windjana gorge is the first and one of the most accessible gorges along the gibb river road. the road from derby is actually mostly sealed, and the unsealed parts are not too bad either.
the camp ground, even though it classifies as a bush camp, is nothing short of luxurious: warm showers and flushing (!) toilets. there are no marked spots but kris managed to score a nice shady place for us. we can afford staying out of the sun if we keep moving regularly; since i installed the dc/dc the car charges the van batteries in no time at all.
windjana is only a bit more than an hour from our last camp and even though we left late after natalie’s last trail ride we had time for a little rest before we went to explore the gorge in the late afternoon. the light was just getting into the swing of things lighting up the cliffs, and the crocs were lazing in the water.
that’s right, crocs. as many as 100 friendly freshies live in the gorge and as long as they are not provoked they are content modelling for the tourists. natalie counted 21 on the way in and 25 on the way back.
tunnel creek is only about 30 km to the south east of windjana and doesn’t have a camp; makes sense, it can easily be accessed from windjana. both places are part of the same ridge called the devonian range. in the devonian period, more than 300 million years ago, this ridge was part of a huge reef system that stretched further out to sea beyond what is now derby and then back again towards kununurra. it is still possible to see fossils embedded in the rock.
tunnel creek is exactly what it says on the label: a creek that runs through a tunnel that stretches several hundred meters from one side of the ridge to the other.
it has been a sacred places for the local aboriginal people for many thousand years. there are signs of use by the aboriginal people as well as rock paintings. at one time in the late nineteenth century the tunnel also served as a hidden place for an aboriginal rebel who fought against the settlers taking over the land with their cattle.
needless to say the story didn’t end well, for the rebel and his people. what followed would be called ‘war crimes’ in our day and age.
the tunnel is closed between november and may; there is simply too much water running through it. we are not sure how the little freshies manage but they seem to be doing just fin in there.
funny to think they must be watching as you wade through waist-deep water. there are also other animals living in the cave; catfish and yabbies and tiny bats, all of which probably qualify as croc food. our aboriginal guide mentioned that the bats are also being hunted by olive python hanging on to the rocks in their flight path.