Part Gibb River Road

Up at 6:00 and very pleasant having breakfast under the trees. Left Derby at 7:45 and headed off along the first part of the Gibb River Road. Thankfully the first 2 hours was mostly bitumen with the width varying between 2 lanes and only one. We didn't ever have to straddle the dirt because every time we passed someone we were on the 2 lanes. Finally we turned off and headed on some dirt into Widjana Gorge where we paid the park fee and then headed off on the walking trail into the gorge.

This gorge is noted for being of the Devonian period which meant the cliffs were remnants of an ancient coral reef and we did see one crustacean shell in a rock but most of the lower ones have been eroded away by the rushing flood waters. It is also a great place to see fresh water crocs basking in the sun and we saw plenty. We walked about half way through the gorge and then returned to the van.

Another 35 Kms on the dirt to Tunnel Creek where we had some sandwiches under the trees and then grabbed our torch - totally inadequate - put on our water shoes and tackled the rocks, water and darkness to walk the 750 metres through the tunnel carved out by the river. This was a challenge as the surface was Rocky and often you were in pitch blackness but we finally got to the end where there was a lovely creek. The tunnel was good too but a bit of a challenge for Tony.

From there we headed towards Fitzroy Crossing on the Fairfield Leopold Downs Road which was a real dirt track with plenty of corrugations. We can't understand why some people like 4 wheel driving as it is just very uncomfortable. We saw one 2 wheel drive car broken down on the side of the road and then saw the breakdown truck heading out to rescue them. Tony chatted to them at our small park and discovered that they were Germans who were originally going to tackle the Tanami Track to get to Uluru!!  Their plans have now changed and they will have a huge towing bill.

Problem with the gas cooker so cold  wrap for dinner. Very noisy night as there was a rodeo in town and lots of country music blasting out. Left cases outside van during night and found mine open in the morning but they only took my fleece jacket. After all it was a bit cool overnight and they only took what they needed to keep warm. Will have to buy a new jacket before heading home to Adelaide.