Day 7 - Darwin- Here we come

We have a brilliant breakfast at El Questro , walk along the river enjoy the grounds – its well organised with more than adequate staff . The sleep in the spacious tent is comfortable. We decide we will do the hot springs at Zebedee.


Below a multi coloured cliff face in a very tropical area, with ferns and bangalow palms , yo can see the steam rising form the hot springs as it churns out of the earth. There are many small pools as the spring winds its way down to the valley. The pools are filled with people. The water is dark and clear. We leave there feeling refreshed and ready for a 700k trip to Pine Creek 200k from Darwin.

We leave El Questro feeling pampered, it’s a little commercial given that we have been bushing it and really enjoyed the solitude but was a welcome respite. We managed to get rid of some of the dust but Desire is really covered in red dust.

We drive the short distance to the end of the Gibb River Road and look back one last time. We feel we are leaving a friend, she has been our guardian over the last while and we enjoyed being there, but north we must go on towards Kunnanurra. This is a pretty town, it is green and beautiful . The river is huge with lake Argyll close by. The endless stream water based activities are a testament to scale of water. The river is blue indicating the depth of the water and there are big boats offering boat tours , fishing and skiing. It would have been great to spend a few days here but we don’t have the time.

At Lunch time we reach the Victoria River Roadhouse. Victoria river has many gorges, helicopter rides , river activities and is nestled in a valley of rocky mountains. The pub is great and we sit down to the best hamburger I have ever had cooked by a French student chef , its winter and 27 degrees the beer is ice cold – the drive is long but its tarred and after 700k Lu and I are not tired at all but decide we don’t want to get to Darwin at midnight – so we campout at Pine Creek and sleep comfortably in Desire , not before lu has a mini panic attack and takes a breather outside … then back in and we cuddle up under a dark sky and very bright stars. There is a orchestra of crickets with a large frog as the opera singer.. going back to Sydney will take some adjustment.

Day 6 - The long road to El Questro

We say good bye to Sheryl after coffee and rusks and nice long walk to paradise pool. This is a working cattle station. 730,000 acres and 6,000 cattle. They muster over two months with two helicopters. They have built up a Brahman stud and have about 40 horses 8 stockmen. There are no fences here it would be too costly. Its interesting to see that most of the service industry is made up of travelling eupropean students- just loving the opportunity to spend a year or two in this part of Australia.


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.

Day 5

We left Fritzie and filled up again and headed towards the Tunnel Creekroad. The Landscape was in concert again providing us with many different types of landscape changing the types of trees and rock formations frequently , we were really sorry we did not bring our tree book. We have seen the Billbong, the swagman, the jumbuck and someone must show me the Koolabah tree, it will give Waltzing Matilda a whole new meaning for me and when I get home – they may have to suffer a new song sung with much more passion.


Tunnel Creek is a massive outcrop of colourful rock and at the base is an amazing cave that from time to time has ‘windows” into the cave from the outcrop that lets light filter into the cave , which has a fantastic pool of water in it . You have to wade through the water to get through the tunnel which is home to Ghost bats and small birds, two small crocks and myriad of small animals.

It also has a history an aboriginal Jundamarra that used it as his hide out because he was one of the “back fellas” that did not toe the line with the Feds, so they did what they do best, senselessly killed him. When I get back I must research this , I think I am not being told the whole story here. We stop at the Napier ranges for tea. I cant find the fire lighter (despite Zoe’s meticulous packing ) so I decide to use the cigarette lighter, I push it in but it does not click , leaving it for a few seconds I pull it out but it has not glowed red hot, I don’t know if its working, so I do what a five year old would not do put my finger on it to test- the pain is excruciating , a cattle truck rattles past, the driver and his mate are perplexed to see a white guy doing a rain dance with clear blue skies in the dry season. Marilu is killing herself laughing at my pain ( why are women like that ? ) Back in the car she tries to placate me – do you want a coke ? yes I say. She gets out opens the side door , opens the fridge gets two cokes and hands me one. We drive on , the car seems gusty , I look around I have my window open she has hers open , still its too drafty, why is the car so drafty I say, she thinks for a minute I left the side door open. We stop close the door and wonder if we will make Darwin.

The road is better but much more dusty because the gravel makes the sand loose. Lu and I travel with the windows open and by the end of the day I am a redhead.

Eventually we hit the great GIBB RIVER ROAD and turn north east on the road to Darwin, we stop briefly at the snack shop on the Leopoldt river, a rumble tumble old caravan with a deck quite nicely placed overlooking the river and the flat coloured rocks.

Onto Bell Gorge . This is interesting, its challenging about a half an hours walk down a fairly steep gradient across a very rocky path , you really need proper shoes here and my slops don’t help, it will be a miracle if I get back without a broken ankle. Eventually you get to the pools – man just spectacular the river meanders serenely across the flat rocks which creates smaller rivulets, the plant life is fabulous. This is not Niagra or Vic falls, it does not buzz with energy its exactly the opposite, peace is literally tangible .

The second pool involves a further steep incline and a steep descent, but the pool perhaps 50 meters wide and a 100 meters long, it looks too inviting not to swim. Lu wrinkles her nose that means I don’t really want to go. She is a better rock climber than me and gets there first. From here you can see the waterfall – just beautiful.

I swim to the waterfall, I want lu to take a photo but the stream is so strong that you cannot get within two meters of the waterfall because of the power of the current. We have a lovely swim and head back.

We decide to try make Chanley River Lodge , that means we must get to Imjinti store for fuel , Desire ups the anti and we have a dust trail behind us, we get there 4:35 the store is closed, well that means camping on the road – The store keeper sees us and turns around waving the keys, she opens up, we buy two magnums and pay two dollars a litre for fuel. We tell her we are going to Chanley, she says oh I have some supplies for them which we take. We phone Sheryl Camp to confirm they have accommodation. Sure she says I will put you up in one of the Rondawels !! good lord a bit of the old home country in that. Just drive to our gate and come straight up the road to the homestead she says , just so we don’t miss it how far is the homestead from the gate ? asks Marilu- oh luv says Sheryl you cant miss it its 42 kilometres exactly !! .She later tells us the Rondawels were built by South Africans in 1947

The Rondawel is secluded, we decline dinner at the farmhouse and sit down to Steak and Chops, corn, mushrooms and tomato cooked on the smokey joe. The rondawel is a round house with a peaked roof and no walls -all netting and a concrete floor but nice fluffy white pillows – we sleep like babies.