The next morning I drove the 100 km from Wyndham to Kununarra dodging the large Nickel road trains that transport the ore from the mine in the Kimberley to the Wyndham harbor. The total unit has four wagons filled with more than 40 tons of ore each; a truly daunting sight when it comes thundering towards you. I slowed down every time and pulled off the road. Close to Kununarra  a long bridge fords the Ord river.

I stopped at Kununarra. This is a really pleasant town with lush green vegetation, good roads and services and its own lake, Lake Kununarra. There is much fishing being done as well as boating and water skiing.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Lake+Kununurra,+Kununurra+WA+6743/@-15.808885,128.7047026,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x2c998cab21689ee9:0x52f3228531800e34

Lake Argyle is a further 50 km from Kununarra. I did that in quick time as the road is all bitumen and reached the caravan park in the early afternoon. Lake Argyle has resulted from the damming of the Ord River and was built in the late 1960s. It is more than seven times the size of Sydney harbor up to the Parramatta River. The lake measures something like 45 km by 25 km. This is the largest man-made lake in Australia.

For some interesting links on Lake Argyle, see below.

http://www.lakeargyle.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Argyle

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=lake+argyle&biw=1366&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQsARqFQoTCNuoqOzt9sgCFYfGpgod8dkBeA&dpr=1#imgrc=cJHCTK8jFCAI3M%3Ak

It is a really great park with tall trees offering shady sites. The park has a horizon pool that is situated on a hill overlooking a section of the lake. I enjoyed walking through the park and admiring the wide variety of caravans parked there; all shapes and sizes from camper trailers to massive off road caravans.

You can see forever

My humble tent in the shade

I decided to do the Lake Argyle cruise, an all day cruise, to get to know the history and engineering feat that created this biggest manmade lake in Australia. I purchased a ticket and lined up for the cruise the next morning at the office. We were taken by bus to the boat launch which is some 4 km away.

Our guide introduced himself and helped us board a large catamaran, the ‘Kimberley Durack’. Once the Ord River had been dammed and the project had been completed the lake was allowed to fill up. This process of rising water levels has created more than a 100 islands. Some of them have Euros living on them. They are marsupials like Kangaroos, only smaller. They occur only in the northern regions of Australia.

Miles of water and islands

A Euro trapped on an island

Many islands are occupied by fresh water crocodiles. The islands look magnificent as the sun sets across the water. Some islands have great looking geology. In one instance the island is bespeckled with small lava pipes that look like a bunch of caves in the hillside. Many trees had Hawks, Falcons and other birds of prey sitting in them.

Crocks (Freshies) are everywhere

Lava pipes

In the evening our guide stopped the boat in 30 foot of water so that we might enjoy the sunset and the braver ones were invited to take a swim in the lake (amongst the Freshies).  The water was pleasantly warm. A beer and snacks were also served. We returned to our camp after sunset having enjoyed a day that most of us would never forget.

The hills light up in ocher in the evening sun

El Questro is a very large property on which there are many spectacular spots that tourists visit. I did not have time to take in all of them. I will cover those that I had a look at.

The next morning I continued north along the Gibb River road. There were a number of Jump Ups to be negotiated. These are climbs to the top of mountain ranges many of which seem to run east to west. The final one offered a splendid view across the next valley. One could see right across the next valley to the upper reaches of Cambridge Gulf and the town of Wyndham. This town is a Nickle ore export harbor. I could also see a number of major rivers emptying into the Gulf.

View across Cambridge Gulf to Wyndham

A while later I reached the turnoff to El Questro.  Another good many kilometers I reached the grounds of this tourist resort and was impressed by how well developed it was. Great caravan and camping facilities. The general visitor area is impressive as well. The general visitor cannot get to the upmarket facilities.

After a while I carried on touring and went on to El Questro Gorge and to Zebedee Springs.Both destinations are spectacular. As I entered these gorges I could feel the air becoming warmer and more humid. It was like stepping into the sub-tropics. Palms replaced the normal vegetation and the water in the streams became clearer and warmer. Both these gorges were similar in the type of rock and vegetation. It was close to two km up the gorge to get to the spring. Many people were doing the same thing. The water at the spring came bubbling out of the rocks and measured 32 degrees Centigrade. The natural rock formations have created a number of pools where tourists enjoy a natural spa bath.

El Questro tour bus crossing the Pentecost River

Clear water

Start of Zebedee Springs gorge

Tropical climate, palms and stream with deep pools

The water comes out the ground at 32C.

Nothing like a swim!

On the return trip I had to negotiate the Pentecost River once more. That got the adrenaline going as the water was touching the top of the bonnet and I did not have a snorkel on my Patrol. I was aware that if the vehicle stopped I would have to wade through chest high water that was the home to many crocks.

Pentecost River, wider than 50 meters

Somewhere in there Crocks are lurking

Just across the Gibb river road is the turn off for Emma Gorge. This place is sensational. After walking half an hour up a hot canyon I reached this great pool that has a river trickling down an escarpment. The icy water is very refreshing and most people have a swim before heading back.

Canyon walls closing in

Petrified river bed; see the ripples on what was sand once

Yours truly having a swim

I returned to the Gibb River road and completed the last section to the Kununurra – Wyndham road. I decided to spend the night at the Wyndham caravan park which offers shady sites and clean facilities. Wyndham is located on the Cambridge Gulf. It has a large Nickle ore loading facility.

Wyndham ore loading facility.

Cambridge Gulf

Queen Victoria Head

The road is getting rougher with more bends and steep climbs to be negotiated in the process of getting through a raft of mountain ranges and spectacular hills. Every now and then one comes across random bush fires that burn out of control. It seems that aboriginals still light fires to burn off the scrub for the next season. Every time one crosses hills, the mountain ranges and valleys are visible for many miles ahead. This serves as a reminder that the Kimberley is definitely not a flat country. A good few rivers are to be crossed; I would not want to do this in the wet season. The road would be unnavigable. Once in a while a road train has to be dodged so one has to drive with care.

Heaps of mountain ranges

What a rock wall!

A few hundred clicks further is the Mt. Barnett Roadhouse. This serves as a ‘half way house’ as there is a store and fuel is available.  They cater for overnighting of various sorts. Another good distance further is the turn-off to Kalumburu. The Gibb River road makes a right hand turn and continues to El Questro. The road to Kalumburu is very bad and rough. However it takes in the Drysedale River, Drysedale station, Mitchell plateau and falls. Kalumburu itself is some distance from the coast where you will find the scenic Honeymoon bay. I decided to give this fantastic area a miss and leave it for another trip because of time constraints. Several times I left the road to pursue tracks and explore the country side. There are many gorges in this country, some of which are very deep. Some of the rivers that are crossed have very long pools that just invite one for a swim to cool off from the heat. It is then that I remembered the Salties and so turned up the air condition instead. As a rule nobody drives at night in the Outback. It is too dangerous. No cattle properties are fenced around the road and the cattle roam freely. By the late afternoon I pulled off the road and set up camp next to a river. Some other weary travelers joined me and once again turned in for a well-deserved rest after a day’s travel and a fire.

Deep rock walls down to the river in the chasm

If you follow the rift it looks as if the land has been ripped apart

http://www.about-australia.com/attractions/boab-prison-tree/

Almost in Derby I reached the turnoff to the Gibb River road. Just short of the Gibb River road turnoff is a picnic area and a fenced off section with a Boab tree with a very large trunk that has been hollowed out by the weather. It is many hundreds of years old and was used in the old British days a s a local prison where miscreants were held by police until they could be transported to a prison.

See the link above.

Windjana Gorge

I started off along the Gibb River road and was surprised that it is a bitumen road to start off or very well maintained and graded red dirt road. All over the place one can see big Boab trees that add something special to the local scenery. I was heading to the turnoff of the Leopold Downs road, the route to two very remarkable sites.

Dreamtime like spindly arms of a Boab; making it look like a night time ghost.

I intended going down this road to visit Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. This road leaves Gibb River road heading east towards Fitzroy Crossing and eventually terminates close to Kununurra in the north. It is an average gravel road, but takes in the two spectacular sites above.

Shortly after turning off I could see a dark mountain range on the horizon. I had read about this range that it was in fact a coral reef from the Devonian period some 370 million years ago. Some planet upheaval had raised this up and the reef had now petrified into hard rock. It is absolutely massive and tens of kilometers long and in parts wider than one kilometer, There are valleys between the ranges where water has carved a passage over the millennia. The sky in the Kimberley is a fantastic blue and the vegetation is sub-tropical trees and scrub.

I turned into the Windjana Gorge camping area and proceeded along the path towards the massive wall of the reef. The path leads towards the mountain until a small triangle shape gap appears that takes you through the rock into the valley beyond. The path takes you along the river that is filled with some prehistoric fish and many Freshwater Crocodiles… Not the man eating Salties, but the smaller Freshies that feed on frogs and the like. A bit further the path takes you onto the dry river bed which is filled with soft white sand that looks like a great beach. Of interest are some of the side walls of the reef that still contain fossilized shells.

Tunnel Creek

I left the gorge and travelled another 20 km to get to Tunnel Creek. It is named so as there is a river that has tunneled a passage way under and through the coral reef/ mountains from one side of the reef to the other. The tunnel is around 700 meters long and pitch dark. You need a good torch to get from one end to the other. You have to wade through the river up to waist high in ice cold water and there are Freshies that live there.

When I stuck my foot in I did not know how deep it was going to get. It was cold and I thought ‘no, bugger that’. As I was about to chicken out I saw a light approaching from the other side. It turned out to be a 12 year old boy and his skinny mother that had done the trip and returned. Well, they shamed me into doing the trip into the unknown.

12 year old boy and mother exploring

As you approach the entrance to Tunnel Creek you walk around some massive rocks and then enter through a triangular opening. Next thing you know you are in the tunnel which at this point has a huge vaulted ceiling that stretches off into the dark distance. You are walking on dry river sand that suddenly is replaced by water that is cold and waist deep. Bring along a good bright torch as this is the only light around. About one third of the distance in, the roof has collapsed on the side and the light shows the opening where bats are hanging in the dark corners. You can see the vegetation on top of the reef as you look up the valley from the point of collapse.

Looking back to the entrance

I turned back into the dark and headed through the rest of the tunnel. Just after the half way point it makes a left turn and then heads for the exit. This is visible from far away. The exit is beautifully structures by the natural forces. At the exit one looks into a pretty valley and river which is located on the other side of the mountain. See pics.

Exit

I returned the way I had come and drove back to the Gibb River road. By then it was getting late . So I set up camp next to the Lennard River some 50 meters from the road. I enjoyed a peaceful evening before turning in.

By then it is pretty warm up here. We had 36 C most days but a cool breeze drops the temp by a bit at night. Pic below is at the turnoff to the Dampier peninsula and Cape Leveque.

I made a bean and beef curry the other night that went down with the  housies. Last night I made a massive fresh salad and we all had some chunky T-bone steaks and/or Rump steaks. Looks like we struggled to finish the meal. We had ice cream after; yum.

In the footy finals the wrong team won. Thankfully there is always next year.

Went fishing with my friends at Broome Port on the long jetty that services the port. The Broome tidal variance is up to 10 meters, so there is substantial depth at the right times. We caught some Queen fish. They came through for a time and we managed to hook a few. Back at home Jacko managed to convert the fillets into some beautiful sashimi (hope spelling is ok). This was enjoyed by all of us the next evening.

There is some big stuff swimming around the pier. We saw a massive shark jump out the water twice. It must have been 3meters +. There are some very big groupers at the jetty as well. They grab your fish if you don’t reel them in fast enough. The largest one is said to be the size of a VW Beetle.

Yesterday morning we did a spot of fishing on Cable Beach at low tide. It was very quiet, but I managed to reel in a massive stingray. It had green dots on its wings. We released it before we thought of pics. So sorry.   Back here in Broome it is beautiful to see the Boab trees that are grown on nature strips and in gardens.

I rode to the Cable Beach Club Resort to have a look at their accommodation options. I had been asked by good friends to find out more about the level of luxury and price for their premier accommodation. This resort is known as the best and most luxurious facility in Broome. I was not disappointed and walked away very impressed with their offerings. I thought I’d share some pics of the Suite here:

The Villas here

One of the four restaurants here.

Almost time to head back south. We are going to take our time and do a little bit of exploring along the way, where warranted.

We have had a really great time here at the Capricorn Coast. A number of times I tried some fishing and managed to catch some mackerel. I enjoyed standing on the rocks and watching the dolphins and sea turtles swim by.

I have done some swimming, playing around in the surf and today some body surfing as the waves were up. We have had many beach walks. We walked in the low tide waters (knee high) into the sea for up to 400 meters from the beach. Words like wonderful and exhilarating come to mind.

Imagine my surprise and horror when I saw the Crocodile warnings on a slipway at Emu Park beach. These signs always say ‘Achtung’ I guess for the German tourists. The signage says: ‘Be crock wise in crock country. Sightings (phone #)’.   A day earlier our neighbor at the caravan park told us that some person had sighted a crock in the mangroves just up the road. He was on his way to the beach and the path leads through the mangroves. I did not believe our friend as I thought he was pulling my leg. Well, I am going to be a bit more cautious from now on. I truly cannot believe that crocks come this far south. Someone had placed a soggy biscuit in the mouth of the crock

We have had great weather with temperatures around 23 degrees most days. The last few days have been very humid and then yesterday we had a good bit of rain. The temp felt much worse due to the humidity and the UVs which were right up. Even our dog had had enough and escaped into the caravan for some respite.

Yesterday I came across some more retro caravans in the park and have attached a pic. The couple in one of the caravans had purchased their van in the 60s and had it done up just recently to look schmick again.

If the weather continues I might do some more body surfing to-morrow.