23 and 24 August 2009 Days 66 and 67 –
Kununurra. We left Parry’s Lagoon at 8 00 am with the intent of continuing along the Parry’s Creek Road and into Kununarra. Along the way we stopped in at
Mambi Island Boat ramp and coamping area to
check it out. It’s a great
free camp on the Lower
Ord River and ideal as a base for a few days fishing after we go to El Quetro and the Bungle Bungles.
We also stopped in at Black
Rock Waterhole and Middle Springs along the way . Neither on these spots had much water in them but we imagine they would be very picturesque after the wet season.
Black Rock Pool
Middle Springs
Not long after those stops we reached
Ivanhoe Crossing which had just over a foot of water rushing over the crossing. After successfully negotiating the crossing we stopped to watch a few other cars cross before making our way into
Kununurra.
Ivanhoe Crossing over the Ord River
Crossing the Ord River at Ivanhoe Crossing
Before we went to the Ivanhoe Caravan Park we dropped the outboard motor off at
Ord River Outboards where Ben promised to have a service completed on the outboard by lunch the next day – great service.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the caravan park pool, catching up on the blog and phone calls. Monday is a restocking morning, pick up the motor and head out to
El Questro for 3 or 4 days to explore the gorges and springs and then on to the Bungle Bungles.
24 to 27 August 2009 Days 67 and 70 –
El Questro. We arrived at
El Questro mid afternoon after an enjoyable drive mainly on the black top from Kununarra except for the last 40 km which was in really good condition. We went straight to the reception to book a
campsite for 3 nights, we could either
camp in the main
camping area or take a more secluded
campsite along the river – we chose the river option and were directed to a great site about 5 km from the main area where all the facilities were located.
Our El Questro Campsite
Next morning we were up early to start exploring the gorges and springs, we started with a walk into
Zebedee Springs and a relaxing soak in the hot springs that are fed from deep underground, the water temperature is around 28 to 30 degrees. Unfortunately we arrived around the time a tour group of retirees turned up so it was quite busy and not so quiet and relaxing. (insert from Linda – I felt like I was sharing my bath with about 30 over 70 year olds – yuck – I only lasted a few minutes and got out and took photos instead))
The thermal heated rock pools at Zebedee Springs
The boys in the rock pools
Boys will be boys!!
Next we were off to walk
Moonshine Gorge which was good fun along a mostly dry river bed to a small pool at the end that was great to have a dip in – we had this one to ourselves. (much better – Linda) The temperature has steadily risen over the last couple of weeks and most days the midday temperature is up around 37 degrees so any walk that has a swim involved is always a welcome treat.
The walk inot Moonshine Gorge and rock pool
The walk into Moonshine Gorge and rock pool
Rock hopping into the gorge
We had intended doing another
gorge walk but the heat beat us and we decided that after lunch we’d explore some 4 wheel drive tracks to a couple of lookouts and Explosion and Chamberlain gorges. The
views from Saddleback
Lookout were spectacular and the drive up to the
lookout good fun is was really steep, rocky and the
views well worth the drive.
On the way up to Saddleback Lookout
The view from Saddleback Lookout
The sttep trqck into Saddleback Lookout
THe spectacular view from Chamberlain Gorge Lookout
The drive into
Explosion gorge was also quite rough with lots of
rock hopping but again
the gorge is stunning and we got some great photos.
Explosion Gorge
Explosion Gorge
Rough drive into Explosion Gorge
On the way into
Chamberlain Gorge which also has a 3 km
waterhole we were able to see the exclusive
El Questro accommodation which sits on top of
the gorge with the deck area overhanging
the gorge – its very exclusive accommodation with the price tag to match.
The exclusive and secluded El Questro accommodation perched above Chamberlain Gorge
Chamberlain Gorge
The view driving back down from Chamberlain Gorge Lookout
The next morning we walked into
El Questro Gorge which involves wading across a pool to scale a large boulder before we were able to complete the second part of the walk to the end of
the gorge which finishes at a waterfall and pool (this part nearly bought me to tears, I was so stressed by the climb – Linda) – its really spectacular and
well worth the hard walk and scramble over the boulders to get to the end.
The gorge walls are very high and quite narrow most of the way so for much of the walk we were in the shade.
The picturesque walk into El Questro Gorge
The sheer gorge walls
The walk into El Questro Gorge
The walk into El Questro Gorge
Part of the challenging walk into El Questro Gorge
Jack scaling up the side of a small waterfall
Michael climbing inot El Questro Gorge
The end of the walk inot El Questro Gorge
After lots of swimming and lunch in
the gorge we went back to
camp for a relaxing arvo sitting on the riverbank watching Jack….. yes you guessed it – fishing!! He caught and released dozens of sooty grunter and archer fish and thoroughly enjoyed it. The water was very clear so he was sight fishing and giving us a commentary of what he was about to catch, what the ate, how large the grow etc– he loves his fishing.
Each afternoon we’d drive up to the main
camping area and have a shower in the excellent facilities followed by a campfire each night. Linda has perfected her damper cooking skills, branching out to adding in mixed fruit (Jack has asked for chocolate bits next time) and it’s a real treat having damper hot off the fire each night and , if there’s any left, for breakfast next morning.
Walking into Emma Gorge
Emma Gorge walk scenery
Emma Gorge
Emma Gorge waterfall and rock pool
Emma Gorge waterfall and rock pool
We packed up next morning early and drove to
Emma Gorge on the way to the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu).
Emma Gorge was stunning and probably the best
gorge and pool we’ve been to, the walk in was similar to the other
El Questro gorges in many ways but the waterfall and pool are absolutely brilliant and quite a surprise. After a relaxing swim and another at the Resort pool we headed off for the 270 km drive to the Bungle Bungles.
27 to 30 August 2009 Days 70 and 73 – Bungle Bungles. The drive is mainly on bitumen except for the last 50 or so kms into the Park
Visitor Centre where we paid our camping fees and headed off to the 7 km to the northern
Kurrajong camping area. All reports had us expecting a really rough slow drive in but we were pleasantly surprised it took us only a bit under 90 minutes to drive in. We arrived and set up
camp in a shady spot amongst the trees and had an early night after playing some cards. Jack is hooked on poker, Linda says there must be some academic aspect to playing cards although I’m still trying to work out what – maybe maths.
Again it was really hot by 8 00 am so we decided to get up early and hike into a couple of the walks in the coolest part of the day. We did the Mini Palms
Gorge which was an easy walk to a
gorge filled with mini palms – funny about that!
Mini Springs walk scenery
Walking into Mini Springs
Mini Springs walk scenery
Mini Springs walk scenery
Mini Springs walk scenery
Mini Springs walk
Jack walking into Mini Springs
The walk was a tight squeeze in places
There's even crocs in the Bungle Bungles
We then walked into
Echidna Chasm, a long narrow chasm with striking colours depending on where the sun is at. Livistona palms grow on the
cliff walls which are as high as 200metres.
Echidna Chasm walk
Echidna Chasm walk
Echidna Chasm walk
Echidna Chasm with the sun nearly above the chasm
Echidna Chasm walk
The afternoon was spent lazing around
camp. I came up with the ingenious idea of filling buckets of water and using the 12volt shower to cool us off – it did the job and was good fun. We went up to the Kungkalahayi
Lookout just before sunset to watch the domes of the Bungle Bungles change colour (along with most of the campers at the
campsite).
Next morning it was off for an early walk into
Cathedral Gorge which took us past the famous striped
sandstone beehives of the Bungle Bungles, dried up waterfalls that only run in the wet season and into the huge
amphitheatre after which
the gorge is named. On the way to
cathedral Gorge we booked a 30 minute helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungles.
THe beehive domes
Walking into Cathedral Gorge
Walking into Cathedral Gorge
Cathedral Gorge
Cathedral Gorge
Cathedral Gorge
So after
the gorge walk it was off to the helipad for the chopper ride over the Bungle Bungles. It was an awesome flight with great
views, there certainly are a myriad of gorges that have not been opened to explore yet and it was great to see them from the air. The flight gave us a better appreciation of the extent of the Bungle Bungles – it is a huge system covering over 300,000 hectares.
Linda the co-pilot
The Bungle Bungles from the chopper
Great Bungle Bungles views
Untouched gorges
Untouched gorges
Bungle bungles views
The afternoon was spent the same as the day before cooling off at
camp and doing some maintenance on the car and camper trailer before we leave the Bungle Bungles for the drive back to
Kununurra tomorrow.