El Questro - Amalia Gorge

Yet another beautiful walk at El Questro. This walk not only invloved walking up a creek bed and boulder climbing, but also sqeezing around narrow shelves. Although the 3.6km walk was a little more challinging the swim at the end was worth it. We had the place to ourselves and the swim was quite cool. Ethan ejoyed swimming out to the 32m waterfall. Can you spot Chris and Ethan at the bottom of the falls?

El Questro - Zebedee and Barra Hunting

Today we went for a short walk to the Zebedee Thermal Springs. The boys had fun chasing and catching tadpoles and frogs.

In the afternoon we went hunting for Barramundi. The invovled driving on a 4WD track to Explosion Gorge and Sandwich Waterhole. Chris was delighted to catch his fist Kimberely Barra. Prue was too busy telling Mitch to stay away from the edge while he fished and Ethan read his book.

El Questro - Emma Gorge

We have been loving our stay at El Questro. The gounds are lush and the swimming good. We started our adventures here by walking into Emma Gorge (undoubtedly named after Emma O'Neill). The walk consists of walking up the creek bed and clambering over boulders in places to reach the gorge. Once you reach the gorge you are rewarded with a cool swim (not as cool as the infinity pool though). The falls here are different as the water isn't falling as such, they are more like rain droplets. On the way down we also had a swim in Turquoise Pool.

Wyndham

On our way to El Questro we decided to call into Wyndham to have a look. Here 5 major rivers of the Kimberelys meet. These rivers are the Pentecost, Kings, Ord, Forrest and Durack and all enter the Cambridge Gulf . The view was impressive, however, it would have been more spectacular if it wasn't for the haze from a burnoff.

Purnululu North End

Our second day say us off again early - it gets to hot to walk too late in the day.  We went to the northern end of the park and did the Mini Palms walk which took us right up a gorge to see some Livistonia Palms.  It was a bit cooler and shadier than our walks yesterday. The boys enjoyed climbing over and squeezing past the boulders to get into the end of the gorge. 

After lunch in the airconditioning of the car we went to Echidna Chasm.  This walk saw us walk right to the end a chasm that most times was no wider than your outstretched arrms.  The sun only every reaches into the bottom of the chasm during the middle of the day, so narrow is the cleft and the colour changes are spectacular.

We spent the afternoon at camp with the boys doing some much needed journal writing and school work.  We have been pretty slack on this front but promise Mrs Jacobs and Miss Keong that we will be better in May.

Purnululu National Park (aka Bungle Bungles)

ANZAC day saw us arrive in Purnululu. The 53km from the highway to the ranger's station took us just over 1.5 hours.  The road was a bit corrugated and rocky but all in all was in good nick.  I was impressed at Pokey's ability to let his tyres down a bit and drive slowly to avoid damage.

The funny thing about being where we are in WA is that we are only just over the border from NT but the time difference is 1.5 hours.  This means that the sun rises at 5am or thereabouts but is sets at 5.30.  Early dinners and early to bet for everyone! This was also the fiirst time that we really needed the blankets during the night.

We decided to do the Southern Walks first. This entailed going to Picaninney Creek to view Cathedral Gorge and the domes.

Some interesting facts.
1. Purnululu was first bought to the world's attention in 1983 and was placed on the World Heritage List in 2003.
2.It was heritage listed due to its geological features, the recognisable domes oare conical karsts that only occur here in the Bungle Bungles.
3. All of the domes are mage of sandstone and conglomerate. However, the black stripes on the domes are cuased by cyanobacteria which live in the moist clay particles. The orange stripes of the rock occur due to oxidation of iron within the sandstone. All rock is white underneath. The different layers occur due to the layering of sedimentary deposits millions of year ago from the Osmond Ranges (which was once higher than Mount Everest).
4.  The run off from the range contributes to 6% of the capacity of Lake Argyle.
5.  Access to most of the range is limited due to its cultural significance.
6.  The sandstone domes are about 200metres in height.

To end our walk we went for a helicopter ride over Purnululu. Mitch was a little scared of going on the flight and asked for a door to be put on his side of the helicopter. The flight was spectacular and gave you an appreciation for the size and natural features of Purnululu. At the end of the flight Ethan was glad Mtich had asked for a door, as the boys and Chris seemed to get the side of the helicoptor it banked towards. Chrsi was holding on tightly as he did not ask for a door and had to rely on his seatbelt.

Lake Argyle

After briefly stopping at Kununarra for the restocking of supplies we headed onto Lake Argyle. Lake Argyle is a great spot to have a rest. the caravan park is lush and boasts an infinity pool with magnificent views of the lake. What they do not tell you is that the temperature of the pool is similiar to an ice bath. Both nights we were here we watched the rocks change colour over the infinity pool as the sunset. Unfornately, you cannot swim in the lake as you cannot access it due to the steep cliff like edges.

Some interesting points
1. Lake Argle is Australia's largest lake and was created for irrigation for agriculture.
2. 18 times larger than Sydney Harbour
3. 40 km long
4. For boating purposes it is classed as an inland sea.
5. Construction took place from 1969-1972, but construction stopped for every wet season.
6. the dam wall is 100m high and 334 m long. To gain the rocks to build the dam wall required the two largest non-nuclear explosions in Australia's history.
7.  The town of Kununarra only came into existence due the buliding of the dam as it was used to help ferry people and supplies from Perth to the remote worksite.
8.  The pipes through the dam that allow water to flow for the purposes of hydroelectric power are 4.2 metres in diameter.