Week 9 - Purposeful Meandering around Oz

Kununurra – Home Valley Station – Bungle Bungles – Fitzroy Crossing

Kilometres          11006 - 12338 km

Our last day in Kununurra was fairly relaxed, the temperatures had slowly been climbing each day and the new sunrise n sunset times were still having an impact on our sleep pattern, coupled with a few van park residents who left for work at ridiculous times of the morning and we’d been having some pretty crap night’s sleep….

Diversion Dam - Kununurra

We headed out mid-morning to see a few more sights of Kununurra, one thing we seen was Diversion Dam, built pre the Ord River Dam it now supplies irrigation water to properties downstream of Kununurra and the locals with a much loved fishing and water ski haven. We also had to re-stock the cupboards as we were planning to be off the radar for a few days. Groceries, fuel, water and gas were all stocked up to maximum levels. We also stopped at the nearby Mirira National Park which literally borders the town. Our day wasn’t complete without a few swims in the pool and watching a majestic sunset of Lake Kununurra.

Emma Gorge

Tuesday was moving day and we were heading to El Questro Station, but the late mail courtesy of the locals was “don’t” stay at El Questro. This up market station has featured numerous times on holiday TV shows and whist we couldn’t afford the $3000/night resort rooms which overlook Chamberlin Gorge we thought the more affordable campground would be fun, but our hot tip was to stay just down the road at the less known “Home Valley Station” and upon our arrival we were instantly impressed. We didn’t even setup before jumping straight in the pool, where we ended up spending much of our day as temperatures soared to 36deg. This working cattle station caters for the tourist as a money spinner on the side. It has horse riding, fishing trips, helicopter rides, a pool, and a restaurant with live music each night and its set on some amazing ‘East Kimberley’ countryside.

Home Valley Station - Gibb River Rd

Having chosen to stay 3 nights at our newfound paradise we decided to go out exploring on Wednesday, we headed back along the Gibb River Rd to El Questro where we stopped at Emma Gorge. A rugged walk led to a breathtaking waterfall (complete with water this time). The kids didn’t hesitate and jumped straight in, then straight out LOL. The 65m high waterfall doesn’t get much sunlight but it looked amazing. We raced from there across to the local Zebedee Hot Springs where we had a more relaxing dip in the water. We continued further into the park where we checked out the view from a few of the spectacular lookouts. We finally laid eyes on the El Questro Homestead and we both were a little disappointed. Television had obviously over-inflated our expectations of what something should look like…. Needless to say we left El Questro even happier with our choice of accommodation. Back at the van we had a quick swim before watching a beautiful sunset over the Cockburn Ranges.

El Questro Wilderness Park

Thursday saw us having a relaxing day by the van, the kids had plenty of schoolwork to catch up on while Leonie and I caught up on some letter writing and journals. Once again the temperature hovered in the high 30’s and we were thankful that the homestead had a pool that we could cool off in. As the sun set on another beautiful day we headed to the nearby Pentecost River where we watched the changing colours of the cliffs on the Cockburn Ranges.

Sunset over the Pentacost River and Cockburn Ranges

It was with regret that we packed up and left Home Valley Station on Friday, the kids had made some friends and we’d enjoyed the relaxed remote atmosphere of the station, but there was more to see…. The trek back across the 50km of corrugated dirt and the river crossing were event free and we were soon back on the black-top. As we were close to Wyndham we drove north to check out the town where 5 rivers meet….. Whoop-de-doo!  After Wyndham, we headed south where we joined the longest highway in Australia, the Great Northern Hwy for our trip down to the Bungle Bungles. Along the way we encountered the countless road-trains that use this road hauling Nickel, Cobalt and Iron Ore from the Kimberley region. After a long day on the road we pulled into the Bungle’s van-park for a spot of bush camping. This remote place has no fresh water, only generator power, but 100% full phone signal because of all the nearby mines.

The Domes - Bungle Bungles NP

Once again the early sunrise had us awake before 6am so we headed off into the Purnululu NP (Bungle Bungles) nice n early. The 75km 1.5hr trip each way was some of the windiest and most corrugated dirt road I’ve been on. Sam felt queasy from all the twisty-turns, but the end result was amazing. The domes and gorges were amazing and whilst a better view can be had from the air, we were happy with our walk amongst the beehive domes. Returning to the van having spent much of the day in the park we were all happy to sit in our camp chairs and not be shaken to pieces…. Needless to say we were all in bed early that night.

Cathedral Gorge

Father’s Day has always been a special time for me, unfortunately I couldn’t have my eldest daughter with me but Samantha and Ethan have provided me plenty of laughter throughout the day. For us it was moving day but not before the kids showered me with gifts wrapped in tourist brochures…. it was a funny twist to our travels. Our journey today was one of those necessary evils, nothing to see but barren land for 400km but something that needed to be done. We stopped off at Halls Creek for a quick look around before arriving in Fitzroy Crossing late in the day. A refreshing swim in the pool and a BBQ with bourbon in hand has been the perfect way to end Father’s Day and this week.

Until next week

Ciao!