Kalumburu

That morning we spent the majority of the time shaking, rattling and rolling our way north. A grader had recently gone from Drysdale station down to the Gibb, but only on one side of the road, so we chose to drive like Americans for a while, rather than have the Hulk shake apart. After the station however the road was not very well maintained and despite trying to drive on the road any and every way possible we could not avoid the corrugations. We did however find Miner’s Pool for a quick stop off and cool down – the water was freezing and the toilets were hilarious, a corrugated iron shed full of cobwebs and a dunny made of a 44 gallon drum huzzah! At least we were able to stop bumping around for a while.

Several hours later we found the turnoff for Mitchell Plateau. This is an unmaintained road that is said to be one of the roughest in the Kimberleys. Rumoured to take four hours to complete we decided that we would make camp at King Edward River, rather than drive into the night. The campsite was beautiful, beneath shady gums with the river in the background. We set up quickly, walked to the nearby waterfalls and then returned to the river for a well-earned swim! When we returned to camp we were greeted by Geoff and Jen who had also decided it was time for a break. We spent the night sitting around the fire until our eyes could barely stay open and the fire could no longer keep the chill at bay. We had a couple of visitors to the fire including two girls from Belgium hitch hiking along the Gibb River Road, with plans on reaching Kalumburu, as soon as someone had the space for them. Sadly we could not fit them in, but we wished them luck, people don’t generally drive this far and have spare space for anyone else (and their gear).

The first stop the next morning was an Indigenous art site that you could easily spend hours exploring the various paintings and petroglyphs. There were also several Bradshaw paintings (these artworks can be dated back to a very long time ago, however no one knows who painted them!) and wandjinas . The rest of the drive was fairly non-eventful, the speed was kept low by corrugations, corners, rocks, water crossings and looking out for several dingoes. We did however manage to complete the journey well under the allowed 4 hours! In this country the Landcruiser really does shine – Go Brucie!!!

Bradshaw Artwork.

The camp site at Mitchell Falls is simple yet effective, with several communal fire places and shady trees dotted around the area. We saw Richard and Karen’s camp nearby and decided to pull up – we knew they’d have some great stories of the adventure they had had that day. Not long after we pulled up Geoff and Jen arrived and the whole gang was back together again. We decided to celebrate our long journey with a swim in Little Merten’s Falls, which were beautiful. A last minute decision saw Michael, Geoff and I booking a helicopter flight over the falls for the next the day (sure this meant we wouldn’t have to walk the return journey, but when else would we have such a good opportunity to go in a helicopter and see such a beautiful sight?). We had another glorious night around the fire, this time Karen and Richard joined us and we shared stories and damper, easily talking the night away. Karen and Richard had made us very excited about our next day’s adventure and we couldn’t wait to get up in the morning to embark.

Little Mertens Falls...Pretty!!

With bags packed, our check in for the afternoon completed and hiking shoes done up nice and tight, it was time to go. The track turned out to be 4 and a half kilometres, a lot easier than fabled 10 kms + the story tellers (grey nomads) would have you believe. The track was well formed and before we knew it we’d reached the 500 metre left marker, which coincided with Big Merten’s Falls. Apparently someone fell off and died here last year, so Michael decided it was a good idea to climb some rocks and get pretty close to the edge, luckily Michael is part monkey and survived his gruelling climb (he also managed to get some good pictures of the falls). We then crossed the falls and tottered into Mitchell Falls. Instantly we were blown away by the beauty of the area, I don’t think there are enough words to be able to vividly describe the aura of this place. Water flowed from one platform to another to form wall after wall of cascading falls. The sound on the waterfalls up close was deafening, yet also tranquil, here was mother nature at play. With so many vantage points it was great that we had all day to explore and swim, as we had booked the last flight out.

Big Merten Falls

Various views of Mitchell Falls - Beautiful!

One of the places we were able to swim at the falls.

With so much to see our day flew by, and in no time we were sitting at the departures terminal (an aluminium bench seat under a shade cloth). We dug into the last of our supplies while we watched our chopper approach. Then we swiftly ducked our heads and hopped in. Although classified as the 6 minute ‘taxi flight’, this was our first opportunity to be in a helicopter and provided a whole new vantage point of Mitchell Falls and the surrounding plateau all the way to the ocean – this was far from just a taxi ride. The flight provided ample views of the falls, the fact the doors were open gave us unobstructed views whilst also adding to the thrill of being so high up.

Our "taxi"

A view from above!

That night we celebrated with a giant happy hour. Geoff, Jen, Michael and I had reached the peak of the Kimberleys – Mitchell Plateau.

Although remote Mitchell Falls is still a tourist destination with several tour buses making the journey every day, albeit 4x4 buses. Still wanting to get off the beaten track we decided to head back to the main road and head north instead of south, making for the community and shore line of Kalumburu. Often rated in adventure magazines as a must do, this rugged and remote track leads to Kalumburu. The community itself provided little in the way of highlights (except a laugh at the fuel price at $3 a litre), it’s the pristine coast line that everyone up here seeks. Granted the road from the community to Honeymoon Bay was rough and several choice words were muttered in amongst the shaking and rattling after such a long day on the dirt, but when we stood at the top of the rocks peering onto the unadulterated shoreline we knew we had come to the right place, this was paradise.

Honeymoon Bay

We went to the care taker to book in and the young bloke straight away shook our hands and took us inside his house (corrugated iron shed) to complete the formalities. At $15 a head its not exactly cheap, but with a location like this how could we argue? He also offered us a Honeymoon Bay special – Mud-crabbing at night, in croc and shark water, Heck Yes! We spent the afternoon chilling out, exploring the coast and surrounding camps. Once again we met up with Geoff and Jen who were also doing the mud-crabbing tour. Turns out the Belgium Girls had also made it here after a group of three cars could manoeuvre enough stuff to get them in, however were at the time umming and ahhing about how they would be returning to the “busy” Gibb River Road. Good luck to them (again). The afternoon flew by and in no time at all Troy and Maryanne (caretakers) in the old Landcruiser to pick us all up. I have to admit that I regretted asking about the crack in the windscreen – his brother had driven the car into a ditch chasing buffalo (for funsies) - the crack was from someone’s head hitting the window, Troy then regaled us with other stories of accidents that had happened. Well we made it to the beach and picked a good spot not too close to the mangroves to go searching. We were armed with torches and blunt spears and only had to obey a couple of simple rules – 1. Don’t shine the torches at each other because the crocs will know what’s behind the light, 2. If Troy said run RUN! We waded through knee high sea water watching fish swim by and having fun with the plankton that light up when you kick them or when they swim. We ended up finding two massive crabs and returned to camp where Troy and Geoff cleaned them up ready for the fire! Great Dinner!

our catch!

As Geoff and Jen were packing up the next morning we decided it looked like too much effort, so we returned to Troy to book in another night. We said our goodbyes to Geoff and Jen, not sure when we’d meet again but were sure we would cross paths again. We then headed down to the water’s edge and spent all morning fishing. We pulled in several fish, Michael had his first success on a lure and I had my first success with my $20 broken Kmart rod J Sadly everything was undersized, but we sure had fun pulling in all sorts of fish. We returned to camp empty handed, but this worked in our favour as a camp group had pulled in too many red snapper off the reef (cheaters using a boat!). There was more than enough to go around, so they offered us some pre-filleted fish and we were happy to take it off their hands. Turns out this is a common occurrence with his particular group spending three months here every year, eating three meals of fish a day in various concoctions. That afternoon we checked out some custom rigs and got chatting to a group of three couples from QLD. We ate our glorious fish that evening and went to bed well contented.

a couple of the fish we pulled in...

The next day it was time to leave paradise and retrace our steps along that very bumpy road. After all the horror stories of this road we felt pretty proud that our only casualty was a wing mirror, nothing a little duct tape and doodling couldn’t fix (the mirror is now called broken bob). As with many temporary repairs bob is still going strong! The road also saw us come across several massive cattle and a few herds of brumbies that were in the middle of the road and put on a bit of a show for us, running along the road in front of us until the bush petered out enough for them to get out of our way.

Brumbies

We made it to Drysdale Station by early afternoon and were greeted by some friendly faces at the bar - “It’s the slide out guys!!”. Our previous plans for a date night defeated us when the menu had changed from our previous visit, no longer sounding very enticing, and the backup plan for a nice counter top lunch defeated us when we rocked up at 2:05pm and the bar closes at 2:00pm. Oh well, we still had a couple of cold drinks and some chippies at camp to enjoy while chatting. We set up, enjoyed a luxurious hot shower then had a long and pleasant happy hour with Kathy and Neil.

A quick look at what the roads have looked like - check out the dust and the corrugations! 

The next morning saw us having another wonderful hot shower, followed by a quick pack up and we were on the road. We had planned to have a break at the Gibb River and were pleased to see the QLD group from Kalumburu sitting around a fire boiling the billy and beckoning for us to join. Our five minute stop extended a bit more, however we couldn’t complain with billy tea, home made cookies and great stories supplied. Eventually we had to face our inevitable drive, so we said goodbye once more and were off. The rest of the dirt was very non-eventful asides from one very nice lookout and constant chattering over the UHF – it sounded like some serious droving was going on. We had lunch on the Pentecost River, watching for crocs and being mystified by a large bird we later found out was a Jabiru. We then had to cross the mighty river, endure 20kms of road works (including a red light that we couldn’t believe was there!) and we found tar once more, leading us to Kununurra at the end of a long day, leaving us with little to do except book into the van park for the night.

This is what a Jabiru looks like - its not an alien pelican!

Sadly our time on the Gibb had come to a close. After passing all the big name stations we made an agreement that we would come back again and do all the big name expensive station stuff one day. We couldn’t believe it was over, but all good things must come to an end and hey we still had a lot more adventures and beautiful things to see!

Lesson of the week: Great goals make for great achievements! 

The Kimberley’s – The Gibb River Road - Part Two.

We made it back to the Gibb in one piece and still had a few hours of daylight left so we continued past our planned stop at Lennard River and ambitiously continued east. Before we knew it we came upon the turnoff to Lennard River Gorge and didn’t realise we had come so far. With the motto running through our heads of when will we next be here, we took the turnoff and followed a rough track for 8km with a creek crossing (shallow but still cool) to the car park. After a quick chat to a couple who were finishing up, we decided what the heck, lets go for a quick wander and see why no one was that interested in this gorge. Even though it was getting late and we were rather unprepared, ended up scrambling up and down hills, over many rocks and through a lot of spikey spinifex, to reach the gorge lookout before sundown. We were pretty tired, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the view. If we had had a few more hours of daylight we might of attempted goat tracking it down to the gorge, but with darkness looming and many signs making it perfectly clear that we had reached the end of the track we decided to head back to The Hulk and go find somewhere to camp for the night. We pulled into March Fly Glen, not the most spectacular spot, however it was serviceable and free J. The last minutes of driving with sunlight were spectacular as there were several small lookouts over the Kimberleys to take in.

The lookout at Lennard River Gorge

The sounds of birds singing merrily awoke us the next day and we took this as a good omen of what was to come. The King Leopold Ranges loomed ahead of us, with some caricatures to look at, including one that looked the head of Queen Victoria (even had a sign for it). To the north was our next campsite - Silent Grove, inside the national park. We quickly set out the mat to reserve a spot and proceeded on to the car park at the start of the track in to Bells Gorge. This was bound to be busier than Lennard River Gorge, with several cars and a tour bus in the car park, however it was also expected to be far more spectacular and accessible. The Gorge itself was something to behold. Initial views were of the upper pool and river that fed the gorge and waterfalls. We had to hop over a few rocks, climb up and down to even reach the start of the goat track down to the plunge pool – where all the people were (except some oldies with bung legs in a puddle up top…well pool maybe) but also the best swimming.

The Main Waterfall at Bells Gorge.

Looking from the top of the waterfall was great, but seeing it from the bottom up was amazing and we could hardly wait to hop in the water. This ended up being a more cautious task, as the rocks were extremely slippery and could easily send you flying – great fun, but also dangerous and makes you worry about your exit – don’t want to look like a beached whale. After a suitable spot was found, we slid into the water and immediately went to the waterfall for some fun and some selfies – loving the underwater camera. We hung out in the plunge pool for a while then decided to get adventurous and travel downstream away from the tourists. We slipped down waterfalls, slid past shallow rocks, barely made it down some other rocks when the waterfall looked a bit much and finally decided to call it a day when we reached the 20-odd metre drop of the next waterfall through the gorge. If we thought that was fun, getting back was downright tricky, with the current now against us those waterfalls weren’t in our favour, and resulted in us being out of the water more than in it. Some tricky rock climbs, an ingenious use of a diagonally growing tree trunk (hello ramp) and some more slipping and sliding later we made it back to our stuff on the edge of the water. Luckily nature also played friendly with us, with stunning blue skies and a warm breeze we were not left feeling cold, and the only scary reptiles we found were a few lizards sunning themselves on the rocks.

Massage under the waterfall.

The waterfall that stopped us from further adventuring.

Feeling quite proud of making it to the end of the line. Selfie because no-one else was there :) 

Some of the waterways we had navigated.

After a bit of a feed to replenish our energy levels, we ventured back up the track and trail to the car park and made the quick dash back to the campground. We were thankful we had set up the mat previously, as the area was starting to fill up and we had prime position by a picnic table, a fireplace and just the right amount of shade for the afternoon. We spent a couple of minutes setting up then proceeded to relax in the shade, enjoy a couple of solar showers and getting ready to do dinner – camp oven casserole here we come! That night we met a couple, Geoff and Jen, who were travelling together with only the bare essentials, but seemed to be living it up with casseroles cooked on the fire and home-made damper, which also inspired me, resulting in not only a great dinner but also some yummy dessert. It seemed funny when an old couple walked past us four young ‘uns cooking in the camp ovens and making damper and realising hope is not completely lost with the younger generation. We ended up staying up late chatting to our new friends around the fire, until eventually the wood ran out for the night and it was time to call it quits.

After tossing up whether to stay a second night or continue on, the decider was when we realised it was a Saturday, and a day later and the roadhouse, Imintji, would likely be closed and deny us the “cheapest fuel on the Gibb” (at $2.39/L). Turned out Geoff and Jen were going in the same direction as us and with a similar pace we kept bumping into them for the next week on the road. We ventured back down the “driveway”, refuelled at Imintji by a lovely old fellow who had only been there two weeks (who we had actually met and chatted to for an hour or so at Quandong Beach but with many names and faces in between we didn’t work it out for another couple of days). We mentioned that our next stop off was Adcock Gorge, and was given the inside scoop that we should also venture over to Adcock River, not on the maps but a great location.

The road into Adcock Gorge was not too rough, with the last section providing some nice water to cross and bumpy rocks to traverse. As we often do, we timed it perfectly, three cars were just leaving as we arrived. The gorge was stunning, with a couple of large pools, and had it been a little later in the day we would have been straight in there swimming, however the sun had not yet penetrated the gorge, leaving some of the night chill in the air. On the way out we said a passing hello to an American couple(Neil and Kathy) we met briefly at Windjana Gorge, who affectionately recognised us as the “slide out guys”, another of those couples we would continue to leap frog along the Gibb. We then ventured off the beaten track to Adcock River where we wandered along the banks for a bit, ate some left over damper, then continued back to the main attractions.

Galvans Gorge was one of the most accessible gorges on the Gibb, with a car park right on the main road (luckily tarred due to the hill next door – bit less dust). The walk in was an easy km in with a formed path and plenty of shade. This gorge was pretty and took little encouragement for us to jump right in. In no time at all we were climbing the waterfall to jump from the rocks above into the deep plunge pool. After several jumps it was time to hop out and dry off. We explored a bit and found a rope swing that almost tempted us back in, and also some Aboriginal art on the gorge wall.

Galvans Gorge.

In the car park we saw a couple slaving over a very flat tyre, and decided it was a good opportunity to lend a hand and have a chat. Michael ended up getting to see how to plug a tyre (sadly without success), then help get the spare on. We got chatting as they were heading the opposite way to us and felt it was a great opportunity to exchange points of interest along our routes. We eventually found out we got the good end of the deal when we pulled off the Gibb at the Barnett River crossing and found our campsite for the evening. This site was about 500 metres off the road, with a bit of sand needing all four wheels spinning and a small river crossing before we reached where Lesley and Allan had stayed the night before. We set up in no time next to the “bath” dug into the river and the fireplace. Wood collection took no time at all with the amount of gum around and the decimation resulting from each wet season. We shared the site with another couple we spoke to at Galvans, Richard and Karen, who we ended up chatting to for an hour or so before tea.

The next morning we were up early to go for an epically long drive to Manning Gorge – a full 10km! This was another advantage of where we stayed, as it left us it good stead for our epic day in Manning Gorge, without paying $40 to stay in a dusty camp ground ( there was an $8 per person day entry fee, but we had heard good reviews and were happy to part with a bit of cash at the roadhouse).

The walk in to the gorge was about 4km, so we prepared ourselves so we could spend at least half the day in there enjoying the water. The best part of the walk was right at the start, where the track meets the river. Instead of having to detour around the water, or swim through it, there was a dinghy on a rope that you sat in and pulled yourself across. This was great fun and a great service provided. The rest of the walk was over rocks, through spinifex and savannah country, until finally we reached where the track almost disappeared it went downhill so quickly. Shortly after, there was the sight of water. After watching some fish for a few seconds we were in the first pool of water we found. After splashing about here for a little Geoff and Jen showed up and we had a bit of a catch up before peering around the corner of a rock for what was upstream. We immediately swam along because we could see a beautiful waterfall and a whole lot more water.

The boat over to the walking track.

The water was cold, but outside was colder, so the few metres between pools was traversed quickly before jumping into the plunge pool and making our way over to the waterfall, which ended up being quite rough after the 20 metre or so sheer drop. Not satisfied with just a swim, we decided it would be a great idea to jump off the rocks surrounding the pool, as we had no idea how deep the pool was, except that we could not touch the bottom. We jumped from some brilliant heights – none wed ever attempted before! It was ridiculously fun, however after several dives it was time to sit on the rocks in the sun and try and dry off and warm up (not to mention rub our sore spots from some of our jumps). The swim and walk back was fairly non-eventful, however we were starting to wish we were back in the water with the sun now in the middle of the sky. The dinghy ride was once again great fun, then it was time to get back in the car and check out yet another gorge – Barnett River Gorge.

The first beautiful water body of Manning Gorge.

The Main Waterfall at Manning.

Michael, Myself and Jen jumping off the rocks!

Here we once again met up with Geoff and Jen, and also a bloke with two German backpackers who had just come out of the bush where they had snapped their winch cable trying to get out of a creek bed. Turned out these guys were just having a bit of fun, especially the Aussie bloke who was a little high, had a few beers under the belt, and had lost his licence a few years ago and was to the point of being targeted by the cops in the big smoke, so felt it time to go bush where nobody would bother him…Anyway yarn over it was time for a swim! We briefly crossed paths with Richard and Karen who said the water was very inviting and before you could say billabong we were in the middle of the water splashing and having fun. There was a colony of bats in a nearby tree which we enjoyed watching whilst drying off, then with the sun slowly sinking we decided it was time to get to camp.

This looks Batty! At Barnett River Gorge.

We spent the night on the banks of the Gibb River, which also marks the start of Kalumburu Road. There were a few people camped in the main section, but being the adventurous type we are we decided to follow some tyre tracks heading upstream. There were some inviting spots, however the soft, deep sand was too much for us – we had already had to lower the tyre pressures and dig ourselves out of a boggy situation – so with tail between our legs we made camp with everyone else right on dusk.  We’d been to so many gorges that day, yet no two were the same, some left a more lasting impression than others but you have to see all of them to appreciate that. It’s also worth noting that these gorges are like adult jungle-gyms, you get a serious workout when exploring and use all sorts of muscles you didn’t know existed to get down, up and around them!

Lesson of the week: Sure driving off the beaten track is wonderful, but walking, climbing, hiking and swimming off the beaten track just tops it off!