The Kimberley

Exploring the Kimberley has been one of, if not the main reason for undertaking our trip. And that's exactly what we have just done. In the last three weeks we have travelled over 1,500 kms through a region three times the size of England with less than 40,000 inhabitants. From the wide horizons of the grassy savannahs, up into the remarkable mountain ranges, down into the stunning gorges and picture perfect rock pools, through the luscious palm forests, and out along the remote coastline, the Kimberley truly is one of the most remote and spectacular places on earth.

Having seen and done so many things over the past three weeks, it would have been prudent to separate the Kimberley experience into separate blog posts. However, to truly appreciate the Kimberley journey, it is best told from it's beginning in Derby to its end at Kununurru. So please excuse the lengthy nature of this post but I hope you enjoy following us along the Gibb River Road and beyond.

We set off from Derby armed with 200 litres of diesel, 40 litres of petrol, 140 litres of water and as much food as we could physically carry. The Gibb River Road travels 700km through the guts of the Kimberley. It has been heralded as one of the last true outback adventures in Australia and is renowned for being isolated and often rough and should only be attempted by 4WD cars and road side signs repeatedly advise of bringing ample supplies to make the journey. However, upon setting out we travelled along over 100km of sealed road and passed several caravans, not exactly the outback challenge we had expected. We soon got over our disappointment over this minor point as we watched the scenery rolling past; boab trees speckled amongst the drying floodplains and riverbeds. The remnant greenery that was evidence of the recently passed wet season was almost gone and was giving way to the  gold, brown, red and yellow colours of the arid dry season. 

Our first night was spent at Winjana Gorge National Park. As we drove across the grasslands we caught a glimpse of a dark looming shape ahead, which we assumed to be a small mountain range. As we approached closer we realised it was the dark rock of a 100m high cliff face. We were later to learn the cliff forms part of a Devonian Reef, millions of years old and we were driving on what once was the ocean floor. It was both humbling and spectacular. We arrived in time to set up camp at the base of the cliffs and watch as the sunset turned them from black to red. Winjana Gorge is the giant chasm that the Lennard River has cut through the reef. We spent the following day exploring the river banks, searching out the native figs and getting acquainted with the resident fresh water crocodiles (no, Rob didn't use the zoom on the photo below, he really was that close).

We didn't travel far to our next stop, the King Leopold Range Conservation Park. The campground was again lovely and we were pleasantly surprised to bump into some fellow travelling friends, The Wrights, who joined us along the Gibb over the next few days. The drive through the King Leopold Ranges is spectacular and we were able to further explore the beauty of the ranges by foot when we walked into the stunning Bell Gorge.

We made camp for the next couple of nights on the banks of the Manning River. It was a gorgeous swimming spot (no crocodiles) and was also the start of another amazing walk into the Kimberley Gorges, this time the Manning Gorge. The swimming hole is quite literally the start of the walk, we had to swim across the river to get to the walk and we floated all our stuff, including Jarvis, across in boxes.

At this point of our journey we turned north off the Gibb River Road onto Kalumburu Road. This road is a little less travelled so was a bit rough going. We went about 60km before stopping in at Drysdale Station for the night. The station was a hub of activity, a little shop, fuel station, accommodation, camping, a beer garden and a huge workshop. While we set up camp we watched several trailers limp down the drive past us (broken axles and springs), this didn't look good for the condition of the road further north. One group came in armed with several boats, trucks and every accessory known to man and the Wright kids started hopping around like mad kids. Apparently the mob that had turned up were the cast and crew of the show "All for Adventure", a big favourite in the Wright household. Much to the kids delight we ended up sitting round the communal fire in the beer garden chatting to them late into the night.

The next day, armed with extra fuel and water and our last hot shower for a while, we tackled the road to Kalumburu. It wasn't as bad as we expected but it still took us 6 hours to travel 230km. The drive was worth the effort in itself, the bush was beautiful and we saw dingos, brumbies and all sorts of birds. Fire is a constant presence in the Kimberley but we hadn't come quite as close to the flames and smoke as we did on this drive. The fires are mostly slow moving grass fires and are deliberately lit and are used as a conservation management tool, the appropriateness of which is widely debated. However, it is easy to see why fire is favoured by so many, the green grass shoots carpet the recently burnt ground and everything seems to spring to life once the fire has passed.

Kalumburu is a picturesque community nestled among giant mango trees and coconut palms. As we drove into town the road was littered with kids, dogs and neighbours stopping for a chat and the the air was filled with the smoke of evening fires cooking up dinners. There is a lovely mission from which Rob remembers buying fresh bread that the nuns had made. Unfortunately the nuns are no longer in residence but the pastor was very friendly and allowed us to fill up our water tanks. In return Rob helped them load some large rocks into the tractor.

We camped at Honeymoon Bay, one of the best places we've been on this trip. Honeymoon Bay is Les' place. He has lived there for over 20 years and his kids and grandkids all live there now too. But the real star of the show is George, he will take you fishing for the cost of the fuel (a bargain if you consider the $300 fishing charters elsewhere), he'll give you fishing tips for free, collect firewood and just generally make sure everyone is happy and the place is running smoothly. The campsites overlook the white sandy beach below and the mangroves over the far side of the bay. We spent over a week fishing and exploring the surrounding bays and rivers by boat and lazing about the camp baking bread, painting and reading. It was a great week but the highlight was definitely the fishing, we caught several large Spanish Mackerel, Trevally, Queen Fish, a small Mangrove Jack and even a couple of Barramundi. Some fellow campers also collected some black lip oysters which we got to try after we cooked them on the coals.

The croc trap (not sure what the chair is for)

Still falling asleep in the boat

Sprinkler Fun

After a restful week we felt ready to tackle Mitchell Falls. To get to the falls we had to take a 100km very rough road off the Kalumburu Road to a campsite, where we readied ourselves for the 8.6km return walk the next morning. The walk was hard going with Jarvis but he was a trooper, he did about 3km of the walk by foot and the rest in the backpack (good going dad). Although the walk was hard work, it was amazing every step of the way. We passed across the grassy plains and into the palm laden river beds, past lily ponds and of course the waterfalls. They are tremendous. There are two smaller falls on the way there providing nice resting and swimming spots and the Mitchell Falls themselves comprised of a four tiered waterfall cascading into dark green pools set against the red rock.

We stumbled upon some amazing Aboriginal rock art sites along the walk into the falls, not an uncommon occurrence in the Kimberley, but we were lucky enough to have most of them to ourselves. There are literally thousands of rock art sites across the Kimberley, most unknown and unsuited by white man. The Wanjina art is associated with the contemporary communities of the area and is at least 4,000 years old. The often large scale, solid appearance of Wanjina art is in stark contrast to the Bradshaw / Gwion art. Bradshaw paintings have been found in tens of thousands of sites covering an area roughly the size of spain. The works are nothing like Aboriginal art found in other parts of the country and a great deal of controversy surrounds their origins. We visited several art sites including large rock caves covered in paintings, tiny nooks which we would have missed if we didn't look down at the exact right time and we even stumbled upon a burial site of two adults and child. We silently and respectfully moved on, obviously without taking any photos.

The journey out of the Kimberley was through some of the most spectacular scenery of the journey. The Cockburn Ranges are certainly some of the most stunning ranges in the country, shaped like a vast round fortress of high orange cliffs, they rise to over 600 metres above the surrounding plains. The formations are shaped by the rivers cutting through them. The largest of which is the Pentacost River, which we had to cross to make our final stretch of the Gibb River Road. The river crossing can be deep and saltwater crocodiles apparently like to hang about here. But Big Red had no troubles and we weren't hanging around to meet any hungry salties.

Although the final leg of the journey through the Kimberley was magnificent, it was also somewhat deflating. After such fabulous camping grounds and friendly stations, we were a little disappointed at the overpriced, busy resort style stations at the eastern end of the Gibb. Both Home Valley Station and El Questro were amazing stations to behold with manicured gardens, bars, pools and all the trimmings but rather than revelling in the luxury after our time in the bush, we were just a bit overwhelmed by it. So after a short visit at both, we decided to push on to Kununurra. 

Sitting here now in Kununurra in the lush Ord River Valley, we are dusting off and letting the memories of the last few weeks settle in. To say it was a trip of a lifetime doesn't seem quite right, as we are still on our journey. But somehow it does feel that we have completed something amazing. The Kimberley will forever hold our hearts and we are sure to be back someday.