We left camp at 8.10am and after driving on the windy, dippy road, we were back on the highway at 10.30am. We made a stop on a creek to have a look around and have a break from the car. Lunch was at Doon Doon Roadhouse where Elokin and Hendrix ran through the sprinkler before it got turned off on them. I decided to have a drive as it had been a long time. I don’t like driving on dirt roads with the van in tow, so Nath has driven for the past month or so.
Road out of the Bungle Bungles
We decided to go for Emma Gorge and do the walk this afternoon. Problem being that we arrived at 4.15pm and there is no gorge access after 3. So we walked back to the car and left. There goes that idea. We will eventually walk Emma Gorge…. Next time.
Cockburn Range on the Gibb
Cool rocky outcrop at the end of the Gibb
We arrived back at Cockburn Rest Area on the intersection of the main highway between Wyndham and Kununurra and the Great Northern Highway.
Over the next 2 days we headed South East onto the Gibb River road to the Pentecost River. Upon leaving the King Edward camp the left side lower shock bracket on the van snapped and the shock had to be removed. I felt this was no big deal and the suspension would handle the road without a temporary fix in place.
Nath fixing his window
Broken shocky on the van
We stayed for 2 nights on the Gibb River because it was raining and why pack up when you don’t need to in the rain “surprises surprise it does rain in the Kimberley”. The free camp on the side of the Gibb River crossing is a picturesque spot to stop for a day or two and catch up on the school work.
Rain on Kalumburu Rd
Camp on the Gibb River
Camp on the Gibb River
Bower Bird nest near camp
Tortoise we caught in the cherabin trap
Elokin and Hendrix released the tortoise
The trip to the Pentecost River was uneventful, stopping for a few photo’s and lookouts along the way to take in all the Gibb Road has to offer. We even got phone reception on one of the lookouts over the Cockburn Range and were able to catch up with folks who were concerned about our survival.
Crossing the Pentecost River
Crossing the Pentecost River
From the Pentecost River we headed North on the Karunjie Track, this track offered a little more excitement with some rocky drop offs into gullies cut by the wet seasons run off and had ever changing scenery from the banks of the Pentecost River to the escarpments of the Cockburn Range. The Patrol chugged along in low range for the first half of the track climbing the van over the rocky terrain with only one plastic foot of the stabiliser leg being smashed off the van and we dragged our rock-stopper flaps along the ground for who knows how long after one of the U-bolt came undone and we lost the pin. The track took us 2 days stopping on a dam approximately 7km along the track with heaps of bird life and a local fresh water crocodile to keep us company for the evening. The 2nd half of the track was much easier apart from a few boggy creeks on the flood plains which we navigated around to avoid a two day delay waiting for someone to pull us out!
Karunjie Track
Dragging our rock-stopper flaps
Camp on the Karunjie Track
Lots of bird life on the dam
Going fishing on the Pentecost River
Karunjie Track
Cockburn Range
Crossing one of the muddy saltpans
Saltpan on the Karunjie Track
We survived the Karunjie Track
Once off the track we came into Diggers Rest Station and stopped to check out the boab prison tree, of course when you visit this place you must hop in and envision yourself as one of the prisoners back in the day… If I were locked in the tree I hope the fellow prisoners put deodorant on before being captured. Another overnighter on the side of the road in an unnamed creek we tick the box on school work before leaving and headed into Wyndham for Diesel (cheaper than Kununurra by 20 cents a litre) and a lunch stop on the Five Ways lookout. After buying some extra milk and a loaf of bread we headed out to Mambi Island boat ramp and setup for a week stay.
Prison Boab Tree
Hendrix and Elokin in the Prison Boab Tree
Camp on unnamed creek
House Roof Hill on Parry Lagoon Rd (the set of Australia)
We had a lazy day today. I started with making my pancakes for all topped with banana and maple syrup for breakfast and everyone enjoyed them. Nath fixed the shocky and discovered the other one was cracked on the bottom mount and it would only be a matter of time before it went also. He also put the cherabin trap in the river with a potato as bait. Rotten potato is supposed to be really good, but ours is not rotten so we will see how it goes.
Nath fixing the shocky
Bottom shocky mount near side will break soon
Top shocky mount on far side will also break soon
While it was hopefully catching our food, we headed off to have a look at the Aboriginal Art sites in the area. We got separated from the Stock’s as they went to the day use area for a swim and we went to the art site nearest the river. We found a small amount of art and wandered around the whole site. We did find another section of art that was not on the main track. When we were back at the car the Stock’s arrived and we all left together to head to the major site a few kilometres back past camp up the road towards Mitchell Falls. Of course we didn’t stick to the walking track and ended up walking in the wrong direction around the site as we thought it wasn’t going to be signposted. As it turns out it is, so if you do head up this way, follow the track to the gate, and follow the arrows that lead you around the site. It is a huge area with many different types of art from different periods. There are 3 human skulls that look out at you from inside their burial hole. I did take a photo of it, but it didn’t feel right, so I deleted it. Nathan thought I was an idiot for doing so, but it just felt disrespectful to those whom the remains belong to.
Aboriginal Art
I like this Aboriginal Art
Aboriginal Art
Hendrix and Elokin enjoying the Aboriginal Art
Aboriginal Art at the second and larger site
Mark and Kellie get down to enjoy the art
Aboriginal Art
I like this one too
Viewing the art
When we had completed our loop and then some as we zigzagged through the site on the hunt for more art we headed back to camp to grab our swimmers and the boogie boards and then to the day use area for a swim. The water was a bit fresh for me so I just stood in the water up to my waist, but everyone else including Kellie went for a swim. Nath then went for a walk towards the waterfall only to come back and announce that he was going to ride the rapids on the boogie board and ask who wanted to join him. Ethan was first to put his hand up so he got the smaller board and off they went. The rest of us took up positions on the rocks to watch and run alongside them as they went. They had a blast but Nath did bang his knees and feet on the submerged rocks a bit. Next were Kellie and Oscar followed by Nath and Elokin and then Nath and Hendrix after much convincing. After that we couldn’t keep the kids off them. Elokin and Ethan went down again, followed by Oscar and Hendrix. It was great fun for everyone. We then walked the short distance to the waterfall to have a look before heading back to camp.
Nath and Ethan riding the rapids on King Edward River
Nath and Ethan riding the rapids
Kellie going down the rapids
Oscar going down the rapids
Elokin and Nath going down the rapids
Hendrix and Nath going down the rapids
Nath and Hendrix going down the rapids
Goanna keeping an eye on us
Oscar and Hendrix riding the rapids
Oscar riding the rapids
King Edward River
Kellie absorbing the waterfall
Nath and the boys checked the cherabin trap, nothing. By now it was after 4pm and neither family had eaten lunch. The decision was made to have something light now as we were all starving, and eat an early dinner with our outdoor movie at 5.30pm. Both families enjoyed watching “Australia” in our outdoor cinema and seen as we would be heading into that country in the next few days we thought it rather appropriate. Hendrix complained he was getting bitten by something part way in, so Nath took him inside and had a look under his shirt. He didn’t find anything so they came back to the movie. About half an hour later Hendrix started screaming that he was being bitten again, so we paused the movie and removed his shirt. We discovered that he had a centipede in his shirt biting and trying to bury itself in his skin. Hendrix was very brave and didn’t freak out. I simply wondered firstly how they didn’t find it the first time and secondly how he didn’t feel it running around his shirt. The thought just gives me Goosebumps!
It was absolutely freezing during the night. I couldn’t get my feet warm all night. In the morning after Nath got up, I realised that our doona was half way down the bed, so all we had was our sheet and thin woollen blanket to keep the top half of us warm. Any wonder we were so cold. I really didn’t want to get up this morning as it was still cold. Nath wandered off to see if he could find something to fix our muffler situation and came back with a piece of corrugated iron. He cut out the size that he needed with the hacksaw and then bashed it with the hammer to shape it. A circle clamp and a couple of self-tappers and Bob’s your uncle, fixed! He is such a handy man to have around, hehe.
Nath found a piece of corrugated iron to make a muffler
Our modified muffler
Our new modified muffler in place
Modified muffler
Melted tail light
After packing up we were on the road at 10.30am. Kellie and Mark led the way as they aren’t towing and can move faster than us. We had a quick stop at the Kalumburu Rd turnoff at 11.15am to check out how the muffler was going and make sure everything else was okay on the van and car before continuing on.
From here we travelled up Kalumburu Road to Drysdale Station for diesel and to make lunch in the car park. We saw Mark, Kellie and the boys finishing off their burgers for lunch, which they had been told were really good. The burgers lived up to their reputation and the four of them were very satisfied. We also saw Kate and Stewart too. They are staying here the night, while we are pushing on as it was still early enough to make tracks.
Road to Drysdale Station
After leaving Drysdale Station, a few kilometres up the road we crossed Drysdale River. It had more water in it this time than last and it looked very picturesque. The road from here was good for a while as it had been recently graded. In fact we past the grader still working on it. But after that, it got considerably worse, which is how we remember it from last time. Big corrugations and lumpy rock bits. The countryside was pretty as we drove through fan palm forests.
Drysdale River crossing
Kalumburu Road
Our van travelling behind us on the Kalumburu Road
We turned onto the Mitchell Falls road and made our way over the rocky, corrugated ground to the King Edward River. The crossing was easy as it had a built up rock bed to cross, making it shallower than the actual river. From here we continued on a corrugated road for a couple of kilometres before turning right and entering the campground in the National Park. They have changed it since we were here last time. The area that we camped in near the river is now the day use area and the camping area that was closed is now the only camping area, and not to mention that it is further to walk to the water. When we stopped at the information board, Mark advised us that it looked as though we had done a shocky on the van as it was hanging down. Nath had a quick look, but left it as is until we made camp.
Kellie and Mark found a spot tucked away from everyone else that was big enough for our two camps. We thought the river might be closer here and that there would be a track to it. That was a no on both counts. Mark made his own track to see how far it was to the river and it was still a fair distance.
After we were set up camp, the host came by to collect our money. We all got a bit confused with all the numbers getting thrown around, not intentionally, so we ended up paying less for the kids. So 2 nights cost us $44.80 instead of $48.80. We didn’t work that we got a good deal until after she had left.
Nath was going to try to fix the van tonight, but I advised him that there was no need to rush these things as the problem would still be there tomorrow and he may as well chill out for the night after the drive today. He did have a look under to discover that the nearside shocky had popped its rubber out, but didn’t look to be broken.
The alarm went off at 6am this morning. Moments after it had been turned off, the dingoes howled again, like our own personal alarm service. We quickly dressed and packed up the van before eating breakfast out of the car by 7am. With the morning light around us, I noticed a sign… “No camping. Stay at Manning Gorge camp ground”. Oops. Well, we certainly didn’t see that sign last night.
With breakfast done and cup of tea in hand, the four of us walked the track to Galvans Gorge. I opted not to take my camera as it is quite heavy and I just didn’t feel like lugging it around first thing in the morning. Plus, I honestly didn’t think this gorge would be anything spectacular, so I opted for the phone instead. The walk into the gorge was fairly easy. It started off as a flat dirt track, and then as we reached the pools it got a bit rockier. At first we thought that was the end of it, the pools with lily pads and small water cascades over rocky ledges. But Nath continued on leading the party further upstream. Not far along, he turned to me and said “You’re going to kick yourself now!” As I got to where he was standing, I saw it. A spectacular 3 tiered waterfall cascading into a fern, pandanas and reed lined pool. In the early morning light, with no-one else here, it was a special moment.
Camp at Galvans Gorge
The piece of muffler that broke off
Galvans Gorge in the early morning light
Galvans Gorge
After absorbing the view for a while, Nath decided that we should ascend to the top for a better look. So we became rock wallabies and headed up the rocky slope, right to the top to the boab tree. The stream up there was shallow and rocky, but very pretty. From up there we had a very good view out over the valley below us. We peered over the edge to follow the water with our eyes to the next ledge. We then back tracked and went down a level to the middle of the falls. Here Nath went under the waterfall and said it was warm. He decided he needed a wash and stripped off to enjoy the moment. Only seconds after he put his shorts back on and 2 men arrived. Nath had just been trying to convince me to get my gear off and go under the waterfall too. Lucky for me I had declined as it would have been me they viewed as they arrived.
Hendrix and Elokin climbing up to the top of the waterfall
At the top of the watefall
Nath enjoying the naturally warm shower
After a short chat and a few others arrived to have a go under the warm waterfall, we headed back down the rocky slope and out of the gorge. It was now 8.45am and as we left we past an APT tour walking in. Had we got here later than we did, we certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Having the place to ourselves was perfect and we were so glad that we were leaving before the crowds arrived. We left Galvans Gorge just after 9am.
Romandar climbing down from the top
Hendrix, Romandar and Elokin at Galvans Gorge
Our first stop for the morning was Mt Barnett Roadhouse, where we purchased a day pass for Manning Gorge. For 2 adults it cost us $16, children under 16 are free. We decided not to stay the night as the price was too much after paying at Mt Hart. While we were sitting in the car, about 80 Australia Post bikes rode out of the back of the roadhouse. They had Bright Blue and Australia Post flags, so we figured it must be some kind of charity ride. There was so many of them. Following them was a ute with a trailer full of spare postie bikes. My personal favourite was the cookie monster helmet while Elokin liked the one with bunny ears and tinsel.
After arriving at the day use car park we put on our boots, packed a day bag and set off to Manning Gorge. The first thing you have to do is cross the river. They have installed a tinny on a rope pulley for people to use to cross. We thought we would still have to put our stuff in Styrofoam boxes to float it across while we swam, and to be honest, we were looking forward to it. You know, a little bit of adventure! After waiting for our turn, yes there was a queue, we followed the white paint markers and set off over the rocks. The walk is a long one, but the four of us did it in an hour. We climbed up and down ridges, crossed plateaus looking out over the range beyond and navigated boulders. The walk itself was not that difficult but suitable footwear is recommended. We climbed down the last rocky ledge to arrive at Manning Gorge. We turned right and followed the gorge along until we came to the waterfall, where we jumped across rocks and went to sit near it. There was a lot of people in here, but the space is big enough to not feel as though you are on top of each other. Like a rite of passage, Nath felt the need to jump off the top of the waterfall, like so many men before him. He claims that we cannot go to a place like this and not jump in. I tend to disagree as all I end up with is a wardrobe malfunction! So I opted out.
Nath pulling the boat across at Manning Gorge
Elokin, Hendrix and Nathan walking into Manning Gorge
Manning Gorge
Nath mid air at Manning Gorge waterfall
We met Ben and Cleon with their two boys James and Tommy from Melbourne. They are also travelling around Australia, on ‘not a surfing safari’. We had a great chat with them and Ben and Nath both enjoyed jumping from the top of the falls, while Cleon and I preferred the more mellow walk-in approach. The water was fresh, but bearable. Elokin and Hendrix wouldn’t jump off any of the rocks, even the low ones, but they did enjoy swimming. We commented to them that Oscar and Ethan would jump if they were here in a bid to get them to have a go, but it didn’t work. And not long after that, we looked over and saw Mark, Kellie, Oscar and Ethan making their way across to the falls. We waved them over and what do you know, the three boys (Mark included) started doing bombies and horseys off the rocks. We ate a snack and managed to fill most of our day chilling out at the waterfall. Cleon and Ben left before us to take the boys back for lunch as they are camped here at Manning. We eventually decided to leave at 2.30pm with Mark, Kellie and the boys. The four kids all took off in front of us and raced back. It was great, we didn’t have to listen to our kids whinge that they were tired and their legs were sore and they couldn’t possibly walk back. You know the excuses all kids come up with.
Getting back across the river, Kel and I boarded the boat with the four kids while Mark and Nath swam across. The kids got out on the rock in the middle of the river to play before swimming the last leg with the Dad’s. Kel and I bumped into Kate and Stewart on the bank and had a chat while we waited for the rest of our party to get out of the water. They really did have a great time. Elokin and Hendrix decided to try doing a bombie and loved it! They even tried a horsey. We then made it back to the car and had a chat with Cleon and Ben as we had parked opposite their camp site without knowing. We had to drag ourselves away to make tracks to find a camp before dark. We really didn’t want a repeat of last night. At least this time we wouldn’t be alone as Mark and Kel were with us. Kel had found a spot she thought would be good, so we headed for it. We left Manning Gorge at 4.20pm.
Tonight we are camped at Hahn River Rest Area on top of the hill. We would have liked to be down at the river’s edge but there are 3 others camped here and the river spots are taken. That’s okay though as we got to enjoy the sunset from our higher vantage point. The kids went off and collected fire wood as soon as we arrived. Nath got out to open the boot doors to discover that the heat from our non-existent exhaust pipe had melted our tail lights and rear bumper. Arrghhh!!! It looks as though it may have caught fire, but lucky for us crossing the Hahn River would have put it out as it was quite deep. Our poor car. I think she is in need of some TLC.
Creek crossing on the Gibb River Road
Freshly graded Gibb River Road
Cool looking mountains on the Gibb
Our melted tail light and bumber
Camp at Hahn River
While we were quietly sitting around enjoying our fire and the kids had gone to bed, a car came to the other side of the river and fired some shots at something. We are thinking feral cats or dogs, maybe, although one of the shots was very loud and too big for chasing small vermin. It was pretty scary. We turned our outside light off to not attract attention to ourselves. After they left, thankfully, we heard loud footsteps, like cattle. But then the sound we heard wasn’t a cow. We could see the figures just off in the distance with the light of the almost full moon. It looked like a horse. Mark didn’t think so, so Nath wandered off towards it to get a closer look. He called back, yes, that is a horse. We had 3 brumby’s wandering around. It decided it didn’t like Nath and bolted back a few steps. As soon as he returned to the fire and us, the horses came closer. It was very special.
By this stage it was getting late and the fire was dying down. The temperature without the warmth of the fire was freezing, so we put the fire out and called it a night. From bed we heard the brumby’s come right into camp, but given how cold it was, we didn’t pull our arms out of the blankets to open the window.
We started the morning early. While we were packing up Hendrix and Elokin decided to go and look for other kids to play with. We had a chat with a nice man from Victoria and were finally ready to leave camp at 8.55am. We found Elokin and Hendrix playing with Ruby and Samuel. Why do kids wait until the last few minutes to find friends to play with???? We stopped at the homestead to top up our water supply and had another chat with a lovely couple from Broome. We finally left Mt Hart at 9.25am.
This time we did count the dry creek crossings and there were 30! That makes 35 in total creek crossing on the 50km driveway. It is a nice drive and very scenic as the landscape changes. We arrived back at the Gibb River Road at 10.25am and turned left, heading east.
Our first stop for the morning was at Lennard Gorge. We ate a snack in the car park before trekking off. This walk is a 3km return trip over an uneven rocky ground, a mountain and across a dry creek bed. We had a few people pass us on our way saying that it was a long walk, there are lots of rocks and it’s a hard walk. We decided not to listen to them and discover it for ourselves. We are all glad we did. Yes, there are rocks, it’s not a boardwalk, it’s a bush walk, and you can’t expect it to be a smooth, paved track. The land is what it is and without pulling every rock out, it cannot be changed. A dry creek bed is going to have rocks and boulders in it that is what they are. And as for the mountain, it has nothing on the steep steps at Circular Pool in Karijini. All in all, the walk was fine. Proper footwear would be a good idea for ankle support, but the four of us wore our crocs as we forgot to put socks in the car this morning. Oops. After you walk up, across the flat top and then down the other side of the mountain you arrive at a lookout. Now, the sign says that this is the terminus for the walk, but the article that I had with us had said that there would be two tracks that would lead us to the bottom and the top of the falls. Now, if I hadn’t read the article and known that potentially we could get to the gorge, yes, I probably would have agreed with the other people that the walk wasn’t really worth it. But being adventurous like we are, Nath led the way and we scrambled down the cliff face to the bottom pool. It is similar to walking the gorges in Karijini really, except maybe a little bit higher up, which could explain why they try to stop people climbing around here. If you slip, it is a very long way down!
Walking to Lennard Gorge
Walking up the hill
Across the top of the hill
View of Lennard Gorge from the lookout
The lookout over Lennard Gorge
Scaling down into the gorge
Elokin and Hendrix found an empty pool to sit in
Anyway, we made it to the bottom and Nath bombied off the rocks into the water. The temperature was cool he said, but nice for a swim. No matter how much he tried to convince Elokin and Hendrix, they wouldn’t get in with him, and I opted to not wear swimmers today, thinking that there wouldn’t be somewhere decent to swim. After spending a fair amount of time down here, my tummy was starting to tell me it was lunch time, and we stupidly didn’t pack any food, thinking we wouldn’t be long. Nath was kicking himself now as he really wanted to walk to the top pool of the falls, but we needed to eat. On our way back to the car, we stopped at a small, shallower pool where Elokin and Hendrix happily went for a swim with Nath.
Nath bombing into the gorge
Lennard Gorge
Walking back out of the gorge
Walking back up the hill
Taking a dip in the creek
Back at the car, we ate a chocolate to tie us over as it was hot and there was no shade to eat lunch. We left at 1.35pm and headed to March Fly Glen, a place we had stopped twice last trip. There were a lot of people already set up for the night here, so we just ate lunch in the shade and decided that we would continue on to see what else we could find. We left there at 3pm and continued onto Imintji Store for a diesel top up, plus a jerry. This is supposed to be the cheapest fuel on the Gibb and today it was 236.5c/l. We started looking for a place to stop for the night from here. There were a couple of tracks that we turned into, only to find that they already had someone in them or they were just the quarry for the road. Before long, it was getting late and we arrived at the turnoff for Adcock Gorge. Seen as it was only 5kms off the road and supposed to be good in the afternoon light, we made the trip to check it out. What we found I would not call a gorge, either that or we went to the wrong place. It certainly felt like the longest 5kms in history, but that could just be because we were racing the sun. What we arrived at was a pool in the river with a few boulders at one end, that I guess would be the waterfall when there is water flowing and paperbark tree lined banks. It looked cool in the late afternoon light, purely because of the reflections on the water and the sun streaming through the branches. We didn’t stick around long as the sun was very low by now. We left at 4.55pm and it didn’t seem to take as long getting back out. From here we tried 2 more tracks that seemed to lead to nowhere. The first we arrived before the sunset, but I got a bad feeling about it and after we had stopped and turned the car off ready to unpack, I told Nath that I wasn’t comfortable so we left. To my advantage, it was a lumpy, spinifex ground and not very appealing. The next we arrived after the sun had set and we had our headlights on. Again, it seemed to just keep going with no particular destination, so we didn’t travel as far down this one, before deciding to turn around. The problem now was that there wasn’t a place to turn around very easily with the van on, so after bulldozing a sapling in the dark, we got around and headed back to the Gibb.
Cool mountain range on the Gibb River Road
Lunch at March Fly Glen
Coming down the range on Gibb River Road
Adcock Gorge in the late afternoon sun
Boab tree at Adcock Gorge
We travelled along further still looking for another track. We saw people camped just off the road, but didn’t find the track that they went in on. At this point we thought that trying to find a track in the dark was pointless and started to make our way to Manning Gorge. But as fate would have it, at the bottom of the range on the bitumen, was Galvans Gorge, which was going to be our next forge walk. There were already 3 other vehicles camped here so we stopped in the middle of the road (as we had missed the entry), backed it up and joined them. We weren’t going to pull anything out, but realised that we didn’t have enough food in the car to feed us all, and had no choice but to access the fridge and cupboards in the van.
After dinner, everything got packed back into the van as is our standard rest area procedure. Before we went to sleep we heard dingoes howling in the direction of the gorge.
We were up before 6.30am sort of with the sun. It was a beautiful morning in our camp. We had another look around the place, me too this time. There is another section a bit further up the track that is a large grassy area with big boab trees. A very nice place to camp. There were cows walking around the place and we saw 3 kangaroos too.
We left camp at 9.35am, which was later than we had planned, but really we are in no rush. It is a great feeling to be able to potter around. We headed south to Tunnel Creek. Tunnel Creek once flowed across a ravine in the top of the range. Water seepage over time enlarged fractures in the limestone so the creek adopted an underground course. The tunnel is 750m long and carved out of limestone by flowing water and is part of the Napier Range – an extensive fossilized barrier reef from the Devonian period, 360 million years ago. It can be up to 12m high and 15m wide and has permanent fresh water pools.
By the time we arrived, there were plenty of other people there. The temperature was warm and the sun shone brightly. Armed with our new dolphin torch, a dodgy headlight and our crocs on our feet, we walked through tunnel creek to the other side.
Tunnel Creek
Elokin and Hendrix at the entrance to tunnel creek
Elokin and Hendrix inside Tunnel Creek
Inside Tunnel Creek
Nath looking up at a big cave above
Inside Tunnel Creek
Cool limestone inside Tunnel Creek
Elokin, Romandar and Hendrix walking out the other side
We walked along the bank a bit further up but then turned around as we were all hungry and headed back into the tunnel. Our photo at the entrance shows the sheer size of the opening. Half way through, at the roof open section, Elokin and Hendrix showed me where they and Nath had found a tiny cave with sparkly textured surface. The three of them then climbed up and found a large tunnel that runs into the top of the main tunnel. I stood at the bottom and they shone their light through to me. They were a long way up. On the way back out we saw our first animal life form… cherabin. No freshwater crocodile or bats for us this time around. On the last water crossing, Hendrix slipped over and got all wet. It was probably the coolest pool too, so he wasn’t a happy chappy! Lucky we bought a waterproof dolphin torch as it went under too.
Tunnel Creek from the other side
Elokin, Hendrix and Romandar outside Tunnel Creek
Elokin found a balance beam
Hendrix balancing
Romandar also balancing
Elokin found a higher balance beam
Elokin, Nathan and Hendrix at the rear entrance to Tunnel Creek
Family photo inside Tunnel Creek
A sparkly wall and little cave
Inside Tunnel Creek
View from the hole in the roof half way through
Hendrix and Elokin up in the high cave
Can you find Nath, Elokin and Hendrix somewhere in this photo
Inside Tunnel Creek
We ate lunch back in the car park before heading off back the way we had come. We passed Mark and Kellie on the road and pulled over for a chat. We will hopefully see them again tomorrow.
Our next stop was at Lillimooloora Police Station Ruins.
Lillimooloora Police Station Ruins
Elokin and Hendrix inside the police station
From here we were back on the Gibb River Rd after passing Windjana Gorge turn off again. We drove over the Lennard River Bridge, but turned around to go back to the west side as there was a camping area with only one van in it. The Lennard River had a bit of water in it, so we were hoping to get a nice spot. The only place that was on the river bank we attempted to fit into, but it didn’t work. A roof top tent would be perfect!
Lennard River
We decided to continue east and see what else we could find. We stopped for a photo with Queen Victoria’s Head in the Napier Range. Nath decided he wanted to pick her massive nose.
Elokin with Queen Victoria’s head
Nath picking Queen Victoria’s nose
From here we continued on to Inglis Gap which has a small stopping area for a photo over the valley and range.
Gibb River Road
Gibb River Road
Inglis Gap
The sun was starting to get low, but the temperature was still warm. We started to look for a place to stop for the night. We checked out a couple of maintained tracks and found what was probably once a camp for the road workers or similar and a quarry where they get the gravel for the road. Speaking of, so far the Gibb has been fantastic. It was graded not that long ago. We saw a track a couple of kms past the Mt Hart turnoff on the north side of the road, but missed it, so we crossed an unnamed creek, turned around and went back. This is where we have camped tonight. The creek is right near our camp and we have quite a scenic outlook. Elokin and Hendrix did their travel experiences scrapbooks, while I made dinner. After we ate, we took the kids down to the creek with our torch to look for red crocodile eyes and collect water to wash up. There were no crocs that we saw, but lots of small fish came to the light.
This is probably the first time that we have no planned destinations, and can just plod along and look at all the side tracks and take our time. Even though the road was like a super highway, we were cruising at like 60kms/hr, which is so not Nathan’s normal style. It is a pleasant change and one I hope we will continue to have. So my advice, if you get the chance, just wing it and see where it takes you.
