Week Commencing 21.06.10

Monday 21.6.10 – Today was maintenance day, car being serviced, John serviced the van and I did a general clean up. We also went and collect my engagement ring with the new diamonds. They are Argyle Champagne .00028 – C5 – C7 very very little, looks great.
Tuesday 22.06.10 – Today we ventured off to Wyndham for the day along the Great Northern Highway. Wyndham is most northerly town and is located in the Kimberley Region. It is some 3216 km from Perth and 100km north west of Kununarra. In 1885 gold was discovered in Halls Creek, and in March 1886 John Forrest was sent to the East Kimberley to select a site for a townsite to service the goldfields. Governor Broome decided it would be named Wyndham, and the townsite was gazetted in September 1886. The town grew rapidly as a port for the East Kimberley goldfields, although this soon declined, Wyndham remained as a port for the growing pastoral industry of the region. Today the town abounds with attractions from sweeping views of the magnificent Cockburn Ranges across the salt marsh flats to the spectacular vantage point atop the Bastion Range (350m above sea level) at the Five Rivers Lookout. We visited the Ramsar listed wetlands of Marigu Billabong (Parry Creek Reserve) which we saw lots of birds, including whistling ducks, Gouldian finches and lots more. The Big Croc sits on the main road into town. A group of students in the 1980’s were part of a Westrek/TAFE project to construct a reminder to all of our reptilian friends found throughout the East Kimberley. We attempted to drive the old Halls Creek road, but ended up backtracking as the track looked well overgrown and we had no idea where we might end up. All in all we had a great day.
Wednesday 23.06.10 – Today we organised ourselves for our bush camping at El Questro. In the afternoon John decided to have a round of golf at the Kununarra Golf course. This proved to be an interesting afternoon. We were the only ones on the course and they do not have greens, they are sand and have heavy oil over them.
Thursday 24.06.10 – Up early and off we went on the big adventure. What a fantastic place. We found a nice grassy place to set up camp and our neighbours turned out to be great people. Sarah and Michael who had arrived not long before us. They had travelled the Gibb River Road from Derby to Kununarra , a total of 690kms of dirt road. We decided to trek El Questro Gorge in the afternoon.
El Questro Gorge – In comparison to the surrounding woodland El Questro Gorge shows a dramatic difference in vegetation and climate. The trail passes along a deep and narrow gorge flanked by sheer cliffs. It features crystal clear pools and lush tropical vegetation. Under the rainforest canopy a diverse eco system thrives in favourable conditions. The surrounding cliff faces and scree slopes are up to 1800 million years old and known as King Leopold Sandstone. Erosional forces, such as watercourse, have carved our El Questro Gorge by following a geological fault line.
Back at camp we joined Sarah and Michael for happy hour. We enjoyed a yummy dinner and in bed by 9.30pm. We were lucky to have a full moon which was just beautiful.
Friday 25.06.10 – Up very early I am saying 6am. Todays agenda was as follows:
Amalia Gorge – Amalia is more of a steep sided valley than a narrow gorge. It offers spectacular views and a deep plunge pool at the end of the trail. The gorge is made up of ancient Warton Sandstone and Elgee Siltstone estimated to be up 1800 millions years old. Despite the extreme age, the rocks are still largely horizontal as they were laid millions of years ago. The trail offers a challenging and adventurous experience, which requires some climbing and clambering over falls and large sandstone slabs. Due to the open topography, the temperature is faily high throughout the day. We trekked this gorge early in the morning and for me it was very challenging but I am very proud of my achievement.
Zebedee Springs – This is a permanent thermal spring surrounded by livisgtona palms and sheer cliff faces. The spring is fed via a fault line from a permanent supply of water deep within the earth. The water temp is 28 – 32 deg Celsius all year. Recent scientific research discovered a unique and ancient aquatic isopod crustacean (a white crab-like creature) in the water. Zebedee Springs is the only known place in the world where this isopod is found. John and I found these springs fantastic, could have spent the whole day there. Unfortunately we had to leave by mid-day because they are off limits to us plebes and the paying customers get to use them. Besides we had to go home have some lunch and spend the afternoon 4WD driving.
Pigeon Hole – Unfortunately after driving over creeks and down river beds we were disappointed to find that Pigeon Hole was closed. We did drive up to the lookout. From here we could see the Pentacost Valley and in the far north the Cockburn Ranges.
Explosion Gorge – This was a tiny drive but very adventurous. We took the turnoff and then down a big hill and straight into the Pentecost River which was fine. Just a little further on more water and I mean lots of water we could not see where the track came out. What to do, option 1 cross and if we got stuck who would get out and fight the crocs to get help. Option 2, turn around which is the option we took but it was not as easy as it seems. John had to do about a 10pt turns over boulders and rocks, we finally was headed in the right direction.
Chamberlin Gorge Boat Ramp – This is where the cruises leave from, you can also hire a tinny for $155.00 for half day. What is that. Anyway John tried his luck at some fishing. Finally he caught 4 fish only small but they were fish. We had a great afternoon, we also saw a croc sunning himself on one of the rocks in the river. The Camberlain River is approx 150km long and flows along the Durack Ranges, named after the pioneering Durack Family. Almost 130km flows through steep valleys and spectacular Elgee cliffs, forming the Kimberley’s longest gorge. This gorge is home to extraordinary geological formations, sheer cliff faces, ancient rock art and a diverse range of flora and fauna.
Saturday 26.06.10 - Today we packed up camp and headed to Emma Gorge which was on the way back to Kununarra.
Emma Gorge is part of the Cockburn Ranges. A scenic trail takes you along changing vegetation to crystal clear pools and waterfalls. The gorge is characterised by massive scree slopes and cliff face escarpments reaching up to 120m on both sides of the trail. The bulk of these cliffs are made up of Cockburn sandstone and massive Quartz sandstone. The strata remain largely horizontal as they were laid down 1800 million years ago. Ripple patterns on the rocks were created when sediment was deposited under shallow tidal waters. At the end of the trek we enjoyed a beautiful swim in the pool. Back to Kununarra to do the washing and relax for the afternoon. We had done alot of walking over the past couple of days.
Sunday 27.06.10 - Rest this morning and spend the rest of afternoon preparing for our next adventure.