Derby and Gibb River Road

Friday 7 June 2013 - Tuesday 11 June 2013

As Nick and Belinda were leaving Broome at the same time we decided to do a car swap with the kids.  Sophie came with us and Lachlan went with the Pinks.  We swapped the kids back at the roadhouse after which we went our separate ways. The Pinks took the turnoff to Fitzroy Crossing and we kept driving towards the Gibb River Road.

On our way we passed through Derby which has the highest tides in Australia, with the peak differential between low and high tide reaching 11.8 meters.  We tried to get to the wharf in time to see the run in tide but unfortunately just missed it.  However while we were there, we couldn't resisted a feed of Barra and Chips for lunch.






We also stopped at the Boab Prison Tree which was used as a lock up facility in the 1890s for prisoners who were on their way to Derby.

                                                 Boab Prison Tree

 

On departing Derby we commenced our journey along the 600 odd kilometre Gibb River road.  That night we stayed at March Fly Glenn and met a family with two young girls ,Courtney and Cassy. All the kids had fun playing spotlight around the camp site.  The next day we went with them to Bell Gorge and had a swim at the falls.  The walk in was around 40 minutes in the heat so a refreshing swim at the bottom of the gorge was just the ticket.

 

 

 



That afternoon we arrived at the Manning Gorge camp ground and the kid immediately recognised the camper trailer of Thomas and his family who we had originally met at Eighty Mile Beach.  Thomas, Adam and his friends had fun swimming in the lagoon and having a row in the boat that was needed to get across the river.

 

The next morning we packed up early and made our way towards Home Valley Station, stopping on the way at Ellenbrae Stations for a scrumptious Devonshire tea.  We arrived at Home Valley just after lunch.  We had such a good time there when we stayed there 9 years ago and wondered if the same young family were still running the place this time around.  We were amazed to see the difference.  There was now a huge kids playground, a bar and grill and a resort style swimming pool.  There were also numerous activities such as hele fishing, sight seeing tours and horse rides. 

 

It had become way more commercial than it had been 9 years ago where the couple who ran the place back then prepared a home cooked roast for the 10 or so travellers who were staying there.

 





We met two girls from Darwin - and they decided to sign up for helefishing.  We watched their helicopter take off the next morning and they came back later that evening with a 79cm barramundi.  That night they paid a small fee for the chefs to cook the Barra and indulged in a delicious feast.

 

The next morning we went to visit their bush campsite by the river and enjoyed the sunrise over coffee.

 

 

                                                                             Home Valley Bush Camp on the Pentacost River

 

 

We drove up to the Cockburn range lookout one evening to take in the sunset. We marvelled at the brightness of the Moon and Venus which were lined up next to each other in the evening sky.



 

 

 

I took a horse ride that was supposed to be for 2 hours and turned into 4 hours. As there was only a small group riding the stockmen decided to extend the ride and it was a fantastic way to see the Kimberly landscape.  When we arrived back Craig had packed up the camper and we decided to have lunch at the restaurant before departing.