There are so many gorges to look at here and we have a long day, Lu and I look at the map we cant see Manning because the turn around is 3 and half hours. We choose Galvin Gorge – its stunning the pool is small but very deep but the water is crystal clear. I am sorry we did not pack a small bag and come and have breakfast here it’s the kind of place you would want to spend a few hours at.
We have a really long day 400k of dirt road to El Questro. Most of the Kimberly’s is the good – this stretch of the road is the bad and the ugly all wrapped up in one, corrugations shake Des so hard her teeth rattle. Here we constantly hear the crackle of the UHF, the road is windy and you can see dust trails miles off but vehicles still remind you that they are approaching. “Breaker breaker – this is Desert Demon do you copy ? – vehicle approaching “ just to get into it.
Because this part of the trip is dead-shit boring unrelenting scrub trees no mountains I decided I will tell you about the people you will meet on this trip.
The Touries.
These are oldies that tour on busses. They have no sense of adventure. The women are mostly well over 100 kilos and about 4 foot two bricks and a reefer tall. Their skin is translucent, they don’t see much of the sun on account of watching television but also want to say they have been to the outback. They are the scourge of the outback, like locusts if you get to a place after them they have eaten everything.
The Dromedari- Maxius and Minimus
Named after a camel that can carry up to 800 kilos. They have got everything with them, packed to the gills, fishing rods, bicycles , TV antennae , pots pans, sporting gear , and even snow skis just in case it snow’s be prepared be over prepared. They are keen to show you their small inventions , little changes that they have thought of – Solar lights and showers. – They are nice people that do have a knowledge of people and places they respect the land and its ways.
The Designer Wannabee Swagman
They have the look but nothing else. You can spot them by the Gucci sunglasses and the $200 bottle of wine they are drinking, the women have make up – to show off the collagen lips and see through tops to show off their sculptured breasts, they have Colarado clothing, The thought of backing one out in the bush would make their heart stop. Fortunately they don’t go further Broome from the West or El Questro from the East.
The Salties
These are the true blues. They travel light well packed , but nothing elaborate, they are the ones you will find in the gorges and the pools, doing the walks, feeling and smelling the bush. They are engaging keen to get information easy to talk to. Understated not ostentatious but have surprising strength and character , like Wendy and Nic that we met, they run a supermarket in a small country town , their one daughter is an accountant in London and the other a chemical engineer in WA. They offer to cook if you make the coffee . They look at our rusks and are puzzled by this cuisine but are keen to try – good guys salt of the earth- the salties.
In the late afternoon we reach the Coburn range a majestic range of mountains with a crested cliff face – as the sun goes down it changes colour, we see the copper faces turn crimson , then magenta, to deep purple and black and I feel disadvantaged that I don’t see this often enough. The soul of Australia lives here somewhere.
El Questro is an oasis after this trip, its warm with friendly shadows, it has everything including an outside bar and a big boma fire, manicured lawns and singing brooke . We have a safari tent. The restaurant is top class I have the mega rib eye Lu has the sirloin. Still shaking from the trip we go to bed early resting is part of the therapy. We are dead to the world but night sounds, crickets, river noises , squaking baby birds are singing us to sleep – they are no longer strange noises and have become our friends.
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