Continuing on how cool this trip has been so far, we flew our drone along Gibb River Road while we were on our way back to Derby. That road definitely gives you a sense of being out and exploring Western Australia. Red dirt, 4wd, the heat… everything.
Back in Derby we dropped off the car, transferred all our stuff back to our minibus, and went straight to the supermarket to get more stuff, including ice and some food that we could keep on our esky for at least 2 or 3 days.
It felt like home
We headed off to our next free campsite just a few minutes away. That was probably our favourite place to camp, and the way we placed the tents (in a semi circle around the campfire), the bonfire… we even found a improvised grill where we cooked corn and sausages. We had also wrapped some potatoes in foil and threw them into the ambers! That was our best dinner.. I told you we were becoming pro at it. All the food was awesome and we finished off with marshmallows, a little chocolate, and some wine.
Share Bus camp set up
We realised the way we placed the tents this time had more of a feeling like “home” and I guess that happens at some point when you’re traveling with a couple of people you’ve never met before. You start getting more comfortable sharing spaces, talks and stories. You get a bit deeper in conversation, and start feeling that sense of teamwork as the days pass by. I’m just amazed at how we as humans interact with each other, how we take distance at the beginning to just to make sure we make the next approach in a proper way or if we won’t do it at all.
We had a great sleep, those air mattresses make the difference. I did a bit of yoga as soon as I woke up. It was such a perfect morning, and there was a bit of sunshine as I was doing my vinyasa. We had some breakfast, packed everything up and left around 8am towards Geikie Gorge. About 2 and half hours from where we were. Most of us were excited to go swimming. Well, I’m not that adventurous knowing there are crocs around but yeah I was excited anyway. I guess I always find my incentive through photography.
Geikie Gorge Views
It was so hot, but I like how motivated we were to do all these walks even with the heat and with all the flies following us around. We walked a bit and jumped back on the van to stop at the river where we had a little picnic, Jordan found a tree to hang his hammock and the girls took a dip in the fresh water, with other freshies around. We had no worries as they were not very close and the water was clear enough to see if they were coming.
We didn’t have many plans for that day so we had the chance to chill, have a “quick” shower in the river and headed off to our next resting area. This one was promising! So we were very excited to see what was coming up.
Bath at Geikie Gorge
Chasing sunsets and long drives
We drove for about an hour and a half to Ngunam Rest Area while the sun was starting to go down and yes! What an unbelievable view along the road! The colours of the cliffs were changing from bright yellow, to orange, to intense red as the minutes were passing by. Definitely one of my favourite parts about Western Australia.
Again we were excited to set everything up as soon as we could. And as we are getting really good at it, it only took us a few minutes before we were running and chasing the rest of the sunset.
This time we had some neighbours and after we had (another) amazing dinner, saw the stars and the milky way, we joined them around the bonfire.
We got up early in the morning as usual, had some breakfast and I had the chance to shoot a few videos with the drone. It was such a peaceful and stunning place that I really wanted take pictures of our van and tents in that campsite.
Hours of driving were ahead of us. For me it was great, I love writing while I look out the window and see views. You should see the amazing seat I got, first row in the middle of the van. All the scenery for myself :).
How lucky I am to be able to write as I am moved by these beautiful gorges and mountains while the sun goes down and those sun rays reach us through the windows.
Free campsite on a Salt lake close to Wyndham
After a few hours, and 2 stops along the way, we finally reached our (again) free campsite area close to Wyndham, WA. A wide dry salt lake with a view of the mountains. This time we set up our camping a bit after sunset. We were pros already, in 5 minutes we even had boiling water to start cooking our dinner.
We were a bit tired, plus we had phone reception so some of the girls got to call their friends and family after a few days. I was photographing the stars before the moon rose. We had a lot of fun, had some pesto pasta with veggies and after that everyone was slightly full and sleepy.
Stargazing in the Kimberley
This was written by Daiana Fernandez. Check out her blog (in Spanish) here!