TWO GORGES and a TUNNEL

6^th August, 2012

Well we made it to Windjana Gorge National Park in one piece.  The first 125 kms of the Gibb River Road were on a one lane sealed road but when we turned off to head towards the gorge the road became dirt and things took a decided turn for the worse.  The corrugations were unbelievable and although we only had 20 kms to get to the gorge camping ground it felt more like 200 kms.  At one point we were galloping along at the phenomenal rate of 5 kms per hour and when we finally stopped and opened the door to the van the first thing that greeted us was a can of soup that was hurriedly trying to make an exit followed by several other assorted cans and containers.  After soothing his jangled nerves Wok got out his trusty screwdriver and made some running repairs to drawers and cupboards.  After a good night’s sleep we put on our sneakers and set out to have a look at Windjana Gorge.

Cliff face at Windjana Gorge

350 million years ago the gorge was once part of a western ‘great barrier reef’.  The limestone cliffs soar high above the Lennard River which surges in the wet but in the dry is a series of pools.  The entrance to the gorge is through a narrow cleft in the rocks

Wok heading into the gorge

and when we emerge on the other side the gorge opens out before us.

Inside Windjana Gorge - 'freshie' sunbaking on far bank

We’re all set for our 7 km return hike up the gorge and it’s not long before we come across our first lot of freshwater crocodiles (Johnston River Crocodiles) sunning themselves on the gravel sand bank.

A heron sneaks up on two 'freshies'

‘Freshies’ can grow up to about 2.2 metres (7 feet) long but don’t pose much of a risk to humans.  Their diet is mainly fish but they aren’t averse to anything else that might just happen to wander by.  If one was to get too close or accidentally stand on a ‘freshie’ then one might get a nasty bite but there have been no recorded fatalities from these types of crocodiles.  They have a much slender snout than a ‘saltie’ which makes them easier to identify.

'Freshies' have a long thin snout

We follow the water course up the gorge and beside us the limestone walls of the gorge rise 100 metres into the sky.

Scenery in Windjana Gorge

There are lots of small fish in the deep pools – which is good because the ‘freshies’ really like fish – and we spot some barramundi lurking in the shadow of a big rock.  They look dinner plate size but unfortunately there is no fishing allowed in the national park.  All along the river bank where the branches are hanging over the water we see striped ‘archer fish’.

Striped archer fish in water

These fish shoot jets of water from their mouths and can knock unsuspecting insects into the water from their perches on the leaves.  Once in the water they are immediately pounced on by the waiting archer fish.  The walking is pretty tough over the soft gravelly sand and on our return back down the gorge we stop quite a few times to take in the view.

Windjana Gorge

We were quite relieved when the gorge entrance finally appeared.

Heading for the entrance at Windjana Gorge

We had thoroughly enjoyed our hike up the gorge but clambering over rocks and trudging through soft sand in 35 degree C heat was taking its toll.  It was good to get back to camp, have a refreshing shower and settle down with a cool drink.  That afternoon we had a decision to make.  Whether to continue along the dirt road to Fitzroy Crossing and take in Tunnel Creek National Park along the way or return to Derby and take the long way around to Fitzroy Crossing via the tar sealed road.  We checked with the camp ranger and he said the 35 kms to Tunnel Creek was a bit rough but after that the next 75 kms until the dirt road joined up to the highway was much better.  We knew that once we headed off towards Tunnel Creek there would be no turning back as our nearest refuelling stop would be at Fitzroy Crossing and we would have passed the point of no return.  A consensus was reached and with fingers crossed we packed up and headed towards Tunnel Creek.  Now we won’t go into great detail about the state of the road but there were words and phrases emanating from Wok that cannot be repeated.  At some point Wok pulled up in the middle of the road to see if everything would stop bouncing and we hopped out to inspect the corrugations.

A sample of some of the average sized corrugations

These ones don’t look too bad but we can assure you that after 35 kms of corrugations as bad as this and worse, interspersed with rocky ridges, potholes and dry water courses, we were mighty glad to see the parking area for Tunnel Creek National Park.

Tunnel Creek parking area

Tunnel Creek is West Australia’s oldest cave system.  The creek flows through a huge water worn tunnel beneath the limestone of the Napier Range.  To explore the tunnel involves wading through several pools of water for 750 metres.  We don our handy dandy aqua shoes and board shorts and Wok carries the torch while Robyn takes the camera.  We follow the track past an overhanging rock

Track leading to the tunnel entrance

climb over and around some more rocks and then we are at the entrance to the cave system.

Wok heads towards the tunnel

Then it was time to take the plunge.

I say chaps - this water really takes your breath away!

After the first initial shock of cold water creeping up our legs we started to have a good look around at the cave walls.  There were lots of stalactites and pieces of timber were lodged in crevices high up the walls.  Obviously in the wet a raging torrent of water must be flowing through the tunnel.  Halfway through the tunnel part of the roof has collapsed and we are intrigued at how far a tree will go to find water.

Tree roots reaching down to the floor of the tunnel

Along the next section we wade through water up to our thighs and can see small fish and yabbies swimming in the torchlight.  Water is seeping through the wall at one spot and a curtain of shimmering flowstone appears below it.

Fuzzy photo of Wok checking out the flowstone with a torch

Finally we emerge at the other end of the tunnel

Wok at the other end of the tunnel

where the creek has banked up forming a deep pond.

Pond at other end of tunnel

We sit on the rocks for a while enjoying the serenity before retracing our steps back into the tunnel

Making our way back into the tunnel

and slowly wade our way back to the entrance.

Wok is nearly back at the entrance to Tunnel Creek

As we change back into some dry clothes we both agree that Tunnel Creek was definitely worth seeing.  It just would have been a whole lot better if the road to it was better maintained.  And now it was time to see if the next 75 kms of dirt road was an improvement - and the less said about that the better.  There was a slight difference though.  Creek crossings with actual water thrown in for good measure. 

Mitzi takes to the water like a duck ..

About 10 kms from the end of the dirt road Mitzi decided to throw a tantrum and drained all the oil out of her power steering.  Wok pulled off the road into a quarry  and climbed underneath to see what the problem was and found a pipe had worked itself loose.  He managed to tighten it up again and borrowed some automatic transmission oil from the quarry site and got us on the road again.  We’re sure that we heard Mitzi and the Van breathe a sigh of relief when we finally hit the tar.  It was probably a little hard to hear because there was a lot of yelling and cheering coming from the two occupants inside Mitzi.  To say we were pleased to be back on the blacktop would be a slight understatement.  We pulled into Fitzroy Crossing Lodge Caravan Park for the night and it sure was good to wash off the dust in the nice warm showers.  In the morning we were up early and with van in tow drove the 20 kms to Geikie Gorge National Park where we were in time to catch the 8am tour boat up the gorge.

Lining up for the Geikie Gorge cruise

Created by the raging floodwaters of the Fitzroy River the high water mark can be seen way up on the limestone walls.

High water mark on the gorge walls

There were so many photo ops that it was difficult to stop clicking the camera and just take in the scenery.

Colours of Geikie Gorge

The river has undercut the limestone at different spots creating wonderfully sculpted overhangs.

White limestone overhang in Geikie Gorge

Above the high water mark the limestone has oxidised making quite a contrast in colours.

Colours of Geikie Gorge

Underneath some of the overhangs ‘fairy martens’ are busy building their mud nests.

Fairy Martens nests under the overhang

They zoom across the river to collect mud in their beaks and then fly back to the overhang and deftly position the mud in place.

Close-up of the fairy marten nests

They build their nests under the overhangs to try and eliminate the possibility of predators getting to their hatchlings.

These mud nests are higher up the wall under another overhang

Snakes like the olive python are their main worry but even a very slithery snake would have trouble getting to some of these nests.  Time for one more scenic photo before we head back to the jetty.

Reflections of the gorge in the still water

Then it was back to Fitzroy Crossing where we decide to take the old road and head down to the river

Heading down to the crossing

where the old causeway still exists.

Driving across the causeway at Fitzroy Crossing

Before the high level bridge was built everyone had to cross the river via the causeway and before that many cattle drives crossed the river here where it was most shallow.  In the wet season when the river was in flood, people and stock could become stranded for weeks or months on either side of the river.  But this is the dry and we have no trouble getting from one side of the river to the other.  From here we will be heading into the East Kimberley region but that we will leave until our next blog.  We don’t think we will forget our time spent at Windjana, Geikie and Tunnel Creek National Parks.  We definitely know we will never forget those bone jarring corrugated roads!