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PREVIOUS OUR LATEST ADVENTURE - KIMBERLEY ESCAPES
Travelling along the Tablelands Track.
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KIMBERLEY ESCAPES
For most of August and September we travelled in the remote Kimberley of north western WA. This vast area offers four wheel drive adventurers some of the most remote country in Australia to enjoy.
After leaving Kununurra we headed out to Drysdale River station where we had a pleasant camp on the river of the same name. The late Wet meant that even though we were relatively late in the Dry season there was still plenty of water around and we could enjoy a canoe on the long stretch of inviting water.
After that it was on to the Mitchell Plateau and its fabulous falls. The helicopter ride out back to camp is a beauty.
From there we headed to Kalumburu before turning south back to the Gibb River Road and onto Mt Elizabeth station. From the wonderful hospitality of Peter & Pat Lacey at Mt Elizabeth we took the track to Walcott Inlet. This is a remote, hard-to-get-to spot and you really need to be a keen fisherman to really enjoy the place.
Kalumburu is about the only spot along the Kimberley coast that is accessible by vehicle.
The art in the Kimberley is spectacular. Crossing the Calder River on the track out to Walcott & watching the tide rush in at Walcott Inlet.
Not all things go to plan and Ron spent a few days in Derby with a crook back, but was able to meet up with the rest of the group again at Windjana Gorge. It’s the first time we have camped there for many years and while the camping area has been pushed back from the gorge by a few hundred metres, it’s not a bad camp and the gorge is as good as it ever was. The number of crocs that inhabit the drying pools here are amazing.
Later we travelled the remote Tablelands Track and enjoyed the hospitality of Marion Downs before pushing east and finding a blazed tree of Frederick Brockman, a surveyor who explored the Kimberley back in 1901. We had tried to find this tree about 10 years ago but were forced back by the rugged country and a torrential downpour. This time we were luckier!
Camping amongst the boabs on the Tablelands Track (L), and the boab blazed by Frederick Brockman in 1901 (R).
Travelling through the spectacular Teronis Gorge on the Tablelands Track.
For more on our Kimberley adventures stay tuned to 4x4 Australia magazine (Feb, March and April 2007 issues).
For the latest and best guidebook for four wheel drive adventurers, see our guide, The Kimberley, an Adventurers Guide.
See you in the bush.
Ron and Viv.
