Touring Through The Kimberley Part II

This is the continuation of My Tour Through The Kimberley. I left off at day 4 in the Bungle Bungles. If you haven’t read Part I yet, you can find it here!

Day 5

We got up with sunrise as usual and began the bumpy ride out of Purnululu National Park. The drive was full of excitement as we saw lots of different wildlife including emus, a big wallaroo, and a Wedge-Tailed Eagle, which is the largest bird of prey in Australia. It was wonderful seeing these beautiful creatures in the wild. After driving for the entire morning we turned onto the famous Gibb River Road. The Gibb River Road is an unpaved, red dirt road that goes through some of the most beautiful parts of The Kimberley.

From there it was a short drive to Emma Gorge, our main attraction for the day. We had lunch and began our walk, although CO stayed behind to nurse her bum ankle. The walk was a short 3 kilometers, slightly rocky, and well worth any effort. Emma Gorge was gorgeous! It looked like a fairy haven. The water was perfectly clear and the walls were covered in beautiful ferns. The waterfall was dry, but there was just enough water coming down the walls that it was “raining” from the ceiling.

None of my pictures do Emma Gorge justice, but it was probably my favorite stop of the entire trip. I floated on the surface of the water, stared up at the ferns, and watched the little birds swoosh around. With my ears under the water I could hear the gentle drops of rain hitting the surface of the pond. It was a beautiful experience that I wish I could have shared with every one of you.

We made it to camp by 4pm. El Questro had all the fixin’s, including a bar. After we set up camp Annelies hollered “to the bar!” to which we all responded “to the bar!” back at her. I ordered a glass of wine and we chatted about silly things over a beautiful sunset. When we trickled back to camp Annelies already had dinner prepared. She had snuck away from happy hour to barbecue steaks and sausages. It was a feast! The steaks had been flavored with a taco seasoning packet, which I thought was a brilliant idea. After we gorged ourselves to capacity we sat around the cozy campfire before turning in.

Day 6

Today was our big hiking day, so the first thing we did was relax at Zebedee Hot Springs. The hot springs are only open to us “common folk” for a few hours in the morning, until they close at noon. After that it’s only open to the residents of the very fancy El Questro Lodge.

So we lounged around like kings and queens and enjoyed the perfect temperature of the water. We passed the time by exchanging work horror stories, which everyone was enthusiastic to share. After a good hour Annelies told us it was time to go. We lugged ourselves out of the hot springs and made our way back to the bus.

Our big hike to El Questro Gorge had begun! CO’s ankle was feeling better, and with the help of a stick she completed the first section of the hike. The riverbed was gorgeous and the ferns glowed bright green in the sun.

At the half way point we took a quick break and got ready for the challenging obstacle ahead of us. We had to  climb over a big boulder to continue on, so we all got in the pond and formed a chain to pass our bags over the water. Once our bags were safely on the other side we pulled ourselves out of the water and scrambled up the boulder. Everyone made it over successfully, although perhaps not gracefully.

We climbed up the left, jumped in on the right.

We continued the rest of the hike in our bathing suits. Clad in bikinis we climbed over boulders, butt-scooted down rocks, and scrambled as best we could. We were rewarded by a nice little waterfall and swimming hole. Everyone jumped in to cool off from the hike. The reflection of the water jumped off the surface and made a unique pattern on the gorge walls. After my swim I enjoyed a PBJ in the sun and watched the reflections dance around.

As we headed back AO mentioned how cloudy it was.  In the distance the clouds were rolling in dark and ominous. It looked like rain was on the way. We hurried along the trail but soon enough a hard rain caught up with us. After a slippery walk back we made it to the half-way pond. It wasn’t hard to convince people to jump in because everyone was already soaked. Annelies jumped first and went to the other side of the boulder to grab everyone’s backpacks. I lowered the gear down while the group followed her to make another backpack chain. I was the last to jump in, and with a laugh at the irony of how wet I already was, made the plunge.

When our gear was safely on the rocky bank we pulled on our boots and finished the last part of our hike. By the time we got back to the bus the rain had stopped. We went back to camp and made burgers for lunch. Afterwards everyone went into a food coma and went off to relax.

I wandered up to the bar with my book and sat down with a glass of Chardonnay. Even though I didn’t want “All Things Wise and Wonderful” to end, I was dying to finish it. About 5 minutes later LeO walked by. We started chatting and soon she joined me. A half hour went by and CO walked up, ordered a glass of wine, and also sat down with us. We chatted the afternoon away, and stealing this expression from CO, “We were very happy before happy hour.”

MO rolled around for 5 o’clock happy hour and it was on. Four women several drinks in, gossiping like a weave circle. We almost felt bad for having this conversation, but one of the girls pointed out “Men have these conversations all the time.” The topic was “What is one physical thing that makes you crazy over a man?” After much discussion we came up with bums, arms, a nice smile, and knee caps. Yes knee caps. A flat knee cap is supposed to signify a well-formed leg (who knew?).

The conversation went on well into the evening, and after 4 rounds we made our way back to camp. Annelies was hard at work making campfire roasted lamb and veggies. Yum! Although a little grainy from the sand around the fire, dinner was very tasty. Besides, a little dirt never killed anyone. After dinner everyone went up for another drink and we continued our scandalous discussion about the best male features. Belly full, it didn’t take long before I took my leave and crawled into my sleeping bag.

Day 7

I woke up at sunrise to the sound of crows. The crows made incredible noises at El Questro, and I wish I had recorded them. From machine-gun sounds to human-like groans, I didn’t put any noise past these birds. We broke down camp and climbed into our faithful bus. We had a long driving day ahead but Annelies had us eager for our first stop – a roadhouse known for homemade scones. She went on and on about how tasty they were, but when we pulled onto the side road there was a sign that said “Roadhouse Closed for Private Event.” Noooooo!!! Sadly we were not going to have homemade scones for breakfast.

We continued down the Gibb River Road, which consistently offered beautiful views of the Kimberley. Our first stop was to view aboriginal Australian artwork. We got out of the bus for a short 5 minute stroll and reached a hidden rock face with the artwork. It was intriguing, but unfortunately Annelies didn’t know much about what we were looking at. She explained “The aboriginal people are not going to give us their history and culture after we’ve stolen their lands from them. So they haven’t told us what the artwork means.” Sadly this made sense to me. Though I would have loved to know the meaning behind it, the artwork is a mystery.

We could make out this artwork – a crocodile.

We made a quick stop at Mt Barnett Roadhouse to fuel up and grab an ice cream. I had been looking for a stubby holder since the start of the trip, but hadn’t found the perfect one. A stubby holder (or koozie), is a big deal in Australia, and I was the only person on the trip without one. Stubbie holders were sold everywhere, but I hadn’t found I really liked. I looked behind the cash register and saw it right there. My perfect stubby holder! It had boab trees on it, which I was particularity fond of. It even had a grammar error to give it some personality. I bought it and have used it regularly since.

Our fearless leader filling up Roger

There was a big boab tree next to our campsite at Manning Gorge. This was the first time I’d seen one of these impressive trees up close. Camp was also right next to a river so we grabbed our bathing suits and jumped in. It was another beautifully refreshing swim. Annelies swam up the river to a hidden rope swing, which she grabbed hold of and swung from gracefully. I gave it a try and am not surprised to report that I was less than graceful. Watching everyone take a turn at the rope swing was the entertainment of the day. It became difficult to laugh and tread water at the same time. After an exciting hour in the river we decided it was time for a siesta and went back to camp.

Annelies was always pulling something out of her sleeve, and today was no exception. Since we didn’t get our scones earlier in the day she decided to makes some fresh ones over the campfire. I couldn’t believe it! She made the batter from scratch, whipped the cream by hand, and baked them in a cast iron pot over the fire. The scones were awesome, and they made me think of my mom’s amazing campfire cooking when we go camping together. This certainly wasn’t something I’d mastered yet. I might be able to cook a couple steaks, but definitely not whip up some scones by hand. Props to you Annelies!

Whatever you do, don’t camp here!

This was our last night for a campfire. We sat around and listened to a brave couple people play guitar and sing songs (mostly Adele, as was the trend on this trip). It couldn’t get any better. The night was nice and warm, our bellies were full, and the stars were incredible. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Day 8

Today we started our hike directly from camp in our bathing suits. We had to swim across the river to get to the trail head. I’d normally complain about swimming first thing in the morning, but it was already the beginning of a hot day. When everyone was safely on the other side of the river we began our hike. It was a relatively flat trail to Manning Gorge, but decently long. When we arrived at the Gorge the waterfall was nonexistent but the swimming hole was still full. I could see the dark shade where the waterfall would have been, and could easily imagine it flowing during the rainy season. After a good swim and some rock-jumping we lounged around in the sun for a while. I think we were all trying to take advantage of our last day.

When we got back to camp Annelies called for afternoon tea. This was not something we normally did so there were no objections. Any excuse to eat was a good one. Plus, we had to eat Melony, the hitchhiker we had picked up 2 days ago. Melony was sweet and juicy, and went very well together with cheese and biscuits. (Melony is a watermellon, in case you thought we were eating an actual person).

After tea time I plopped into my usual seat on the bus and someone behind me said “This bus is starting to look like a living room.” Indeed it was. The bus was a glorious mess. The backseat was full of drinks and backpacks. The windows had makeshift curtains. I smiled to myself. Our little group was like a family now.

Bell Gorge brought something new and exciting to the trip – vicious flies. Up until this point we had only been around regular flies. Bell Gorge had big evil flies that buzzed loud circles around your head and took bites out of your skin. We quickly hiked to the top of the waterfall where most of our group stayed. Only four of us walked to the bottom of Bell Gorge. It was officially our last swim and I wanted to take it all in. The sun, the breeze, the perfectly cool water, and the stunning scenery. That is until a giant fly bit my forehead and we decided it was time to go.

Tea time had taken longer than expected and Annelies was starting to get antsi. “We need to get to camp before sunset so we can see the bats.” The group was intrigued, and even though it was a fast, bumpy ride along the Gibb River Road, Annelies made it to our campsite just before sunset. We didn’t even set up camp, but immediately grabbed our headlamps and made our way to Windjana Gorge. It was a nice little stroll to the riverbed where we sat ourselves down among the other onlookers.

Annelies hadn’t gone into detail about the bats, so we didn’t know what to expect. As if on que, thousands upon thousands of bats took to the sky. The bats were flying towards sunset on their way to feed. There were also a ton of freshwater crocodiles in front of us, and the sunset threw the most brilliant colors onto the gorge. BO commented “It’s like mother nature on acid,” and I would say that’s a pretty accurate description. We sat there for a long time taking everything in. Not only were the bats coming from the river bank in font of us, but up from the gorge as well. They just kept coming and the black mass got continuously thicker. It was an amazing spectacle.

The bats finally began to thin out. Before we went to our campsite Annelies made us shine our lights at the water in front of us. There was an ominous amount of eyes peering back. We estimated about 100 freshwater crocodiles in this part of the river. It really was mother nature on acid! We made our way back to camp and enjoyed out last dinner together. When I headed to my tent I gazed up at the sky and took one last look at the brilliant stars.

Day 9

Our last day of the trip had arrived and it was just as fun as the other days. First thing we did was go back to Windjana Gorge to explore in the daylight. The bats were sleeping in the trees and the crocs had moved up river into the shade. Windjana gorge is an old Devonian reef that was similar to the Great Barrier Reef 350 million years ago . There were fish fossils in the limestone, and when I looked up at the ancient rocks I could easily see the representation of a barrier reef.

We drove down the road to Tunnel Creek. This was a unique stop on our trip because there was a story behind it. Jandamarra was a famous aboriginal outlaw of the 1890’s. He grew up as an aboriginal but at a young age began working on the cattle stations with Europeans. As a young man he was cast out of his aboriginal community for breaking the law, and began working as a tracker for the Europeans. Consequently, Jandamarra turned on his kinsmen.

At one point he helped capture a group of his aboriginal community who had been arrested for stealing sheep. After many days of leading his old friends and family to their fate he helped them escape. Thus he became a fugitive, but he evaded capture for many years. The Europeans enlisted the help of Micki, another aboriginal tracker. Micki successfully followed Jandamarra to Tunnel Creek where he made his last stand against the Europeans and was killed in 1897.

Can you see the bats on the ceiling?

Tunnel Creek was spooky. We walked through the dark water with our headlamps and saw lots of bats and the occasional crocodile. The female crocodiles were laying eggs this time of year, and when Annelies saw a female crocodile in the middle of the sandbank she declared we couldn’t go any further. She didn’t want to risk walking past a female guarding her eggs, so we turned back whence we came.

Our very last stop today was the Boab Prison Tree, which wasn’t the most happy end to our trip. This is a huge, hollow boab tree that police once used to jail aboriginals awaiting trial in Derby. It was hard to imagine people chained to the tree during the incredibly hot days of the Kimberley summer (or any day for that matter).

On the last leg of the drive we also passed the longest cattle trough in the world. How exciting! (Wait, a cattle trough?) Yes, a trough. This was officially our last sight on the tour and we only had one more stop to make before parting ways. The beach! The beautiful, sandy, salty, wonderful beach. We had a lovely sunset and it was the perfect way to say goodbye. Over the next few days we saw each other frequently, but our numbers dwindled as each one of us departed in search of new adventures.

If you’re ever in Northern Australia you have to do this tour. It was an incredible experience. The amount of wonderful places we saw can’t compare to your average tour. In fact, I would recommend coming to this random part of Australia just for this tour! Of course, the guide and people make the experience almost as much as the stops along the way, and in that aspect I lucked out. We had a great group, and our guide, Annelies, is a badass that I won’t soon forget.