Derby
– Mornington: 16 July [374 km]
On a cloudless morning, we were on the
road very early with a long day travelling along the remote Gibb River Road. The sign says it all.
The first 50 km or so are sealed but, after that, it was onto gravel roads for the next week. Quite surprisingly, the country we were driving through was extremely flat: varying between grassland and savannah. As well, we started to see lots of yellow flowers on long stalks: these are called the kapok bush and they are a bright spot in the bush we were driving through. We also were on the lookout for the Kimberley Rose but these bright red flowers were much less frequent.
We soon arrived at the Napier Range, a jagged mountain range running across the south west of the Kimberleys. It seems as if Queen Victoria managed to travel through this remote part of the world more than 100 years ago!
The first 50 km or so are sealed but, after that, it was onto gravel roads for the next week. Quite surprisingly, the country we were driving through was extremely flat: varying between grassland and savannah. As well, we started to see lots of yellow flowers on long stalks: these are called the kapok bush and they are a bright spot in the bush we were driving through. We also were on the lookout for the Kimberley Rose but these bright red flowers were much less frequent.
We soon arrived at the Napier Range, a jagged mountain range running across the south west of the Kimberleys. It seems as if Queen Victoria managed to travel through this remote part of the world more than 100 years ago!
The country became more undulating as
we crossed the Napier Range and got closer to the King Leopold Ranges. After morning tea at March Fly Creek, we drove
into the King Leopold Conservation Reserve.
We passed Silent Grove on our way to one of the Kimberley’s most
stunning and dramatic gorges – Bell Gorge. We walked along a relatively easy bush path to
the Gorge where we had lunch. A number
of our group had a swim in the delightful and refreshing pools at the top of
the waterfall. The entire effect of this
Gorge is quite stunning, especially when looking downstream.
Back on the Gibb River Road, we stopped
at the Imintji Roadhouse, before turning onto the Tablelands Track into
Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary. The escarpment here was quite stunning.
The road into this Sanctuary was narrower and more rugged and it was quite slow driving. Once a dominant cattle station of the Kimberleys, Mornington is now owned and operated by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and is one of the largest non-government protected areas in Australia. The Sanctuary covers over 800,000 acres in the upper Fitzroy catchment and protects a range of ecosystems. The Kimberley here is savannah for a long way with the King Leopold Range in the distance.
We stayed in well-equipped safari tents and enjoyed dinner under the stars. The staff, in briefing us about our stay, warned us about any green tree frogs we might see in our tents near the cisterns. Their concern is that a green tree frog may be followed closely by a green tree snake. One member of our group, Betty, became most concerned about this prospect! We didn't see any frogs but we did have a gecko in the ceiling of our bathroom. Some of the others managed to befriend frogs.
Our trip into Mornington revealed a vast range of boabs everywhere.
The road into this Sanctuary was narrower and more rugged and it was quite slow driving. Once a dominant cattle station of the Kimberleys, Mornington is now owned and operated by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and is one of the largest non-government protected areas in Australia. The Sanctuary covers over 800,000 acres in the upper Fitzroy catchment and protects a range of ecosystems. The Kimberley here is savannah for a long way with the King Leopold Range in the distance.
We stayed in well-equipped safari tents and enjoyed dinner under the stars. The staff, in briefing us about our stay, warned us about any green tree frogs we might see in our tents near the cisterns. Their concern is that a green tree frog may be followed closely by a green tree snake. One member of our group, Betty, became most concerned about this prospect! We didn't see any frogs but we did have a gecko in the ceiling of our bathroom. Some of the others managed to befriend frogs.
Our trip into Mornington revealed a vast range of boabs everywhere.
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