Day 120 Cockburn Rest Area – Wyndam – Kununurra West Rest Area 29th - 30th July

Wyndam was our next stop for cheap diesel and a look at the five-rivers lookout. The town wasn't much to write home about, appearing the worse for wear but the lookout provided spectacular views of the massive rivers in the area. Down below you could see the operation to take iron-ore onto ships via conveyor belts and barges. Jordan led us in search of a geo-cache which we successfully found and wrote our names in.

View from 5 Rivers Lookout

Can you see Biggle at the BIG Croc

 

Successful geo-caching at 5 Rivers Lookout

Biggle, Adam & BIG Boab Tree in Wyndam

We bumped into Nick & Brigid in Kununurra during our ridiculously expensive grocery shop at Coles to replace our severely depleted provisions. We ended up camping at Kununurra West Rest Area, making our way down a rough track to some secluded, rocky spots away from the main roads. We lit a fire and ended up having a nice evening, with some spectacular rock formations for our view.

Day 119 Home Valley Station – Emma Gorge – Cockburn Rest Area 28th - 29th July

We packed up as quickly as we could which of course meant we didn't get away from Home Valley till around 10:00am. Then it was a short drive to Emma Gorge which is part of El Questro station. Emma Gorge is at the end of a 45 walk that starts with soft sands underfoot with palms for the view and ends in a rocky scramble. Towards the ends are two pools, the second icy cold and takes your breath away. One the right hand side, warm water cascades down to the pool and we all sat splashing in its waters for a while. Robyn bought ice-blocks for the kids which was very much appreciated.

Seriously big road trains!

Emma Gorge

Then it was off for a night of free camping at the Cockburn Rest Area. This bush rest spot is just off he main road so we had iron-ore laden road-trains thundering past until late.

Day 116-118 Mount Elizabeth Station – Home Valley Station 25th - 28th July

Next up was a long drive to our next camping spot. There is a seriously large stretch on the Gibb River in need of a Maccha's to break up the drive. After countless small creek crossings and thousands of corrugations we approached our next spot. We got to the Durack River, a 20 metre river crossing, to inspect it when Robyn discovered that we had just got a flat! The hole was just too big to be fixed with a puncture kit so it was time to use the trolley jack and change the tyre. We were fortunate that a young Tanami Road station worker - Dustin was nearby, and helped us change the tyre. 

 

We pulled in to Home Valley Station, a further 80km up the road, hoping that we didn't get another flat on the way. Luck would have it and we made it in one piece, to an simply amazing oasis in this dust-filled country. The station turned our to have a swimming pool, restaurant, large grassy areas, and our favourites – flushing toilets and showers! So we immediately changed our plans and decided to make this our base for a couple of days.

I had an adventure that evening when some fellow travellers needed some help. A family had burst two tyres and needed some assistance to get to the campsite. We scouted around to find a spare and I drove back 30km down the Gibb River Rd in the dark, with high beams and spots on, to deliver and help put on the spare. Taking it slowly, and feeling all the corrugations, we watched out for skippy as we made our way there and back. It was nice to help someone out, after all the help we had received ourselves from kind strangers.

Our family by now had also become owners of two tyres that had been repaired using a puncture repair kit. The recommendation from the mechanics at the station was to get them changed with a proper patch as little did we know, puncture kits were only meant to be used in emergencies. With the station having its own repair centre, it was no hassle getting them changed while we lazed by the pool.

I went fishing one evening with some of the more seasoned travelers, 4WD'ing across the Pentecost River, and fishing off the banks of salt-water crocodile territory. I managed to catch a small Bream and used that as live bait to try to catch a big Barra – unluckily it was the only fish any of us caught that night.

We booked into the restaurant the second evening and were lucky to have a live act playing with a dusty, singing voice arguably better than mine. As he strummed away on his acoustic guitar, we ate prawns, crocodile, steak and sticky date pudding with a nice shiraz and port. It was simply an excellent day.

Instead of staying at El Questro Station we took a day trip from Home Valley as it was only 30km away. This gave Robyn an opportunity to cross the 100m wide Pendercost River which she did with flying colours. At El Questro we took a dip in the thermal pools at Zebedee Springs and walked amongst the palms.

Wonky wheels

28 degrees at Zebedee Springs

Robyn after successfully navigating the Pendercost River

Crossing the Pendercost River

Nick, Brigid and family rocked up at our campground that evening. Like us, shaken and stirred they also had had a puncture on the Gibb River Road. The kids were excited and played till late with with Conor and Daniel.

Day 114-115 Bells Gorge – Galvans Gorge - Mount Elizabeth Station 23rd - 25th July

 It was a very gravelly 10km drive from Silent Grove to Bells Gorge with a couple of creek crossings. Jordan did his own creek crossing inspection for the first time, and we all congratulated him for his efforts when he came back.

Bell's Gorge certainly turned out to be a breathtaking gorge. There was a rocky and sandy walk down to the river at the top of the falls. Then a more strenuous short scramble down to view the waterfalls at the bottom. After some initial trepidation crossing the water ways, the kids built up some confidence and handled them in their stride. At the base of the Bell's Gorge waterfall, there was a stunning site, with a large pool, sheer cliff faces and water cascading down the wide waterfall. It was time for a swim, so in we all went for a splash, pretty happy with the exertions of the day being washed away.

Jordan helping the family across

Intrepid explorer

Bells Gorge

This is the life

Our next pitstop on the way was Galvan's Gorge. A pretty gorge and a nice place for a dip. 

Silky Grevillia

Silky Grevillea

Galvan's Gorge

 

Then it was a rough 30km road off the Gibb River Rd to our next stopping place. We decided to take the less beaten track and head to Mount Elizabeth Station to get a away from the crowded national park camping areas.

We camped in a well shaded area with its own fireplace and close to flushing toilet and showers! It doesn't take much to make us happy! 

 

We took what we were told was an OK 10km dirt road to the private gorge on the station – only to find that the road became progressively more challenging. However, once committed we were going to do it and as Robyn says, we did our own advanced 4WD'ing course to get down the track. The track consisted of sandy bits, creek crossing and rough rocky terrain which required us to get out and visually inspect the area to figure out the best way through. Robyn and Jordan often got out of the car to have a peek and tell me what to do. Right at the end was the worst bit, but we were able to get through, relieved. The 10km track had taken us 1 ½ hours to complete – maybe we should have walked! The gorge was a further 20 min walk away from the parking area but when we got there, we were treated to a waterfall and large swimming hole with a soft sandy bottom. We clambered over some rocks to take a look at the fantastic Windjana art work which looked like aliens from another planet. The ride back from the gorge wasn't much better and I ended up dinging the side step of the car for our efforts. With that mark as a reminder of our adventure, we thankfully made it back to camp otherwise unscathed.

Will we make it?

Yes we will!!!

Windjana artwork

We cooked some nice meals on the campfire. As our supplies were running down we had to be creative but we managed to cook a plum cake in the camp-oven, pancakes for breakfast, and jaffles for another brekkie. We all sat around the campfire in the evenings as the sun set - where we were joined by small kangaroos (which kept nibbling my toes!) and peacocks strutting by.

The best pancake ever! Big call

Finally, I get to eat!

The kids spent their time, playing board games with Robyn, drawing the landscape and generally mucking around. It was great seeing them all sitting on their stools in their own separate spaces, staring intently and drawing what they saw. I'm not sure, however, where Adam saw the Transformers...

Mount Elizabeth Station had been a little more rugged than we expected, but we certainly were happy with this peaceful and unique spot of the world.