The Gibb River and Kulumbaru Roads

Sorry but this is quite a long post as we have not had any connection for the last 10 days. I hope you enjoy the photos which do not really do justice to this amazing part of Australia.

Day 1 Kununurra to El Questro Homestead

After a quick stop back to Kununurra to refuel, resupply, shower and do the washing, we left Kununurra at 8.30am ready to tackle the Gibb River Road. For those who are unaware, this is a dirt road of some 660km that starts 65 kms from Kununurra and heads to the west to Derby and passes you through some spectacular country known as the Kimberly.

We hope to spend 10 + days on the Gibb River Road and also Kulumbaru Road which takes you up to the Mitchell Plateau – A little side track of some 260Km’s.

We had been told to be prepared for corrugations and dust so I have to say that we were pleasantly supprised with our run into El Questro which was relatively easy going and fortunately the 10 kms in to the El Questro Homestead / township had just been graded. People were telling us that this was some of the worst road on the Gibb River Road so it was a pleasant surprise.

On the drive in we were amazed at the Cockburn range that ran along side of the Gibb River Road to the North. The size and ruggedness of the sheer cliff faces were fantastic and again it was difficult to capture this in a photo.

We arrived at El Questro by lunchtime and we instantly hit with the El Questro marketing machine that is El Questro. That said we ended up with a fantastic campsite right on the river and a very shady site which was great. The kids could swim in the river right in front of the tent and quickly made friends with another group of children doing thong races down the river!

After lunch we set off for Emma Gorge which was a bit of a back track of some 25kms. The walk in was quite warm as the Gorge was quite open and exposed.  However the cliffs and small ponds were spectacular. At the end of the walk, we were greeted with an exceptionally cold waterfall and water hole. Everyone we passed on the way up said – head to the right hand side as there was a thermal run off area that was slightly warmer. We all had a swim – albeit very refreshing!

A beautiful waterhole on the way up to the falls. The water was this colour

The right hand side of Emma Gorge waterhole - where the thermal flow was!

That night we had our first proper campfire for the night which was all to our own! The girls loved it and had a lot of enjoyment from waving burning sticks around! Simple pleasures are often the ones that they will remember.

Day 2 – Zeberdee Springs and El Questro Gorge

We headed to the springs early to beat the tourist buses and to have some time in the thermal springs (a constant 28’c) without the masses. The warm springs were enjoyed by all and the girls loved the small ponds and waterfalls which they could let run over them.

From the springs we decided to do the El Questro Gorge walk. A 6.8km return walk over some large boulders and scaling the sides of waterfalls. Initially we had thought that we would go to the half way pool, yet the girls we making good going and were keen to press on to the top. The gorge was amazing as was the clarity of the water. At the end of the walk, we were again greeted with a beautiful waterhole which had a waterfall running into it. Fortunately this time – much warmer than Emma Gorge.

The water was so clear!

The waterfall at the end of the El Questro GorgeWalk

Day 3 – El Questro to Drysdale Station (Via Home Valley and Ellenbrae Station)

We had hoped to be able to hire a small dinghy to travel up the Chamberlin Gorge from El Questro, however unfortunately they were all booked up in the morning. Slightly frustrating yet we packed up as we wanted to call in to Home Valley Station. The run to Home Valley was not too bad, yet the corrugations have begun as have the small sharp rocks!

Home Valley was a very impressive camp sight and resort which I think it will continue to take customers away from El Questro. We called in for a quick look around but decided to keep moving as there is not a lot to do or see there unless you want to experience the “Outback Station” lifestyle and to go horse riding.

We then headed back onto the Gibb River Road for Ellenbrae Station some 110 Km down the road with the crossing across the Pentacost River.

The Pentacost River with the Cockburn Range in the distance

We arrived at Ellenbrae at lunchtime and had a fantastic lunch of toasted sandwiches and scones. It is amazing how a basic toasted ham and cheese sandwich can taste so good when you have had the same sandwich for the past 8 days! The scones with raspberry jam and cream were a great hit.

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The word at El Questro was not to stay at Ellenbrae as the owners were grumpy and did not like kids! A good start we thought and knowing that we wanted to tackle the Kalumburu Road.  Again all the feedback we had had was to stay well away from this road as the road was in a shocking state. The only positive words we got were as we were leaving EL Questro from the guy who was next door to us. He said he had done the trip up to the Mitchell Plateau the week before and in his words “ It is not too bad and the grader was on the road!”

We turned off onto the Kalumburu road and headed for Drysdale Station (68km) up the road. Well – not too bad – Forget it. It was very average and if Lucie had said –  “that’s enough” I would have been quite quick to turn the car around. About an hour later we arrived at Drysdale Station and had our first experience of this trip on VERY average roads. The corrugations had broken one of the welds on the exhaust pipe bracket that would need to be repaired before going any further. The only problem was it was Sunday so the repairs will have to wait until tomorrow.

Sunset at Drysdale

Day 3 – Drysdale Station to King Edward Camp Ground

Fortunately we were first in line at the workshop on Monday morning and by 9am we had the exhaust welded and we were ready to tackle the 110km from Drysdale Station to the King George campground. A reasonable sleep put me in a better state to mind to tackle the Kalumburu Road. Well 20kms down the road, the sense of humour was fading fast as the corrugations became steadily worse. Where was that bloody grader the guy at El Questro was talking about? Just under 2 and half hours later we reached the King Edward Camp ground.

All I can say it thank god this was a superb camp ground which fronted onto the King George River. We decided that we would call this base for the next three days and it gave us the chance to speak to some others who were camping there about the road up to the Mitchell Plateau. Unfortunately the news was not all good and the advice was to get going early as it would take at least 2 hours to travel the 78 kms to the top.

King Edward River and right next to the campground

In the afternoon we visited some aboriginal art sites which were near the camp ground. The Wandjinas that you see on a number of the Kimberly brochures can be found here on some sandstone boulders. There was also some other excellent art work which included Bradshaw stick figures and even a burial site.

The Wandjinas

Day 4 – Mitchell Plateau and the Mitchell Falls.

We got away from the camp ground by 6.45am and began our way up to the falls. The road was an interesting one which passed from open scrub land into a Livistona Palm Forest from much of the way up to the Mitchell Plateau. There were not many places where you could get above 45km/hr and we often found ourselves travelling at 15km/hr as you just did not know what you were going to find around the next corner in terms of a major wash out or a APT Tour bus flying down the road!. We reached the Mitchell Plateau at 9am and headed straight to book a helicopter flight out from the Falls. It is the only way you can see all three falls at one time and also a welcome reward after the warm walk in. Unfortunately the ATP bus had pulled in just before us and of course took all the seats on the flights out. The only flight we could get was at 3.30pm which would have meant that we would be making the return trip in the dark for part of it.

A quick revision of our plans saw us taking the helicopter flight in at 10am and then we would walk back. Not ideal, yet better that the alternative of driving the road in the dark. The 6 min flight in was worthwhile and the girls all jumped into the helicopter like seasoned campaigners after their flight at the Bungle Bungles.

Mitchell Falls from the Helicopter

Big Merton Falls

Little Merten Falls

Mertens water monitor

The pools above the Little Merten Falls - a great place for lunch

The walk out was great and in hindsight it was a good move. This way we were not on a time line to meet the helicopter by so we could take our time on the walk back. This allowed us to spend time at Big Merten and Little Merten Falls. The latter been a real highlight of the day and Lucie and I found some fantastic aboriginal art work under the falls at Little Merten Falls and the small rapids at the top of the falls were a superb place for lunch. The girls were thrilled when they saw a large merten water monitor sunbaking on a rock as they ate their lunch.

The drive down was probably worse than the drive up. It took longer and probably because we were all tired, it was a slog. We were all very pleased to see King Edward Camp and to have a swim in the river after a long day.

In short – was it worth it? Yes it was, however a personal highlight was Little Merten Falls rather than the much large Mitchell Falls. Would I do it again – Yes but I would fly the whole way next time!!!

Day 5 – King Edward Camp – Drysdale Station – Mt Barnett – Manning Falls

This was always going to be a day were we just had to slog it out over the 180 kms of corrugations and pot holes back to the Gibb River Road and to pray that the car would hold together! I am pleased to report that the Prado handled the road well and we made it back to the Gibb River Road in 2 and half hours. It was amazing how the Gibb River Road felt like a highway after the jolting Kalumburu Road.

It is important to note that while the road was bloody average, the scenery was great. Dingoes, big horned bulls, brolgas just to name some of the animals were out in force and amazing at how casually they just watched the car roll on past. One huge dingo came out in front of the car and very casually trotted across in front of us – not worried about the car at all. The size of this dingo gives me no doubt that these animals could carry a baby if they were hungry!

We made it to Mt Barnett Road House by lunchtime and had a quick stop for lunch before heading into the Manning River – just down the road 7kms.

After setting up camp we decided to walk into Manning Falls which was an interesting walk over sand stone and through savannah bush land. Very open so it was a hot walk of only 1.5 kms yet it took about an hour to get into the falls. The start to the walk is great fun as you have to cross the river putting your back pack in a polystyrene fruit box to keep it dry. It was a good way to get underway as you were cool before hitting the heat of the sandstone.

The walk is well and truely worth it when you get to Manning Falls. A beautiful gorge with a large waterfall, small rapids and sandy beaches. Best of all was the wall to jump off next to the falls. The girls caught up with the friends they had made at El Questro and of course next it was to see who would take the biggest jump off the cliff next to the falls. Sophie took off first and then not to be outdone Annabel jumped into the fray and in the end took the biggest plunge from over 5m. Tess, Thomas and Daniel – we were thinking of your photos from your blog and the girls remembered the photos of you jumping off the cliff and were not going to hold back!!

This is a fantastic spot and one we will return back to one day. It was also great to have a warm shower when we returned in the afternoon.

Bella taking the plunge

Day 6 – Manning Falls to Bell Gorge with a stop off at Galvan Gorge

After considerable discussion we decided to push on to Bell Gorge and to bypass Mornington and Charnley River. The feedback we had was that the road into Mornington was not flash and we were not overly keen to face another 180kms of corrugations. We had also been told that Charnley River was awash with mosquitoes and as they love Annabel so much we decided to keep on going and go to Bell Gorge and to use the extra 2 days we have gained to head up to Cape Leveque and also to spend some more time on the way down the WA Coast line.

Galvans Gorge was an incredible little gorge with a superb little water hole and waterfall. It would be the perfect place to stop for lunch as you cannot camp there. To our frustration – we had left the camera in under the pillow in the camper trailer as we got out for the walk. Thank goodness for Iphones and we were able to capture this great spot with some photos. Unfortunately on unpacking the trailer – we found the camera with a cracked screen. Not very happy as now we have to try and take photos without a view finder! Lesson learnt – check and double check before putting the tent down.

Galvans Gorge

Bell Gorge was a great camp ground and we were lucky that there were not too many people in for the night. The walk into Bell Gorge was relatively short and again we were greeted with magnificent pools above the significant waterfall. We all enjoyed lazing around in these pools for the afternoon. We also headed down the short track to the bottom pool and we were able to gain a much better view of the falls.

The pools above Bell Falls

Day 7 – Bell Gorge to Windjana Gorge

After a very slow start to the day the girls had the opportunity to catch up on their journals and to spend time with their friends Maddy, Harry, Finn and Tas.  It is interesting that as you travel along the Gibb River Road at each stop you often are running into the same people and the girls have really enjoyed spending time with these children from Adelaide.

We packed up just before lunch and headed off to Windjana where we will stay for 2 nights before leaving the Gibb River Road for Derby then Broome. The road from Bell Gorge to Windjana saw us pass through some very different country as we headed through the King Leopold Ranges. The rocks have changed to a much darker colour and the land is more open with sparsely wooded areas. Fortunately the grader was on the road into Windjana Camp ground so the 20 kms in from the Gibb River Road were great. Those who came in yesterday said the road was terrible so it was good to be one of the first on this road.

The camp ground is surrounded by the Napier Range which forms the Windjana Gorge. The sunset on the range made for a stunning background for dinner tonight. It was a quiet afternoon as it was 37’c as we arrived this afternoon and we decided it was best to stop and tackle the Gorge in the morning.

The view from our camp at Windjana Gorge of the Napier Range

Day 8 – Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

We headed off into Windjana Gorge fairly early as it is pretty open and given the heat of yesterday we were keen to get the 7km walk underway early. Windjana Gorge is carved out of the Napier Range by the Lennard River. Amazingly the Napier Range is part of the ancient barrier reef system and this whole area was underwater 300milion years ago. As a result in the walls you are able to see fossils of aquatic life.

As we walked through the gorge there were heaps of fresh water crocodiles lining the banks of the river. Obviously very accustomed to the tourist as you were able to get up very close (less than 2m away) to them without them moving or worrying about you been there.

This croc was over 2 metres long

The walls on either side of the gorge were impressive at heights of 100m and with valley in between around 100m wide in most places. It was not long before it became quite hot as for alot of the way we were walking on the sandy floor of the river. Unfortunately we could not go the whole way up the gorge as the there had been significant damage during the wet season to the trial for the last kilometre – not that the girls were worried as they were sick of the heat after 5kms and had collected enough different rocks to fill their pockets!

In the afternoon we headed to Tunnel Creek. The main reason for going to Tunnel Creek was to walk through the limestone cave which travels for 750m and was a part of the ancient reef system that helped create Windjana Gorge. It was a great walk to finish our time on the Gibb River Road as it was cool and in various parts the ceiling was lined with stalactites. We were also fortunate to see a small fresh water crocodile and bats. The view as you came out of the darkness was fantastic at the end of the tunnel.

Bats on the tunnel ceiling

light at the end of the tunnel

The view at the end of the tunnel

Day 9 – Windjana Gorge to Derby

Today we hit the last part of the Gibb River Road with an easy run into Derby. Much of the last 150kms was bitumen so the drone of corrugations was replaced by silence in the car which was appreciated by all. It has been a great trip along the road and one I would encourage all to try and do at some stage in their lifetime. I was grateful that we got through the Gibb River Road and Kulumburu Road without any shredded tyres or punctures, no chipped or smashed windows and everyone including the car and trailer in one piece.

Another change in scenery - 50 kms from Derby

The afternoon was spent in Derby removing some of the dust from the trailer, car and most importantly clothes and ourselves. It was great to get rid of the beard I was becoming mightily sick of its itchy nature!

Tomorrow – it is off to Broome and the beach for a couple of days and then up to Middle Lagoon which is on the way to Cape Leveque.

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