Okay , ute packed , check , food in , check , everything else , check . Driving out of Birdwood Downs with the tyre pressure monitor just coming to life and our rear left tyre shows it's down to 30psi (normally 40psi) so we stopped to check - yep it's down , so we pumped it up and moved the ute a little - bugger we've picked up a screw . Hmmmm , okay so much for an early start , off into Derby to get it fixed . Get to the only tyre place and they can't do it till 2pm - you're kidding @#%$#@@ . Out to the jetty for a while , back into town for a while wasting time , a long lunch under a boab then 1:30 we headed back to the tyre shop and we got straight in - now wait for the fix and 30 minutes for the glue to go off , before we can finally hit the Gibb River Rd - at last !!
Windjana Gorge is 20 kms from the Gibb River Rd , we checked a free camp at Lennard River , but it was a bit busy , so Windjana Gorge it was - we had planned to do this on the way back if we had time as we've been here before . Setting up camp , we didn't have to wait to long for the sun to go down , making the limestone formations of the gorge turn orange in the late afternoon light . Dinner done & dusted , it was time to sit back & do some star gazing before bed .
Up with the birds before the sun had risen , breakfast & packed up , we drove around to the day use area and went for a walk into the gorge . The limestone parapets stood watch over everyone .
You walk through a crack in the rocks to get into the gorge - this is it .
It wasn't too long before we reached the first section of water & sand , this healthy Johnstone River crocodile wasn't too worried about anyone , basking in the morning sun - a bit over 2.5m from head to tail is a good sized freshie !!!!
With very little breeze in the gorge , reflections were at a premium .
We wandered in about a kilometre before turning back , it was starting to heat up , so time to move further up the road .
No drones allowed here , so I couldn't investigate the top of the gorge - it would be fascinating .
The terrain was mainly flat and long grass - up to 2m high !! - till we got to a spot called Donkey creek where we could have a fly around to discover some of the surrounding countryside .
Here's the road heading east to our next destination , somewhere out there .
That destination showed up after a bit more driving , and we turned in to Mt Hart Wilderness Centre - another 50 kms in off the Gibb . We kept seeing these outcrops of dark rocks looking like they were bleeding down the sides of the hills .
Here's some more of the rocks & tall grass - because it's a Conservation Park , they don't run cattle anymore - apparently the cattle we saw are from neighbouring properties ??? - so the grass gets so tall ?
The road in had been recently graded , so it was reasonably good to drive on , with a few rough floodways to get across and a couple of water crossing thrown in as well - certainly were beautiful with large paperbarks growing alongside the water .
Arriving at the station we signed in for a couple of nights , & went & set up camp 20m from the Barker River , before going down to Barkers Pool for a cooling swim - refreshing at the least !! Crystal clear water , fish , and nice deep green water .
This is where we are in the Kimberleys WA - out there somewhere haha
They have a sunset viewing platform for guests to use , so we did , and here it is . It's a great spot to chat to the other campers while the sun disappears .
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