Taylah and Lilly with Jade
Alicia with Josh and Caleb
Zebedee Springs is located within the El Questro Wilderness Park. The Spring is made up of lots of small cascading individual rock pools. Pandanus palms naturally surround these rock pools giving that tropical feel. The water was so warm and inviting. We could of stayed here all day but we couldn't as we had to be on our way.
The start of the Zebedee Springs trail
Not long now
Zebedee Spring rockpools
By the time we left El Questro it was already mid morning.
Leaving El Questro
We have to wait for cows to get off the road
We continued our drive along the Gibb River Rd. We are travelling along with Chris and Leigh. The rest of the convoy has stayed behind and will be spending another night in El Questro.
We experienced problems along the way. Our electric brakes stopped working. Upon investigation we realised the wiring under the van had come loose. Probably caused from rocks flicking up from the road. Waz jacked the van up by using rocks and got under the van and fixed the problem. While the boys were fixing our van, we took rest on these bolders. An old man with long grey hair and beard, no shirt and no shoes appeared from nowhere. His skin was leathery and tanned and he was carrying a long lensed camera. He walked past us, said hello and continued down to the water. He crossed the Peniticost river on foot, got to the other side, took some photos and then walked back and disappeared in amongst the shrubs where he came from. Bizaar. A real Mick Dundee. The croc warning signs didn't seem to worry him.
It was now our turn to cross the Penticost River and we did it with ease. That was fun. I was a little nervous because there are crocs in these waters but if they weren't going to bother Mick Dundee they sure as hell weren't going to bother me. I gave Chris our camera and he took photos of us making the cross.
The Penticost River crossing
Not long after the river crossing we came across a scenic lookout. The view from here was breathtaking. We enjoy a picnic lunch here while taking in the scenery of the East Kimberley Ranges.
The East Kimberley Ranges
We stop for lunch
The Durack River crossing was much deeper and nerve racking than the Penticost but once again we did that one with ease also.
To be honest we are not enjoying the drive along the Gibb. The river crossings were fun and the scenery was beautiful but the corrugations are so deep. We are concerned on how well the van will cope inside and out. We have taped carboard to the front of the van to avoid stone chips and we have taped all vents and seals to avoid dust build up and hopefully everything inside the van is packed properley. I am really worried about the air con and the fridge. Hopefully they will all work when we get to the end.
Everytime we stop for a breather we find a problem. One time the anderson plug was disconnected from the car and the cap connection was no longer there. Not a big issue but a repair none the less. The cardboard kept coming loose and we had to stop and refix it. We got a couple of large stone chips on the van caused from oncoming traffic. One time we stopped and found the pivot stove top lid on the floor of the van. Easy fix too with the help of some glue.
By late afternoon we arrive at the Ellenbrae turn off. As soon as we turn the corner we hear a loud noise. It appears that a pin holding the weight distribution bar had come loose and the bar dropped to the ground. The pin was no where to be seen so no choice but to take the other bar off and continued down to Ellenbrae. What else can go wrong?
The sun was setting as we were setting up camp. We were mentally exhausted and in desperate need for a drink. That road does it to you.
There isn't much here at Ellenbrae. Its a cattle station with a camp ground. The abolition block is interesting. The toilets are ditches and the door is made of two pieces of thick cattle hide with a zip in the centre. The showers run on a donkey hot water system. A fire heats the water up for the showers and lucky for us it was lit so we enjoyed a much needed hot shower. There are notices everywhere warning people about snakes, how to treat a snake bite and a chart describing different snakes that frequent this area. Eastern Browns are found here. Yay for us. They are only the second deadliest snake in the world. Only 30 minutes ago the kids were collecting sticks for our fire. They were in amongst the shrubs and they were wearing thongs. We call them our hiking thongs. Great parents we are.
The fire is going, dinner is done, our glasses are full and the stars are huge. What a day!
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