Barrelling along, we enjoyed the cool of the morning. We had traveled through this section of the highway quite a few times, the last time having problems with the old patrol misfiring and giving us a pretty little picture of the engine on the dashboard. Little Bus though wasn’t missing a beat, cruising along sitting on or just above 100, enough to stay just ahead of the trucks but not fast enough to catch the ones in front. This enabled us to concentrate more on our singing (o.k. more like howling) and to enjoy the wildlife on the roadsides (and sometimes the road itself). We have found over the years that slowing down and enjoying the ride actually means getting there faster, or at least it seemingly faster, certainly safer.

Meekatharra was just a blip, a stretch stop and top up in fuel, around $2.25 per liter, not too bad. A bit further on we had to pass an oversize load and had just gotten around it when we reached the roadhouse, so it was into Newman for the next refuel and toilet stop. Camp for the night was another 100km-ish further on.

MT ROBINSON

Mt Robinson is set in the ranges (funny that, being a mount!). The camp is a recognized 24hr free stop. There are toilets there and a short walk into a small gorge at the back. Arriving just at sunset, we pulled up a levelish spot on the gravel. At least we weren’t trying to get tent pegs into the rock-hard ground!

One thing this place doesn’t have is shade, you have to set up in the open, so leave getting here as late as possible when it’s warm, and it was only about 34 degrees. In a tin can in the sun, it could get much hotter, but opening the bus up, letting what breeze there was come through, made it much more bearable.

Thank God for the flyscreens, let’s you get that breeze and view in without the flying critters getting in as well. We sat back with a cool beverage and watched the sun go down over the ranges to the West.

DALES GORGE

We have an ongoing discussion, which is better: sunrise or sunset? Most people seem to think sunset, and I guess the reason is probably because they don’t get up early enough to appreciate the sunrise. I mean, check it out in the photos above and let us know which you prefer.

As we mentioned in the last post, we had a spare day up our sleeves, and it had been ages since we had been to Dales Gorge. The last time we were in Karijini, we were up the other end doing the walks in Deano Gorge and staying at the Eco Resort (for that, you can find our YouTube video here). Click here for the Karijini video.

This time, we were sticking with the bitumen (oh, and we have some insider news on that too). So, we intended on only doing Dales Gorge and Murchison Falls. We were on the road just after that special sunrise, arriving at Dales Gorge less than an hour later. Oh the news , they are about to start sealing the other roads in Karijini all the way into Weano Gorge from the visitors’ centre.

Our intention was to do the walk along the rim of the gorge, then down to Fern Pool and Murchison Falls for a swim, so we loaded up with water, smothered ourselves in sunscreen, lathered on insect repellent, tightened our laces, and headed off. The walk is relatively easy, along a graded gravel path with a few steps and dips over dried creeks.

The views are spectacular, as are the colors, especially this early in the sun. We were accompanied by Russell, Russell can also be spelled Rustle, which is probably more apt. Russell is that little lizard that lives in the scrub, and as you walk past, he shakes the nearest leaf or grass to make you jump. We would show you a pic of Russell, but he (or she) is extremely camera shy.

As usual, the flies are friendly, but we didn’t actually need the fly nets at this stage. Walking from East to West means at the end of the walk, you reach the steps going down to Murchison Falls and Fern Pool. There is a scramble down from the east end to the gorge floor, where you can walk along the bottom of the gorge. You could do the walk a lot quicker than we did, as we frequently stop to go “wow,” take photos, or just sit and take it all in.

At the end, take a few moments to sit, relax, and take it all in. As we would have to be walking back to Little Bus, we didn’t go down and swim at first, but headed back along the track to Little Bus, hopped in, and drove off for a look-see at the campground.

SWIM TIME

But we returned, parked the little bus in a full car park, changed into our bathers, and went back to the gorge before heading down the steps. It’s the only place to swim at this end of Karijini, and the steps are the only option, so make sure you have everything with you before you go down.

The water is, um, let’s say it’s just refreshing and enough to make any brass monkey head north. But still, we swam. Then, after thawing out in the sun, we took a walk along the gorge to reach Fern Pool. We didn’t swim at Fern Pool, in fact, we just turned around and walked back to Murchison Falls. Why? Well, I remember when you could have Fern Pool to yourself, or maybe one or two people, but there were fifty or so people there. I guess it’s the sign of the times that more and more people are coming out to see places like this. It’s great in some aspects, but harder to appreciate nature when it’s so crowded.

On the way back, we paused halfway along the track because Russell had found us again, and then the birds started up. The call of the minor bird echoed back from the walls, adding harmony to his original song. We sat and enjoyed the experience while others just walked on past… kinda sad really. But here are some pics of the walk.

ALBERT TOGNOLINI

Back up the steps and then back to Little Bus. We spent a bit more time in the Dales Gorge area, then finally it was time to head off to camp. So, back to the highway and up to Albert Tognolini lookout, a free camp overlooking a gorge just near the Auski roadhouse, and yet another amazing sunset.

By now we had a little concern over the fridge, while it was keeping things frozen, the fridge compartment did not seem to be as cold as what it was indicating it was, so we did a little experiment and it turns out it’s about 10 degrees warmer. So, food at 4 degrees was more like food at 14 degrees! We had a little problem to solve, something which will occupy my brain until I resolve it. Anyway, not much we could do but crank it up to maximum and think about it overnight.

Stay with us for next time when we get all the way to Kununurra before hitting the NT.