The Gibb River Road - Part III - We did the Gibb!

ELLENBRAE & EL QUESTRO

Mt Barnett Roadhouse to Ellenbrae Station was one of our longer Gibb driving days, about 180km. We had heard wildly different things about the state of the road going East. I did overhear one of the cashiers in the roadhouse telling a motorbike rider that it had just been graded within the last week and was "like a highway", others said it was a shocker. It might well have been graded, but as we were soon to learn it really does not take long for these roads to return to their natural corrugated and rocky form. The road deteriorated as we headed east and we really noticed it once we passed the Kalumburu turn off. It was the shocker we had anticipated. Ellenbrae was just 72km past the turn off and it was rough as - the worst of the whole 660km in hindsight. We just took it easy and were relieved to see the sign for Ellenbrae station advertising their famous scones with jam and cream!

We made it! On checking our tyres we noticed  a nasty 2-3cm slash on our front left tyre. It wasn't deep and we would be keeping an eye on (obsessing about) it. Should we change the tyre out for the spare now? Or wait for it to blow? It gave us lots to talk and think about. We had talked about replacing the tyres in Broome but thought we'd be OK....so we left it and decided to keep an eye on it.

 The eggometer - cracked eggs inside their special eggy cases, and then packed into the fridge, indicate a pretty bumpy road. I don't know how many eggs we have broken so far - maybe 3 or 4. It is obviously not ideal - makes a yucky, sticky mess, and now we are down an egg.

We can't hear much inside the car on roads like this due to all the rattling. We had let the tyres down a bit to make life a little more comfortable, but this puts the tyre sidewall at greater risk of a rock going through it. All part of the fun and guesswork.

Kids at the entry to the homestead at Ellenbrae. This is a working cattle station also offering camping with basic facilities, as well as a cafe serving their home made scone with jam and cream They have other snacks, as well as iced coffee and iced chocolate frappes in slushy machines! Wackadoo! We couldn't get in there fast enough. 

 The grounds are beautiful with lush green grass and tropical trees. And those slushies!! The noisy, dusty, jolting day in the car was quickly forgotten.

 Car park at Ellenbrae - that's our tiny little Nissan Patrol. The camp ground was a short drive from the homestead and had its own swimming waterhole with a rope swing.

 The outdoor hot showers at the campground. They were absolutely superb and as soon as we had set up and had our swims, Jemma and I went over for a wash. Note the metal watering can delivering the water.

 I love these little hand made signs that places put up. It really is common sense, but even though there were signs the toilet lids were always up. I didn't see any frogs, or snakes for that matter, in toilets.

 Ellenbrae also had their very own Sandy Gorge to explore. There were fish in the river...and a big snake...and we spied a crocodile (freshie) on the opposite river bank as we left. The drive in and out also provided us with some wood foraging opportunities and we were able to collect enough to have the first campfire for a very long time.

 The beautiful pandanus and paperbark lined waterhole just a 10 minute walk from the campground. Such a lovely spot to swim and cool off.

 Daisy the bull catcher at the homestead.

 Side view of Daisy and driver

 The waterhole in the morning. Andy and I took our early morning coffee to enjoy the serenity for a little while. We saw crimson finches in the grass and pandanus. Once we hit the Kimberley every time I hear finches I am so very hopeful they would be Gouldian Finches as I still have not seen one in the wild. Not this day. Australia's wild finches are noisy and gregarious and seem to be very social, if shy of us. James loves them and one if his favourite birds is the Zebra Finch. 

We had two nights at the campground at Ellenbrae, with the second night being much busier. Our full day was spent exploring Sandy Gorge, and enjoying the delights at the homestead while we could. We didn't visit here when we came in 2009, partially because we free camped where we could across the Gibb. As we are now a family of four and didn't carry a chemical toilet we were restricted to places with the luxury of a toilet.

Any travel set up will come with restrictions and compromises, and it's a fine line and balance to find what works best for you, at that time. It does, and will change. Andy and I have talked a LOT about ultimate set ups and rigs, and we intended to use this 2025 trip as an opportunity to do some window shopping. Initially we thought we were in the market for something to tow - we were not sure what. This trip has put towing in the NO column for us, for now. I am not saying never, ever. 

We are putting together a list of 'non-negotiables' (long range fuel tank, water storage solution, dual battery set up, 4WD, easy set-up/pack-down, chemical toilet, fridge/freezer combo > 40L), 'nice to haves' (integrated tyre inflater/deflater) and 'definitely nots' (motorhome, camper-trailer or caravan) to come back to when we are putting our next set up together for our next trip (oh, yes! the next one is already being planned).

We were pretty excited to be moving on as we would cross the Pentecost River and head to El Questro Station (we have been here before). The river  was not deep at all, but it is a wide crossing and its full of saltwater crocodiles which makes it a bit exciting. And then it's back to the tarmac. Time to air up...

 Airing up after crossing the Pentecost, with the Cockburn Range in the background. This is very much a Mum and Dad job - with the kids staying in the A/C.

El Questro is a pretty famous station at the Eastern end of the Gibb River Road. Another working cattle station, it opens to the public each dry season and offers so much to do. There are helicopter tours, 4WD tours, self drive tours and of course the stunning gorges with rocky walks and swims in waterfalls. There is a restaurant, and tavern and kiosk. And showers and washing machines! Huzzah! We had booked 6 nights knowing there was a LOT to do.

We were pretty excited and headed straight to check in. Eagerly, we headed off to our allocated 'riverside' camping spot...only to find it was NOT what we thought we had booked. Andy had booked online and chosen the {slightly} wrong option. This riverside site was packed in between two other, occupied riverside sites in the very busy caravan park. Maybe they had changed the sites? Maybe this is what they call it now? Had we remembered it incorrectly? It turns out that there is 'riverside camping' in the caravan park AND 'private riverside bush camping' (for tents and trailers only). 

We headed back to reception to see if we could switch our booking to the private bush camping we though we had booked. And YES!! They could. You do realise it's 8km away? With just a shared drop toilet? And no power? Yes, yes, yes! When I asked how much extra we would need to pay the lady laughed and said 'oh no, we owe you money'. So with a small refund, a new site allocated, and map in hand we headed out of the caravan park and into the bush to...

 ..."Cormorant Camp" on the Pentecost River, our home for the next 6 nights. We could not have been happier. We had a beautiful, huge, shady site with a fire pit on a no-through road meaning no cars driving past.

 The view from the camp site. It was so beautiful and peaceful, and at the same time raucous with bird song and screeches!

 Reminder

 Camp fire at El Questro

Our days at El Questro were spent exploring the different gorge walks and swimming holes. 

We had five full days for this but had allowed a half day (give or take) for driving to Kununurra for fuel and groceries as we were running low on supplies (and had no meat or veg left) and would be heading straight to Purnululu next (that big fridge/freezer on my list would have been super handy right about now).

Even the trees were spaced conveniently for hammocks. Here is Jemma snuggled into a hammock, and she has made a swing for some of her guys out of her recycled feta container.

 El Questro is stunning and a must visit.

 El Questro Gorge - this is as far as we walked, but the hike continued beyond the boulder.

 Contemplating how to get down again. They ended up sliding down the rock and splashing into the water.

 Vertical fern garden

 Hiking into Amalia Gorge

 The walking tracks had various surfaces from creek beds (sometimes dry, or not), to sandy tracks to massive boulders and rocks to clamber up and down.

 The beautiful water at the emerald pool below Emma Falls was too tempting for us.

 Sunrise at camp

 Every morning at El Questro I would wander along the track to see what animals had been through in the night. The animal tracks were perfectly preserved in the fine Kimberley dust. I think these are wallaby 'hands'.

 Now that is a BIG bird foot. That is my boot to the left. I do not have a massive foot but still, that belongs to a BIRD! I guessed Brolgas although I hadn't seen any. Not long after we had two brolgas take off right by our camp, I just hadn't seen them. 

 Supplies were getting low. These drawers are usually jammed full and when we left Broome we had another box full of food too. A quick trip to Kununurra (and back) one afternoon meant we could continue our amazing stay in the bush at El Questro. I also needed to get some birthday supplies as James's happy birthday was coming up. It was a 220km round trip - a little more than we are used to for our weekly shop!

 James lying on a warm rock after a swim. The water in most of the gorges is quite cold (not Karijini cold, but fresh for sure). 

 The ripple rock on the Emma Gorge walk.

 Emma Gorge - the kids found the warm, thermal trickle behind the rock and spent their time in there.

 When we saw the sign for Emma Gorge we HAD to do this. Pays to carry stationery items when you travel - you never know.

 Emma Gorge 1.0. 

We had enough days to do all the gorge walks and Zebeedee Springs, go to Kununurra and have a spare day. We decided to do the walks and then take a vote on what to do on the spare day after we had seen it all. Emma Gorge won, hands down. The walk itself isn't too crazy or long and the pool at the end with its droplet waterfall is beautiful. Our favourite.

 Amalia Gorge was a bit more challenging. We came to a stop at a sheer climb with virtually no holds and a drop into the water if we fell. The kids were fine and shimmied up (always) like goats, but Andy and I could not. We decided to call it and spent some time at this big pool.

 James and Jemma found their own pool at Zebeedee Springs - warm cascades.

 Random foot photo - it is REALLY hard to keep your feet clean.

 Just had a shower at El Questro station

 Heading out of Zebeedee Springs after a soak. The water was 34C and shallow. You could just perch on a rock and soak. And we did for over an hour. Then we all felt sleepy and silly.

 Lying on more rocks like lizards

 Behind our campsite was a very steep, 4WD track to pigeonhole lookout. We drove up once and the view was phenomenal. Jemma and I got up super early one morning and tramped up for the sunrise. I love sunrise so much. 

 This became a thing - pegging each other into the hammocks. 

 Getting those dirty socks and shoes back on to their wet and dirty feet! All socks are being binned after this trip. This is Emma Gorge 2.0 and it was not entirely without incident.

 Dingo drinking at one of the many river crossings. This was one of the deepest crossings we did on this trip at about 60cm.

Emma Gorge 2.0 - the incident.

On our way to the falls I was scrambling up this rock and my phone slipped out of the front pocket of my backpack, over my head and down that crack indicated by the red line and arrow. 

Initially I wasn't too worried as I could see it clearly. Just a simple matter of reaching it with....something...and getting it out. No surprises, but the more we poked at it with sticks the further it fell. 

Rocks were shifted. Bodies were squished between rocks. Arms and shoulders were hyper extended. Tears were shed. All those photos! Months of no wifi meant that thousands of my photos had not been backed up to the cloud. Thousands! All those memories. How would I stay in touch with my family?

After unsuccessfully trying to retrieve my phone for about 45 minutes, and lots of opinions from fellow walkers (some really helpful, some just plain stupid), Andy and Jemma walked the kilometre or so back to the carpark to gather whatever items they could that might be of use; a borrowed pair of long tongs from Emma Gorge Resort (thank you), a magnetic phone charger and cable, and a roll of duct tape. 

My phone was NOT lost, I knew exactly where it was. People did offer to help. Everyone gave me pitying looks - how bloody unlucky! Of all the places to lose your phone! The most common offer was to get a skinny kid in there. We had tried this, as I have two of my own, but their arms were not long enough.

Meanwhile James and I stayed at the site.James was a a great support and consoled me when I started to accept that it really was lost to me (despite knowing exactly where it was). I was so frustrated. And upset. And hot. Sweaty.

All. Those. Photos.

We spent a very long time, probably 2.5 hours all together, trying to retrieve my phone. At different times the phone could be seen and almost reached, I was able to touch it with the tongs but not quite grab it. 

Andy was able to maneuver it with the magnetic charger and cable. But first he reinforced the charger and cable connection with the tape so we didn't lose this as well. His phone will only charge on this contraption. If he can't charge his phone, and I didn't get mine back, neither of us would have one. 

And then another person came along and offered to have a go at getting it out. By this point I'd say 30 people had tried. No harm in trying. This man, whose name I do not know, came at just the right moment. Five minutes earlier and my phone had been in a different, unreachable spot. And just like that, this helpful stranger was able to grab it with the tongs and get it out of that crack. I hugged and kissed him and thanked him.

After all that, I had my phone back.

And then we continued up the track to the falls for a much needed swim.  I didn't mention that it was also very hot and we had been out in the heat for hours longer than we had planned. 

 Dirt lining my face just before jumping in for a swim at the refreshing pool at the end of Emma Gorge.

 All through this stupid ordeal my family never gave up. Never asked me to give up. They were willing to stay with me and help me for as long as I was willing to keep trying. No one, single thing led me to getting my phone out of that crack - the hours of trying, the help of strangers, the magnetic 'fishing' line. 

Since this day, my phone has never been loose in my back pack. 

And if the kids see a sheer drop or a big crack in a rock they are quick to remind me to hang on to my phone, 'cos you might not get it back from that one, Mum!

The next day I had bruises and cuts and scratches all over my arms, shoulders, neck and chest. I was sore for a few days. But I have my photos - some of them are on here.

 Just like that our 6 nights at Cormorant camp site on El Questro were over. We had such a magical stay here. And we would all like to go back again some day. 

Our experience at El Questro was undoubtedly enhanced by the remote bush camping location. I doubt we would have lasted 6 nights in the caravan park, not least because that's not what we thought we had signed up for. Other families I spoke to certainly had a very different experience to us. Just something to keep in mind. There aren't that many places where camping in ground tents is advantageous but this was certainly one of them.

 We did it! We did the Gibb! 

We didn't buy the sticker until a few weeks later. Andy and I are not particularly superstitious but we don't talk about things going wrong with the car, until they go wrong. 

While the GRR is not difficult or technical four wheel driving, it is really hard on your vehicle. You need to be prepared to change tyres at the very least. It is super dusty,  corrugated or rocky, and sometimes both at once. There are multiple water crossings. The tyres and suspension take an absolute battering, and for every bolt and nut you can see to tighten, there are likely dozens rattling loose unseen.

We heard a lot of caravanners talking about cupboard doors coming off hinges and dust getting in gaps and vents they didn't know existed. 

Our trusty Patrol got us across the Gibb and enabled us to experience the vast and stunning wilderness of the Kimberley. Would I do it again? 100% definitely YES. This time was different to last time, and next time will be different again.

We got going pretty early from El Questro as we were heading for Purnululu National Park aka The Bungle Bungles. It was a decent drive, 240km, just to the park entry and then another 65km on one of the  worst roads in Australia if rumours are to be believed...