Day 1 – Kakadu National Park, Ubirr
Darwin to Ubirr – 286km
Kakadu Park Passes – $40pp (valid for up to 14 days)
Merl Campground – $15pp unpowered
After nearly three months of apartment bliss, it was time to hitch up that roof top tent (more securely this time!) and get back on the road. So what will we miss the most about Darwin? Right now my answer is definitely the people, but if you ask me again in 2 weeks time I’m pretty sure the answer will be ‘not having to walk a mile to the toilet at 3am’ but alas, that’s camp life!
We were much less prepared leaving Darwin than we had hoped to be, mainly due to a horrific courier company, but that’s a different story. We officially left Darwin around 1pm and drove into Kakadu National Park.
Kakadu is Australias largest national park, spanning nearly 20000 square km (almost the size of Wales!) It is an area rich in history and culture which has been home to the Bininj/Mungguy people for tens of thousands of years. We decided to start our Kakadu experience at Ubirr, in the eastern side of the park.Whilst there are over 5000 examples of aboriginal rock art in the park, the site at Ubirr is probably the most famous.
We arrived around 4.30pm and our plan was to take a slow walk up to the top to watch the sunset. (A very slow walk as it is a 1km retun and the sun didn’t set until 6.40pm!) The rock paintings were pretty impressive to see, especially those which were so high up under ledges that it baffled us as to how they were painted at all (let alone thousands of years a go). Due to their age, most were reasonably faded so were difficult to photograph but below are a couple of my favourites.
After a bit of a rock scramble we made it to the top which overlooks the wetlands and honestly, I felt like I was in the live action remake of the Lion King. The photos don’t do it justice at all.
As settled down on a rock and waited for the sunset, the smoke from a bushfire blew right over us and completely covered the sun. At this point a couple of other people left but we stuck it out. Though it perhaps wasn’t as colourful as it otherwise would have been, the smoke created something pretty unique.
Day 2 – Kakadu National Park, Gunlom Falls
Ubirr to Gunlom Falls – 212kmKakadu Park Passes (as above, $40p)
Gunlom Campground – $15pp unpowered
Though Gunlom involved an of road drive and had a dried up waterfall, I had read about the beautiful views, plunge and infinity pools so felt it was worth the drive.After setting up camp at the bottom, we put on our hiking boots and made the very steep climb to the top. The view from the top was pretty impressive and made the litres of sweat I’d lost climbing in 35 degree heat almost worth it!
From some angles, the top pool looks almost like an infinity pool and provides incredible views back over the park. It wasn’t the most clear pool I’ve ever swam in, but I was too hot to say no!
Day 3 – Katherine
Gunlom to Katherine – 199km
Riverview Tourist Park – $36 unpowered
Today was a little bit of a nothing day! Due to courier drama with our awning, we had to spend the day hunting down bolts that would fit our roof bars and in a tiny town, this proved a little difficult.
Instead of continuing on to Bitter Springs as intended, we had to stay the night in Katherine to wait for a delivery so visited the Katherine Hot Springs instead which though probably not as pretty was almost the same if you blocked out the noise of the screaming kids who had come for an after school dip!
Day 4 – Driving Day
Katherine to Saddle Creek Rest Area – 404km
Saddle Creek Rest Area – Free camp unpowered/ no showers
Driving days are tough, but definitey not boring. If we aren’t listening to true crime podcasts or ‘Stuff You Should Know’ we are marvelling at the incredible views.
We arrived at our free camp late in the evening and were greeted by the most beautiful spot and another incredible top end sunset.
Side note- Matt had his first free camp shower and our solar shower had sprung a leak…
Day 5 – Lake Argyle
Saddle Creek to Lake Argyle – 110km
Sunset Cruise – $95pp
Lake Argyle Caravan Park – $16.50pp unpowered
After crossing the Western Australia border, our clocks went back an hour and a half so to our suprise, we found ourselves with a lot more time on our hands than expected.Lake Argyle is Australias second largest manmade reservior and is around 1000km sq (also known as huge)
We spent the morning wandering up to the water tower look out where we were able to take in the vastness of the lake for the first time. The caravan park also has an infinity pool overlooking the lake which we took full advantage of.
After drying off and having lunch it was time for our sunset cruise which we had booked ahead of time. The coach to the boat ramp took a detour over the dam wall, with the driver explaining the history of the Lake.
The boat itself was a little different to what I had imagined. I’d clearly envisaged a Spain style party boat with outdoor seating but in reality it was a completely canopy covered boat with 50 seats.
After learning a bit more about the lake, we were allowed to have a swim in the deepest section (30m). It was cold, but not as cold as I was anticipating. Matt of course spent the time jumping from the top of the boat and I was much happier floating around with my pool noodle!
We then cruised of to various sections of the lake, including an area famed for croc spotting and an island full of wallaroos. It wasn’t until this point we appreciated how insanely big the lake was.
Soon it was time for cheese, crackers and a glass of wine whilst watching another amazing sunset. You were able to swim but we opted to climb to the roof of the boat instead. We were more or less the only ones who had that idea so we basically got an undisturbed view – romantic ey?
Day 6 – El Questro Station
Lake Argyle to El Questro – 173km
El Questro Park Pass – $22pp valid for 7 days (as above)
El Questro Station Campground -$22pp unpowered
After leaving Lake Argyle, we stopped off at Kununurra for our final supply run before heading out to El Questro and into the outback!El Questro is privately owned wilderness park, famous for its gorges, water holes and 4WD tracks and lies just south of the Gibb River Road (probably the most famous unsealed road in Aus). I did get a little giddy when we passed Gibb the signs as I have been looking forward to it for quite some time.
After another jaunt off road and a river crossing we arrived at El Questro Station where we were supplied with our park passes and maps and immediately started planning the next couple of days of adventure.
In the end we chose to spend the afternoon relaxing at camp before driving up to Pigeon Hole lookout for sunset.The road in was imaginably rocky with another river crossing (and a dingo!) followed by a mammoth climb up what felt like a sheer cliff edge. By the time we reached the top my heart was in my arse but wow. The view honestly was worth every moment and took my breath away.
Day 7 – El Questro Gorge
El Questro Park Pass – $22pp valid for 7 days (as above)
El Questro Station Campground -$22pp unpowered
After an early start we arrived at El Questro gorge at around 8am but the issue was there was a 0.7m deep river crossing between us and it. Hank doesn’t have a snorkel so after loitering around for a little while hoping someone might pass and give us a lift, we put on our big girl pants and waded through a lovely smelling bog to the right of the crossing and made the 15 minute walk along the road to the start of the trail.
The first half of the walk was relatively challenging with a few rocks to climb over.At the half way point you reach a swimming area where at this point you can either turn around and head back or walk through ‘waist height’ water with your backpack over your head, shimmy up a fallen tree trunk, brace yourself between two huge boulders and ninja warrior yourself to the top then carry on a harder trail for an extra 2-3 hours. Of course we took the latter option but I’m not sure which 7ft man decided the water was waist height…
Once I had miraculously made it, we set off on possibly our most challenging hike to date. I think the correct term would be ‘bouldering’. After over an hour of scrambling over Hank sized rocks we made it to a waterfall but this wasn’t the end… you had to climb UP the waterfall. (We made it but my life may have flashed in front of my eyes going down again on the way back!)
Despite the heat, the physical exertion and the feeling of impending doom, it was all worth it for the swim at the end.
Day 8 – El Questro, Zebedee Thermal Springs/Emma Gorge
El Questro to Spring Creek Rest Area – 263km
El Questro Park Pass – $22pp valid for 7 days (as above)
Spring Creek Rest Area – free unpowered, no shower
Just minutes away from El Questro Station is Zebedee thermal springs. After spending the last week of my life caked in dust a dip in what was basically a bath in the middle of the outback was just what we needed.
Thoroughly clean, we set off back down the main road to Emma Gorge. Emma Gorge is probably the most popular area of El Questro. Though the hike in is quite challenging at times, it is still fairly accessible and the path reasonably shaded. Due to this it was a little busier than we had hoped but still just as beautiful. In fact, Matt said he preferred this to yesterday!
The end pool is sizeable, with water dripping from the cavern edge above into deep, (cold), crystal clear water. We were even joined on our swim by fresh water croc!The rest of the day was spent driving to Purnululu National Park which I will tell you all about on next weeks installment of my blabbering.
Lauren Travels 
My heart was in my mouth just thinking of you climbing and splashing about out there. You have had an exciting few weeks there x x
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