TripRoundUnder

Leaving Manning Gorge, we had a fateful decision to make. Do we take the track up to Mitchell Falls which would add three days onto our trip or continue down the main road to Ellenbrae Station… We had talked to a few travellers heading the opposite way and all of them had stories of blown tyres and rough roads… and with the troopy being our home and not really keen to risk our tyres, we decided to play it safe and leave Mitchell Falls for our next trip earlier in the dry season.

In more positive news, this left us with plenty of time to fully invest in the rest of the Gibb, without rushing or worrying about our food stores.

Our next stop was Ellenbrae Station and if you’ve ever travelled through North West WA, you would likely of heard about their famous scones! After a long drive, we arrived at the station just before dark and Steve was pleased to hear that they would be screening the AFL finals game on the lawn out the front of the station. We pulled up our chairs and when you think about it, it was pretty awesome we were able to watch a game being played all the way in Melbourne from a tiny station in the middle of nowhere North West WA, with a bunch of strangers. All part of the travelling life!

The next morning we felt it would be rude to leave without sampling the previously mentioned scones and they definitely lived up to our expectations!

We also decided to check out Ellenbrae Gorge on the out of the station. Although we were starting to get a little nervous of crocodile action, it was to have a refreshing swim before the long drive to our final stop on the Gibb, El Questro Station.

Driving along this Easterly part of the Gibb, it was interesting to see how the landscape was starting to change. Previously, we had been driving through mountain ranges and scrubland, but now the sides of the road were beginning to spread out, with vast plains and large rivers starting to become more obvious. Steve was very excited to get his camera out and start capturing some of these views!

Although the famous Pentecost River had almost dried up coming towards the end of the dry season, it was still an unreal experience to cross over this landmark that we had heard so much about!

It was now time to check out El Questro, the largest and probably most famous station on the Gibb River Road. The drive into the main station area was an adventure in its own right, with another couple of water crossings easily handled by the troopy.

El Questro was a little bit of a shock to the system, with an outback resort being a slight change from the bush camps we had been used to! A few lemonades and some live music later, we were feeling very relaxed.

The next morning was a special day for Steve as he was turning 27, or 30 as Lauren kept telling everyone we met. In classic Lauren fashion, she had even made a birthday cake using just a gas cooktop, putting the pot with the cake mixture inside another pot of boiling water. Very clever. She has also managed to pull off the impossible the night before, creating an unreal lasagna (Steve’s favourite meal) on the same gas cooktop!

Post morning birthday cake, we were off to spend the day exploring the many gorges that El Questro has to offer. Our first location was Zebedee hot springs, which I’m sure would be amazing on a cooler day and was definitely beautiful, but by mid morning, the outside temperature was already over 35 degrees, not exactly hot springs weather.

Moving on, we drove a little further up the road to what turned out to be Steve’s favourite gorge of the Gibb, Emma Gorge. There was a 3km semi challenging walk to get to the main swimming hole and the challenges began before the walk even started when Steve got the fright of his life flushing the toilet and a green tree frog came out with the water.

The views on the way up to the gorge were spectacular, with the afternoon sun highlighting the red rock of the towering cliffs and the green undergrowth below.

We made it to the main gorge and boy was it a sight to behold. Standing at the bottom of the huge waterfall, you felt like you had entered an oasis. There was even a local freshwater croc greeting you on arrival and there was an unspoken rule that the left side of the pool was his side for swimming. There was even a side section that had warm water bubbling up from underground hot springs!

Lauren had been very kind and booked dinner at the El Questro Steakhouse that evening, albeit reserved under ‘Steve’s 30th’, so we dragged ourselves away from Emma Gorge and we were excited for our first fancy meal out in some time! Although we had some issues ordering our food, it ended up being delicious, with a highlight being the freshly caught local Barramundi!

The next day’s drive out of El Questro signalled the end of our Gibb River Road adventure, but stay tuned and subscribe for more North West WA content coming soon!