13,123 kms, 38 degrees C
We left El Questro and our first stop was Home Valley, w
hich was more Pontins than the Kimberley. Beautiful spot, but the luxury of a covered swimming pool might be setting us up for a shock when we hit the more remote bits of the Gibb River Road (GRR). Stuart might have found a new bush office – amazingly this lookout over the Cockburn Ranges had internet access! The final two clips on the video feature the Cockburn Ranges, first with us crossing the Pentacost River then the view at sunset.
hich was more Pontins than the Kimberley. Beautiful spot, but the luxury of a covered swimming pool might be setting us up for a shock when we hit the more remote bits of the Gibb River Road (GRR). Stuart might have found a new bush office – amazingly this lookout over the Cockburn Ranges had internet access! The final two clips on the video feature the Cockburn Ranges, first with us crossing the Pentacost River then the view at sunset.Next we had a long schlep down GRR to the Kalumburu tu
rn off – the worst of the road. It is important to play with all you toys, and we did so, including the jack and spare tyre, as we got our first flat of the trip, on the razor like shale of the notorious section of the GRR near Ellenbrae. We were warned but it made little difference. Luckily the tyre was fixed at Drysdale River (they must make a fortune out of repairing tyres, as they are the closest station to the nasty section) and it is OK.
rn off – the worst of the road. It is important to play with all you toys, and we did so, including the jack and spare tyre, as we got our first flat of the trip, on the razor like shale of the notorious section of the GRR near Ellenbrae. We were warned but it made little difference. Luckily the tyre was fixed at Drysdale River (they must make a fortune out of repairing tyres, as they are the closest station to the nasty section) and it is OK.We all enjoyed Drysdale River – like El Questro, Home Valley and many other spots on the GRR it is a working cattle station that probably make more money from passing tourists (repairing tyres, bolting on bits that have fallen off with the corrugations, beers, diesel at $1.95/l, food and “trophies” – the serious 4WD-heads go bonkers for the windscreen stickers and tee shirts that show their prowess in getting to s
uch places). The bar was awesome in terms of company and coldies. The evening roast was heaven in the bush and we heard about the lunch burgers 6,000kms away in Port Douglas! Young Anna behind the bar was a cute German vegetarian, serving large slabs of meat all day long. She would be in her early 20s, here to meet “real Australians”!! These places are pretty quirky – check out the photo of the payfone, and yes, it is in an old fridge!
On Sat 29th we did the big drive up to Mitchell Falls – one of the icons of the Kimberley. A set of three falls into pools, covering an 80m drop. All the postcards show cascading falls but we are at the hot end of the dry season and the falls resembled an 85 year old man having a wee.The road up was a shocker – probably the worst yet and hopefully the worst of the trip. It took over 11 hours tough driving to get from the GRR to the falls and back, a distance of 500km. This will be one of the more remote spots of our trip – the closest bitumen road was over 500km away. We took a short, expensive helicopter ride up to the falls then trudged back across a hot exposed track, where the waterhole advertised as a g
reat place too cool off had dried up. We returned pretty hot and sticky to a camp site with a long drop loo and no showers. Yuk! At least we made it up there – we might have regretted not trying it.
reat place too cool off had dried up. We returned pretty hot and sticky to a camp site with a long drop loo and no showers. Yuk! At least we made it up there – we might have regretted not trying it. The video features clips on the problem with the road (corrugations) and the solution, which is the grader. Most Kimberley travellers try to work out when the grader is going thro and follow him around as the ride is much smoother after the corrugations have been flattened.
On Sun 30th we did the long painful trip back to Drysdale River Station, stopping for a welcome dip at King Edward River. To swim, or not to swim, that is the question. The other one is, “are there any crocs in here”? All we knew was that the book said it was clear to swim, and other people were in there, so we did so.
We spend much of our day now avoiding the heat - a typical day would be:-
5.30am - up with the birds and the sunrise
6.45am - tents struck, car packed, on the road to our next destination, or walk/swim before heading off
Late morning – arrive, pay for campsite, set up camp in the heat, swim or shower to cool down then lunch
Early arvo – sit in the shade and do the blog or read a book
3.30pm – venture out for a walk, swim or other activity as the heat starts to die down
4.30pm – beer o’clock, XXXX Golds and nuts
5.30pm - sunset
6pm dinner, cooked by our resident chef Nicky
7.30pm bed
The birds below were shot at Drysdale River Station - a brown falcon and a long tailed finch.
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