Gibb River Road

Fully loaded with fuel, food and water we lowered the tyre pressure and left the sealed road behind us. The start of the Gibb River Road was rough and dusty. Within a few hundred metres we encountered our first on-coming road train and it looked to be a long, hard drive ahead. The dirt however gave way to bitumen, cars and trucks were few and far between and it was only a short drive to our first overnight stop at El Questro Station.

Gibb River Road ... more bumps please!

Road Train 

At El Questro we set up camp in the main camping area, which had plenty of shady sites and sat beside the lovely Pentecost River. The kids had a late afternoon swim in the river while we unwound and watched the donkeys wander through camp. The sites also had loads of green grass, which would be the last grass we had under the van for a while. Just before sunset we decided to venture up to Saddle Back Ridge Lookout. It was a very step drive up the hill and across the ridge but the fantastic 360 degree view and beautiful sunset was worth the nail biting experience of getting back down. 

View over El Questro Station

In the morning we topped up our fuel and our two Jerry cans so to ensure we had plenty for the long remote journey ahead. On our way back to the Gibb River Road we stopped into Zebedee Springs. Zebedee Springs is a thermal spring which has many small pools with just enough water to get wet up to your chin when sitting. The water was beautiful in temperature and, although a little crowded when we arrived, it was a very nice place.

Zebedee was a little crowded at first 

Maddi entering a small pool

Next stop was the Pentecost River crossing. It is a long crossing with slippery river stones on the bottom but fortunately only 400 mm deep at present. After crossing and taking a few photos we stopped on the bank for lunch and watched others come across. Of interest was an old cattle truck with no windscreen, missing a door and a road train taking fuel up north, amongst the regular travelers. 

We cross the mighty Pentecost River

Our lunchtime entertainment

Continuing on, we were getting used to the dirt, dust and corrugations and settled in to a steady pace. We soon passed the old cattle truck changing a shredded tyre. Later in the afternoon we passed a grader stopped at one of the flowing creeks for a cuppa. The grader was hooked up like a road train with a caravan on one trailer and a large fuel tank on the second. 

Our overnight stop was at Ellenbrae,  a bush camp where the girls were quick to request a campfire. The facilities were interesting to say the least. A camp kitchen with a big old wood-fire water heater and a bathroom with a shower and raised bath with no taps directly over it. There was a short bit of hose lying around in order to put hot water in the bath and a flushing toilet with shade cloth curtain for privacy. Thea decided to make use of the bath and bathed the children by candlelight in about four inches of water. The kids had a ball and tried to spot the lizards at the same time. 

Ellenbrae Bush Camp

Ellenbrae Bathroom

The following morning was our ninth wedding anniversary, so we celebrated in style with Devonshire tea back up at the homestead. Well, part of the homestead. We couldn't quite work out if it was the main homestead or if there was more somewhere else.  We could see an open aired kitchen, dining area, office, laundry, machine sheds, veggie patch and a Kimberley camper trailer set up. 

Ellenbrae Homestead

Our next stop was Barnett River Gorge where we tackled a proper 4wd track to get in. We were not sure how far we would be able to get the Van in, due to its size, but in the end made it almost to the end. After a late lunch we decided we would call it quits for the day and stay here the night. In the late afternoon we walked up the sometimes-invisible 1km track to the Gorge. As we scrambled over and picked our way between rocks along the rim of the gorge, Thea suddenly realized she had been here before. As young adults prior to marriage and children we had flown to Broome with a group of friends, hired a 4wd and driven the Gibb River Road. We don't really remember all our stops and have only a few memories of this time but as we entered the gorge we both knew we had definitely been here before. Once again we had the gorge to ourselves, human wise, but we did have to share with a water monitor sunning itself on the rock ledge and trying to catch the last rays for the day. While the water monitor dried himself we enjoyed a refreshing swim before the walk back to camp. 

Barnett River Gorge all to ourselves

The boys check out the wildlife 

Water Monitor

The better part of the track back to the van

The following day we cruised out of Barnett River Gorge, thankfully only meeting one car on the way in as it is a single track for the entire 3km. We continued back on to Barnett River Roadhouse for bread, chocolate, milk (only UHT available) and ice blocks for the kids.  After our little stop we continued only 14kms up the road before we stopped at Galvans Gorge. 

Galvans Gorge was an easy 1km walk into a beautiful waterhole. We dressed in our swimmers, goggles and all, dipped into the coldish water and swam over to the waterfall. The water coming over the waterfall was warmer than the pool so we sat under the waterfall and enjoyed the massage and warmth. 

Galvans Gorge

Enjoying the warmer water from the waterfall

Time to swim back

Our next stop was Adcock Gorge, where we drove a very tight 3km, 4wd track off the main road. After lunch at the van we did the short rock scramble into the gorge. We decided not to swim at this one but enjoyed watching the fish and the serenity while,  once again, being the only people there. We were certainly thankful for not being here during peak season. 

Adcock Gorge stunningly beautiful

Maddi climbing over rocks

A little off-roading for the van

After lunch we continued onto Imintja Roadhouse to refuel and buy Maddi a fishing line. Maddi had seen people fishing at a number of different places and was desperate to have a go at this sport.

The road into Silent Grove campground was very bumpy. However, the campsite was nice with good facilities. Silent Grove is within a National Park and surprised us by having flushing toilets. If we were to continue into the National Park to Bell Gorge we would need to unhook the van as we were told the road in was worse than the section into Silent Grove. We opted not to do that and decided we could miss Bell this time. Who knows, we may come back here someday. 

We continued heading west and detoured off down to Windjana Gorge National Park for two nights. Windjana Gorge had a nice open campground with some decent shade trees, hot showers and, once again, flushing toilets. We arrived at around lunchtime so set up the washing machine, and spent the afternoon catching up on the washing while watching the native birds flitting around our campsite. With bird book on hand we tried to identify some of the different varieties but for some reason they just wouldn’t stay still long enough. The camera proved very handy. There was also a bowerbird next to our camp with an impressive nest. In the late afternoon we took the short walk into Windjana Gorge, the entrance to which was right near the campground. As we walked along the sandy banks with the towering cliffs around us the kids spotted about half a dozen freshwater crocs in the river and sunning themselves on the other bank. The kids were desperate again to have a campfire so marshmallows were toasted that night. We were soon joined by a 9 year old girl, Cable, who was closely followed by her 6 year old brother, Bow, who came over to share our campfire to toast their marshmallows. The next day we met their parents, Andrew and Cath Metcalfe, Broome locals camping at Windjana for the weekend. 

Windjana Gorge Camp

The bird life 

Windjana Gorge

Croc spotting

Sun setting on a another Boab

Just down the road is Tunnel Creek, a 750m walk/wade (swim for the kids) through a limestone cave with a creek running through it. It was wonderful and cool and the kids mostly enjoyed it. In the middle the roof has collapsed and hundreds of bats have called the large entrance home. 

Tunnel Creek Entrance

Information Board

From Windjana we headed out to Derby and although the map indicated a mostly sealed road, there was still plenty of dirt road. Arriving at the local caravan park we made use of the facilities including having Internet for the first time in a long time. Sadly the Barrett charger needed a few bits put back together before we could get the batteries fully charged so that was a job for Broome.  After checking out a few of the local sites, it was fish (Barramundi of course) and chips for dinner at the wharf. On our way out of town the next morning there were a few stops at the old goal, prison tree, stock trough and the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which had excellent art and a very good video on local indigenous culture.

Internet again. Yippee

Prison Boab Tree

Myall Bore, apparently used to water up to 500 head of cattle

Next stop was Broome for a few nights. A great tip from the Metcalfes.

Until then...

Tig and Thea  

The Bungle Bungles

From Kununurra we headed to the Bungle Bungles before taking the Gibb River Road to Broome, however first we had a slight detour in the opposite direction as we headed north to Wyndham. About 8 kms out of Kununurra we took the back road north, making a stop at Ivanhoe Crossing, the old ford across the Ord River, which was closed due to the amount of water still flowing over it. The locals don't think Ivanhoe Crossing will be open at all this year due to the big wet last season. This dirt road took us up to Parry Lagoons Nature Reserve and our overnight camping spot at Parry Creek Farm Tourist Resort. We camped amongst the mango trees which were in full fruit but sadly a long way from being ripe. We unhooked the van and finished the last 40 kms to Wyndham and the Five Rivers Lookout, which gave excellent views over Wyndham Pier, the croc farm and as the name suggests, a number of rivers heading out into the Timor Sea. While we were there our solitude was broken by two 'Outback Spirit' 4WD coaches, which provided much entertainment for the kids. Maddi was convinced that we should have one of these luxury off-road vehicles converted into a motorhome.She was not fazed that we would have to sell our house to afford one and that we would have live in it when we got back to Sydney. Back down to Parry Creek Farm for a swim in the pool (rather than the lagoon due to the salties) before dinner.

Camped amongst the mango trees

Five Rivers Lookout

Outback Spirits Arrive at Five Rivers Lookout

Next morning it was a traditional late start after taking the tyres back up to highway pressure for the long drive down to the access road for the Bungles. A pleasantly uneventful drive took us to the new Bungle Bungle Caravan Park. 

We checked out both the Spring Creek rest area, which gets good reviews, and the caravan park. We opted for the caravan park as we were planning on leaving the caravan behind overnight while we spent a night in the Bungles. The caravan park was very new, only opened in May this year and with only a few powered sites. They only had unpowered sites available, which was fine for us. We found a nice shady site away from the main area but failed in negotiations to be able to leave it in the same spot the following night, so had to move it to the storage area in the morning.

The track into the Bungles is about 50 kms long and fairly rough in patches with a number of water crossings. National Parks has put a duel axel ban on the track so we had to leave the van behind. After driving in we decided we could have towed the van in but it would have been hard work and taken us even longer then the 2 hours it already took us.

Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungle)

Car gets a little dirty at times

 On arrival at our first creek crossing, there was a Troopy in the river just off to the left hand side of the main crossing track. He was clearly stuck in the soft sand and a guy, Grayson, who we later discovered to be one of our hosts in the evening, had stopped to help them out. We stopped to check if they needed a hand and Grayson enquired if we had a spare shackle, then another snatchem strap, then ‘How about you pull them out!'. Grayson was driving a 4 cylinder Pajero, which he already had placed on fairly unstable ground and his snatchem strap was not long enough to reach the vehicle. With our snatchem straps looped together and our car on the main track and very solid ground, we successfully pulled the Troopy out. Thankfully the Troopy came out of the sand quite easily but was never going to make it up the sandy drop-off they had gone down, so they had to floor it through the firm sand and back onto the main crossing track. The rest of the track was uneventful and we never saw either of the two other vehicles again.

Troopy well and truly stuck

Entertainment for the kids

Once we finally reached the Visitor Centre and purchased our Park Entry Pass, we continued onto Piccaninny Creek in the southern part of the park for a late lunch by the car. After lunch we headed off on a short walk through the impressive beehive, striped domes and into Catherdal Gorge Amphitheatre. The walk around this area was fairly easy and we even found a snake in a deep circular hole carved in the rocks on our side trip into the Cathedral. The Cathedral itself is very impressive and provides some wonderful acoustics for the kids who wished to try out their voices just a little louder then usual. As if our kids could really get any louder.

Kai and Maddi take in the view of the Domes 

Cathedral Gorge Amphitheatre

 After a solid day we headed to our five star accommodation at the Kimberly Wilderness Lodge Camp. As we had to leave the van behind and wanted to spend more than one day at the Bungles due to the hard drive in and out, we booked some accommodation. These five star permanent tents are the way to go if the budget permits and, as we were late in the season, we got a half price deal. We had two tents (there is no family tent concept) with Tig and the girls in one and Thea and Kai in the other. Dinner was roast lamb followed by apple crumble with custard. The staff were fantastic and provided great entertainment for the kids of which they don’t see very many. Tig and I helped bridge the age gap between the guests and the staff and with ninety percent of the guests on an APT tour we also had the luxury of the whole place and staff to ourselves for breakfast at 7.30am. The last tour bus departed for the day as we arrived for our breakfast.

Kai and Thea's 5 star accommodation

Almost the whole place to ourselves

After breakfast we packed up our few belongings and drove to the northern end of the park to explore Echidna Chasm. We aimed to be there between 11.30am and 12.30pm so it was a rather warm and therefore slow walk in with the kids along a rocky creek bed before we got to the Chasm itself. Between 11.30 and 12.30 the sun's rays reach the inside of the 1m wide by 30m+ high Chasm as it is directly overhead. This made for a complete experience of this fascinating place. The kids had fun walking through the tight gap in the rock and then climbing the rock wall at the very end. The walk out was even longer than going in and we even had a little picnic of fruit in the creek bed before we made it back to the car.

Maddi capturing Echidna Chasm on film 

Kids take to the walls 

The midday sun pours in

 Once back at the car we decided to start the drive out before lunch and stopped along the track at a shady creek crossing for a bite to eat. After an uneventful drive out we made it back to the van where we hooked up and pulled out to the main road. We decided to get a little further north before turning in for the night and ended up at a rest area (not marked on our maps or in the Camps Australia book) about 15kms up the road. We were joined by a few other travellers soon after we arrived and amazingly we where the first to leave in the morning.

Next stop was the eastern end of the Gibb River Road.

Till then …

Tig & Thea 

Darwin to Kununurra

Saturday, four weeks after heading back to Sydney, Tig returned to Darwin. Thea and the three kids, all holding welcome-home signs, met him at the airport. The kids had spent the morning making the signs; Thea's summing up the four weeks, it simply read "tag, you're it". Fortunately for everyone she hung around but was delighted to have some assistance with the kids.

Once back at the caravan park, Tig took the kids to the pool for a swim and Thea enjoyed a kid-free shopping trip to stock up with food for the next part of the journey across to Western Australia and on to Broome.

Sunday was Father’s Day. Tig was very pleased to be back with his family and a big day was planned. First up was a wetlands cruise at Corroboree Billabong on the Mary River just outside Kakadu National Park. It was a nice cruise and only an hour long, which was quite manageable for the kids. We saw a few crocs, both freshwater and estuarine. There were loads of birds and the billabong was lined with water lilies. We stopped in for a closer look, which included picking some leaves for the kids to wear as hats and some flowers making for some great photos. Maddi spotted the seed pods and picked one, which she proceeded to pull apart.

 It was back to Darwin to the water park after the cruise. A favourite of the kids during their two stints in Darwin. As Thea has written before, it is a free play park with little slides for the little kids and big slides for the big kids. To be able to ride the big slides you need to be 110cm tall, which for Ella at 109cm was all too much. Fortunately as the crowds thinned, (it is a popular place on weekends and even more so on Father's Day) Ella stood tall and the nice lady checking heights was a little flexible. Ella took to the big slides like a pig to mud. Kai also had a great time on all the little water slides and really enjoyed having his dad to run around with. After more slides, running and swimming than any kid can handle it was off to the Mindil Beach night markets for dinner and entertainment. Maddi was devastated that the man riding his 8 foot high unicycle, juggling all kinds of things, was not there like the last time she was there. However, the man juggling fire sticks and doing all kinds of crazy things with fire was still pretty good.

The kids were totally wrecked, as were the parents, and a good night's sleep was had by all. Which was good, as the next day it was time to hit the road again. Having been camped in the same spot for over a week, packing up was a big task but was easily achieved and we were on the road by 10am, pretty good really. There were a few stops on the way out of town and Katherine (the birth place of Cadel Evans) was reached with enough time to visit the local Toyota dealer to get the car checked. Earlier we had experienced a problem where the Land Cruiser was revving much higher than normal. After running all the diagnostic checks, Henry, the very helpful Toyota mechanic, confirmed that there was nothing wrong. He concluded that, due to the heat (34C +) and the rising humidity in Spring, the automatic transmission was hotter than normal and selecting a lower gear to reduce the load on the engine/gearbox. His explanation seemed correct as the next morning all was back to normal yet by midday the gearbox was again selecting a lower gear.

From Katherine we were aiming for a rest area 55kms out of town to stay the night only to realise after about 25kms that we had neglected to fill up with fuel and we did not have enough to get the 180km to the next fuel stop at Victoria River, so it was back to Katherine to fill up and then on to the Limestone Creek rest area. It was a very nice camp spot, although not far from the road. The kids could watch the road trains rumbling past from their beds, which made the camp spot even better in their eyes.

After a typically slow start, we continued towards the WA border, heading through Gregory National Park which is made up of spectacular valleys and bluffs through which the Victoria River runs. The Victoria River is a wide, spectacularly flowing river, the sort of place that looks idyllic to cool off in given the 36C outside, however, the estuarine crocodile signs were a little off-putting. Lunch was enjoyed in the shade at Timber Creek, then there was only a short drive to our overnight camp at Saddle Creek rest area, again a very nice camp spot. We were only 80kms from the border, so dinner was a stir-fry with all the vegetables that would not make it through quarantine at the border. Fresh fruit and vegetables cannot be taken into WA.

The kids decided to spend the afternoon making mud pies in preparation for Thea's birthday the next day. As you can see from the pictures, Ella got particularly dirty and luke-warm trug baths were had by all three children. Luckily the weather was so warm that we didn't need to organise any hot water.

As mentioned, the next day was Thea's birthday and she was treated to yummy, scrambled eggs for breakfast made by Tig with lots of assistance from the kids. After breakfast we set about eating any leftover fruit and giving a couple of backpackers in their $900 Falcon station-wagon our left over veggies and a few bits of fruit that we wouldn't get through in time. Thea also whipped up a guacamole dip to have at the rest area before we crossed the border. Western Australia's quarantine rules are no fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, seeds and plant materials. Unfortunately we hadn't planned for it to be all fruit and veg, and therefore we had quite a few things to give our new backpacker friends who were heading to Darwin. They were very pleased to have lots of fresh veggies to make their mums proud. On the way to the border we ate our usual veggie sticks, fruit and then pulled over at the rest area at the border to eat more fruit and the guacamole dip.

We had done a good job of eating all the fresh food, the only thing that we had forgotten was some seed pods Ella had collected. The Inspector had obviously been doing his job for a while as he asked if the kids had collected any plant materials. Straight away a light bulb went on for both of us. The next challenge was finding them all. Ella thankfully was very understanding of the restrictions and helped us find her stashes.

Our first stop in WA was Lake Argyle, crossing a fast flowing river called Spillway Creek. We later learned that it had so much water flowing in it as they were still letting water out of Lake Argyle from last wet season to allow enough room for the next wet season. The lake itself is massive, a spectacular sight surrounded by steep walls. We had to unhook the van before we reached the lake and leave it at the top as WA Water will not allow caravans down to the dam wall. We enjoyed lunch at the shady picnic area below the dam wall before hooking up the van and heading into Kununurra for the night. After checking out the town and getting lots of helpful information from the Visitors Information Centre, we stayed at Lake View Caravan Park and enjoyed a swim in the pool before a birthday dinner for Thea at the restaurant. After dinner we had strawberries, ice cream and cake back at the caravan. The kids singing Happy Birthday at the top of their voices ensured that all our neighbours knew that someone had a birthday.

From Kununurra we head to the Bungle Bungles for some five star accommodation and the Gibb River Road to test the off road capabilities of our rig. More on that next time.

 Tig & Thea