Category: June 2018

Col was keen to try the deepest river crossing on the El Questro Station which is approximately 60 to 80cm deep.  You really need a snorkle on your 4WD vehicle to tackle this water crossing, it is long as well as deep.  It is on the way out to El Questro Gorge and Col filmed it using the Go Pro as well as the Drone.  We did the hike to the half way point of the El Questro Gorge on the last trip in 2015, so Col was keen to do the water crossing but we didn’t continue on to do the hike this time.  There was a family there with 3 kids and they didn’t have a snorkle on their car and decided to walk through the water crossing instead.  It was very cute as they were all cheering and clapping as Col drove through the water.  We had a fan club.

After the water crossing we headed to Jackaroo’s Waterhole to try some fishing.  Col was fairly confident that we wouldn’t catch anything as the Barra season has finished now.  The waterhole was a beautiful spot and we tried casting our lures but we were not successful.  I did have a big Long Tom interested in my lure and it followed it in a couple of times but wasn’t fooled.

We then took a drive to one of the private camping areas and again tried Fishing with some lures there, but no fish caught unfortunately.  I liked the Private Camp area but missed all the greenery which is one thing I really like about the El Questro camp.  The river was a really picturesque place to fish and the Private Camp area would be good with the crew.  Col is keen to camp there next time.

We headed back to camp at Beer ‘O’ Clock and did a bit of pack up and finished the evening with another camp fire.  There was live music playing at the Reception area and we were able to sit by our fire and listen to the free concert which was a bonus.

For those of you that have been to El Questro before you might remember the two donkeys that hang around the entrance, a bigger white one and smaller black one.  There only seems to be the one smaller black donkey left there now and he looks very sad, like he is missing his buddy.  We didn’t find out the story about what happened to the other one.  They were inseparable previously and this time we didn’t see the white one at all.  It’s a bit sad.

Just to let you know that we are having some issues with the menu on the blog.  We have reached the maximum number of menu items previously and increased this but hit the maximum once again.  As a result we lost the menu list and cannot add anymore new ones   As we have not had mobile coverage this has added to the complications of fixing it.  At the moment I am collapsing the older posts – 5 into 1, so you may be a bit confused by the email links coming through.  This is a temporary fix and I will explore this further for a permanent fix when we are settled in Darwin.  For the moment, just ignore the older links and click on the most recent ones in the email. Continue reading “Day 148 – 10th June 2018 – El Questro, Emma Gorge”

Col and I decided not to take my car and the boat to El Questro as there are a few creek crossings on the way in and the road can be a bit rough.  As it turned out we think it would have been ok.  But we called someone in Kununurra who was happy to store if for a few days and dropped it off on the way through.  We stopped and did a bit of shopping and other errands then headed toward the Gibb River Road.  The road is sealed up to El Questro and then there is a 16km dirt road to take to reach the station.  There were no issues for Col’s FJ Cruiser towing the van.  The unpowered sites are not allocated and you just find a place to pull up and set up within the unpowered camping area.  We found a spot and squeezed in.  It was busy the night we pulled up but then cleared out a lot the following day.

They have done up the park since we were there last in 2015 and now have new toilet and shower blocks.  The facilities themselves look nice but they have underestimated the number required and both Col and I had to line up for showers at different times.  There is also only one washing machine per block and a queue of people wanting to use them.  Generally I wouldn’t complain about this but they charge the top end price, and for that I think they could do more for their money.  But the property is beautiful and it is still a favourite place for me.  Looking forward to exploring this place a little more over the next two days.

As we had been to Cathedral Gorge on our last visit in 2015 which is absolutely beautiful and definitely worth a visit if you have not seen it.  As we had been here before we wanted to do a different walk this time and chose the hike to Whipsnake Gorge.  I wasn’t too sure about this at first as it is listed as a Grade 4 walk and 10km, but I noticed that the estimated time showed it as a quicker walk than Echidna Chasm so it couldn’t be too difficult.  Really glad we did it and if anyone else has doubts, it is a really manageable walk.  Mostly through a riverbed, so you you walk over uneven rocks and sand but it is mostly flat.  It is 5km to the Gorge and then 5km return, but was very doable.  The scenery spectacular.  We were in direct sunlight a lot of the way so take plenty of water with you.

It is a fairly rough corrugated road into the Bungle Bungles with a few small creek crossings on the way.  A very interesting drive in but you need to stay alert as there are many rocks on the road and cattle and roos along the way as well.  It takes an hour and a half to reach the Visitor Centre then another 30 minutes to get to the Car Park for Piccaninny Gorge which is the starting point for Cathedral Gorge and Whipsnake Gorge.

The drive into Piccaninny Gorge is spectacular and I lost count of how many times Col and I said “Wow” on the way in.  We both definitely were surprised when we spotted this on the road on the way in though!  Would love to know the story as to why they needed to land on the road and very glad we were not on that flight.  The Pilot did not look happy, let me tell you!

My little mountain goat likes to get off the beaten path and check out things up close and personal, while I am happy to take photos of him doing this.  He did nearly slip into this lovely green water.  We were speaking to someone who said there is a Brain Eating Amoeba in the water at the Bungle Bungles and to be careful not to get any up your nose.  There isn’t anywhere that you would really swim here, so that is good, but extra lucky that Col didn’t slip in!!

This place is spectacular and the views on the walk to Whipsnake Gorge were seriously breathtaking.

These birds nests were on the roof of an overhanging rock and just beautiful.  We didn’t see the birds that made them, but a great photo by Col.

There was only a very small amount of water when we got to the Gorge and there were many tiny little frogs gathered around the waters edge.  These frogs were only about 1cm long and very, very cute.  Hope they make it!

We stopped in to see the ‘Window’ on the walk back to the Car Park.

The evening was finished off sitting around the communal campfire and chatting to other travellers.  We have both enjoyed our time at the Bungle Bungles and you do forget just how beautiful this place is.

 

Last time we were here in The Bungle Bungle’s with the Camping Crew in 2015, we were told to do the Cathedral Gorge walk first and the Echidna Chasm walk second.  As a result, we missed the time where the Chasm lights up around midday.  So Col and I decided to make sure we got to the Chasm by midday to see this.  We both loved the walk and did manage to get to the Chasm on time.  The drive from the Caravan Park to Echidna Chasm takes approximately 2 hours.  The Echidna Chasm walk is about 2km  return and takes about 1 hour as most of the walk is over a rocky, uneven ground.

Continue reading “Day 145 – 7th June 2018 – The Bungle Bungles, Echidna Chasm”

While sitting and drinking my coffee this morning I noticed these little guys on the side of the van.  Wondering if they are insect eggs or mushrooms??  Shall I leave them to ‘hatch’ and see what they are, or does somebody out there know?  They are really delicate and tiny and a bit difficult to get a clear photo of.  They have me intrigued.

Continue reading “Day 144 – 6th June 2018 – Fitzroy Crossing to The Bungle Bungles”

The departure from Cable Beach Caravan Park went much smoother than the arrival I am happy to report.  We headed out of the park around 9.30am and drove 7 and a half hours to Ngumban Cliff Rest Area which is approximately 100km past Fitzroy Crossing.  We generally try to keep the driving to a maximum of 4 hours a day where possible, but we had looked at the places we wanted to spend some time on our drive over to Darwin and accepted that we would have a big drive today. Continue reading “Day 143 – 5th June 2018 – Broome to Fitzroy Crossing”

I took Col out on a date tonight to the Sunset Bar & Grill at Cable Beach for a cheese platter and drinks.  It was walking distance from the caravan park and a really lovely way to end our time in Broome.  This was where the cheese platter was…….  sorry everyone, forgot the before photo but managed an after photo

Today was the last day in Broome and we start the trek across to Darwin tomorrow.