Another early start saw us back on the Gibb River Road for a massive 450 km road trip to our accommodation at El Questro Emma Gorge Resort. There would be the usual breaks for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, but we were staring down the barrel of 8 or so hours of corrugated road. As such, this will be a short post my dear reader.
In a back to the future move, our first stop was Drysdale River Station. Happily we were not staying here - it was for morning tea and re-fuelling. Back in the bus for more bouncing around and a lunch stop that was clearly not memorable because I have no idea where we stopped and Jayne has no notes. Hmmm. Pretty sure we had wraps, fruit and juice for lunch.
Afternoon tea was a treat. We drove into Ellenbrae Station for scones. There was also the potential for "good coffee" but I have been disappointed by other people's version of "good coffee" previously on this trip. I decided to stay with water.
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| Double-barred finches. |
Ellenbrae is a working station, running cattle. As tends to be the practice out here, contractors come in annually and muster the cattle for a fixed price per head. Prior to our scones arriving, we were treated to an informative and highly amusing talk from the station manager. Amongst other things he covered the challenges of the living out here, isolated, during the wet season.
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| A sulphur crested cockatoo. |
Scones are turned out in their thousands during the dry and are enjoyed in the shaded garden beside the old homestead. The garden is a haven for birdlife, particularly doves, double-barred finches, bower birds and sulphur crested cockatoos.
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| Bar-shouldered doves. |
The scones were delicious and time was spent trying to capture the perfect photograph of the local birdlife.
All too soon, we were back on the bus and heading once again for El Questro Emma Gorge Resort. Before we arrived, we made one last stop overlooking the Cockburn ranges as the sun was setting. Cockburn is not pronounced as it is spelt. It is pronounced co-burn, not cock- burn. And yes dear reader, juvenile jokes were made but we need not repeat them here.
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| The Cockburn Ranges. |
Once again the Kimberley did not disappoint. There is much carry on about a Kimberley sunset, but in reality it is not the sunset but the colour changes of the mountains and landscape that is impressive. So it proved to be here. Our group invaded the solitude of some campers who were set up to watch the colour changes on the mountain range that lined the horizon. They accepted our arrival with good humour and we chatted about where we'd been and where we were heading. They snapped a group photo for us and we left them in peace.
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| The Pentecost River at sunset. |
We arrived after dark at El Questro Emma Gorge Resort at around 6pm, and were shown to our accommodation. Similar in style to Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge, but the tents were newer and the dining facilities catered for more people. There were 60 glamping tents in all, so they couple potentially cater for up to 240 people. We were warned to check the toilet prior to use, lest we get a surprise from some local residents. Green frogs appear in the toilet bowl regularly. Although inconvenient, it demonstrates the health of the ecosystem.
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| He wasn't in the bowl, but clearly had been. |
Dinner was not a favourite. It was buffet-style and we are not fans, however, given the time of our arrival it was a sensible option. After a long day in the bus, most of our group retired early in preparation for tomorrow's walk, sorry, hike, to the gorgeous Emma Gorge. Today's song title is by some unknown, a woman named Taylor Swift from 2017. Apparently she's touring Australia soon. Have a listen.
Until next time.
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