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Published: October 13th 2007
Windyana Gorge
Me and freshwater crocodiles!!! Indiana Jones eat your heart out!!Saturday 1st July to Sunday 9th July 2006
Day One: Broome 2 Windjana Gorge
Left at 6.30am from the hostel in Broome in a massive truck! This time no trailer to break like the previous tour!! All our luggage went on top of the truck and covered with tarp: so the first task was passing up the bags. There was even a built in cooker and bbq that extended from inside the truck - it had all we needed. This was no little bus this was hard core ready for a trip along the Gibb River Road and into the Kimberley's!
Our first night was at Windjana Gorge after a stop at the normally massive Fitzroy River. But because it was the dry season it wasn't very big - just a series of small muddy streams. I guess from the span of the bridge we crossed it got pretty massive in the wet. We went via the Prison Boab Tree, oh, and the longest water trough! (these tours are fun - really!!). Windjana Gorge was my second time (after Broome) of seeing crocodiles - but this time they weren't locked behind a cage! Luckily all the ones we
Windyana Gorge
Windyana Gorge at sunset... saw were the smaller (and supposedly) friendlier freshwater crocodiles! There were loads of them. After a nice walk it was back to camp, for the usual feast of meat for dinner, and a last shower for a few days. This tour, unlike the others I'd been on, spent longer out bush and swagging it every night! The shower was outside, solar heated: so no sun, no hot water, and had no roof so you got to look at the stars at the same time! Amazing experience!
Day Two: Windjana Gorge 2 Mt Barnett
The day started with a walk along Tunnel Creek in the pitch dark using our torches to help guide the way. Then it was to Bells Gorge and a massive waterfall and our first of many swims in the freezing freshwater pools. (The main way to wash the dirt and sweat off! - it was hot!) That night it was our first bush camp at Adcock Creek: no showers or toilets for a while! We arrived in the dark so it was only in the morning you realised just where you'd gone to the loo!
Day Three: Mt Barnett 2 Drysdale
Early morning
Bells Gorge
me and Bells Gorge behind. dip at Galvin's Gorge. There was a rope to swing on which I gave a miss to my detriment. I got chucked in instead!! It was bloody cold but fun! Next it was off to Manning Gorge - a massive waterfall. The thing was to get there we had to swim about 100m across a pool/creek and then walk a few K's. We had to swim across and put all our stuff in polystyrene eski's and push them across with us. It was quite funny!
That night it was a bush camp at Barnett Gorge and a lamb roast on the open fire for dinner! Yummy!
The route we were taking was along the Gibb River Road - well known as the route to travel rather than the Highway. It's a dirt track and is only open during the Dry. It's flooded and impassable during the Wet. This doesn't mean it's an easy route to take though. There are corrugations on the road, formed by the wind and back draft from the vehicles passing over the track. It means it's really bumpy and needs a lot of concentration on speed and line.
Day Four: Drysdale 2 El
Sunset
Sunset on the way to our first camp... Questro
Driving all day. Played DJ with Freddy up front with singalong songs for everyone. Crossed the Penticost River - huge river at least 100m wide with a small raised 'road'/crossing - covered in water!! Mental just driving into it! Stopped on the way for a lookout over Home Valley and Cockburn Ranges. Then to Emma Gorge and the coldest pool yet!! I don't think it ever gets sunlight - it took your breath away and swimming across it got dark and colder as it got deeper - so deep it was just black. To get to the pool we had to pass loads of oldies on a walk along the Gorge too. Think we spoilt their peace with the screaming because of the temperature. Worst thing was you couldn't jump in - you had to wade in slowly from the side, being careful you didn't slip on the rocks!
That night it was El Questro Station - a Station (a huge farm covering hundreds of acres) that has been open to the public as a tourist resort, soooo showers!! It was still a night in the swag though. We made chicken skewers and I managed to get
all the bloody juices down my trousers and it was all soaked through to my leg until I realised! Gross!! It was disgusting.
Day Five: El Questro 2 Bungle Bungles
It was an early rise this morning to get to Zebedee Hot Springs (thermal springs) before other groups got there! So it was up, clean teeth and pack while the stars were still in the sky! We got to the springs at 6.45am and didn't leave til 8am! We were a bit pruned but it was the closest to a bath in a while! After that we were treated to pancakes! Yummy! Aussie pancakes are thicker than back home but light and fluffy - nice :-)
Next was the long drive to the Bungle Bungles aka Purnululu National Park. But hey! We couldn't have a trip without the van breaking down could we?!! Yup it broke down but to the point where we could hardly move and they sent out a replacement to drive overnight to get to us! Another group was near us and offered to take the group to the campsite (with facilities) and cook for us. We all declined the offer preferring to stick
The longest trough!!
soooo much fun!! :-) together with Mark (our guide) as a group. It was most probably the best night and day of the trip and one of the most memorable in Australia. It was only about 3pm so we trundled the truck to a small area next to a creek that all the vehicles had to cross to get to the National Park - and dug a pool! Then sat in the water drinking beers and raising them to the passing motorists. The Great Wall of Switzerland it was named (and yes it was still there as we exited the National Park a few days later!). We played the 'Mafia' game and drank lots of goon around the campfire! Lots of fun!
Day Six: Bungle Bungles
The new van arrived at 5am so first thing was to transfer everything from one van to the other. Then we were off into the Bungle Bungles!
The drive was a little over two hours so when we arrived it was time for my helicopter ride!! Yes I did a tour over the Bungle Bungles in a helicopter - a helicopter that was tiny and had no doors!! I did it with Reto. Apparently I
didn't take any photos for the first ten minutes! I was just absorbing it all - and trying to relax so I didn't get that tummy flip thing going on every time a gust of wind caught us! It was brilliant. I really enjoyed it. On top it was as though you were at ground level so it didn't seem too high then all of a sudden a gorge came and it was miles down!
After the helicopter flight it was back down on the ground and a walk around the Bungle Bungle - famous for the bee hive looking rock formations - and to Cathedral Gorge. Next it was off to Picanine Creek followed by sunset looking out over the National Park.
It was a bush camp again but with a drop toilet this time!
Day Seven: Bungle Bungles 2 Lake Argyle
The morning involved a walk through Echindna Chasm and an enclosed gorge walk where poor Reto got had by Mark pretending a stick was a snake! - Boy did he jump!! Then it was a drive on to Lake Argyle.
Day Eight: Lake Argyle 2 Kununarra
After a night at Lake
Argyle campsite we were off for a walk on the edge of the Lake. It was more like how I view a reservoir rather than a lake as it didn't have sloped sides so you could go for a dip - it had steep cliff like sides. Still we managed to have a dip by going in by the boat ramp! We saw a sea Eagle flying when we were on our walk which was cool. Then it was off again for our final night in Kununarra. Luckily we managed to grab a quiet spot next to the river to lay out our swags. During the day we also went to visit a Dam and crossed over the River Ore - the water was really high and flowing really fast and we had to drive through it! Crazy! I was really tired so in bed early but not before I was dragged around the site in my swag by the boys with me screaming! I also woke in the night as Oliver decided to open my hood in his sleep!!
Day Nine: Kununarra 2 Darwin
Last day of the trip - it was sad as it was a
great group and so much fun. Went to a Dam and then to a Zebra Stone Shop where I got one for mum (and carried it til November!) and at 12.20pm - off to Darwin and the NT!!!!
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