Friday 9th July - El Questro

We’re not quite gorged out yet, the walk through El Questro Gorge this afternoon must rate highly on the “Gorges Worth Seeing” meter.

We may also have taken advantage of the lateness of the hour to have a quick skinny dip in the “middle pool”,

which was deserted by the time we had returned from the waterfall at the end of the marked gorge walk.

After breakfast we were all prepared for our demanding four hour walk through Chamberlain Gorge, but when we had walked the 100 yards from the car park we found that the “trail” actually requires a boat!

It was really disappointing, and we couldn’t swim either due to the presence of saltwater crocodiles.  So instead, because we haven’t punished the Land Rover enough on the Gibb River Road already, we took it on a number of the 4WD tracks that cross the property. SPOT

The highlight was Branco’s Lookout, a steep climb up to magnificent views over the confluence of the Chamberlain

and Penecost Rivers.

In contrast, the track down to Explosion Hole was more akin to rock crawling, and the sign warning that a large saltie inhabits this part of the gorge had us turned around and heading back up the way we had come.

A lunch break back at the station was accompanied by maintenance on the passenger’s window which was sticking in the down position.  Yesterday’s corrugations had been more than a match for the duck tape and superglue fix that we’d applied in Turkey, so it was off with the door trim and this time out came the Araldite!  So far so good, but it might be wise to invest in new plastic clips at some point.

We’re now at a wild camp spot a few kilometres outside the station which we’d spied on our way in yesterday.  Anne’s happy that there’s no long grass (so there are fewer bugs), and we may be back tomorrow night as there’s still loads to see at El Questro. SPOT