Kimberley Flying Safari – Week 1

ElQuestro – Kununurra – Lake Argyle – Ord River – Home Valley Station – Drysdale River Station – Mitchell Falls

It was 15th May 2023. We’d made it to the Kimberley after flying all the way across Queensland and the Northern Territory. We were at ElQuestro, a slightly upmarket resort place not far from Kununurra but far enough to be like a completely different world. Nature at its finest. The first day at ElQuestro was a chance to relax after our long journey. Settle in. Swim in the waterhole, explore the facilities, move MSF to let some aircraft from Tyabb in Victoria out so they could depart the next day and source some oil from Broome for our visit next week. There was a great steakhouse with very good food and reasonable prices. Live music at the bar. A few things needed to be fixed however. The glamping tents had a/c but were missing a fridge and kettle. There wasn’t one in the communal kitchen either. We needed to talk to management.

Elquestro day 2 we had an early start to avoid the heat of the day. By 6:30 we’d had breakfast and were hiking to Champagne Springs. We passed a ginormous Boab tree on the way and were held up for an hour when the creek crossing was poorly signposted. Nevertheless, 3 hours after setting out we were swimming in the pools. Very refreshing. We needed a siesta before heading back to the resort.

The well earned siesta was disturbed by a Longranger helicopter that flew in from Kununurra. We walked back to the station in time for a late lunch and another swim in the waterhole.

After a short break Peter, one of the Elquestro tour guides, drove us up to Saddleback Ridge for the sunset over the Pentecost River.

Day 3 at ElQuestro we did the full day tour. Starting at 7:15 we were driven over to Emma Gorge where Peter the guide led us up the gorge to a refreshing water hole with a 35 metre high waterfall. It was a bit over one hour each way.

After morning tea at Emma Gorge reception we were driven to Zebedee Springs (ala Magic Roundabout) for a warm bath in the 30 degree water. That was only a 5 minute walk. Lush tropical vegetation surrounds the numerous swimming holes.

This was followed by lunch at the steakhouse and a cruise up the Chamberlain River where we saw a 3 metre salty sunning himself on a ledge and fed some clever little arrowfish that spit water at you. They use this technique to hit insects flying past and make them crash into the water.

Back at the Station we had drinks with new friends from London and then finished the day with a farewell dinner for Louise who was leaving us the next day to head back to work in Brisbane.

The next day it was time to depart ElQuestro. It’s a great spot with great facilities and very helpful staff and you can camp or glamp or stay in the motel rooms. The water hole in the Pentecost River (Creek) is a great place to cool down after a walk. It’s overlooked by the Steakhouse.

We had one last breakfast in front of the glamping tents, packed up and headed to the airstrip.

We took off at 8:30 and after a pass over the station and the exclusive ElQuestro homestead we climbed to 5500ft over Champagne Springs and set course for the Argyle Diamond mine.

I’ve been following the mine’s progress since the 1980s so although it’s now shut down it was impressive to see it from the air.

Next we tracked up the west coast of Lake Argyle to Kununurra. That lake is a huge expanse of water. 20 times the volume of Sydney harbour and 2000 square km in area.

On descent into Kununurra we passed over some of the fields that are irrigated by the Lake Argyle water. On landing we refuelled and were picked up by a shuttle that took us to the Kimberley Croc Motel.

The motel is a great casual place right in the middle of town. A quick sandwich and farewell to Louise, who had to catch her plane to Darwin, was followed by a bus trip out to the Lake Argyle cruise that helped us appreciate all the more this engineering marvel. At a cost if $22m in 1971 it must’ve been the best deal in WA history. There’s a 30MW hydro power station that’s now running at about one third capacity since the diamond mine shut. And sooo much water. Why not build a pipeline to Port Hedland and develop a hydrogen/green iron making hub?

We saw more fresh water crocs than ever before and then went swimming not too far away as the sun set over the hills. What a day! Definitely recommend the Lake Argyle cruise for anyone visiting Kununurra.

Lake Argyle was formed by damming the Old River in the 1970s. So, having spent a day on Lake Argyle, the next day we had to do a boat trip up the Ord River downstream of the dam wall to see what it was like before the lake existed. First though Sigi and I did walk to Lake Kununurra to get a bit of a feel of the town.

The boat trip was with Triple J Tours and skipper Justin was cruising at up to 50km/h. The first 40km upstream from Kununurra is called Lake Kununurra as it’s the level held back by the lower “diversion” dam that’s located at Kununurra. The remaining 15km to the Lake Argyle dam wall is essentially the original Ord River. Along the way we stumbled on rock wallabies, fresh water crocodiles, mountains that formed silhouettes of famous people and animals and even some pumpkin scones, as well as the dam wall itself and the outlet pipes from the hydroelectric power station. Beautiful landscape and another stunning sunset.

We saw thousands of fruit bats take to the sky over the recently reopened Pump House Restaurant.

Rita had been told by someone local to Kununurra that the Pumphouse was pretty special so she’d booked us in there for dinner a week or so before. Lucky for us because the food was impressive. After a quick stop at the motel we were whisked back to the Pumphouse where we subsequently settled in for an impressive array of culinary delights.

Sigi and I woke up to another perfect day and decided to do an early morning walk up to Kelly’s Knob Lookout for a view over the irrigated areas around Kununurra.

After breakfast Luc and I met with Chris, a pilot from Aviair, who, over a coffee, gave us some useful tips about flying in the Kimberley. Then we packed up and headed out to the airport. Around 11:30 we lifted off and followed the Ord River to the coast as far as Wyndham where we had a view of the King River and Pentecost that flow into the sea nearby, then followed the Pentecost River inland to Home Valley Station.

Home Valley Station sits at the eastern end of the Gibb River Road and they put on a pretty good lunch. Trish the manager texted me an airstrip report before we left Kununurra that was very useful. It’s the only place that supplied such report. It was a 10 minute walk from the strip to the homestead where they had a pleasant restaurant that had just opened for the season. You can stay there too. It’s surrounded by some stunning escarpment type scenery.

Recharged by lunch, we walked back to the strip, took off and followed the Gibb River Road to the west as far as Ellenbrae Station, another place we could’ve stopped for lunch or stayed overnight but we overflew at 2500ft and continued on to Drysdale River.

Drysdale River Station has a good airstrip and they can arrange avgas but you have to buy it by the 200L drum and order and pay in advance. So I’d arranged with Anne the owner to order a drum for us at the special price of $5 per Litre. Liquid gold. Her son Paul had invested in a new hand pump so he pumped 120L into MSF and about 60L into WKE. 20 L remained to add to WKE the next day. With tanks filled it meant we were all ready for our flight to Mitchell Plateau and Mitchell Falls.

Drysdale River is a great jumping off point for Mitchell Falls in the central Kimberley. The accommodation is basic but clean and well equipped for independent travellers. There’s free washing machines, fridge, toaster and kettle in the communal kitchen. There is also a shop with basic groceries. The beer garden is a great setting and the restaurant/cafe does reasonable pub food. Continental breakfast is included in the overnight rate. Cereal and toast, tea and coffee. Hot breakfast is extra. Owners Anne and Alan are looking towards retirement so leased management of the accommodation to Outback Spirit in 2022 for two years so the new management are still settling in. Steve the manager is a good guy and provided free transfers to the strip with lively banter along the way. The strip is well maintained. Anne and Alan still run the shop and fuel service. They also still run cattle on the property.

Dinner was in their beer garden under the fairy lights as the temperature dropped suddenly to a chilly 15C or so. At about 1200ft AMSL Drysdale River does not retain the heat of the day.

Breakfast at 6:30 the next day meant we were lifting off shortly after 8am for Mitchell Plateau. The forecast was for strong winds so we expected a bumpy ride but at 4500ft it was pretty smooth. Landing at the plateau it was a bit gusty but we had a smooth landing nevertheless. A kind bystander videoed our landing and came over for a chat and airdropped the file to me.

There were a few rocks exposed on RWY 06 but we managed to avoid them and were tied down and waiting for our chopper by 9:15. The Longranger arrived at 9:30 and took us to the Mitchell Falls campground where the 3 hour hike to the falls starts.

It was a great walk with a stopover at Little Mertens Falls where there are some indigenous rock paintings behind the falls. We had a swim first in the pools at the top of the falls and later in the water hole at the base.

We passed Mertens Gorge before reaching the Mitchell River where we waded knee deep across the river just upstream of the falls. We learnt the socks trick. Take off your boots but keep your socks on. Less chance of slipping.

Our picnic spot overlooking the falls completed the walk.

Then at 2pm the Helispirit chopper picked us up for a couple of low level laps over the falls and a birds eye view of our hiking route on the way back to the airstrip. After taking off in MSF we did another couple of passes over the falls before heading back to Drysdale River.