DAY 91 - GIBB RIVER ROAD - CHARNLEY RIVER STATION TO MORNINGTON WILDERNESS CAMP

29 May 2008

DAY 91 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

GIBB RIVER ROAD

CHARNLEY RIVER STATION TO MORNINGTON WILDERNESS CAMP

I woke up this morning knowing that something had woken me but I couldn’t work out what it was. I lay in bed looking out the window when suddenly I hear the clucking sound of a chook. I nearly flipped – there was an uninvited guest sitting on the end of the bed - a chook. I let it know in no uncertain terms that it had to get off and shooed it out of the Oka. Hubby had left the door open so the chook had invited herself in. When hubby came back I told him and you should have seen the look on his face as he tried not to laugh. The same chook then hopped into the front of the car and sat on the camera. A lost photo opportunity.

The cattle again decided to proceed us across a creek crossing as we were leaving Charnley River Station. Mustering is also underway at the station near by. The temporary enclosures were up and cattle were being moved into them.

We made our way to Mornington Wilderness Camp – we were two ways about coming here. We had not heard good reports about it. People at the campsite had just come from there and said they felt that they were squashed as sardines and the campsite was in tall grass. Anyway we decided to come as I really wanted to see Dimond Gorge. Twice it had been proposed that it be dammed up. The road in is interesting. The road follows House Mountain for some of the way and then the Leopold Ranges. It looks very weathered on top.

The landscape was typical of the Kimberley – grassy woodlands but the trees were small and sparse. There were several lovely groves of boabs along the way.

The occasional boab was still green.

We also saw one whose leaves were changing colour.

The Adcock River was still running. There were lots of water filled creek crossings on the way in (14 actually)

and 5 gates. The last 20km of the road was rocky.

Mornington Wilderness Camp is expensive trying to place itself in the same league as El Questro in some ways but has nowhere anything as near to offer as El Questro. To stay in the safari tents costs $470 per night twin share. For a night package that includes two tours and a lecture that is free to everyone costs $550 per person or $1100 per couple, yet if you booked everything individually it would cost $870 per couple. Doesn’t make sense. Camping costs $15 per person plus $20 vehicle fee per visit.

We went to see Dimond Gorge.

We got to the gorge site parking area. We went looking for the lookout but it is not signposted well. Three signs in all was what we found. Two giving a general direction and one saying this is it.
It is a difficult walk to the lookout – hubby reckons it is a level 4 walk. You are walking over boulders but in places it is more than just walking over them. Hubby found it difficult but he managed to find a way to the top of the lookout and then gave up trying to find the way down to the actual lookout spot and in frustration came back.

We were going to stop at Cajeput water hole on the way back but decided to leave it to tomorrow morning as we had had enough driving for today.

We were told at reception that they only allow 50 campers or a maximum of 25 cars. If there were 25 cars here it would be squishy as there is not a lot of camping area.

In the evening we visited the interpretive centre and went to a presentation on Mornington Wilderness Park. Whilst the talk was interesting it raised a lot of questions for me as how can a non for profit organization run this sort of business have trillions of acres worth millions or billions around Australia and call themselves a non business enterprise.