El Questro

The next morning we continued towards Purnululu. Inez had read that the road in Purnululu was in poor condition and would not be suitable for our car (again). We didn’t want to risk it and were somewhat disappointed. Australians are quick to scare you here and like to exaggerate. Somewhere we regret it and should have just tried it, but it’s always a gamble. Better to be safe than to break your car or get stuck somewhere. At the end of the Gibb River Road is El Questro. We heard many good things about it and finally felt like driving somewhere. We called ahead to check if the road was in good condition and if all the rivers were dry. It was a 15-kilometer ride on the road with stones and corrugations. We have done this many times before and therefore not a problem for us. Until we suddenly came across the water. There were still some rivers underwater. It wasn’t much, but it was the first time for us to drive through water. Someone was driving in front of us, and we followed. It was a bit exciting, but it went by itself. After driving 500 meters further, we came across another one. We saw a car driving through it, and this little river was clearly deeper. We asked a passing local if our car could make it or not. Like every Australian, we got a standard answer; “You’ll be fine; just do it!” Without much hesitation, we drove through. Campsite reached. We enjoyed a nice afternoon at the campsite and booked a 4WD tour through part of the domain.

The morning before our tour started, we rested and updated our blog. Our safari jeep left at 1:30 PM. We got a lot of information about the domain’s history, plants, and wildlife. At first, the road we drove on seemed like something our car could definitely handle. The further we went, that suddenly became a bit different. The road became very bumpy and consisted of nothing but stones and deep pits in some places. Good choice to do this with a tour and not with our own car. We drove over a wide river where we saw the first small crocodile. We took a boat trip through Explosion Gorge. Very beautiful to sail between the high red rocks. Then we drove to a lookout, presented with a breathtaking view. Here we enjoyed a drink and a cheese platter. It was a perfect moment. Down in the river also lay a big crocodile, but unfortunately, it was not clearly visible from that distance. When the sun went down, the entire landscape changed color. Beautiful! We moved for one night to a private camping spot by the river. Here we made a campfire and enjoyed a cozy evening. The starry sky was absolutely top-notch!