We stripped the bikes & kayak off the ute , loaded lunch & water and headed off , just under half a tank of fuel - should be heaps for a 250 klm return trip . Heading toward Derby , we turn off the highway 42 klms out , onto a gravel rd . Stopping at the start to engage 4wd and lower the tyre pressures to 30 psi for the expected corrugations , and they didn't disappoint !!! The road started okay, and gradually got worse , bad enough for us to consider turning back - glad we didn't ! The road fluctuated between bad & worse , with the occasional section of Oh My God !!! About 20klms the road started to improve , we ran into roadworks , they were grading the road - how lucky are we !!!! They started at the Gibb River Rd end of Leopold Downs Rd and have a few more days to go to finish this section . It was dusty , stoney , did I mention dusty , but it was reasonably flatish , allowing Lyn to drive a lot more comfortably than for the last 20klms .
We were driving beside the Devonian Reef - an ancient barrier reef , that is now a limestone mountain range - not overly high , but has that grey weathered look about it - if you have been reading the blogs , it is similar stone to Chillagoe Caves , and there are tunnels & caves in it as well . the other feature is the amount of Boab trees here - they are thriving !!
Reaching Tunnel Creek , we met a young couple and asked them about Windjana Gorge - 35klms up the road - they said don't miss it , the road has been graded so all is good . We jumped back in and headed up there first , due to the heat expected today - 37 - it was 10 am and 28 degrees !!
Arriving at the carpark at Windjana , packed the backpack with water and the cooling towel - ( a glorified chamois that works really well to cool you down - I bought it for golf ) , and we set off into the gorge . Not knowing what to expect , we decided we'd walk into the gorge and follow the track that takes you 3.5 klms in , but only go a couple of klms & come back depending what it was like . You enter through a small tunnel , only wide enough for one way walking traffic , then the gorge opens in front of you - there are 2 sides of the gorge , both Devonian Reef , that stand each side of the Lennard River . It has carved a 3.5 klm gorge through the Napier Range , that is now Windjana Gorge .
The water level is down at the moment - due to it being at the end of the dry season , would be a spectacular site when full of water .
Being that dry is a bit of a bonus for us - due to the pools drying up , there is limited water for the crocodiles , so they are crammed in !!
Look closely at the above photo and count how many there are !!
The walk took us beside the river and cliffs , there are also fossils in the limestone from when it was a reef - the next photo is of a nautilus .
The track didn't take us to anything special , just meandered in & around the bush on the river bank, so we turned around and wandered back after about 2klms , it was getting bloody hot as well !! More of the cliff scenery on the walk .
Reaching the ute , we drove around to the camp area to find a table & chair to sit at for lunch - the ones at the carpark were being monopolised by tour buses .
Lunch done , back in the ute and back down to Tunnel Creek - 35klms away - for a cool walk through the mountain .
The entrance is hidden by large rocks and boulders , but you zizgzag around them and squeeze in between rocks and drop into the water - its only ankle deep here .
The rock is a marbled collection of colours and patterns .
Into the first chamber , and you find yourself looking at a limestone cave with stalactites hanging from the roof , dripstone & flowstone formations .
Further in and the two torches come in very handy , as it darkens up , and you are now walking through water 8 inches ( 200mm ) deep . There is a spring feeding water into the tunnel - Tunnel Creek to be precise !! - it bubbles out from a pool about 1m above the surrounding water .
Further in and there is a section where the roof has fallen in and lets a lot of light in , birds & bats also !!
To the side of the collapse is a stalagmite that has completed it's mission and joined up with the stalactite , forming a column .
After crossing the creek a few more times in water up to your knees , you reach the other end where there is a beautiful pool shaded by some trees .
We made it back to the ute and changed our wet footwear for some dry and headed out , waiting for one car to turn in in front of us , another was coming about 500m away , so I pulled out to keep in front of him , so we weren't eating his dust all the way back !! If he didn't stop he'd be eating a fair amount of my dust , as 6 wheels creates a bit more than the average !! We didn't see him again .
A guy flagged us down further down the track - a backpacker that had a flat tyre and couldn't get his wheel nuts off , he was surprised we had a compressor built in , and we pumped his tyre up again - he was driving an old Daihatsu van that really shouldn't have been on this road - if it makes it back in one piece he will have done well !!!
We continued and found the graders were still at work at 4:30 , and had completed the earlier section and were working on the next 10klm section - bonus , 10 klms less corrugations - Lyn wasn't impressed as she had 10klms extra than me !!
The rest of the drive was uneventful , still had the worst section of corrugations and rocks , but we'd made it unscathed .
Another great day at the office !!!
Todays map link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kVSOSj5WXoOI&usp=sharing
No comments:
Post a Comment