Steve and I left Kununurra early for our first leg on the Gibb River Road – covering the eastern half to the Kalumburu turnoff and then up Kalumburu Rd to Mitchell falls.
On the way out of town we crossed the diversion dam of the Ord River. It was dammed for the sole purpose of irrigation for the region. The drinking water for the town was bore water!
We hit the Gibb River Road and it was tar till Elquestro which we already knew from our day trip. Then we hit the dirt, rocks, gravel, corrugations and floodways which were big dips in the road that you needed to slow down for.
We drove on bit further and came to renowned Pentecost River crossing. Unfortunately or fortunately it didn’t have a lot of water in it. However, you could see how wide and deep it could get and the rocky base. It is still cool to say we’ve crossed it and had to take photo on the other side with the Cockburn Range in the background. It is said to be one of the most photographed sites on the Gibb River Road.
It was a further 10kms to our first stop at Home Valley Station. It was the fanciest station we’d seen so far!! It looked like a lovely place to stay. It had a shady pool with a water fall and a great big restaurant and bar area called Dusty Bar. It had an area for entertainment and the food looked great. We didn’t stay because we hadn’t traveled far enough. Maybe next time? 😜
We decided we’d stop at the next station, Ellenbrae, for one night. Unfortunately it was nothing like Home Valley. 😩 The campground wasn’t at the station! It was 900 metres up the road with very basic amenities. One toilet and one ‘donkey’ shower. ( a shower heated by a wood fire) The whole amenities block was built of rock. The single toilet was open aired. Steve could see over top when standing. 😄😄 It was a nice shady area to sit and keep cool after our swim in the swimming hole about 300 metres away. The sign on the way in was a bit of a worry. Swim at your own risk! We weren’t sure what that meant so it was a very quick dip!! 😳
On the way we spotted an emu and some chicks. The emu was right at my window when we stopped.
The next morning we turned north up the Kalumburu Road towards Mitchell Falls. We thought we might stop for a night at Drysdale Station but decided we could do the drive to King Edward River campground. We stopped briefly for petrol at Drysdale Station (which was a new record price at $2.05 cents a litre!!) and hoping for a coffee. No coffee machine??!! So we made an instant coffee with their boiling water.
The road was getting rougher! We traveled another 160kms to the campground and found a good spot near the toilets, although if the wind changed you’d get a waft of the septic but it was worth it for $10 per adult per night. 👍
There was also two places to swim. We checked out the one near camp and immediately thought “crocs”! There was no sign to warn us but we were still wary! Crocs were imprinted in our brains!!😳 It was a lovely spot to swim though.
Next we went to check out a local aboriginal cultural site not far down the road. It had some amazing rock art there. They were Wanjinas.
On the way back to camp we checked out the day visitors area which had a better swimming hole. It was easier to get in and out. We met a couple who’d seen a little freshie further up. 😳 I know they’re shy and don’t come near you but it freaks me out! I worry I’ll accidentally bump into one and it will bite me!!!
We had a lovely roast lamb dinner and then sat and star gazed. And WOW!!! It was so dark we could see so much. I picked out the Southern Cross again and finally saw a falling star!! We also found Scorpious and Mars and Saturn inside it’s pincers. It was amazing!!!
The next day we drove the 79 kms into Mitchell Falls. We were warned that the road was diabolical!! 😳 And it was!! It was the worst road we’d been on so far. Some of the corrugations were 10-15 cm deep!! There were bits with big rocks sticking out of the ground and the usual dips, crests and creek beds. But it had some very pretty parts too. It took 2 hours. We’d left at 6.30 so we made it nice and early to do the walk to the top of the falls.
We decided we’d do the helicopter flight back down so we needed to book that first. We were offered two options. The 6 minute transfer flight at 1.40 or the coastal flight at 12.15 which was a 48 minute flight. There were a couple booked on the coastal flight already which cut the cost if we joined them. We thought why not!! We may not have the chance again and when we’re real grey nomads our budget mightn’t allow it. And we’re going back to work (definitely now😜) to pay for the luxury of all the special and amazing extras we’ve done which have been totally worth it!!
But first we had to do the walk up which was 4km. The walk took us less than an hour over rocks and rocky plateaus, along creeks surrounded by trees and palms.
There were views along the way of the gorges which were amazing. It was a nice walk and nowhere near as hard as the books said.
Once we arrived at the top there were a couple of swimming holes but you were only allowed to swim in one. Before we had a swim we walked a bit further for a look at the falls. It was along a rocky path that led us to a cliff edge where you could sit and see all three falls. We took some great photos and sat and just soaked up the view. It was beautiful.
We then went back for a swim which was a nice way to cool off. Steve particularly enjoyed the little waterfalls.
We also saw a water dragon. Steve thought it may have been a Mertons Monitor.
After a packed lunch (roast lamb sandwiches 👍) and drying off it was time for our helicopter ride. We met the couple we were flying with, Kerry and Peter and we climbed aboard which all happened a little too quickly! We were buckled in and given our headsets and we were off!!
Peter was smart and quickly jumped into the front seat. Three of us were crammed in the back. Steve on the left, me in the middle and Kerry on the right. There weren’t any doors so Steve and Kerry felt like they were hanging out the doors and both were freaking out!! Steve said he was nearly shitting himself for the first 5 minutes!! So they both moved in even more which was difficult with me in the middle!! I was sandwiched!
The views were amazing from above!! The flight was 48 minutes. We flew right out to the coast and then back along the Mitchell River via the lowers falls and then to the uppers falls where we’d walked to. The view of the falls from above were majestic!! Then it was all over!! It went so quick! The landing was very smooth and the flight was so much fun! It was definitely worth it!!!!!
Then we had to head back to camp along the diabolical road again! We made better time and were back in 1 and a half hours.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and talking about our amazing day at Mitchell Falls.