Broome to Darwin Day 4 - El Questro #2

---

Waking up to the chorus of birds and the river running past our campsite we had a pancake breakfast before heading to Zebedee springs. These natural hot springs are set amongst a tropical looking forest in the park, and you could be forgiven for thinking they were man made because they are so idyllic. After a relaxing bath in the different pools it was time to dry off before another short drive to Emma gorge.

From the car park it was about a 30 minute walk up the gorge alongside the growing river to the end of the trail and a large water fall which was pretty impressive. After a bath in the refreshingly cold pool and a couple of pictures it was time to head back along the route we came to our truck. Before leaving the park we filled up our water bottles with Boab water from the tree; clearly there are a few park rangers with a sense of humour!
After lunch back at the campsite we headed out with Nick to Amalia Gorge. Just as we were starting the walk Nick told us he hadn't been along this trail for a couple of years, and the last time he did he was bitten by a Western Brown snake! As you can imagine that focused the group on keeping close together and out of the long grass! Apparently Aboriginals believe the pool posses powers of fertility which is related to their story of the Rainbow Serpent, which was responsible for creating the landscape. Will suggested Jo kept herself dry and out of the water on this occasion!

During the walk along the gorge Nick pointed out things such as the Bush Passion Fruit (a weed introduced from Argentina) which we tasted, a Turkey Bush (used as a garnish with fish and very similar to Lemon Grass) and Melaluca Tree which is apparently the inspiration for Australias sporting colours of yellow and green. This trail proved to be a little more challenging than some of the prior ones with a couple of narrow rock faces to climb round over some large drops! Fortunately our destination was worth the effort and this water fall was even more impressive than the one we'd seen earlier, and the water was warm! Soon it was time to follow our tracks back out to the coach as the sun was starting to fade. On the way we had a fleeting glimpse of a Water Monitor in one of the pools, although he was too shy to have his photo taken!

When we returned to camp Richard had prepared our dinner of roast lamb and there was an impressive fire burning, so we took advantage of the situation and went for a hot shower as it will be our last for a couple of days. Tonight's dinner was particularly good as the slow roast lamb was served with a potato and sweede mash and tasty gravy, everyone wanted seconds!

---