WA & NT; Broome to Darwin with Intrepid Travel + Video


Welcome to part 2 of my Perth to Darwin adventure!
After a few days of freedom &freshly pedicured feet in Broome it was time to say goodbye to some friends we'd made along the way, and great new comers who we'd be travelling up to Darwin with.
This part of the trip didn't quite go to planned, with unexpected flooding while we were in Manning Gorge we got stranded there for 4-5 days so had to miss out places like The Bungle Bungles & Lake Argyle so if you have time, add them to your itinerary they look good!

Our home away from home at Mt Barnett



Boab Prison Tree, Derby
This is one of two famous boab prison trees. This tree is believed to be over 1500 years old and has a large hollow trunk over 14m in circumference! This tree is famous for having a door on the side where an opening has been cut into the tree. Prison cells were created and used as overnight stops back in the 1800s by police to lock up Aboriginal prisoners.
These days its just a pretty massive tree with a fence round it but its cool to visit!

Boab Prison Tree

Tunnel Creek
After heading towards the Oscar Range you will yourselves at Tunnel Creek. This is a 750m tunnel through the Napier Range. Make sure you have a flashlight as its very dark inside, but the views once coming to the end of the tunnel are brilliant!
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Tunnel Creek

Windjana Gorge
After all the tent dramas and all the rain we woke up a little worse for wear.
But nothing like a trip to visit some freshwater crocs to cheer us up.
Windjana Gorge is in the Kimberly region of WA. Here you can take a simply walk along a-once-fringing reef and visit the local freshwater crocs as they swim in the river or sunbathe on the sandbanks just meters away!
Whilst you're here read up on the Bunuba people and the tails of Jandamarra - tbh I still don't know what the end of the story was of his fate but you might find it a little more interesting than I did.





Gibb River Road
Travelling along the famous Gibb River Road is class. Its a 600KM dirt track that runs through the centre of the Kimberly region. 4WD is 100% necessary and brace yourselves for the bumps! It makes for a fun drive though! Before you arrive to Manning Gorge take a visit to Adcock Gorge and enjoy the hike and amazing waterholes to swim in! Great location for rock-jumping - but always check the water below first!!

Adcock Gorge

Manning Gorge
Now Manning Gorge was only supposed to be a day or 2 visit, turned into like 5 days because we got stranded at our campsite because of severe flooding.
So we had to make do with what we had.
Whilst here make sure you take a walk on the waterfall walk and enjoy a swim in the waterholes at the end of dare to climb the rocks to get under the waterfall itself. I tried but slip n slide got the better of me and I slid off the rocks a good 5m and bruised my bum to bits!
If you're anything like our tour guide Damo, why not swim the whole way back to the camp - the rapids can get very intense at some points so make sure to climb out at the right places to avoid drowning ya know. & if you ain't a fan of spiders good luck to ya!
There are massive cobwebs across the reeds in the river and I almost swam into so many massive spiders. Watch my video (part 3) and you'll notice terrified face at some points as I'm swimming into them!




Swimming straight towards a spiders web


El Questro Station
El Questro is so nice! Well tbh anything would have been nice after being stuck in the same place for 5 days, but we even got an upgrade to luxury tents! Fancy! We spent 2 nights here and the 'resort' is great!
Take a visit to Zebedee hot springs where you can relax a gentle dip in these natural warm waters, or take a hike to El Questro Gorge. This was a fantastic hike, a lot of climbing and jumping from rock to rock but great fun and a lovely secluded waterfall and rock pool to enjoy at the end.
However if you're like me and can be classed as 'clumsy' or 'injury prone' then watch your footing.
A simple slip on a rock can lead into a twisted ankle and having to be piggyback-carried out of the gorge by your guide. Oops.
Another walk (which I've heard was great but I couldn't walk so didn't go) is Emma Gorge.

El Questro Gorge

Oops
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Zebedee Springs

Kununurra
Here was our last point of call before leaving Western Australia behind and entering into Northern Territory. A small town with all the amenities to stock up on before heading back on the road.

Katherine
Katherine is home to Nitmiluk National Park where you can find the glorious Katherine Gorge. A short hike up the a viewpoint will give you these amazing views of the Katherine River. But be warned, do not attempt to go swimming, you will most likely be eaten by a saltie croc!
One of my favourite places for a swim was at Edith Falls. The hike is great and you can see all the different pools and waterfalls along the way. Great spot for swimming!

Katherine Gorge

Edith Falls

Edith Falls

Darwin
I don't really know how to talk about Darwin. I wish i'd liked it enough to stay longer so I could visit Litchfield National Park & Kakadu National Park. But the truth is I really didn't like Darwin so I got myself out of there asap!
Tbh I think it was a lot to do with the fact I had booked myself into a shack (literally, it was called Youth Shack) and it was awful. It was pretty much like the worst night out in Magaluf you could imagine. I eventually moved into Melaluca Hostel which was better but I was still determined to leave Darwin.
If you happen to like Darwin and wish to stay longer than head to the Mindl Beach Sunset Markets, or venture to the lagoon for a swim. I did neither because I didn't like Darwin.

& so that concludes my trip with Intrepid Travel.
It was worth the money 100% & I had all the laughs, made fantastic friends, saw and did some pretty cool things and discovered my love for gin & making dust-angels.

Want to SEE what I did?
Click the links below to see parts 2 & 3 of the trip all shot by myself on my GoPro.
Enjoy!

G Goes Global - Australia #6 Perth to Darwin Part 2 - GoPro Hero 3 + Silver from Gemma Williams on Vimeo.


G Goes Global - Australia #7 Perth to Darwin Part 3 - GoPro Hero3+ from Gemma Williams on Vimeo.
Thanks for reading & happy travels 
♡ G

Join me on Instagram @gemwills 

& follow me on my Australia Adventure! 

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