Kununurra

Thursday 25 July 2013

Kununurra

Up at dawn as usual at El Questro with a breakfast of cereal and toast. The pack up went smoothly until we were ready to depart. Paul could not get a connection to the trailer fridge as a problem with the earth wire prevented this. I think that we finWe were over it so just left it and headed out to Emma Gorge which is on our way into Kununurra.

Emma Gorge is part of El Questro Station but is 2km on the northern side of the Gibb. Besides the walk into the gorge there is an upmarket guest resort. We were very lucky today as there are bushfires in the area and the park has been closed for 3 days. It opened today. The walk into the gorge is 2km along a rocky path and we made good time. The falls are quite spectacular although at this time of the year only a small trickle of water is falling over the top falls. Nevertheless, the walk into and out of was quite spectacular.

Emma Gorge falls

Emma Gorge

We made good time into Kununurra as the road is bitumised from the El Questro turnoff. We arrived around midday and found the Kimberley Land Caravan Park and set up for our week in Kununurra. I had booked a powered site back in May at we were told without a booking it was highly likely we would not find a powered site in the town. The park is very large and is just packed with tourists – lots of Victorians here as Paul has found out. We decided to immediately book a flight over the Bungles and Lake Argyle for Sunday morning – a two hour flight costing $315. We are all looking forward to this event.

Our campsite is at the base of a 2000 year old boab – we are camped in the shade of this massive tree and I am totally in awe of its age. I am not a tree hugger but this one gets a big hug each morning – it must be at least 30m in circumference. We purchased some supplies that afternoon and the Red Beast received a badly needed wash – the bucket loads of red dust and dirt that came off it filled the wash bay area flowing down into the lagoon. I feel a little embarrassed now that it looks pristine. One of the campers stated that don’t feel bad as it won’t take long to look like all the other vehicles in the park.

Dinner tonight was chops, mashed potato, peas, corn and broccoli. We had to eat this in two shifts as the size of the chops was a huge challenge for Chef Rob who had limited cookware at his disposal. However in indomitable Schock spirit, he rose to the challenge leaving his two hungry colleagues wide eyed and gushing in admiration. (One finger is stuck down my throat!). The movie was the second half of Shutter Island which Rob rated as 3 out of 10. We then proceeded to watch “The Thing”, one of Paul’s favourites, but unfortunately it sent us all to sleep. Oh well there is always tomorrow night. Cheers.

El Questro - day 3

Wednesday 24 July 2013

El Questro – day 3

Up at 6am at first light. Rob was in his element this morning and decided to cook up an El Questro big breakfast of sausages, tomato, baked beans, poached eggs with toast and coffee. This should sustain us for our drive and hike into El Questro Gorge this morning.

The gorge itself is a 6km drive from the Station where we are camped. The drive into the gorge was interesting and involved the longest and deepest drive across a creek yet – the watercourse was around 800mm deep - with the water coming up to the top of the tyres – door seals were all good with no water coming into the vehicle. Another plus for the Red Beast!

Drive into El Questo Gorge

The walk into the gorge was very interesting as it was a narrow gorge with lots of the Livistona
palms (nasmophila livistona) and several types of ferns growing on the walls of the gorge. The walk in was very slow as the pathway was all rocks and small boulders. It never ceases to amaze me the people who walk in with no shoes, no hats or no water.

 

 

Boulder blocking gorge walk

 

We returned to the Station where we are camped and feeling a little peckish we decided to head up to the canteen for a pie. However Paul and I elected to buy a ham and salad roll while Rob had a steak and pepper pie.

During mid afternoon we drove out to the Chamberlain Gorge where we boarded a small boat holding about 40 people for a one and half hour tour of the gorge. It was all very interesting and of course we were hoping to see crocs but were disappointed when we did not even see one. The gorge formations and colouring in the late afternoon sun was quite spectacular. The highlight of the cruise of course was the cold champagne mid way through the tour where the boat turned around. We were expecting a glass (really a plastic cup) but instead had as much as we wanted. I of course was quite restrained with only 3 small cupfuls but I cannot speak for the other two who made a real spectacle of themselves. Anybody would think that they had never had a drink before. The champagne was accompanied by slices of fruit including watermelon, rockmelon etc. The drive back to the station at the end of the cruise was very interesting with certain words that I had never heard of before coming from the mouths of both Rob and Paul. The cruise cost us $55 each and I can thoroughly recommend it.

 

 

That night I cooked up a tuna pasta dish with my secret herbs and spices being added. The boys gutsed it all down with Robert being heard to say – “no bullshit Lindsay, the combination of flavours in this meal is extraordinary”.  For our regular movies, we watched the first half of Shutter Island with Leonardo de Caprio but called it quits after one member elected to down tools and go to bed. Cheers.

El Questro - day 2

Tuesday 23 July 2013

El Questro

We arose this morning after a good night’s sleep by all. The first item on the agenda was to head out to Zebedi Springs before 7am. This is a thermal pool open from 7am to 12 noon. They are very popular and the car park quickly fills as we have been told and they then close them off. The water temperature sits at 28-30 degrees Celsius. We managed to drive out there and be in position when the ranger opened the gates. The springs are smaller than I envisaged and cannot cater for large numbers. We managed to find several small pools up near the source and plonk ourselves down – in the early morning it was just magic. The springs are set at the base of a cliff and run all year round. There is a large stand of Livistona nasmophila palms, remnants of an earlier age, many around 18m high. They are quite magnificent and seem to be thriving in and around the springs. After we had a bathe for an hour or so we returned back to camp and enjoyed a breakfast of cereal, fresh milk and banana.

 

We then decided to explore the area – the only way is by car – so we headed out to the Chamberlain Gorge to locate the jetty where we will undertake a boat cruise tomorrow afternoon. After we found it we decided to put the Red Beast into 4 wheel drive and do some exploring. We crossed the Chamberlain River on an extremely rocky river crossing – the Nissan experienced a few whacks from large rocks with the sump guard working overtime. We managed to climb a steep hill and found ourselves on top of Branco’s Lookout looking down at both the Chamberlain and Pentecost rivers. We got a good view of the homestead where guests pay 2500 dollars a night to maintain their privacy. We then headed to Explosion Hole another gorge that was accessible by 4wd. Had to use both high and low range to negotiate the track but the views at the end of the 30 minute drive in were worth it.

El Questro Homestead

Pentacost River from Branco's Lookout

Pentacost River

 

We returned and had an enjoyable lunch of fresh bread, sweet chilli tuna, tomatoes and cheese, followed up by our famous Stirling Oranges. Still in good nick and as sweet as ever. A nice change from our normally austere lunches. After lunch we did our own thing with Paul chaffing to do some repairs to the trailer. He replaced the shackles on the underside of the trailer and replaced and rewired the trailer plug that had effectively been destroyed. Rob had a snooze and I decided to post a blog. I have accessed the wifi here – quite expensive and very slow. I was successful with one post after one hour of time but had lots of problems so thought I would now wait until we were in Kununurra before I tried again.

El Questro

Monday 22 July 2013

El Questro

Up at first light at Hope Valley Station with a breakfast of an egg on toast enjoyed by all. As we only had a short distance to cover today there was no urgency in breaking camp. After breakfast we decided to drive out to the lookout to the Cockburn Ranges to see if we could get a Telstra signal on Rob’s phone. Last night I had seen a tourist sitting at the site when I was taking photos of the evening light on the ranges and heard her say that she had two bars on her Telstra dongle. I also remembered reading somewhere that people were able to pick up a Telstra signal here some 90km distance from Wyndham as there was no interruption to the signal. Rob was successful and he had a good chat to Lee.

We returned to camp and then took a drive to the Pentecost River to view some of the other camp sites that were available. Whilst there are crocs in the river, several people were barramundi fishing. We headed back to the station, packed up and headed out onto the Gibb road. This last section of road was some of the worst that we have encountered as far as rock and corrugation goes. We were thankful it was relatively short as something would have or should have given. Perhaps everything that was to go wrong with the trailer has gone wrong. And yes when we arrived at El Questro we found that the shackles at the end of the suspension limiting chains on the underside of the trailer had unscrewed and fallen off. Paul was concerned that without these we would do further damage to the trailer if we continued on the rough roads.

Dingo (one of many seen on roadside)

Corrugation and more corrugation on the Gibb

Pentecost River crossing

We were quite impressed with El Questro as we drove the 16km into the campsite at the Station house. The road was in good condition compared with the Gibb. We managed to secure a site and paid $60 for a car permit for three days followed by $20pp per day for 3 days ($180) for a campsite. The campground is one of the better ones we have encountered and comes with lots of shade, excellent ablutions and tap water. The place is a tourist mecca with all requirements being catered for – helicopter/fixed wing flights, tours by 4wd and boat, and up market accommodation at the station house overlooking the Chamberlain Gorge for $2500 per day. So we cannot complain at what we are paying. Another problem for us was that the shop had very limited resupplies of food and drink and what they had was very expensive.

Campsite El Questro

El Questro station

We are located 110km from Kununurra but given the need to purchase some replacement shackles and a new lead connector as well as buying food and alcohol we decided to head into town. We have not been able to purchase alcohol anywhere since we left Derby and once we ran out of our initial supplies we have been on the dry. I do need to correct myself however – at two of the cattle stations we stayed at – Drysdale River Station and Hope Valley Station, we have purchase drinks from the bar but only to drink at the bar. They did not sell retail. We decided to head into town and much to our surprise, once we got to the turnoff to the Gibb, we were on bitumen. What a surprise as we had expected a corrugated road for 36km until we reached the Wyndham-Kununurra Road. Anyway we took advantage of this and were soon in Kununurra where we quickly located a Coles and purchase food and drink. We also needed cash as there are no ATMs on the Gibb and if they are to be found, they are all U/S. We were able to top up the kitty as some of us were in debit. Paul also located an Auto Pro store and purchased his requirements and we finally filled the tank with diesel for $1.91 a litre. We headed home and noted a large bushfire burning in the vicinity of Emma Gorge – which means the Gorge has been closed for a couple of days. Hopefully it will not impact on us as we plan to see them on Thursday on our drive into Kununurra.

We returned to the campsite around 6pm and I quickly cooked a dinner of tuna mornay. Very tasty and nothing left after the boys hoed into it. Given that we were nearly off the Gibb we decided to have a celebration drink and enjoyed some Jacobs Creek Cab Merlot 2011 followed by several cans of cold VB. We had visitors to our campsite last night as one of our neighbours had refilled the generator while we were gone into town and he got it started for us. He used his own unleaded fuel so we thought one good turn deserved another and we gave him a couple of cold VBs. We have come across many campers in their 70s – retired who keep returning to the north for their holidays and they travel in packs with their mates. There were four in this group and we have seen them on and off during our trek out from Derby. They reckon they had a good laugh at us at King Edward River crossing when we first arrived and were trying to work out which way to park the trailer in order to minimise the sun and maximise our shade. You can imagine with 3 strong willed blokes all with an opinion it must have looked funny. Of course we saw the funny side in their comments and that just led to an excuse to have another beer. We were up late celebrating and must have been a bit noisy as we did not get to bed until around 11pm – the camp had been quiet since 8pm. We recalled lying in bed on previous nights listening to other noisy campers and quietly cursing them for their noise but it was our turn last night together with our immediate neighbours to play up.

 

Home Valley Station

Sunday 21 July 2013

Home Valley Station

Up at the usual time at Drysdale River Station – last night was the coldest that we have experienced and all of us had our sleeping bags zipped up. It was a big change from what we had experienced to date especially the balmy weather at McGowan’s. It was a nice change to experience some cooler weather – whilst it was cold; there was very little dew on the canvas this morning. Breakfast was cereal, milk, coffee and we finished off the last of the raisin bread for toast. The pack up proceeded smoothly and was completed quickly as we did not erect the annex – only in location for one night. Before we departed, Paul could not get a green light from the battery controller so the problems with the trailer battery charging continue. Yesterday we found the trailer plug had worked loose and was dragging on the ground. Unfortunately the cover was worn off and the wires exposed. Paul has done his best to keep it running using up quantities of gaffer tape to provide protection and to stop it falling off. We decided to depart anyway as the fridge ran cold over night so it would stay cool for most of the day.

I drove the 59km from Drysdale to the intersection of the Gibb and Kalumburu Road and Robert took over driving duties. The Gibb is quite corrugated and rocky so much care was needed to prevent damage to the tyres and underside of the vehicle and trailer. Unfortunately we lost a telescopic strut on the trailer as it came out of its ball joint and was dragging on the ground. A vehicle that passed us alerted us to what had happened. The strut on the other side of the trailer had already died on the drive to Derby but was still connected to the trailer. Both of these will need to be replaced ASAP as they aid greatly with opening and closing the trailer hardtop. The scenery during the drive was quite picturesque and I took several photos as we were driving – I had the front passenger seat so I was able to do this. We stopped along the track for a break and bite to eat – this being a cold soft drink, a pear each and two biscuits each. Paul is still having problems adjusting to the minimal lunches but he is hanging in there.

Lunch

(Note Lucy - cleanshaven at last)

We continued on our journey with Paul driving the remainder of the distance into Home Valley. Today we covered a distance of 260 km from Drysdale - one of the longer stretches we have tackled in a day. The Nissan has performed admirably and has been a pleasure to drive on these roads or should I say goat tracks. It is a shame that the trailer fittings have not been up to standard – the underside or independent suspension has been brilliant and has ridden the corrugation extremely well – much better than any single axle trailer. Also the dust seals on all of the openings, other than the battery compartment, have worked well and have managed to keep the dust out of all the key areas including our sleeping area.

The scenery driving through the Cockburn Ranges was simply stunning as the photos will attest.

Lookout to Cockburn Ranges

Three amigos

 

Evening views

Views of the ranges

Sunset over ranges

We arrived at Home Valley Station around 2pm and right from the start we were immediately impressed by the place. Someone has spent a lot of money building the infrastructure – the place caters for all levels of tourists from the top end eco style accommodation and conference facilities right down to basic camping sites on the Pentecost River. You just need to watch out for saltwater crocs! We have decided to pay for a powered site so that we can recharge the trailer battery and run the fridge without having to rely on the generator, which makes a nice change. The powered site cost us $20 while each of us was required to pay $17 a head for the night. I believe the cost is warranted as I have just used the ablutions and they were fantastic. Water that ran hot and cold with varying water pressure, a flushing toilet that works and a basin with a mirror all in the one cubicle. The design is brilliant.

 

Twin boabs at Homevalley campground

 

This evening we decided to visit the Dusty Bar and Grill and booked in for 6pm. It was a bit of a milestone for us – whilst we are still on the Gibb, the worst of the road conditions is now behind us. We are only about 100km from Wyndham and our next step is El Questro, some 45km away. Yes the hard yards have been done!  Just as well as I am not sure if the trailer could have endured much more. A couple of ales were just the start that we needed after being on the dry for so long. Rob enjoyed a slab of barramundi – I say slab because it was huge, Paul had some dainty chicken breast pieces and I had the Home Valley lamb with mashed pumpkin and potato, broccoli and carrots. We had to top off our delicious dinner with sticky date pudding and ice-cream although Rob held back – he heard that word would likely get back to Lee and did not want to incur her wrath. I am most impressed by his discipline when it comes to eating or should I say not eating certain items of food. Enough said!

We are all looking forward to visiting El Questro tomorrow and of course our week stay in Kununurra. Cheers for now.

 

Drysdale River Station

Saturday 20 July 2013

Drysdale River Station

Up at the usual time. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon and baked beans. We packed up with no hassles and were ready to move out at 8.30am. We drove into Kalumburu and picked up some supplies – bread, milk, fruit, etc but could not purchase fuel as the mission fuel depot was closed on Saturday and Sunday. Anyway we had sufficient in the tank to get to Drysdale and we also had a 20 litre jerry can of diesel. Paul then drove from Kalumburu to the Mitchell Falls turnoff – the first 60km of this road was a goat track but the final 40km improved. It took us 2 hours and 15 mins to drive the 103km. Robert then took over driving duties and continued driving the remaining distance from the turnoff to Drysdale Station. We arrived at 1.30pm after travelling a further 100km which took us just under two hours.

We had stayed at Drysdale River Station on our drive up to Kalumburu and were keen to make a return visit to savour the famous Kimberley beef burger. As long as we ordered the burgers before 2pm, we would be served. Maybe that is why Robert made such good time on the drive down from Kalumburu. That was our first priority.  We dropped Rob off at the bar so that he could order the burgers while Paul and I located the last powered site (1 of 6) and then positioned the trailer and plugged in the car fridge. We unhitched it and then drove over to the bar area for a well deserved burger and Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Just as we remembered – perfection in a bun! Boy did they taste good after our meagre rations of the past week. Even Rob relented this time and had the large Kimberley burger but without the fries. Very impressive!

 River Crossing

 



We had stayed at Drysdale River Station on our drive up to Kalumburu and were keen to make a return visit to savour the famous Kimberley beef burger. As long as we ordered the burgers before 2pm, we would be served. Maybe that is why Robert made such good time on the drive down from Kalumburu. That was our first priority. We dropped Rob off at the bar so that he could order the burgers while Paul and I located the last powered site (1 of 6) and then positioned the trailer and plugged in the car fridge. We unhitched it and then drove over to the bar area for a well deserved burger and Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Just as we remembered – perfection in a bun! Boy did they taste good after our meagre rations of the past week. Even Rob relented this time and had the large Kimberley burger but without the fries. Very impressive!

 

Drysdale refuelling

Kimberley Burger

All gone

The afternoon was spent relaxing after we set up the trailer. That evening we went over to the bar and had a couple of ales – Rob had red wine and said that he was off beer. We said – for how long? He said that he would let us know when he was ready for a cold beer. I don’t think that we will have to wait too long! The toilet and shower block at Drysdale is one of the better ones we have seen in our travels and all of us enjoyed its use after the third world conditions we put up with at McGowan’s. And then the movie of the night was ‘No Country for Old Men’ starring the indomitable Tommy Lee Jones. Again a bit gory and blood thirsty but the boys were all up to the viewing and enjoyed it. The ending was a bit of a letdown though. Cheers for now.