Home Valley Station - Gibb River Road

We spent 3 nights at Home Valley Station. The facilities here are pretty good with warm showers (albeit the 'warmth can be a bit tempremental) in ensuite style amenities. In the camping grounds there is plenty of shade and green grass as well as a bar, swimming pool, and kids playground. There is also a "fisherman's camp" about 5 minutes drive away on the Pentacost  River, but this lacks all the nice facilities of the main camp ground (although the view of the Cockburn ranges from here is splendid), so we opted to stay in the camp grounds with the Summers family.

On day 1 we headed west to Bindoola falls for a day trip. After some initial difficulties finding the place we found some great rock formations with lots of waterfalls ranging from 'small enough for the kids to climb in' to 'stay the hell away from that drop off'. The kids spent an hour or so playing in the smaller waterfalls while the adults wandered around and admired the red stepped rock formations.

Nat and Jess at Bindoola Falls

Dazza - King of Bindoola Falls

After an enjoyable morning, we had the idea to hire a boat and go for a fish for the afternoon, but the hire boat motor had packed it in and it was off the menu. Instead the barman told us about the 'secret fishing spot' used by the local fishing guides.  With directions (never trust the barman) we jumped into the patrol and headed off down the track.  Well we had a great time 4wding through some very interesting bulldust holes and rocky drop offs, but after about an hour guess where we came out? The Fisherman's Campground 5 mins from the main campground. Yep we had done a big loop and the barman got his laughs on us that time.
Not to be easily beaten we had a crack at casting for barra at the fisherman's camp. But all we got was a chance to watch the 4m saltie cruising the bank and Nat sconed a mullet with her lure, scaring it out of the water, but not onto the hook sadly.

As we'd booked the kids in for pony rides, we headed back to camp and found the campground inundated with swags, mountain bikes, and support vehicles! Yep, the place was full of crazy mountain bikers who were cycling the Gibb River Road for charity and there were hundreds of them! Suddenly you couldn't  walk 5m in any direction without tripping over a swag, and god help you if you needed to use the toilet or wanted a shower! As it was the last night of the official part of the ride they flocked to the bar and turned the place into an inner city night club for about 8 hours before staggering back to their swags and spending the rest of the night vomiting and snoring. 

Matlida - after half an hour of refusing to even look at a horse eventually plucks up the courage to ride one!

Next morning we got up a 5 am (partly to annoy  the bike riders and mainly because we wanted to get some sunrise photos around the Pentacost River and Cockburn Ranges before walking Emma Gorge in the cool part of the day. So making as much noise as possible we got ready to leave, and discovered that the bikers had helped themselves to a large portion of our firewood overnight. A couple we STILL brazenly  helping themselves at that moment! Without saying a word Daz walked up to them, picked up the last 4 pieces of wood and stalked back to our camper and stashed them. Then we drove off. ( I'll add that when the Summers family got up they also had their own version of a hissy fit over the firewood theft problem....the bikers must have got the guilts because they donated their left over food to our combined families by way of apology as they left)

Oblivious to the happenings at camp, we spent some time taking some photos of the sunrise over the Pentacost and tried a bit of early morning fishing (with our usual lack of success) before heading off to Emma Gorge. This was a 3.6km return walk...and for the kids it was a big ask as it involved a lot of rock hopping. Still it was worth it as the falls there are really beautiful.

Sunrise at the Pentacost River

Emma Falls

Kids just near Emma Falls

We'd planned to chill out at Zebadee Springs after the walk to Emma Gorge but it closes at noon to make way for some kind of yuppie guided tour where you can drink Champaign in the springs without all the peasants spoiling the view. So instead we went into El Questro and had lunch before heading back to Home Valley Station. We got to give the firewood-thieving-mountain-bikers a bit of a dust up to help cure their hangovers as we passed them on the way back - revenge so sweet!

Back at camp we headed back to the fisherman's camp to try again to catch the elusive barra. Nothing as usual (although Nat did catch a few live mullet for live bait in the landing net) and watching the sun set in to part of the world was really something special.

Sun set at the Pentacost River looking back at the Cockburn Ranges

Back to camp and pack up. Next stop Drysdale Station enroute to Mitchell Falls.