On the Road with John. Escaping Reality. Windjana & Tunnel Creek
You. Know folks today we're, heading out to win, jhana Gorge and we're going to have a look at tunnel, Creek. Before. We head off to win Jannah I, thought. I should probably go through the caravan, park so. We're, staying at the. Kimberley. Entrance, caravan, park in Derby and we're here for a couple of nights. The. Kimberley entrance caravan, park is right on the water's edge and an, easy walk into the main shopping area, it's. A big park with lots of trees, while. The roads are bitch man with curbing, all the way around the sites for the most part looked to be dude with, a grass tent land area. There. Are three toilet, blocks and while I don't usually take pictures, inside them well there's nobody around I grabbed these and as, you can see they're, pretty clean and well presented. Tunnel. Proof vagina, gorges under a 41, from our 479. Okay. Folks. Been. A couple of days since we. Had a chat. Last. Time we talked we were coming out on the bungle bungles. We've. Driven here to Darwin, Darwin we've driven out the Derby and. Spending. A couple of nights of Derby, and. We're. Just. Now we're going to go out on the, get river road so we're going to get on the other end of the get river road you may recall on the way up we, went out to el questro we're, on the get river road so. This. End here it's pitchman for a quite, a fair way till. We turn off to go into wind jhana Gorge and tunnel creek where, we're heading to tonight. So. Tunnel. Creek I'm not sure how much that we're going to do because. Part. Of it you've got to walk in some water that gets through to the really sticky bit and. Different. Times of the year the waters at different levels, and. It. Ends. On how cold, that water is it's, going to be my issue so, we'll. Go out see what we can do anyway, and see. Where we are from me so. We have plan that is just yeah basically get out and win Jarrah and. I'm free. The. Gipper of a road is blacktop, for about the first 50, 60 yard kilometers, before, it turns to gravel this. Road can be extremely, rough on vehicles, and trailers and many. Have been left behind because, of bad, luck or just not being properly, prepared, for the area, well. Some people will say they've taken the caravan, on the Gibb River Road and never had a problem it's. All about the road conditions, at the time I. Was. In el questro one, time talking, to a bloke and he, was saying one of the fellows in his party, had a new, proper. Four-wheel-drive Outback. Camper, trailer and he. Had to stop at one of the homestead, and get it reweld, it halfway along the Gib by, the time they get home he, reckons it's going straight to the tip you. Need to be pretty, well self-sufficient. If you, want to travel the length of the Gib while. You can get diesel, in some places unleaded. Petrol, may be more of a problem, however. We're only going to be doing a small part of the give today but. We are still prepared, hopefully, for anything.
He's. Going through some roadworks, here on the give River Road. The. Kid River I think I spoke about this earlier but. It's. One of them iconic, all drive roads. That. Most. People would forward rise with life to do and. They're. Talking, about probably. The next five or so years this. Ray of being pitchman, eyes all, the way through to it. Comes out just north of culinarily, so. People. Are kind, of rushing, to, get up here to say. Or, to do the give River Road so that they can say I've, done the give River Road. Once. It's bitch Minh eyes. The. Trip from Derby, through to come Inara one, thing this roads only about 500, of something kilometers long so. You can easily do, that in one day as opposed, to going from, the Great Northern Iowa, which is the current route which. Is you. Know probably a little shy of failed. Two kilometers. Eight. Hundred a semi neuromas or something so. If. This becomes bitch Minh I was all the way through this. Is going to become the main road it's. Not much. Traffic. On the Great Northern oh I imagined, road trains us to last year's Great Northern Iowa, but cars, and tourists or exluding it'll. All be done with this. Road instead. However. It this does become pitchman, eyes. Then. All. Those special. Places off. To. The side like. Mitchell falls and, then sort of things they will all state. Gravel. Tracks. Better work well I. Can't. See there never being changed, so. You'll. Still have your full drive experience, doing. That part of it you. Just won't get to give them a road part I. Mean. Keeping a road it's something I would like to do too but I would never take a trailer or Caravan or anything along here because. Basically. Probably. Won't be in any good condition, but i'ma get to the other end. So. But. It is I my to-do list but whether I ever get to do it it'll, be a different. Kind of needs. I've. Already dropped my tire pressures, down from towing back at the caravan park but, once I hit the gravel I've dropped, them down again to 25, psi, this. Will help to smooth out the corrugations. On the road. And. As. To prove a point here, is the tragic, end of somebody's. Trip I only. Hope this was the end of their give river road adventure, and not the start. And. Here. Is another one that is not designed for this for the road. When. Jonah Gorge is in the Napier Rangers, and its name comes from the Aboriginal, word when. Gina. To. The locals this, is where the powerful creation. Spirits, reside. William. Forrester, who took up a nearby past release, in 1884. Miss. Recorded, it as when. Jana. So. There's a one kilometer to kilometer. And, a. Lot of other kilometer, walks through. Here so I think it will be going quite all the way through. I think. It's pretty safe to say there would definitely crocodiles. In here because from here there's one two three. Four. Five. Six seven, eight. Probably. A dozen crocodiles, I can see she's sitting over at here but. I can't see from here whether they're freshwater ones, or saltwater ones but I'm not planning on finding, it. Bloody. Hot in here but it's, quite nice, under, the trees I. Hate. To come here when it's 40 degrees I. The. Crocs it and lightly. Like. Hard. You. Know there's some bugs getting around you you can't, see them but buddy here I sound. Like the gold v8 engine shoved up the backside that buzzer and you don't. Find him anyway. We've. Walked a fair way in. And. We've seen to be getting further away from where the actual river is. Unless. What, do you got a. Little. Bit of water the, track get into it. So. Unless some. You. Plan wanting, to do seven kilometers of, walking. Around in the bush. Quite. Possibly, once you get to that first section that's the bit really, to stop it turn around and go back, because. All we've got here is just quite. Thick scrub and. Bitey. Bugs. And. While we've been up here we've seen big, apes of crocodiles, around, but. Everything we've seen is freshwater. Crocodiles. These, ones all here I am. Pretty sure they're all freshwater crocodiles. But. That. Means you can go up next to them now, these fresh ones here they generally. Eat fish. Insects. Apparently, or small, animals something that they can just swallow a whole so. They don't really look at us as food, but. You, don't want to go swimming in the. Saltwater. Crocodiles. They. Can, be found not, only in salt water but up in these fresh lakes as well if. A crocodile has, to walk across rocks, to get in somewhere it won't go so if I if. A creek is a long way in from, the ocean and there's. Plenty of water and no rocks they'll all go all the way up there if, there's rocks, around they won't climb over the rocks that's a bit of a barrier so you don't normally give them up kind, of this far in because they've got to get across rocks, and sand and stuff, like that which they're not really into.
Fresh. Florida crocodiles, will eat us, they'll. Eat anything they'll even eat themselves, well, not themselves but other crocodiles. So, when you're up in the North here you've just got to be careful about, where you're going and just consider every crocodiles, dangerous, it's the safest thing to do. Well. We've walked in a bed and out and, beyond, turn around go back and, that. Water at tunnel crew is, looking a little bit more inviting now we're. Going to check that out. You. Know you can camp here in when, jhana gorge I, got. It pretty well set out because, over, there. Is the campsites, if you don't have generators, and. In here they got campsites, or if you do have a generator. So. I think it's a premade idea then. You got the day use area which we've just come out of and. To. My surprise I went to the loo while I was here and they, have flushing, toilets. And water. To wash your hands here so just saw the bore on the size that they've got a bore in the ground that provides. In there water that's. Pretty unusual for a national park that. Yeah, you've got a beam like a four-wheel drive it being like that one. Then. You. Know you can bring them in I'm not too keen on the idea of bringing vans in with us forward or not, but. Because. You know the road we just drove in on from Derby. Before. A gravel road that's actually not too bad you. Know you could do like, 80 90, along that we had a problem. The. Road into bungle bungles the other day was even worse because, we could only do about 20 or 30 sometimes, on that and. We saw the trailer that, never made it, so. I, don't. Know how that blokes going to go with his road. Caravan. That we saw coming in, that's. Definitely, not designed for this sort of thing, but. Here. Be all right spot to the to careful, couple days early. Anyway. We're gonna head off the tunnel three five did, my good deed for the day as well a couple of, tourists, here. The. Sheila parked the car up and. Forgot. To turn the lights off and, walked. In for two hours came back here black battery oh I. Got, one of them jump packs able, to go over and jump started getting going that's my good deed for the day. Although. Just thinking about it because she started on the car and I said don't turn that off in a hurry and she's. Driven, over to the picnic. Bench. And. If she turned it off again. Nothing. Again well. Somebody. Here same idea. Okay. Tunnel. Creek is only 36, kilometers, from Indiana Gorge but, depending, on the road conditions it, could take you up to an hour to get in there. From. The car park it's only a short walk to the entrance of the cave then, you'll need a good torch to walk through the cave to the other side. It. Goes without saying that when the white fellows came into this area, the Aborigines, got a pretty raw deal as, they did throughout Australia, and here. At tunnel Craig ended. A legend, for the Aborigines, of the region. Janda. Mara was a young Aboriginal blow forced. To work on a local cattle station, turned. Out he was pretty good with a gun and a horse. During. That time he became close friends with, an English guy called, Richardson. When. Richardson, joined the local cops he took Jane the Mara along to be his tracker. Together. They rounded up many of the locals some of them were his, family, Jana Maura's family. After. Arresting Jana my uncle, chief Ella Mara he, told John de Maura he, was a traitor to his blood and he needed to choose between his, tribal roots and his, new friends. Jana. Marucho's, family, and killed Richardson. After. That Jane Amara became the hunted, leading. The cops on a merry goose chase between here, and windjana, gorge. The. Cops thought they had him trapped here in the cave and staked, out the entrance. Little. Did they know Jana Mara was sneaking, out the back and raiding, their cop shop for supplies. Eventually. His luck did run out when, Jan de Mara was, finally, taken down here, at his last stand and so. When did the legend of the man they, said could, fly like a bird and disappear. Like a ghost. Well. We're, ready to go mining. Going. Into a tunnel, creek you need a torch to go in it. Study. What we can find. You. Can't see much but halfway through you get some light into the cave from the part of the roof that has collect, at some point. That. Was our first water crossing, and that water's cold. Well. We've had a couple of. Above. The knee height water, crossings. Yes. That water is cold. It. Looks like we just to be able to come out to it near. Was. A smelly bit in the center where. The bats were. Can't. Show you when you can feel this too dark and I didn't bring a light for the camera so, stupid. Me should have done that. Crocodile. They talk to me. Yeah. It looks like a crocodile in the dark look at that. And this, is what would come to see. Even. Though it's a hot day, water. Looks cool and inviting. Doesn't. Always mean, it's a good place to go swimming, you are, in the bush you never know what just swimming whiz. And she. Had no, idea.
There, Are also some, examples, of rock painting, here as well. So. What's on the other side of tunnel Creek another. Creek. Absolutely. Amazing Italy so that's, it we're done we're. Going to head back in Ian to, come out to where car is and then we're going to head back into Derby so that's pretty much the data. Okay. So. When you first come in it's. A bit overwhelming, because you. Can't see a track there's nothing marked and you wonder where to go basically. Follow the wet patches on the ground with, people walked, in and out of the water. And. It's actually not that hard to find your way through it's quite easy so. Definitely. Worth doing, coming. Out this way, do. Tunnel Creek. Something. To keep in mind after you have spent the day out is when. You're traveling back towards, Derby you will, be, traveling, into the Setting Sun it. Makes for some spectacular scenery, but. It can be dangerous so, be smart about, your driving, you. Can also get some brilliant, photos. Morning. Folks as you can see we're back in the caravan park how. Was that trip. Out to win. Jhana and tunnel. Creek yesterday and that. That sunset, wasn't that amazing, the. Good thing is that up, here the sunsets fairly quick so it's, not going to be directly in your face for too long, our. Plan from here today is we're heading down towards, karijini, so, that's. Pretty much it for this this. Video so if, you liked what you saw hit the thumbs up down the bottom down there and consider, subscribing, anyway. Until next time happy. Travels. You.
2019-01-13 23:16
