Day 1 Windjana Gorge & Tunnel Creek

The Derby Boab Prison Tree

We should have known that when the itinerary said...Departing Broome at 7:00am that would mean a very early start. The early starts were a part of our day as were the early to beds!

We were promised  "travel through the remote and beautiful landscape, as the guide shares stories of local history, people and the environment." and we did.  "Enjoy a morning tea break  by the Fitzroy River and visit the Derby 'Boab Prison Tree'" they said .... We did stop there but had already had morning tea. Whoever put the intineraries together needed to actually go on the trip and realize that some of the timing and distances they were talking about were impossibly long or short.

But it truly wasn't long before long we hit the Gibb River Road- unpaved and a road we traveled on for days. 

Windjana Gorge

We spent time at  Tunnel Creek, a 750-metre cave system carved through the Napier Range, this involved walking "crocodile" line in the dark through the water which being underground and in the dark was in parts freezing. However well worth the journey through and the swim in the water hole at the end of the tunnel trail was "exhilarating"- read cool to cold.

The tour company took great care to impress on us the stories of the land and its people all the time throughout our journey. In this particular instance it was the story of Jandamarra, an Aboriginal freedom fighter who used the tunnel as a hide-out in the late 1800's.
We traveled on to Windjana Gorge for the evening to camp and set up our tents and swags having had a lovely time exploring the pools at Windjana Gorge.

The stillness made for great reflections.

Michele enjoyed it too.