Derby and Gibb River Road adventures...

Hi family and friends…. Here’s our latest:

Springtime! Sep 2- More Kimberley magic:

We are back in our tent, this time we are at Bell Gorge, a beautiful spot about 230 kms in on the dirt Gibb River Road – accessed from the western end, at Derby. (we went into El Questro from the eastern end of the Gibb River Rd)

After leaving the Bungle Bungles and collecting Molly (our van) we continued on to Halls Creek where we spent a night. The next day we drove to Fitzroy Crossing where we went in to see Geike Gorge- it’s a limestone gorge and the rock formations were formed 300-million years ago when the area was actually a see, and there was a barrier reef (which is now limestone rock formations)! Hard to imagine.

We continued west from there and made it to Derby in the day- Derby has the biggest tides in Australia- up to 12 metres. I must admit when we got there we were dog tired. Early this morning we organized a few things and I completed an article I am hoping will be published (have had one accepted so far, with another two looking promising)- then we stored Molly again at the caravan park in Derby and we were back on the Gibb River Road.

I am now sitting under the stars at a picnic table outside our tent- it’s a mild night and the moon, though not full, is quite bright. Despite a rather disorganized start (due to our tiredness we forgot to bring along a few things on this camping tripetc etc) today turned into an excellent day. Bell Gorge is really lovely, with a tiered waterfall and good swimming spot. It was a surprise to us how nice it was- when we walked in late this afternoon we weren’t even prepared with cossies- when we arrived at the waterfall and pool and saw how great it looked, we went in in our clothes anyway- it was so hot it didn’t matter. There were only four other people there and they soon left and we had the spot to ourselves, which was so peaceful. On the walk back out we saw some rock wallabies and I was lucky enough to see a spotted quoll, which was all a bit exciting as we haven’t seen one before. Adam just managed to see its tail before it scurried away between some rocks- a cute little thing. There were also lots of birds, so I was of course happy.

Driving back to our campsite the sun was just setting, bathing the land in a soft glow. The brown grass beneath the glowing white trunks of the gum trees looked beautiful- like a watercolour painting.

It’s now 7.30 pm and Adam just crawled into the tent, exhausted. We haven’t stopped lately and sleeping has been difficult (last night a child screamed for nearly an hour in the caravan park- the poor little thing was frantic, saying “mummy where are you?” over and over and then crying and yelling, until someone else obviously got up from their caravan –the whole park must have been awake by then- and went to the child’s tent/caravan and got them. The child was still saying “I want mummy”, but who knows where mummy was?? Not good).

Anyway, I think it’s time I went to bed too, to read for as long as my eyes stay open.

Sep 3

Another great day in the bush. We woke with the sun, as you do when you’re camping. It was very hot from early, which was a sign of things to come.

We started heading back on the Gibb River road (towards derby) – first stop Lennard Gorge – with sheer walls it was an impressive start to the day.

We then continued on to Tunnel Creek, where a watercourse actually runs beneath the limestone rock (the Devonian reef, formed 350-million years ago)- it’s carved a big tunnel, and during the Dry you can walk through - it’s about 750metres long. It was pretty cool walking through the cave, with a torch, and we had to walk through the water a few times. It was so dark we weren’t sure what was there (freshwater crocs do live in the creek).
When we came out of the creek tunnel, the day was scorching hot. Our car temp reading was 40 degrees!
We drove to Windjana Gorge, where we set up our tent, ready for tonight (it’s where I am sitting now). Then set off on the gorge walk- it was 3pm or so and still so so hot.
Luckily much of the walk was shaded, and the gorge is actually home to a huge population of freshwater crocs- in one fairly small stretch we counted 50! Also sitting on the sandy bank behind the crocs was a huge flock of corellas- must have been hundreds of them. The late afternoon sun looked pretty in the gorge too, so it was a good afternoon.
At 5pm the temp was still hovering at 32.
Managed to eat dinner before it became totally dark-it’s now 6.22pm and we are about to lay down with our books already! I’d say it will be an early night for Ma and Pa Kettle tonight.

Sep 4- back at derby, A big repack again as we put all the camping stuff back in the caravan and repacked the car and attempted to clean out the dust and dirt. We actually spent all afternoon washing clothes, cleaning up, packing etc. It feels good to be a bit more organized and tidy again now!
Bit cooler here in Derby with a sea breeze thankfully- we watched the sunset over the water while eating some crackers and dip- nice.
Tomorrow we head to Broome- yay! We have a full day there, and then go north to Cape Leveque (along a 200km dirt road)- looks tops in the piccies so we are looking forward to it- then of course back to Broome to meet up with Dad! Not long now Dad.

Love and hugs…. Emma and Adam xoxoxoxo