We are excited to be packing up and moving on. Kununurra has been great but we were never supposed to be there as long as we did.
So we are up early an on the road by around 8am. The new suspension on the 4wd has made the van sit a bit higher which isn't ideal but hopefully the rear springs settle a bit and it levels out a little more. Also because I lowered the hitch to compensate for the extra height, the bar that holds our stone stomper isn't sitting as nice as Id like either and this in turn is getting in the way of a plastic cap that goes over our hitch. Ill sort it out at some point, its nothing to major.
We got to the Gibb River rd sign pretty quickly and took the usual photo everyone gets under this sign. Then travelled down the road to El Questro Resort which is where the Emma gorge walk starts.
We popped into reception to make sure we didnt need a permit as we are camping up at Elquestros station up the road. Which we didnt.
So we set off on the walk into Emma Gorge. It was quite the rock scramble to get in there, it took us around 45 minutes but what a beautiful location. It is a towering gorge with water coming over it down into a crystal clear swimming hole at the bottom.
There were a massive amount of tourists also there haha We hopped into the water and thermal shock of how cold the water was would give you an ice cream headache. But we braved the cold water and stayed in long enough to the point where my hands were freezing haha Karen stayed longer, i think she was in one of the warmer thermal spots they say are in this freezing water hole.
We walked back out but we stopped at another little water hole and Karen jumped into it and claimed it was like a bath in comparison.
Such a scenic area and the water holes glow blue reflecting the sky into the perfectly clear water.
We were out by around 11:30 so we had a bite to eat in the van back at the car park before heading down the road to El questro Station.
We got the usual photo at the Station sign out the front and I aired down the tyres for the rough road into the station. I guy came up to me as I was letting air out of my tyres and told me he didnt think he needed to, which was a bit weird but ok he can do as he pleases!
We did the big river crossing and arrived to a bustling place full of tourists and 100's of caravans and campers etc. It was a hype of activity. They have a bar called the swinging arms, a steakhouse restaurant, a swimming hole, workshop, helicopter flights, horse rides, 4wd tracks, gorges, hot springs, you name it this place has it all. And at $90 a night for unpowered sites plus permits they know they have it all.
We went and set up our camp in a very spacious but shady site which would be great but we need sun to get solar. However we should just get enough sun to keeps us going.
After that we walked up to the Bar Bistro area for a look and a walk around. And we noticed the guy that came an told me he didn't need to let any air out of his tyres was in the workshop getting something fixed he had broken on his van!! Karen definitely wanted to go and ask him how his hard tyres worked out for him!
We decided to have a beer even though it was a little early but you do these things. We went and booked a spot at the steakhouse for our last night as it does come highly recommended. Not something we normally do because these things cost a lot of money but every now and then doesn't hurt.
We got back to camp and worked out our plan to do the walks etc and quickly decided we really need another day at this place so we sorted that out too. It is expensive and there is a free camp down the road but we decided the road in and the fuel used coming back and forth we may as well pay the extra $90 and stay.
We cooked spuds in the weber for tea and for several hours we could here entertainment up at the bar area in the way of some guy singing for the crowds. If it is on tomorrow night we will pop up and have a look.
We watched footy after tea and went to bed.