El Questro to Durack River
Updated: Nov 3, 2018
GIBB RIVER ROAD - Part 1️⃣
The day was finally here to start the famous The Gibb River Road. We had heard such great things we were eager to experience it all. We pulled off to get a shot with the iconic road conditions sign, before heading down the road to Emma Gorge⭐️. We had arrived nice and early and did the easy 30 minute walk into the gorge.
Wow! Emma gorge was very pretty and the water was bloody cold❄️- but worth a dip to swim up to the waterfall. Kurt managed to find the hot spring which trickles in to the right. We warmed up here before walking back. Jumped in the car and headed down to El Questro to check in. We spent two nights up in the unpowered🏕 section ($44 a night for 2 adults).
We visited Pigeon lookout at sunset, checked out Amalia Gorge and drove over the ‘deep river’ crossing to see El Questro Gorge. The walk into El Questro took us 1 hour and 20 minutes each way🚶🏻♂️🚶🏻♀️. Once you get to the ‘halfway pool’ you have to put your backpacks on your head and wade chest deep to the other side, where you have to rock climb up and over. The whole walk was very physical, but doable if you take your time. It is shaded all the way🌴, so can start it at any time of day.
🔹Our hot tip is to wear some grippy reef shoes, as you walk in alot of water during the hike.
Moonshine gorge was very nice. An easy 1 minute walk from the carpark and you were at the gorge. It reminded us of Lawn Hill with the turquoise water and tropical palms. That night was pizza🍕 and burger night at the swinging arm bar, we grabbed a pizza each and listened to the live music. BEST PIZZA EVER! Amz had the lamb one and Kurt had the chili pizza. Both our mouths were watering after our first bites. 🤤
The next day before checking out, we ducked up to Zebedee Hot Springs💧for a soak. A nice place but very crowded. All hitched up we headed to the Pentecost River East bank free camp. We set up for two nights as Kurt wanted to have a fishing sesh🎣. Unfortunately only one baby barramundi was caught. On the upside, we met a lovely couple traveling the Gibb and sat around their campfire each night.🔥
We then moved up the road to Home Valley Station. What a lovely station to drive in to. Big shiny gates, boab trees and green grass💚. We only planned one night but stayed two, as we enjoyed it that much. We lazed around the pool and did a few short walks. Also treating ourselves to dinner at Dustys Bar. Beers and Parmys while sitting back listening to Corey play his guitar.🎸
Once packed up, we drove out of the gates and up the road to Bindoola Falls. It was only a short walk in from the road and even though the waterfall wasn’t flowing it was still impressive to see. If you wander a bit further north you can see the ‘cascades’ and we could only imagine how beautiful these would be in the wet season👍🏼. We drove down the road to the Durack Riverto set up camp for the night. A great free camp, perched high on the bank overlooking 👀 the Durack River. Still plenty of water about while we were there!
We’ve seen some good spots but are eager for more gorges & waterfalls!