At El Questro we camped by the Pentacost River. It was a little oasis, and the first thing in the morning was the best time to capture this tranquil setting.
However tranquility was no more by mid-afternoon. As the temperature climbed past 30C, everyone was interested in a freshwater dip.
The tranquility of the morning was my picture of the day.
The Cockburn Ranges are most accessible at the various cattle stations that line its route. We stayed at El Questro – a million acre former station, now tourist enterprise.
At Emma Gorge, we walked right into the range. The sandstone cliffs there were a very bright shade of ochre.
And there was also again some interesting geology. These are ripple marks from 450 million years ago – evidence of an ancient shore line.
The local flora was also very striking. This is the Kimberley Rose.
And the shadier and cooler it got, the more palms we saw.
It’s certainly a diverse landscape.
The Gibb River Road is an old stock route, but these days it’s a highway of sorts. Despite it being only 50% or so sealed, road trains, tour buses, and hundreds of four-wheel drive vehicles with camper trailers run along its length every day in the Dry. You get a good idea of how busy it can get at Pentacost River crossing.
It’s a pretty enough place, with the Cockburns in the background, but it is sure busy! Nevertheless, it inspired me to paint a few works. The first is the crossing with a sunset sky (yes, Kimberley sunsets are that colour) which I did on tour.
The second is a larger painting that I did once at home. I could help but put a few boabs in for good measure.
After Wyndham, we returned to those distant hills, and as we drew closer we saw that it was a sandstone range – the Cockburn Range.
These mountains formed much of the backdrop to the first half of Australia – they’re very distinctive. It also lines the first part of the Gibb River Road – the 660km old drover’s route between the ports of Wyndham in the East Kimberley and Derby in the West Kimberley. We’ll travel down its entire length during the tour.
They’re so distinctive that it became my picture of the day – with the now obligatory boabs and a few whistling kites for good measure.
Static and Silence 