Mt Elizabeth station

11th May 2013

After a good sleep and breakfast we set of about 8.15am for the hike into Manning Gorge, about an hour & a half away. We started off having to cross the waterhole again, with the girls once again ferrying us across in the small boat.

Once on the other side the hike started and it was certainly one of the hottest hikes we have done, but once we had reached the end we were once again rewarded with a spectacular waterfall and swimming hole.

Manning Gorge was similar to Bell Gorge with the advantage of being able to climb the rocks next to the waterfall, which was fantastic. There was also a couple of rock ledges that you could walk out to and jump into the deep pool below.

We had met up with another couple we had met at the last campsite, John & Ruth with their kids Callan & Nikki, which Chloe & Maggie enjoyed playing with.

All the kids had a go at jumping of the first ledge, which was about 4m above the water, very brave!

The kids then looked at the higher ledge, which was about 6m above the water and asked if they cold jump off of it as well. Of course before they did, they wanted to see an adult jump off first, so off I went. With that done, the kids all took turns in jumping off the higher ledge, we had a great time in another amazing setting.

At about 12.30pm, we had to start the hot hike back to the campground and hot it was. The waterhole that had to be negotiated just near the campsite, was a welcome treat as we put the backpack in the boat and pulled that over and then swam across to the other side - beautiful

After lunch, we packed down and headed off for our next stop at Mt Elizabeth Station, about 80kms away. The drive took us about 2hrs, due to some of the road conditions we encountered along the way. A highlight of the drive into the station, was seeing our first dingo of the trip, awesome.

At the homestead we were greeted by about 10 wallabies grazing in the paddock and the place instantly had a good feel to it. We checked in and set up camp for the evening under the shade of gum trees and pandanis palms, very nice. Not long after set up, we had a bull and a hefer walk through the campsite, if we had any doubts we know we're definitely in station country now!

We've decided to join a tag along tour on the station tomorrow, which will take in about 90kms of the property which should be great!

Manning Gorge

10th May 2013

Another early start today, thanks to the white cockatoos flying over head at 5.30am and squawking loudly enough to wake up the whole campsite, meant that we were up, packed, said our goodbyes to Matt, Maggie, Brynn & Meya and ready for the road by about 7.30am.

We were heading for Manning Gorge today, which was only about a 120km drive, with the plan being to stop off at 2 gorges along way.

After about 70kms we came across the turn off to our first gorge, Adcock Gorge, which was only 5kms off the Gibb, apparently. Well we followed the rough track down for about 4kms until it basically went into a dried up creek, with no more tyre tracks left to follow and no gorge in sight, we made the decision to turn around and head for the 2nd gorge, hoping to have more luck.

Shortly after, we found the car park to Galvans Gorge, which is only a short 1.5km walk from the roadside and it was a very beautiful spot. Galvans was a small gorge with a picturesque waterfall coming in at the rear and falling into a small waterhole, as I said very beautiful.

We then made our way to the Mt Barnett Roadhouse, which was also the entrance point for the overnight campsite for Manning Gorge. We had to refuel at the road house, paying our highest price yet for fuel at $2.40 per litre, but when you are literally in the middle of nowhere what would you expect?

Our plan was to hike to the main waterfalls in the afternoon, but the previous day had caught up with Maggie, so we decided to slow the afternoon down and just go to the closest swimming hole and take a refreshing dip and yet again, it was another beautiful spot.

We spent the best part of 2hrs here, with the novelty of a small boat you could pull yourself from bank to bank across the waterhole, which the girls took great delight in playing in and ferrying many hikers across from one side to the other while we were there.

We spent our time just relaxing, which was just what the doctor ordered and have decided to tackle the main gorge walk tomorrow morning before hitting the road again.

We have been told that Manning Gorge is stunning. So can't wait to get into again tomorrow, until then....

Bell Gorge

9th May 2013

Well I had an early start today, with about a 3km walk just on sunrise, it was a great way to start the day. When I returned, Rach greeted me with a coffee, could it get any better.

The answer is yes, because after breakfast we went to Bell Gorge and it was nothing short of spectacular!

We arrived around 8.30am and made the 3km hike into the gorge. After about 2.5km the creek we had been following opened up into the main river just above the waterfall at the top of the gorge. We rock hopped across the river and began the steep descent into the gorge and the crystal water in the pools below the falls.

When we got to the bottom, it was just awesome. The water hole was beautiful to swim in and I could just keep going on and on about how spectacular the view in the gorge was.

We also met up with Matt, Maggie (yes another one!) and their kids Brynn & Meya and spent the best part of the day there exploring the different pools, coming across water monitors in the bottom pools which were sunning themselves on the rocks.  We had met Matt & Maggie on the Lennard Gorge walk briefly and then again at the campsite. By the way, did I mention how spectacular the views were?

Anyway, we hiked out of the gorge at about 1.30pm, as a large tour group came in, and headed for a drive to the Imintji Store on the Gibb about 35kms away. The reason for this is that we have had a couple of dramas with our battery pack charging in the car and we were trying to get some charge into it so it didn't go flat and we could run the Engel. Well we had to stop a few times along the way, replace some fuses and change a set up or two in the way things were stored in the back, but thankfully we have got everything up and running ok!

After an ice cream at the store, we made our way back to camp where we cleaned up, ate dinner and then had a few drinks with Matt & Maggie, along with the a few other people and their kids who had come into camp that afternoon. A great night was had and a well earned rest after a magnificent day.

By the way did I mention the spectacular view we saw today?

Tunnel Creek

7th May 2013

What a way to start the day, we woke to the sun rising over Windjana Gorge, just sensational!

After breakfast, we headed off to Tunnel Creek National Park, about 37kms further down the road from our campsite at Windjana. We arrived around 9.30am and after getting our bearings headed for the tunnel opening.

Tunnel Creek is a 1.7km tunnel which runs through/under the Napier Range and once again is truly amazing.

After a short climb down over rocks and a fallen tree, we came to the mouth of the tunnel. The walk through the tunnel was relatively easy as we crossed sand banks, rock formations and the odd creek crossing, most of which were only ankle deep, although one was up to about waist height. This is where we saw our first freshwater croc of the walk.

The walk through Tunnel Creek was absolutely spectacular and when we had reached the end of the tunnel we decided to walk on. As the trail ended, we looked up and we had come out the other side of the Napier Range. We  found ourselves climbing up the rocks toward the top of the range to get a look out over the range.

We climbed back down and went back through the tunnel and once we had reached the mouth again we decided it was a beautiful spot to stop and have lunch. So we spent the next hour or so just enjoying this beautiful place, the girls made boats out of bark & driftwood which they floated in a small pool and we just took it all in.

We drove back to Windjana and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the shade and planning the next few days ahead.

It's been a great start to the Gibb and we can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

Broome to Windjana Gorge

6th May 2013

Well it was time to leave Broome and after breakfast and final pack up we said our goodbyes to Tanya and we were on our way by 8.30am to tackle the mighty Gibb River Road.

We made our way to Derby, where we checked conditions of the road  ahead at the Tourist Info, refuelled, did a supply shop and checked out the jetty, where we saw a family catching mud crabs. One of Derby's claim to fame (some may say only) is that it has the second highest tides in the world (Broome is 3rd!!!).

After a brief stop for lunch and the obligatory photo of us parked under a Gibb River Rd sign we were off on yet another adventure and we were once again all very excited. The first 100kms of the Gibb is bitumen and then it's onto the gravel from there.

 Our first stop on the Gibb was Windjana Gorge (124kms from Derby). The 3.5km gorge is part of the Napier Range has been formed over the past 360 million years where the Lennard River has carved this magnificent gorge.

We arrived around 2pm, set up camp and headed off for a hike through the gorge. Windjana, which has to be seen to be believed was once part of a Great Barrier Reef, which was very hard to fathom, as we looked up at the towering gorge walls above us, another amazing experience.

During our hike, the girls spotted about 40 freshwater crocodiles floating in the river, it was awesome to see. It's because of the high concentration of freshwater crocs here, that they recommend that people don't swim in the river, which was a shame, because it was still about 38 degrees at 4pm, so a swim would have been fantastic.

After about an hour & a half through the Devonian reef, we headed back to camp where we had dinner, did some star gazing in our "million star hotel" and turned in for an early night.

A great way to start the Gibb!

Chloe's 10th Birthday in Broome

Happy Birthday Chloe!!

The day started with Maggie waking us all up and telling us it was 9am, so we quickly scrambled out of bed to make sure we could get  into  the big day which Chloe had planned. As we were making the coffees, I glanced at the clock to see that it was in fact only 7am, another cheeky moment!!

We gave Chloe her presents and then started on the days itinerary, first up was pancakes for breakfast, which went down a treat.

We then all wandered down to the local skate park again and spent some time there, as the girls played on the rock climbing walls and ran laps around an obstacle course they had conjured up.

We then headed back home, got a few things ready and went back down to Town Beach where we had lunch at the cafe overlooking Roebuck Bay, then afterwards played at the water park, which was a lot of fun.

After that we made a stop at Matso's Brewery (believe it or not this was not on Chloe's original itinerary), which no visit to Broome would be complete without doing and had a refreshing Ginger Beer, one of the many brews they  are well known for.

The Family at Matso's

Enjoying a refreshing Ginger Beer

Another iconic area of Broome was next, Cable Beach, where we spent the next couple of hours enjoying a swim. The water temperature was so warm (close to 30 degrees apparently) so for once the girls weren't shivering and turning blue within minutes of getting in.

We stayed at the beach until 4pm and then quickly dashed home (luckily most things in Broome are only about 10 minutes away) grabbed some supplies, the BBQ, outdoor chairs and table and headed down to Gantheume Point to swim again, have dinner on the beach and watch a beautiful Broome sunset.

Another exciting thing to happen while at the beach, was that Maggie finally lost one her front teeth, she was very pleased as she really wanted it to come out in Broome - she got her wish.

A very happy Maggie - minus one tooth!

All in all just a great day and one we hope Chloe never forgets.

The Resuggan Family - Sunset at Gantheume Point

We are leaving Broome to tackle the Gibb River Rd tomorrow, which we are very excited about, so this meant when we got home we had to start packing the van and preparing to hit the road in the morning.

We plan to be on the Gibb for the best part of 2 weeks and will have limited internet access meaning the blog may fall behind a little, but rest assured that we will be updating it at every opportunity, until then.....

Broome Time

Friday 3rd May

Well we have had a fantastic few days in Broome, it has been great to see our friend Tanya and her brand new home! Here's a bit of a summary of the first 2 days.

On Friday we had a family day out whilst Tanya had to work. We headed in to the town and basically we shopped up a storm for most of the day. We had to by some stocks for the van and the girls wanted to grab some new shorts, shirts and souvenirs for themselves.

That night Tan had an engagement party to go to, so Rach tagged along to that, which left me to settle in with the kids and watch Friday Night Football - bugger!

Saturday 4th

On Saturday morning the girls headed to a local skate park before going into town where they had the local markets on. While I was tempted to go along, I resisted the urge and spent the morning cleaning out the car and van and fixing a few minor things on the van.

In the afternoon we all went down to Town Beach, where there is a relatively new water park which the girls loved.

The Girls at  the Water Park

Later that night we all went out to the outdoor cinemas in Broome called Sun Pictures which is 100 years old, a really interesting venue.  We watched The Croods, it was a great setting and a very funny movie. We all had a great night.

Tanya & girls outside the cinemas

When we got back home, Chloe planned the next days itinerary as it was her birthday, our little girls is turning 10, unbelievable! Looking at the list, it will be a big day out, but lots of fun. Until then......