Broome to Kununurra (via the Gibb River Road)

Nearly 2 weeks ago and we were in Broome, time certainly flies when you are having an absolute ball! Broome is a very relaxed and laid back town, considering the heat, I think you have to be :)

 We visited Matso's Brewery so Dave could try another tasting paddle of beers and we also walked around Broome one morning whilst waiting for our car to be serviced. There are some great artists with their own store fronts in amongst the usual touristy shops, they certainly have no shortage of wildlife subjects and stunning colours to work with in the Kimberly.

I HAD to go on a sunset camel ride along Cable Beach........ and it was great!!

 

me & my mate Kahn

rocks off Gantheaume Point

Boab Prison Tree outside Derby

And so, we head east and we decided to go along the famous Gibb River Road (oooooooh, aaaaaahhhh!!)  We have heard so many horror stories about this road and the corrugations and river crossings but that it is worth doing for the amazing scenery and wildlife. Talking to the immensely helpful guy at the Broome Info Centre, who had been on the road a few weeks before, his enthusiasm was contagious and he bolstered our confidence by advising that he'd never seen the Gibb in such good condition as it currently was.

Well, we loved it!!! And the condition of the road really surprised us, it was great. However, it was more of a highway than a road, for such a remote area the number of people travelling on it was astounding. The weather was HOT!!! We weren't aware of the temperature whilst we travelled because there is no mobile reception out there, but when we got to Kununurra, we were told it had been 40 odd degrees on some of the days we were on the Gibb. I thought I was sweating more buckets than usual!!!

Tunnel Creek (near Windjana Gorge)

 

 

swimming hole at other end of Tunnel Creek,
Dave a bit unsure b/c of fresh water crocs!!

Windjana Gorge

 

Fresh Water Crocodile in Windjana Gorge

Bell Gorge

 Below: Manning Gorge - this was lovely, we left at 6:30am to get to this gorge, we were not alone, but at least it wasn't crowded like Bell Gorge.

 


Some of our friends on Dave's Facebook page would have seen the video he put up of me taking a photo of these Brolgas.......... I was a very emotional little pixie. I have always wanted to see Brolgas in the wild, ever since I saw the painting by Sydney Long "The Spirit of the plains" (see below) when I was a teenager. This was a small life accomplishment for me but with a significant impact; dreams, wishes and ideas can and do come true :)

 

Our third night on the Gibb we stayed at Ellenbrae Station, and for us, we liked this camping spot the most. The hosts were very friendly and helpful people and the place was lovely and quiet.

we spent a whole arvo at this swimming hole

I think this is one of those native hibiscus
you can buy to put in your champagne!!!
how cool :)

watching someone else do a river crossing before we give it a go

Our last 2 nights we stayed at El Questro and my advice would be, ensure you take an extra set of body organs with you to help pay for your stay :) Having said that, the facilities, gorges, walks etc were worth it, once I just breathed out and let it go!

Amalia Gorge - we started this walk about 6:30amish again, and it was definitely worth it, because we were the only ones there woo hoo!!

 

 

Moonshine Gorge

And lastly, Emma Gorge, the prettiest one of them all.....

 


And so we left El Questro and finished our trek on the Gibb River Road. It was a tiring trip, especially because of the heat, but it was worth it and we would do it again. We met some great people along the way, we even helped out a car load of German backpackers whose petrol tank was leaking, by driving one representative to the Mt Barnett Roadhouse for extra fuel. We walked and walked and walked our butts off and swam in amazing waterholes, rivers and gorges, probably with freshies (fresh water crocs) down the way a bit. Brown underpants may have been sported on occasion :) Some parts of the road were quite rough and the car and camper got a definite work out. My tips for the Gibb River Road would be;
- embrace the heat & dirt and don't wear white
- expect things to break, jiggle off, fall loose or bust...and if they don't, self high five!!!
- have a camera ready at all times, you never know what you're going to see
- drive to the conditions (Dave did a fantastic job and we have all of our tires intact, no blow outs)
- pay the small fortune for really good tires (BFG's) because it is worth it.
- take lots of cash with you and forget you have a mobile phone for the days you're on the Gibb
- do all of  your walks early in the morning, then travel midday with air con on and set up camp in arvo with a swim afterwards if you can.
- enjoy and marvel and the beauty of the Kimberly.

On to Kununurra and the Ord River.

Ivanhoe Crossing on the Ord River

Dave driving us over the Ivanhoe Crossing

Wedge Tailed Eagle on the
Parry Creek Road.

Five Rivers Lookout at Wyndham

Due to the money starting to run out, we are now making our way to the Daintree at a particularly fast pace. It's been a wish of mine to have my 40th birthday in the Daintree and Dave is making that come true (sweet man). We won't be there for my actual birthday, but who cares, we're spending time in the Daintree in a cabin and I'm soooooooooo excited.

Karijini to Karratha

Leaving Exmouth we headed East towards Karijini National Park and the heart of the Pilbara region. The colour of the earth here is extraordinary and the photos really don't do it any justice at all. Winter is about to start in a few weeks and they are still experiencing 30+ degrees, it's a very special person that can live out here under the full glare and ferocity of a Summer Sun. I am definitely not one of those people!! 

 

stayed overnight at Cheela Plains Station,
this was our view in the morning.

do NOT want to hit one of these!!!

Having driven through Paraburdoo and Tom Price we arrived at Karijini National Park, where there are a plethora of gorges to see. On our first day we visited Weano & Kalamina Gorge.

Weano Gorge from lookout

inside Weano Gorge

Kalamina Gorge, very pretty.

sunset at Karijini N.P.

Second day and we're off to Dales Gorge, very beautiful, but also very popular!!!

Dave in all his magnificence,
having a swim at the bottom
of the waterfall.

From Karijini to Karratha and we took the unsealed road............ there is no way to describe the red dust. Dave's grey hairs became orange and this is the back of the car afterwards:

Our camper trailer was also covered in red dust, however the inside and all our bedding was absolutely clean!!!! I was soooooo impressed and very happy :) I think the red dust will be in our car for a very long time after our trip, but as Dave says, it's a badge of honour.

Visiting the sites of Karratha and Dampier, we HAD to visit the statue of 'Red Dog', I was as happy as a Kelpie chasing sheep!!!

look at that face!

I ended up buying all 3 of the books about Red Dog (I've already seen the movie) from the Karratha Visitor Centre.

In Karratha, at Deep Gorge there a Indigenous petroglyphs (rock carvings) on boulders that look as though they have been bulldozed in & arranged into huge piles, but the piles of rocks are all naturally occurring.

view of the LNG plant during the day.

view of the LNG plant at night

Hearson's Cove on dusk.

Up north on the coast, when the tide is out and there is a full moon rising in the East, you can see the "Staircase to the Moon". We were here at the right time to see it, however there was cloud cover so we didn't see the full effect, but it was a great site to see nonetheless.

And so, goodbye to Karratha and heading for Broome - our sites along the road:

me mate helping me do the morning dishes
after our overnight stay at Sandfire Roadhouse Caravan Park