Day 17 05/06/2013 Kununurra to Home Valley Station.
From our campsite it was only a very short walk to see the sun come up over Lily Creek lagoon and to listen to the dawn chorus. We were packed up and on our way by 7am! We hadn't planned a long day.....about 150km to Home Valley Station. The road from Kununurra to the start of the Gibb River Road is sealed, and to our surprise so was the next 50 or so km to the turn off to El Questro Wilderness Park. When we last travelled this way....six years or so ago now.....this 50 km was unsealed.
It was a bit of a shock to get back on to the dirt again after so many days of smooth driving, particularly as the road was very corrugated. BUT this is what we have come out here for...........to take the road less travelled!
Well........ that used to be the case. Now, so many people have 4WD vehicles and 'doing the Gibb River Road' seems to be a rite of passage. It is one of the classic outback treks in Western Australia, however not to be undertaken lightly. Because the road is closed in the wet season, May to October are the only months that it is possible to drive this way, so it can get fairly busy, although by all accounts we are fortunate not to be here during the July school holidays.
If you bypass El Questro, which we did because we have been twice before, (although it is well worth visiting), then the first 'experience/challenge', (depending on how deep it is), is crossing the mighty Pentecost River. This is a stony river crossing, which should not be 'walked' to check the depth, because it has a large population of 'salties', (Estuarine crocodiles), in it! Since this year's wet season did not bring significant rain, the water was clearly not very deep and traversing it was not a problem. This crossing, with the magnificent Cockburn Range as a backdrop, is said to be one of the most photographed river crossings in Australia. The best time to do this is late afternoon when the sun is on the rocks.
It was only a further 10km to the turn off to Home Valley Station. This station provides a variety of tourist accommodation and is a very popular first or last port of call along the Gibb. In addition to a B&B, there are two campgrounds. One at the homestead, and one 4km further away overlooking the river. We chose the latter, and after setting up camp, (it's quite busy but there is lots of space), we drove back to the homestead from where we set off on a 2 hour return walk to Bindoola Gorge. At the conclusion of the walk we had a swim in the lovely in-ground swimming pool! Not quite as fancy as the infinity pool at Lake Argyle, but very refreshing all the same, and we had it all to ourselves! It seems a bit odd having a swimming pool out here, but there is definitely no swimming in any of the rivers or creeks because of the crocs. There is also a restaurant and bar... called the 'Dusty Bar and Grill', where we had a cold beer and a delicious lunch! Dave had a Caesar salad which would put many cafes in the 'big smoke' to shame. It had plenty of anchovies and the egg on top was exactly the right consistency. My Greek salad was delicious too.....lots of olives and feta cheese. We even sat around the pool after lunch....until it got too crowded and made us feel that we were in a resort, rather than in the outback......... So......we headed back to our bush camp. We watched a group of people fishing......they caught two very big Barramundi........ and then we began dinner preparations until sunset. Sundown in this part of the Kimberley is very special and the evening colours brought the Cockburn Range to life; red to pink to purple hues, as the sun set. The Pentecost river is tidal and it was fascinating to see how quickly it filled up as high tide approached. We lit a campfire and used it to cook a delicious dinner. There is no moon at all and the stars are again putting on a great show.