Locations: El Questro, Ellenbrae, Manning

Regions: Kimberley WA

Dates: 4 August 2024 – 6 August 2024

Temperatures: 16 – 34 degrees, hot

Sunday 4 August

El Questro to Ellenbrae 169km’s

Total trip kilometres: 4860

We have already travelled well over the estimated 4300 kilometres for this section of our travels but I didn’t include side trips. I think in Katherine alone we did about 400 extra kilometres so you can see how the numbers quickly grow. Sometimes we even travel further just to fuel up. From El Questro to Derby we have 635km of the Gibb River; at least half of that gravel and the toughest part.

We leave El Questro just before 8:30am crossing the Pentecost creek at the gate.

Once back on the highway we turn left on the Gibb River road with the stunning Cockburn range now on our right.

The range will stay in sight until at least Home Valley station I reckon.

17km on we cross the Pentecost River.

Within 1 kilometre of the gravel road starting on the other side of the Pentecost River our aerial snapped! First casualty!

Update: The Pentecost River crossing video won’t load so I have removed it.

Home Valley Station Visit

The road is rough with corrugations and rocks and the vibrations are bone jarring at times. It’s hard to maintain any speed either – I’m talking 50-60km’s at most but even that’s difficult due to the rocks and constant floodways. You need a bit of speed on corrugated road as going slower just makes the vibrations worse.

We see the sign for Home Valley and decide to call in. It’s 4km in off the road but it’s good to stop and take a break, especially on a hard stretch.

Home Valley is charming.

As we drive out of Home Valley we see the most amazing view of the Cockburn Ranges. Wow!

No long after this we see a lookout and the views of the ranges are equally stunning.

Continuing on we pass two cars, the first with a puncture and then not long after coming the other way, another car with a puncture. We then pass another vehicle and the owner is trying to fix a running board that’s come loose… then we find ourselves behind a slow truck with a slew of traffic coming the other way.

We slow to let the truck get further ahead but it makes the vibrations way worse and it’s going very slow so we eventually have to pass him which is bit scary with all the dust.

The next stretch has some bitumen with some steep up and then down, then up again. Then a creek and then we pass another car that has done a wheel, maybe the axle!

Another river crossing, this one is the Durack River. This is very very rough going!

Just after the Durack River; which in of itself was very rough to cross, the road turn brutal, with endless corrugated gravel and large rocks everywhere, this continues the rest of the 18-20km to Ellenbrae.

Along the way we see a car coming towards us, almost sideways but he recovers, thankfully!

List of injury’s

– Broken Antennae

– Korean BBQ Sauce all through fridge

– Milk bottle sprung a hole, milk everywhere

– Shelf on bench and fixed to the wall in bathroom – all the products jumped out.

– Bathroom door off it’s runners again

– Container of Farfale pasta spilt all through cupboard.

-Bottle of ginger ale sprung a hole and all over the floor.

We consider ourselves lucky though as we saw two punctures, a broken running board and a broken axle along the way.

The sign to Ellenbrae is welcome. The camp is a bit dusty but there is a nice waterhole, complete with Freshies, but that’s ok. Rob swims, I wade. There’s also toilets and showers.

We chat to other travellers. It’s a relief to be here.

After our shower and a chat with Hazel, Rob’s mum, Rob watches the Lions game while I make dinner – BBQ Steak with Potato and a Lentil Salad before we have an early night.

Monday 5 August 2024

Temperature: 16 – 33, bit overcast, sunny, hot

Ellenbrae to Manning Gorge 160km’s

Total trip kilometres: 5060

Sunrise

We are up early most days, today no exception. Rob makes coffee then gets stuck into finishing the repair on the ensuite door. I make breakfast, egg on sourdough toast today and start preparing for travel today. We are off to Manning Gorge and hopefully the road will get better soon.

We say goodbye to Ellenbrae about 9:00am and shortly pass over Dawn Creek.

For the first hour and about 40km of driving the road remains rough like yesterday and the landscape continues to be low grassland bush.

Then we pass two young men juggling!

Weird as it sound’s, their car had overheated and they were passing the time juggling.

For the next hour the road gets steadily better as we had heard about and hoped! We cross Ross Creek and before long come to the Kalumburu Road junction.

At the junction we stop for a toilet break and another Traxx van comes in. We have seen this van twice this morning. A chat starts and before long other travellers join in. The conversation jumps from this road to that, this stop to that and so on. one couple are heading up the Kalumbura Road to the Gibb River camp so Rob decides we should head up there too, it’s only 3km’s…

We head up and the Gibb River looks very inviting, but it’s busy.

We turn right off the road, hoping for a turn around but the track gets sandy and before you know it, we are bogged!

Had to happen sometime!

Rob put the Wee Beastie in low range and we got our trax out but we ended up deeper. Cal from Chinchilla and his wife Glenis who are camped nearby take pity on us and were very helpful and tow us out in no time. A big thank you and appreciation of the kindness of strangers.

Meanwhile I have spotted an Azure Kingfisher.

We head off again on the last leg to Manning Gorge. The road is wide and really good and the Savannah grassland continues with some signs of either fire management or fire.

We cross a couple more water ways that look like great spots to camp.

Then we see an escarpment on our left and we know we can’t be far.

We pull in at the roadhouse, register then continue on another 7km to the camp ground. When we drive in we see our van but bigger with its own wee beastie so it’s a jinx! A chat with owners Tim and Amanda follows and we organise for a photo before together before we leave.

After setting down we walk down to the creek for a dip. It’s beautiful with a sandy bottom and has to be swim across tomorrow with our gear in a drum at the start and finish of the gorge walk.

On the way back we see some cute finches, I have the dirtiest feet and we have a big boab right behind us.!

Tuesday 6 August 2024

Temperature: 16 – 34

Manning Gorge Walk

So we set off just after 7:30 for this hike as it gets so hot in the middle of day and the UV is extreme too. We still get a hint of winter though as the heat falls out of the day around 5pm and the nights are lovely and cool.

As I mentioned the hike starts with a swim across the creek with your boots and gear in a drum. I didn’t get pictures as we started as we were offered to share a drum with two others and I didn’t want to hold them up to much.

The hike is 5.4km return, grade 4 with an elevation of 100m. The track is rocky and there are white dots and arrows to follow.

We see a few little lizards like this guy but otherwise no creatures. After getting the Azure Kingfisher yesterday my next creature of interest is the Frilled Neck Lizard.

The track meander from rock hopping to trail and back again and the last section of the walk is a gorge, down then up and then a big rocky bit of down into Manning Gorge. The first pool is gorgeous but the falls are still around the corner and down two steep rock ledge sections.

It was worth the rock scramble. The Gorge and Falls are very pretty. There are quite a few people here, one APT tour group and some families too. The kids are jumping from the rock ledge surrounding the falls.

Rob’s in for a dip, then a walk around the falls while I take photo’s, then we swap and I swim before we enjoy a swim together.

The water is lovely, cool but not cold.

We reluctantly head back around 11:00am after a couple of hours enjoying the Gorge, enjoying the views of the escarpment on the way back and our swim back across Manning Creek after a hot walk.

Tomorrow we head for Imintji campground and from there Bell Gorge.

Stay safe and take Carrie off each other.

Love to all, Maryann and Rob xx