The Gibb River Road

We left Derby on the 11^th of July to start the Gibb. Our first camp was at the not too far away Windjana Gorge, we picked a spot and pulled out the swag to claim camp before we continued down to Tunnel Creek. The walk would take us through the creek itself which winds its way through the mountain range, hence the name, we decided to buy some wet shoes for this of which the cheapest option was Volleys, Ben wasn’t too happy with the lack of colour on his so I got decorating to amuse myself in the ute.  Tunnel creek was a great first walk as our introduction to the Kimberley’s, our torch may not have been efficient enough for it but it lent a certain spooky air wading through the cavernous interior. Happily it had a sandy bottom and not too many trips happened in the dark, although there was a strange animal around that kept pinching my backside and stealing kisses. We also got to test out some different settings on my camera so we’ve got some great photos with the limited light or a touch of flash.

We settled back at Windjana for the night and walked up the gorge the next morning. There were so many freshwater crocodiles! At one stage I think we counted about 60 that we could see floating on top of the water and on the banks in the sun, we’ve decided that for every crocodile that we can see there’s at least another one lurking below that we cannot, a very good deterrent of swimmers.

From Windjana we continued up to Silent Grove which is the campsite closest to Bell Gorge (you cannot camp up at the gorge anymore because of wildfire that went through 5 years ago). After setting up camp we drove another 10kms to the Bell Gorge car park and traipsed our way down to the top of the falls. Ben was at once tempted to jump off the top but we decided it would be better to check depths and obstacles from the bottom first. The falls themselves were very beautiful and whilst we were swimming some brave (or foolish) boys decided to jump off the top- but on the other side to where we decided it would be best to jump. Anyway that was it of course Ben had to jump after they had, we walked back up the top together and just before he jumped my camera decided to die so we have no proof! I’ve also decided that the way that Ben jumps around all over the rock bounding from here to there he must be part mountain goat. We got back to camp and had cold showers while each of us took turns preparing curried sausages for dinner. We’ve also been pretty lucky being able to sleep under the stars with the canvas off the swag as the weather has been so warm.

From Silent Grove we travelled along to Galvan’s Gorge which is very easily accessed just off the main road with only a 5 minute walk up to the falls and plunge pool of this very nice little spot. We had the pool to ourselves for almost half an hour which was awesome and it has become Tanya’s Favourite just for the unpopulated, unpretentious and easygoing nature of the gorge. After a good swim we headed off to Mt Barnett Station, the entryway to Manning Gorge, to stay for the night. We had a late lunch and set up camp before heading down to the waterhole behind the campground for a refreshing dip in the late afternoon sun. I was in for a treat with a first class meal of sausages in baked beans with corn on the cob all cooked up by Ben, lucky gal that I am.

The next morning we trekked up to Manning Gorge, a walk that could rival King’s Canyon. It starts with a leaky boat trip or swim (much the same) across the waterhole behind the camp ground and takes you up over rocky outcrops and dry scrubby land to a most beautiful gorge. Well worth the trek, Manning Gorge was breathtaking (and not just because you were climbing over rocks to get there) a beautiful waterfall cascaded into a deep plunge pool, Ben of course jumped off the top. We found hollows behind the falls and shared a kiss behind the wall of water, meanwhile it seemed the rest of the campground had caught up and we were inundated with kids, parents and grandparents alike, so we made our way back with a rewarding swim in the waterhole before continuing our journey.

We turned off the Gibb only a little way on from Mt Barnett station onto Kalumburu road, which had not been graded yet this season, travelling up to Drysdale station where we decided to stay a couple of nights so we could get washing done. Unfortunately there isn’t a heck of a lot to do there so we swam in the local waterhole, with crocodiles we found out later, but it was a good stop over especially for the very welcome hot showers. From Drysdale we continued up to Mitchell Falls plateau, at a very leisurely pace for the corrugations and road conditions weren’t amiable to many vehicles and only declined further down the track, fortunately we only lost one bolt on the battery tray in a place where others had lost or damaged much more. In any case we weaved our way into the campground and had a quick swim in the waterhole at the start of the walk. It was a really lovely swim until unfortunately the peace was shattered by some very energetic kids and they’re frazzled parents descending, although I’m sure it’ll be the same for us someday in the DISTANT future. 

The next morning we started out at about 9am after organising to go on a helicopter flight after our walk, super stoked we headed out. We had been warned that the walk to Mitchell Falls was ten times harder than that at Manning Gorge so we were prepared for a hard slog to the falls, luckily it wasn’t at all the case and we got there quite easily in about an hour, even with a few diversions. We were a little disappointed but pleasantly surprised at this and the walk would probably be on par with the Valley of the Winds walk at the Olga’s, Ah well, never mind. Once Through some beautiful open eucalypt forest and scrubby Spinifex we came out at Little Merten’s Falls that were really charming and similar to Galvan’s gorge. A little further on was Big Merten’s Falls that are just around the corner from Mitchell Falls about a 500 metre walk. I was excited to reach the top of Mitchell Falls as there is a water crossing so I could get my shoes off and cool my feet with joy and a blissful smile. We dropped our shoes and backpack in the shade of some rocks and continued around the corner to get an iconic view of the falls from straight in from of them. We walked back to our things so we could drop yet more gear and go in for a dip in the pools above the falls before a morning tea of leftover damper smothered in jam and fruit (got to be a little healthy). We had another swim before heading back to camp to depart on our helicopter flight! A first for me, we had booked onto a coastal scenic tour that took us over the Mitchell Plateau to the coast. When at the coast we flew around spotting wildlife, brolgas, jabirus, manta rays, sting rays, sharks and of course saltwater crocodiles! It was amazing!!! We had another swim and met another Queensland couple Nicole and Mark who were going in the other direction but it was nice and we invited them to share our campfire that night and we shared theirs the next at Drysdale Station.

We departed Drysdale station on the 19^th of July after saying goodbye to Nicole and Mark and filling up the ute heading back down to the Gibb (where we ironically passed the grader starting the kalumburu road). Arriving at Home Valley we had a couple of beers before checking in and going down to the Pentecost river to camp, Ben wanted to fish but the tides were not in our favour although we did go down for a looksee after dinner hearing barramundi having a feed but not quite being able to spot it with our torch, damn.

Not really wanting to go for a long hot walk in the sun without the promise of a swim at the end we moved on from Home Valley to El Questro where an old workmate from O’Reilly’s, Sarah, has been working for this season. So we were set up very kindly in general camping and went for a walk up telecom hill, another hot and dusty hill that I didn’t really want to walk up, but the views were really nice and we got to see just a parcel of the property which encompasses a million acres (or there about). I did get to have a bit of fun with the attention starved chickens on the way out and back down from the hill; I felt a little worshipped to be honest, just because I could make chicken noises. Ben of course was rolling his eyes and laughing at me, as usual when I get a bit silly. Apparently I’m losing it, though who can really blame me.

We ventured further into the offerings the next day with a soak in Zebedee thermal springs the next morning before a trek through El Questro gorge. It wasn’t too hard a walk although the massive boulders do make it challenging and you need to channel Spiderman at times to get up through tricky sections. The pools are quite refreshing as well, while following Ben along the track we ended up in a sticky spot where Ben thought it hilarious when I slipped into the pool below plunging in over my head, funny but not quite appreciated. Ending at a small set of falls at the end of the gorge the walk was beautiful but it was nice to have a hot shower back at camp before having a couple of drinks at happy hour and retiring to camp to make (very yummy sumptuous steak) dinner as well as have an early night. On Sunday we met Sarah for a walk out to champagne springs, thus named for the slightly bubbled water. It was a relatively easy walk out there going across river beds and swampy marshes before out into Spinifex covered rocky hillside, Spinifex not being too friendly to the legs, arms, really anywhere it can reach. We had also organised to be picked up via helicopter (Sarah’s first time in one) and got out there hours before we were due but it gave us a good opportunity to catch up properly and to explore the area. When we did get on the helicopter we got to see even more of the vastness of this area in the short flight. We had decided to also go out to the restaurant for dinner that night, and it was really good!

Foodie Goodness:  To start Ben had prawn cocktail with spiced seafood sauce, Sarah had Salt and pepper calamari with a chilli lime aioli and I had seared scallops with crisp bacon and a creamy sauce that I cannot for the life of me remember what it was, very yummy. For mains Ben had beef short ribs that had been braised in little creatures pale ale, Sarah had the special of grilled Atlantic salmon with pumpkin risotto and I had Kimberley barramundi grilled with parmesan mash, broccolini and a creamy mustard buerre blanc all washed down with a bottle of pinot gris from the Margaret river. For dessert Sarah had a vanilla panacotta with ice cream that jumped off the plate and Ben and I shared a dark chocolate tart with white chocolate ice cream and strawberries. It was all very yummy.

Monday saw us venturing out onto 4WD tracks to explosion gorge which was unfortunately closed apart from a viewing platform, and to Branco’s lookout and billabong where we had lunch and tried our hand at fishing, to no avail. That night we stoked up a fire and Sarah joined us for dinner with a very nice beef stew and dumplings, all cooked in the camp oven. We also roasted marshmallows and had fun chatting around the fire saying our goodbyes as we were leaving the next day.

It was only half an hour to the end of the Gibb River Road from El Questro and although nice to get back on some bitumen, we believe that so far this part of the country has been our favourite.

More tales to follow shortly, we have many more kilometres of highway to travel. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Steph and Andy’s engagement party this coming weekend.