Video Transcript
Welcome to Out of the World.
And in this episode, we’re continuing our beautiful route along the north Coast of Australia on the Gibb River Road. And this time we start in El Questro, and we’re doing that with this awesome campervan by Broome & Beyond.
We picked it up in Broome, and we’re driving it all the way to Darwin. From the Windjana Gorge, we left normal roads behind, and through lots of river crossings, we reached Bungle Bungles.
We just came back from this remote nature wonder as we start the new adventure.
After such an adventurous drive, it’s always fun for me to have some quality time with the car. This is my job, putting the tyres back to the right pressure. I can act like I’m a real mechanic, which I’m certainly not. But they used to be at 30 PSI. I’m putting them back at 40 because with us. We’re going to pave the roads again. So let’s do it. On our way to Kununurra.
After the Bungle Bungles, we drove for 4 hours to get to a little town called Kununurra.
From here, we’ll finish the northern part of the Gibb River Road and go to El Questro. But first, we chillax a little bit on this campsite called Kimberly land, next to a lovely But more about this later because we’ll get back here for even more time after El Questro. As always, the nature is stunning, and all around us, the Lily Creek Lagoon offers awesome views right from our camper van.
But now it’s time for something different. Park, water park, water park, water park, water park, water park.
So guys, in case you missed that, we’re going to a water park.
You know what’s great about Australia?
A kid’s attraction like this one is totally free.
The Gibb River Road is a 660 km long dirt road built in the 1960s to transport livestock from remote stations to the ports of Wyndham and Derby.
It was a tough route to travel, and it could take over a week to get from one place to the other. The route of the Gibb River Road crosses the traditional lands of many different Kimberley peoples.
We drive to El Questro from the Wyndham side of the Gibb through no man’s land.
With some odd creatures here and there. The El Questro Wilderness Park covers 700,000 hectares and is one of the most unique places to visit in Western Australia. It’s located along the Gibb River Road, and it has rainforest, unique places to swim between the gorgeous, beautiful landscapes and hot springs. We’re driving there within the hour from the town of Kununurra. Let’s go, guys.
We arrived on the north side of the Gibb River Road at a place called El Questro.
Over here, we start with a beautiful hike, one of the most spectacular ones in in Northern Australia to the Emma Gorge. Because at the end of this hike, which is about one hour, you will find the most amazing swimming hole with cliffs at 56 metres high surrounding it. Let’s go, guys.
We’re just walking along river, and every time we see the people crossing, we ask them, Did you see snakes? And so far everyone has seen them, and they say, You have to be aware. Be careful, guys. Let’s continue.
Then we see the bush is moving, and there is definitely a snake.
But it’s apparently a common green tree snake, so not too dangerous. And now over to the great finale of this hike. Wow.
So we did manage to finish the hike within the hour, and we arrive at Emma Gorge, which is indeed as pretty as they told me it would be. The only thing is the water is supposedly very, very ice cold. But there’s only one way to find out now, isn’t there?
I want to say it’s not that bad, but it’s like a thousand knives. It’s really, really cold.
So guys, if you are doing the hike to the Emma Gorge, be sure to watch out for snakes, because that sign isn’t just there for fun. There are snakes here. It was just crawling on the path, and I almost stepped on it, so I had to do this weird dance to avoid it. It got away from me. But I got him a camera, and that’s what it’s all about.
So yes, watch out for snakes and do a little dance to distract them. The best advice I can give you.
Just what I wanted after that hike, a baby and a beer.
We leave behind the Emma Gorge and drive through the incredible El Questro Wilderness Park to a place to spend the night.
Okay, guys, is this a car or a boat? I don’t know anymore because we’ve had so many awesome river crossings that it seems like we’re on a boat ride. But of course, it’s all thanks to this really amazing driver that it all goes super smoothly.
Who would have thought we’d find the best wood-fired pizzas here?
We slept at El Questro Station, which is like an entire village in the middle of nowhere. Really cool. You saw us eating here yesterday, listening to the music, having a drink. It’s really fun, but it was also really cold at night. It was almost zero degrees here. When we slept in the tents so, we had all our clothes on, two blankets, and luckily, we now go to something very warm because we’re moving to the Hot Spring called Zebedee, quite close to here.
All set. Let’s do another hike, babies. The landscape here suddenly changes to this tropical rainforest. Wow, this forest. After a walk of only 750 meters, we arrive at the first Hot Spring, guys. This here is Zebedee Springs, and it’s right in the middle of the forest. Awesome, I’m going in.
There is no volcanic activity in Australia, but hot water runs through here from deep inside the Earth. And what a sight among these palm trees. Well, guys, we walked over here around 10am, and it’s not too crowded. So if you want to avoid the bigger crowds, you should come as early as you can because it closes at noon.
I’m just stating the obvious here, but this is our kids’ favourite place in Australia.
Unfortunately, that’s it for this episode, but there’s plenty of more ground to cover until we reach Darwin. So I’ll see you in the next episode on our beautiful road trip through Northern Australia. Ciao.
So what’s next? A new state as we cross over to Northern Territory. But also our island hopping adventure to new countries, Vanuatu and Fiji.
I’ll see you soon.
Wout of the World
Online travel show in Dutch and English with World traveler and actor Wout of the World. In dozens of episodes Wout takes you out for adventure all over the world, always in the most budget-friendly way. Enjoy over 120 countries from your couch, phone or the computer.