FriendlyBrooks

Surprise after surprise after surprise

Lance Brooks, loving Eat Kimberly, July 2026

We had to change our plans a little because of the leg accident, but it didn’t mean we would miss out on anything. We just had to go to Kununrra a little earlier than planned but we could then go back to El Questro a few days later and keep our booking as it was only an hour or so drive away.  Meanwhile we were to spend the weekend in Kununrra so I could visit the hospital as advised by the RFDS and we could also try to fix the back steps on the van. Our first stop was to visit the hardware store to purchase a step ladder so we could get in and out of the van. Lance had to talk his way in just as the doors were closing at 11 55am on Saturday morning. We love regional Australia and its old fashioned retail hours.

Next, Lance dropped me at the hospital so I could have my wound looked at. While I was there we had the biggest bestest surprise – our great friends Adam and Lee were also in Kununurra for the weekend before they were embarking on a 5 day walk in the Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park. We had previously thought that our paths wouldn’t cross, but thanks to my leg we were to have a night and the whole next day with them.  At the same time we also found out that our new road friends David and Bronwyn and the kids were also in Kununurra and we organized to stay at the same caravan park as them- the Kimberleyland. There was only one person ahead of me in the queue at the hospital but while I was waiting a whole group of people came in and needed priority. Soon after the police turned up as it turned out there had been a fight in the pub the night before. Eventually I was seen by a lovely young doctor (Donna) who was very competent. I had the dressing changed and I got even more antibiotics. She warned me that dyptheria was going around and she had seen quite a few cases herself and even saved one woman’s life. She also asked me to come back on Monday before we headed out to El Questro.

When Lance picked me up we went to the supermarket and bought food for dinner as we were entertaining Adam and Lee at our trailer as we had a perfect spot right on the water. Lance had done the whole setup by himself in my absence. We then drove around the town and went to the lookout and then to the Mirima National park. This park is billed as Kununurra’s mini Bungles and its beautiful. One lucky couple was celebrating their wedding there. We quickly prepared the dinner for when Adam and Lee would arrive later and then went for a drive and ended up having a drink at the Pumphouse during sunset. The Pumphouse is probably the best restaurant in town, right on the lake and has fabulous sunsets. At 7am we picked up Adam and Lee from their hotel. The reunion dinner was fantastic.

The next morning was Sunday and Adam and Lee came to Mass with us. Since there was no morning tea after Mass we had breakfast at the crowded Mango Cafe, which was pretty good. Then we headed off to the Ivanhoe Crossing which is a long causeway water crossing over a fast flowing river. There are apparently crocodiles in the river but we didn’t see any. We drove up to Middle Springs where the others had a swim while I watched and took photos. We met a gem prospector who ended up showing us his collection. He was a pretty good story teller, but we questioned how much of his story was fact and what was fiction.

After Middle Springs we went to Black Rock Falls following the 4×4 track. It was pretty but it was not recommended for swimming as it had a lot of algae. We drove back the way we came and when we got to Ivanhoe Crossing we had to wait while some fishermen got off the weir. Given the warnings about crocodiles written everywhere it seemed like they were nuts. Having said that, one of them caught a pretty good sized barramundi right in front of us. We then went to the Mirima National Park for a quick walk and so Adam and Lee could see it.

We dropped Adam and Lee of at their hotel so they could attend their preparation briefing for their hike and Lance and I caught up with David and Bronwyn and the kids. It was great seeing them again as we really thought we wouldn’t ever see them again. They had a spot on the waters edge not far from us. In between our two spots was a popular spot for the resident freshwater crocodile to visit. He likes to come right up to the edge of the water. Luckily he is named for his distinguishing feature – Gummy, because he’s got no teeth.

We went for dinner with Adam and Lee at the Pumphouse and the food was worth its reputation. The company was pretty good too. We were so lucky to have gotten the time to spend with Adam and Lee on this trip.

Lance and I got up early on Monday morning so I could be at the hospital by 7am. Dr Donna was on the nightshift and I knew she finished at 8am. She checked my wound and redressed it and gave me another round of antibiotics for good measure. Once I had finished at the hospital we finished packing up, did a bit of shopping and then drove to El Questro. Given all that had happened I was pretty pleased that we would be keeping our booking. The drive to the El Questro turn off is all bitumen. On the way we stopped at the dam wall on the mighty Ord River.

Then you travel a 30km dirt road with several river crossings. The last crossing, into the station is the longest and deepest, with the depth being 600mm when we went through.

When Lance checked in he asked for an upgrade to a private campsite which was about a 10 minutes drive from the main station. We were able to be completely alone, next to the river (which may or may not have had crocodiles in it). We had 3 nights booked. Once settled in we went to the main station area for Lance to have a swim while I watched enviously.

The next day we left reasonably early to hike the El Questro Gorge. It is a 10km hike to the end but because of my injury we decided to stop at the halfway pool. The pool was beautiful even for a non-swimmer. 

Its an easy drive along Highway 1 to Warnum with the mountain range we would be driving through the next day our constant companion. We topped up fuel at Warnum as it would be the last time we could get any for a few days. We then drove 13km down the dirt road to Violet Valley. The campground is managed by an Aboriginal community and set on a beautiful creek in the shade. We spent the afternoon preparing for our final few days. Lance fixed the steps on the van!!!! Yay! I prepared our  food for the next couple of nights and we cleaned up the van ready to leave it for 2 nights and also checked our tent and sleeping bags which we were to be using in Purnululu.

When we returned we had lunch and then went on a cultural experience tour. Unfortunately we were late as I insisted on driving when Lance correctly said it was only a 200m walk. The drive was a lot longer. We spent the afternoon learning about life in the Kimberly from first nations people. It was run by a husband, wife and their daughter who told the story of the husband’s grandmother.  It was an enriching experience.

Then we went for a drive to look at the general area. We thought we would go up to one of the lookouts but were a bit apprehensive at first but after making the slightly tricky water crossing and then climbing the near vertical hill the sunset view was spectacular and well worth the effort

Our next day’s activities involved another hike, this time to Amalia Gorge. The hike started easily enough until a scramble along a rock ledge with a 4m drop while hanging onto a chain. I was quite scared doing this but miraculously I made it with a bit of help and encouragement from Lance. After this treachery there was more scrambling over rocks and another kilometre further up the gorge was a magnificent pool with a beautiful waterfall. The water was freezing by all accounts so I don’t think I missed much not swimming. After the stop, all there was to do was to clamber back over all the scary rocks to the safety of the carpark.

Our next stop was a place I had been looking forward to as it’s a highlight for most people. Zebedee Springs is so popular that they only open them between 8am and noon every day. It was 11am so we had an hour to swim in the hot springs. Unfortunately I could not swim but I enjoyed watching Lance swim in the beautiful setting. Needless to say, this was the most disappointing injury affected moment..

After the springs we drove back past our campsite to collect a picnic lunch and drove up to  Brankos lookout. Getting there is half the fun as the road begins with a long river crossing, really a double crossing that takes about 6 minutes to complete. Then there is a long very steep hill to be negotiated to reach the highest point in El Questro. After our lunch and a few photos we started driving to another lookout. Unfortunately the road wasn’t as well formed and I  panicked and encouraged (or forced?) Lance to turn around. So we went back to the homestead instead. We were surprised that we had enjoyed our time here so much that we booked another night. Its a beautiful place, and well worth the hype.

The next morning we got up early to go to Saddleback lookouts for sunrise to see yet another spectacular view.

A highlight was when we went on the cultural boat cruise run by the same family who did our cultural experience a couple of days earlier. The cruise goes up the Chamberlain River for a few kilometres through stunning rock cliffs. The crew gave wonderful commentary including singing original songs whilst we traveled. We ended up at a sacred birthing site, which was marked by rock art depicting pregnant women. We sat there in silence as we imagined the process of giving birth in this place. After this we fed some fish and got squirted by the archer fish before traveling back to the campground.

We drove up to our favourite sunset spot for our last El Questro evening and were lucky enough to see a brolfa on the way. We had a final barbecue and fire at our private campsite.

We packed up early and headed to Emma Gorge which is 35km away but on the way out to the main road. The hike is reasonably easy and ends at what many people say is the most beautiful of all the gorges. Unfortunately I could only enjoy the water by watching Lance but it was still worth it.

After Emma Gorge we drove to the end of the Gibb River Road for the final time and as it happens on the day we had always planned

We decided to visit Wyndham for a night. The best word people use to describe Wyndham is interesting. After the beauty of the GRR and even Kununurra, Wyndham is disappointingly ugly. However the drive in was beautiful and there is a fantastic lookout where you can view the 5 rivers entering the bay. The caravan park was basic but it had a huge boab tree and a nice camp kitchen and friendly people so we had an enjoyable time.

Apart from the Five Rivers lookout, other main attraction in Wyndham is its museum. It’s small but had a good exhibition and it shows some good stories about characters and events in the Kimberley.

After visiting the museum and standing on the jetty,  we hot footed  it to Lake Argyle and checked into the extremely crowded campground.  Lance was glad he now had plenty of reversing practice under his belt as we parked up with virtually no space between our neighbours on either side.   We were not really worried about the crowds as we were here for one thing only – the famed Lake Argyle sunset cruise. The trip started from the campground with a trip by bus over the dam wall which was made from rocks from the nearby cliffs and held together with no cement allowing the wall to be flexible when needed during flooding. The wall has withstood floods and storms and remains solid. Once on the boat we were led by Captain Jack who drove us around some of the stunning lake, although we actually only travelled around about a third of it. Along the way we saw around 20 freshwater crocodiles, including a nest. We then went to an island and fed some wallabies before settling in for the swimming spot. Unfortunately I couldn’t swim, but Lance enjoyed a beautiful swim in the lake with the sun setting behind him, whilst drinking a beer. Don’t worry, the non swimmers were also offered drinks and I had a very nice chat with some of the other guests. After traveling through the stunning scenery in the fading light we arrived back at the campground and had dinner at their bistro.

Our stay at Lake Argyle was short but sweet as we left early the next morning to drive an hour and a half for 8.30am mass in Kununurra. After mass we had breakfast at the river cafe and then visited the Zebra Stone gallery. Zebra Stone is a feature in these parts. We did some shopping to stock up for our final few days and also picked up the part we needed to fix the stairs. We then drove about 300km to Violet Valley campground. Dave and Bronwyn had recommended staying here and leaving our van before tackling the 4WD only road into Purnululu National Park.

The road into Purnululu is 53km 4WD only. There are several river crossings and some steep windy sections. The first crossing is the most difficult as it requires a S-bend turn to get around some large boulders. Apart from the adventurous terrain the trip in is very beautiful through the mountain range. We arrived at the visitor centre just before the scheduled closure for lunch, and managed to get our park and camping passes. I had booked one night in each campground and our first night was to be in the Kurrajong campground in the northern end. We chose our spot and set up quickly as we only had our tent.

We headed straight to Echidna Chasm and walked through the beautiful conglomerate rocks and boulders to the chasm with its narrow slit. We also walked up to the Osmond  lookout to view the valley below. We then drove to the start of the mini palms walk but decided it was too late to start it.  Instead we walked the Bloodwoods lookout trail which was an interpretative walk with views of the escarpment. It was time for sunset so we rushed to the  Kungkalanayi lookout for a spectacular view of the sunset hitting the ranges on both sides. Our dinner that night was a curry that I had prepared at Violet Valley. We went to bed relatively early (for us) and slept well in our tent.

We woke up before dawn and got to the start of the Mini Palms trail in the half light. The walk starts along the escarpment where we watched the sun rise over the range. The trail then took us through a stunning gorge which required a bit of agility (not my strong point) to get over some boulders and through some rock tunnels. At the end we were greeted with a tranquil gorge full of Livistona palms. It was a perfect place to eat our breakfast picnic and chill out for a while in the cool shade.

After our hike we packed up and drove to the Walardi campground in the southern end of the park. For once our timing was perfect as it was midday and we had the pick of the campsites. We chose a large flat site with a fabulous view.

We then drove to the southern trails. As we approached we were wowed by the views of the beehive domes. Although I had seen some photos of these ranges I was not prepared for the vast scope of them. These domes were only discovered as a tourist destination in the 1980s and were previously only known to the indigenous owners and a afterwards a handful of cattlemen. We parked at the trailhead and then walked into Cathedral Gorge. This is yet another magnificent gorge trail. We walked to the start of some of the other trails along Pickaninny Creek but didn’t venture far. We mostly wanted to get an idea of where Adam and Lee had hiked just a couple of days earlier. We ate our picnic lunch near the trail.

The next stop was the air strip for another “40th wedding anniversary treat”, our scenic helicopter flight over the park. When we arrived there were two other couples waiting. We were to be distributed across 2 helicopters, but because of the weight calculations Lance and I were to be split up. I knew I should have cut out the wine and cheese before dinner routine! Anyway after a bit of juggling and a re-weigh we were allowed to be in the same helicopter and one of the partners in the other group had to be split up from his friends. He very kindly said he was happy. The trip was about an hour flying over the spectacular scenery. There were no doors on the helicopter and I managed to balance leaning out and taking shots without dropping my phone. The flight was worth every cent!!!

After the flight we found a good sunset viewing spot. We were a little critical though as we were getting spoiled and this spot was only a 7 out of 10. Walardi campground was also very comfortable and we ate our tuna pasta dinner and had another great night sleep.

We awoke before dawn again as we were keen to see the sunrise at Kungkalanayi lookout. We also wanted to get as close to Katherine that night as we could and Katherine was over 800km away including driving the 53km 4WD track back out of the park, back along the 13km track to Violet Valley to get the van, another 13km back out and then onto Highway 1 to drive as far as we could.

After getting petrol in Warnun our next stop was 45km past Kununurra at the Northern Territory border. We took some photos and shed some tears. This was the end of WA where we had been (mostly) since the middle of March. We had loved every minute visiting this great state. We had seen wildlife, beautiful beaches, incredible gorges and waterfalls, snorkeled on the reef, swam with whale sharks and manta rays, watched orcas, driven amazing roads, met amazing people and so much more. We will miss WA and we will be back!

Once in NT the scenery remained just as beautiful as we traveled through sunset and dusk. We wanted to stay no more than 3 hours from Katherine as we had booked the 9am gorge cruise. At Victoria River roadhouse we found our stop. They had basic cabins so we didn’t have to unhook the van and a decent meal on offer. We were able to leave before dawn (third day in a row!) and we made it to Katherine Gorge for the cruise on time.

The 3 gorge cruise goes for about 3 hours through 3 of the 8 gorges in the system. At each new gorge we had to change boats. The gorge was wider than what we had been used to but every bit as spectacular. The huge cliffs plunged into the river and we heard about the geology of how the formations were built, imagining the rocks building like a mango halved and popped ready to serve. At one of the changes there was a chance to view rock art. The boat trip was a lovely introduction to the NT.

After lunch in the national park cafe we found out campsite near by and set up. We spent the afternoon clearing out the van so it would be ready to store for the next 2 months. As we had cleared out all our food, we found a nice restaurant in one of the hotels for dinner.

It took less than 3 hours to drive to East Arm in Darwin to drop our car and van off at Big Boys Toys where they would both live for the next 2 months. We then Ubered to the Mantra on Smith Street for our one night in Darwin. It was Friday evening so there were no markets at Mindl Beach but we went anyway to view the sunset and walk along the beach. We ended up at the casino where we had a drink by the pool and were lucky enough to listen to Jessica Mauboy practice for a big event that would be held the next night. We then had dinner at a highly recommended Chinese restaurant in the casino before going back to our hotel for bed.

We awoke on our last morning of this leg of the trip and caught an Uber to Parap markets. These markets are full of great food but our aim was to find and try Mary’s Laksa. We each bought one and ate our breakfast laksa at one of the crowded tables in the markets. I also picked up a couple of souvenirs to give to the kids in New York.

We went back to the hotel, checked out and went to the airport for our flight to Sydney. I was flying to New York the next morning and Lance would follow a week later for our month with Michelle and Ross and the kids.We were literally going to be worlds apart.