August 2012

We were up at 5:45 am this morning so as to be ready for a 7:00 am pick up at the entrance to the Caravan Park for our day tour to the El Questro Resort. By the time that we had done the rounds of the caravans and resort hotels we had a near bus full and were finally on our way by about 7:30 am. Our route took us west from Kununurra to the Great Northern Highway where we turned right towards Wyndham until we got to the Gibb River Road. After about 40 kms on the Gibb River Road we turned left and travelled about 16 kms to the El Questro Resort. Major roadworks are being undertaken to re-align and seal the Gibb River Road as far as El Questro.

Waiting for our bus at the entrance to the caravan park

View from the Gibb River Road - but what about those corrugations?

View from the Gibb River Road

Road works on the Gibb River Road

Our first stop was at Emma's Gorge Resort for a walk into Emma's Falls - about 2 kms each way over very rocky terrain which took about an hour each way. When we got there some of our party were enticed into the water - but it did not meet the warmth test for a couple of Tasmanians. At the head of the Gorge there was a sixty metre waterfall with water for a change. It was quite cool in the gorge with a rain forest feel and lots of ferns. After our walk we were treated to Fruit platters, cold drinks, tea or coffee and cake at the Resort - very nice!

While we were at Emma Gorge we got talking to another couple from Tasmania - Graham and Rosemary Sargison - friends of Jim Laver and Owen Carington Smith. Graham remembered David from Forestry Tasmania where he worked as a Forester prior to his retirement a couple of years ago. David was in charge of the external audit at Forestry Tasmania for many years before his retirement 5 years ago.

Emma Gorge walk - very rocky

Emma Gorge - many rock pools

Emma gorge cliffs

More cliffs in Emma Gorge

The Kimberly Rose - looks more like a dead tree

More cliffs in Emma Gorge

Change of flora - almost temperate

Another rock pool in Emma Gorge

Torquoise Pool in Emma Gorge

Water Monitor enjoying the sun

The Emma Gorge Falls

Di resting at the falls

Another walker with a friend

After our morning tea it was back on the bus to be taken a short distance to Zebedee Springs where the water temperature is always between 28 and 32 degrees. Di and David both ventured in the water which flowed through a number of small rock pools where you could sit in the warm water. The springs are shaded with very tall Livistona Palms. After our swim it was back on the bus to take us the the main El Questro Resort for lunch at the Steak House Restaurant. Beef and Barra with chips and salad - very nice!

Our tour bus

Palms at Zebedee Springs

Rock pools at Zebedee Springs

More rock pools at Zebedee Springs

Livinstona Palms at Zebedee Springs

King River water crossing on the way to El Questro

Blue Kookaburra looking for lunch at the Steak House Restaurant

After our lunch we were herded back onto the bus for a cruise up the Chamberlain Gorge. At the bottom end of the Gorge just above the Homestead only 2 or 3 mature trees remain after the 2011 flood that washed away nearly all the mature trees and went close to washing the Homestead away as well. The Homestead is used as luxury accommodation for a maximum of 16 people - the going rates vary from $1,939 to $2,639 per couple all included - no children allowed. Our cruise was about 30 minutes each way up and back down the gorge, with a 30 minute stop for fruit and copious amounts of champagne.

Chamberlain's Gorge

Looking back to the El Questro Homestead - only 2 mature trees remain after the 2011 flood

Reflections in the Gorge

More reflections

Still more reflections

On our way up the Gorge our guides talked about the crocodiles and water depth in the Gorge. The Gorge is quite shallow in parts with about 20 fresh water crocodiles and a couple of salt water crocodiles. The rangers use white buoys to mark the rocks that they might hit on the way up the Gorge. The freshwater crocodiles chew the buoys then realise that its no good to eat, however the saltys are annoyed by the buoys and drag them out of the water, so the rangers often have to pick up the buoys and put them back.

Buoys near the rocks

Our cruise boat

Just to prove that we travel together

Late afternoon sun

The El questro Homestead from the jetty

About 5:30 pm we were loaded back on the bus for the return trip to Kununurra. All was well until we were about 15 kms from Kununurra when an inner back tyre on the bus blew out. It was at this point that we found out that the jack was only just up to the task, and our driver was not much better. The bus fell off the jack once, luckily the tyres had not been completely removed and there was no-one under the bus. At about this point our retired truck driver passenger took over to complete the task. Most of us learnt a thing or too about dual wheeled tyres and the double nuts that keep the wheels on. A Semi-trailer driver stopped to make sure all was well but he was not needed as we had our own trucky. What should have been a 90 minutes trip ended up taking nearly 2 and a half hours.

Today was washing day - Di spent the morning doing several loads of washing while David tried to catch up on the blog which is now several days behind as we had no Next G coverage at the Bungle Bungles. Because of the number of photos to be uploaded it becomes very time consuming.

After lunch we went out to the Zebra Rock Gallery where they maunfacture ornaments, decorative items and jewellery. Zebra rock is a fine grained siliceous argillite with rythemic patterns of red bands or spots contrasting sharply with a lighter background. It is not known how the patterns were formed but the red bands or spots are coloured ferric oxide. The rock is about 600 million years old and the only known deposits are in the east Kimberley region. You guessed it - Di just had to have some.

Zebra Rock Gallery

Bouganvillia

Di's Zebra Rock Pendant

The Zebra Rock Gallery is located on a Mango farm located on the shores of Lake Kununurra, and has extensive gardens running down to the water from the Gallery. They have a fish feeding (not catching) jetty where Catfish and Sooty Grunters (black bream) wait to be fed bread.

Fish waiting to be fed

View of Lake Kununurra from the jetty

No rush to get started today as it is only a 243 kms trip to Kununurra - even so we were on the road by 9:30 am. We must have passed dozens of trucks with trailers, trucks with caravans, and semis from the Moscow Circus heading west. We stopped at Warmun (Turkey Creek) for fuel - back to $1.97 per litre. Between Warmun and Doon Doon we came up behind a 4 trailer road train and settled in to follow him, apart from the hills he was maintaining a reasonable speed of 90 kph, and they are too hard for us to pass anyway.

Road Train

Too big to pass

We decided to stop at the Doon Doon Road House for lunch - toasted sandwiches and a cold drink. A lot of the Moscow Circus trucks were also stopping here, as well as a Hampton Road Train going the other way. These road trains are carting ore of some sort to Wyndham.

Doon Doon Road House

Moscow Circus heading west

There were 86 wheels - how many spares would you need?

As we left the roadhouse we encountered a couple of wild horses grazing on the side of the road, and just as we got near the decided to cross in front of us.

Horses on the road

They wait till you get close then run in front of you

As we approached Kununurra we crossed over the Diversion Dam that holds back Lake Kununurra and provides water for irrigation in the area.

Lake Kununurra Diversion Dam

Lake Kununurra from the Diversion Dam

We arrived at the Ivanhoe Caravan Village about mid afternoon and were allocated a large grassy site. There is obviously no shortage of water as there were spinklers on everywhere watering the sites. After setting up camp we made a trip to the supermarket to restock the larder, and also made some bookings for the El Questro Day Tour on Wednesday and the Triple J Boat tour to the base of the Ord River Dam for Thursday.

After our big day yesterday we had a lazy day today. We went for a walk aroung the Caravan Park and watched the helicopters taking passengers for their Bungles fly-overs - $250 for 30 minutes. Checked out the number-plates around the park and found some other Tasmanians who had arrived that day - the Guys who live at Beauty Point in Northern Tasmania and keep their yacht - an Adams 40 - at Kettering in Southern Tasmania.

That evening we had a BarBQ for dinner and wandered over to the campfire for more drinks and chatting to fellow travellers.

Entrance to the Bungle Bungles Caravan Park

A helicopter heading for the Bungles

The second helicopter waiting for passengers

A couple of Brahman bulls

Our camp site

A black Cockatoo

More Black Cockatoos

We were up early this morning for our 4WD Bus Tour into the Purnululu National Park, which is better known as the Bungle Bungles. Our transport was a 20 seat Izuz 4WD bus that was minus its bullbar that had been shaken off on the corrugations on a previous trip. The trip is 53 kms of badly corrugated road with 9 or 10 water crossings and more than 50 dry creek bed crossings - we were pleased that we had not travelled in the Navara. Our driver "Radar" has lived for about 9 years at Sheffield in Tasmania, and is one of a number of Tasmanians who are working the dry season at the Bungle Bungles. Radar's summer job is as a tour guide at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.

On the way into the National Park Radar maintained an almost non-stop commentary on Mabel Downs Station and the live cattle export industry. Mabel Downs, Alice Downs and Springvale are ajoining properties that are operated as one entity comprising a total of 1.7 million acres, with 16,000 head of mainly Brahman cattle bred for live export to Indonesia. About 12,000 calves are born each year, and the dingos account for about 2,000 of them. The National Park was excised from the Mabel Downs lease in 1987 and declared a World Heritage Area.

While most of the history of the recent live cattle export debacle and the failings of the Labor Government to support the industry are well known, what is not so well known is the fact that the minimum weight of cattle for export has been reduced from 350 kgs to 250 kgs which has handed Indonesia a major benefit at the expense of Australian cattle farmers.

It took about 2 hours to complete the 53 kms from the caravan park to the National Park Information Centre where we stopped briefly for a toilet stop and the opportunity to buy souvenirs. Back on the bus we headed for the Piccaninny Creek Car Park, a trip of about 25 kms to the southern end of the Park, where we had morning tea before heading off on a number of walks.

Re-boarding the bus at the Visitor Centre

Elephant Rocks

Rocky outcrop seen from the bus

View of the Bungles from the car park

Another view from the car park

Di at the Bungles car park

The Piccaninny Lookout was accessed by a short walk up Piccaninny Creek. Returning to the main track we continued on to Cathedral Gorge, a 3 kilometre walk that provided a good view of the striped beehive shaped domes the make up the Bungle Bungles. The walk ends at a large amphitheatre with enormous sheer walls. On the way back to the carpark we completed the shorter Domes Walk that gives a good close-up of some of the smaller domes. The beehive shaped domes are made up from alternate layers of different coloured sandstone, with the darker layers having less iron oxide than the lighter redder layers with more iron oxide.

View from the start of the walking trail

Domes

More domes

Even more domes

Still more domes

View from the Piccaninny Lookout

Another view from the Piccaninny Lookout

Termite mound on the top of a dome

Domes in the sun

More domes in the sun

Di posing again at the start of the Cathedral Gorge walk

Trail to Cathedral Gorge (looking back)

Trail to Cathedral Gorge

Heading into Cathedral Gorge

Rock slide on the Cathedral Gorge fault line

Dry waterfall at the head of Cathedral Gorge

Rock pool at the head of Cathedral Gorge

Cathedral Gorge fault line

View looking back from the head of Cathedral Gorge

Domes Walk

More Domes Walk

Last view of the Domes

Back at the bus we were provided with an excellent lunch before reboarding the bus for a 45 kms trip back past the Information Centre to Echidna Chasm at the northern end of the National Park. Echidna Chasm is a 2 km walk into a chasm in the red conglomerate rock that that has towering walls 200 metres high. The chasm gradually narrows until it gets to less than a metre wide at the bottom. The chasm is strewn with conglomerate boulders that have fallen down in years past. Best not to dwell on that too much!

Echidna Chasm car park

Palms on the trail

Conglomerate rock

Entering Echidna Chasm

Di in the Chasm

200 metres to the top of the Chasm

The Chasm is very narrow in places

David at the end of the Chasm

Di resting near the end of the Chasm

Full moon not far away

View from the Achidna Chasm car park

Back at the car park we boarded the bus for the 70 kms trip back to the caravan park - a trip that seemed much longer and much rougher than on the way in. On the way out we passed a 4WD towing a Trackmaster Offroad Caravan that had lost a tyre from the caravan and had continued on for a couple of kms without knowing that he was leaving parallel wheel ruts on the road. Single axle offroad trailers and caravans are permitted on the road but nothing larger - not sure why you would want to risk destroying a double axle caravan in the creek beds.

Back at the caravan park we had time to freshen up for happy hour before a dinner provided as part of our tour - Pea and Ham Soup, followed by Beef Stew with Rice. After dinner we spent several hours swapping experiences with fellow travellers and getting information on things to do in Kununurra. One of our fellow passengers on the bus tour had fallen over and suffered a sprained ankle at 3:00 am that morning while visiting the toilet. She was accosted by Hercules the Brahman Bull who wanders the caravan park at will but is apparently quite tame.

Hercules the Brahman bull at the back of our van

The set - up for dinner

A good fire in the fire pit

Fellow travellers

More travellers

Still more travellers

The Bungle Bungles are a definite highlight of our trip so far and the photos bearly do justice to their magnificence!