Day 54 - Gibb River Road - El Questro to "Not Quite There Yet."

 (Kate)

Day 54 – Starting the Gibb River Road.

We drove to Emma Gorge, about 10km back eastwards along the main track. The walk to the swimming hole was 3.2km return walking over uneven ground and rocks. The swimming hole at the end of the walk was cold and refreshing- most welcome. Nicole found her way into a warm bath rock-pool, coming out one side of the gorge, and said it was lovely. The whole walk and swim probably took us 4 hours. When we got back to the carpark, we rewarded ourselves with an ice cream from the kiosk, then headed west along the Gibb. We found a brilliant roadside stop on Wikicamps, called “Not Quite There Yet”, where we could see the sun setting over the Pentecost River. A family who stayed there a week or so ago left a “rock family” and asked for other visitors to add to it, so we did, and posted it on Facebook for them. The family replied, saying that this had made their children’s day. We had a comfort campfire, and all went to bed pretty early.

The western end of the Gibb River Road

"Not quite there yet" roadside stop

The Pentecost River in the background

 (Kate)

Day 53 – El Questro – Zebedee Springs, then rest afternoon

Zebedee Springs was open for all visitors until 12 noon, then closed/reserved for private tour groups. Space was limited in the beautifully warm thermal pools. It was a short walk to the springs from the carpark. A sign in the carpark said “if the carpark is full, then the springs are full too, so please return to visit another time.” COVID safety and just general sensibleness. The springs pools were so small that I was unable to get a photo without people other than our family in it, so there are no pics of the actual pools.

We had a rest afternoon back at camp. There were 3 brolgas that were fossicking on the creek back near our campsite, maybe 50 metres away. For what it's worth, I took some photos, but they were too far away to see clearly. One of the roads in El Questro was lined with Boab trees, some of which had lots of fruit on them.

One of the Brolgas.  Not a great photo I'm afraid.

Is this a Coolibah tree?

A Boab with lots of fruit.  Apparently they are tasteless but a good source of vitamin C. 

Ben's new favourite tshirt

A Boab with leaves.  We haven't seen many like this.

Day 52 - Lake Argyle Resort to El Questro

 (Kate)

Day 52 – Lake Argyle to El Questro.  Also the 15^th birthday of Keith

Packed up at Lake Argyle and headed to Kununurra to stock up on essentials.  We headed west, and called ahead to El Questro to check the availability of unpowered sites.  All good.  It took us about 1.5hours to get there.  The setup at El Questro is massive, catering for all levels of accommodation.  We are not allowed to put grey water on the ground here, but have to take it to designated dump points.  Slightly annoying, but we used the mighty barrel to collect our handwashing water and dishwashing water, and drove it to the dump point when we needed to.  It’s very windy and dusty here, but such is life in the outback.

Day 51 - Lake Argyle Resort - Day trip to Kununurra and Spring Creek

(Kate)

 Day 51 - day trip to Kununurra and Spring Creek. Some 4wd-ing and and swimming.

Nicole drove all the way there and did a terrific job. Spring Creek was nice. The lower pool was a nice temperature. There were lots of spiders (Golden Orbs maybe) camped out in webs between branches that were poised over the water's edge, waiting to catch insects. There were lots of dragon flies, some blue and some red.

There was also an upper pool accessible by a precarious rock climb. Ben checked it out and declared the upper pool to be beautiful, and kindly found a more Kate-friendly way to get there. Kate does not do precarious rock climbs. After climbing up there the long way, it was indeed beautiful. Keith enjoyed jumping off the rocks into the "grotto" pool. Nicole and Ben enjoyed swimming, while Kate enjoyed her book and admired the scenery.

Day 50 - Lake Argyle Resort - Durack Homestead visit, and 4WD sunset hill visit

 (Kate)

Day 50 – Lake Argyle Resort – Durack Homestead visit, and 4WD sunset hill visit

We went for a self-guided tour of the dam wall, and then drove the short distance out to the Argyle Homestead Museum, which told the story of the Durack family.  The original homestead was located where the bottom of the lake is now, but it was relocated for posterity.  An amazing story.  There is a resident bowerbird in the front garden of the museum.  His name is Patsy.

In the afternoon we swam in the infinity pool, then near sunset, we packed our chairs and happy hour drinks and snacks into the car, and drove to a 4WD sunset lookout near the homestead.  It overlooked the lake, and was very nice and peaceful.  2 other cars were there.  One had 2 dogs, one of which looked like a kelpie, and brought us sticks to throw for him to retrieve.  It was lovely dog therapy.