I'm at El Questro but the internet really doesn't work well. I'll see if I can post what I wrote from the past 3 days. I've got a tonne of photos but can't upload them.
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The sun just went down and I jumped in my tent. The ground beneath the tent is radiating heat up. It is the temperature of a warm bath. I'm camped on bare dirt with little shade at a rest area around 70km before the WA border.
Last night Matt and co didn't make it to Victoria River. We met up this morning instead. They've convinced me it isn't worth going along the Gibb, but instead just travelling down a little ways on each side. Suits me.
I didn't leave until well after 11. The landscape I was riding through until Timber Creek was spectacular. Enormous mesas and escarpments tower over each side of the road. It became flat and boring for a bit but then turned back into this really beautiful terrain. As I tend to do when I see amazing terrain my first thought was that the graphics are great and it must be running at 4k.
I pulled off at this rest stop to take a photo but got chatting to some other people and decided to camp here. I kinda wish there were no trees so I could take better photos. It really is incredible.
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It was so windy this morning. Pretty big willy willys were ripping through where I was camped. Occasionally they'd kick dust right at the tent and it ended up full of red dirt. I packed up in that crap and it was miserable.
I left and am now at Keep River. The landscapes of yesterday are nothing on today. I'm camped next to a giant sandstone rock 4 or 5 metres high. A few hundred metres away there is an enormous sandstone mountain. I went for a walk through there this afternoon. There is a series of escarpments and ravines with rock formations sprouting out of them.
But it is hot as hell. I'm out of water and there is none here. I'm going to have to get up early and pack before the sun comes up and ride out to get water. Water is only 20 km back but the road is pretty shocking. I went through my first real, deep, dry sand patch today. It was a dried river bed. I got through fine. Just went slow and gunned it. I thought maybe I'd get bogged but I didn't.
The other thing I forgot to mention was that I saw this..
(at this point I was going to put a photo of this small rock construction with sticks on top forming a roof)
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This morning I actually did get up early. I left at 7:30 and went to Lake Argyle. I crossed into WA with no dramas. There are a lot of stories floating about that they make you pull everything out so they can check for fruit. It was a proper checkpoint and she had a very convincing look at my bags but waved me through.
Lake Argyle was stunning but I couldn't really see a reason to stay there. I had a look around before getting petrol and leaving. The guy at the petrol station was named Geoff Bowen and is from Crescent Head, if anyone knows him.
I headed into Kununurra for breakfast then out to El Questro on the Gibb river road. The road was quite good but I did manage to have my bag fall off the back of the bike. I tied it back on then got to the first water crossing. I made a real mess of it.
I had a car up my arse so I let him go first so I could see how deep it was. The left side wasn't deep at all. Maybe 20cm of water. So I went left. The thing is, that car was outside the main track. So the rocks weren't compacted down. I rockhopped along almost dropping the bike the entire way. For some reason the front tyre kept trying to go left, up into the bigger, looser rocks, while the rear tyre would slip down. I got most of the way across when the bike stalled and would start. I sat for a while to let it cool down. A few other cars went through while I was stuck. None stopped. I got the bike started but the back wheel was in a hole. I tried rocking it out and almost made it but it kept falling back in the hole.
There was one big rock stopping me. I couldn't get off the bike. I didn't have clearance for the kickstand. I had to reach down and grab the rock. It was too slippery and wedged in. Eventually I figured out I could grip it better without gloves and finally got it out. Then I revved the guts out of the bike and got it over the remaining rocks.
A few km along there was a longer water crossing. This time I went along the tracks. It was a bit hairy but I made it. By the end I had my right foot on the peg and my left leg horizontal in front of me next to the windshield. But hey, it worked.
I'm now at El Questro Station. To get to El Questro Gorge there is another really long water crossing. I don't know if I've got the nerves to tackle that one.
When I got here to check in I was still a bit jumpy. I was smoking in the carpark when this 'Deirdre from next door' lookalike walked straight towards me and gave me the filthiest look. Later when I was lining up at reception she barged past me. I don't know what her problem is. If I see her again I'm going to make it my mission to ruin her stay here.
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