Across the Kimberley Part 9 - Zebedee Springs and our Chamberlain Gorge cruise

Back to the wonderful surrounds of El Questro . . . 

This turned out to be a most memorable and enjoyable day! 

After a delicious breakfast in the large open dining area at the El Questro Wilderness Park, we hopped onto our bus to see the well-known Zebedee Springs where most of our group had  wonderful time bathing in the warm water, which is usually at about 30 degrees Celsius.  The spring water comes from deep within the earth, where the high pressures and hot temperatures force the warm water up though a faulty line to the springs all year round. 

These thermal springs are set in a beautiful tropical forest, with its unique livistona palm trees, and surrounded by sheer cliffs. These ancient palm trees, which are named after Baron Livingston, can grow up to 18 m high and are the dominant species found in the forest. The shade from their thick canopy provides very welcome relief from the hot sun. (Up in this region it is about 40 degrees Celsius at this time of the year.) 

The cliffs are made of ‘King Leopard Sandstone’, which is up to approximately 1800 million years old, according to the signs. What an incredible age! 

After that we cruised through the Chamberlain Gorge, with its freshwater creek, tropical vegetation and incredible escarpments. We were told the rocks that make up these these escarpments are so ancient they contain no fossils! Geologists from all over the world come to study them. I was in awe of them - how exciting to see rocks that were here on earth long before even the earliest life forms!  Think of what they have witnessed over all this time. 

We were lucky enough to have a well-known country-and-western star sing to us and tell us stories about this area, accompanied by a delightful  Aboriginal man who also steered the boat, watched over our safety and gave us some very welcome lunch. So all in all, together with our cruise along the Fitzroy River, this was one of the most magical river cruises I have ever been on! (Entirely different, of course, to European river cruises!)

And as the water level was bit low, at one point we all had to scramble out of the ferry and walk along some of shore so it could get over the most shallow section of the creek, which was immense fun. Then we got back in, and were rewarded with the sight of wild barramundi, which are simply delicious to eat and very popular in Australia.  These fish were bigger than I expected, and you should have seen them aggressively fight for the special food that was tipped overboard to attract them! An amazing sight. 

When we later crossed over in Arnhem Land, the tables were turned on the barramundi in that river - by far more aggressive crocodiles. But that is a story for another day . . .

In the forest:

At the Zebedee Springs:

At Chamberlain Gorge:

The rocks close up.

A water bird drying its feathers.

Along our walk on the shore.

Our ferry, taken from the shore.  Only those who would have had difficulty walking over the rough shoreline were allowed to remain on board. 

The barramundis.

A feeding frenzy!

How good was that? Entertainment, in the most peaceful, awe-inspiring surroundings! 

Heading back.

  

A 'detour' - my recent visit to Castlemaine, an historic Victorian township

It has been just over month since my last post, but what a busy and incredible time it has been!

I was delighted to hold a dinner for about thirty guests - family members and friends - to celebrate both my birthday and the incredible honour of being presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia at Government House. (I actually was notified of this award whilst I was away.) I used this occasion to talk about the amazing work being done by my very brave Afghan friend who has set up so many great initiatives in Afghanistan that have transformed the lives of so many. I am most grateful that many of my guests made donations to her work. 

I also helped run a chemistry teacher professional development day at one of our major universities, which included a lot of time-consuming writing of resources for teachers. 

On top of all that, I spent a wonderful three days away in the most picturesque country township called Castlemaine, a former gold mining town that was established in the 1800s.

I stayed with a friend in the gorgeous historic cottage that she renovated. We had a ball exploring Castlemaine and nearby townships that also once were gold mining towns. We had delicious meals in friendly local pubs and eateries, saw a lot of stately historic buildings, browsed in many antique, bric-a-brac and craft shops, went to a wonderful  open-air market that featured delicious local produce, including superb honey, visited the art gallery and a really good museum that shows the story of gold mining in the region, and most memorable of all, walked through spectacular historic botanical gardens resplendent in rich autumn colours. After our walk, we had lunch at a very popular Austrian restaurant, which of course featured schnitzels and strudels, served by waitresses wearing traditional Austrian clothes. Who would have expected that in one of our country towns? But then, we are a very multicultural society and we have an incredible number of restaurants that have been established by people who have migrated here and chosen to make Australia home - both in our cities and in our rural regions. It is a gourmet’s delight! 

In my next post, I will return to my journey around the magnificent Kimberley. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy my photos of the historic Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, with their stately elms and oaks and a few very tall eucalyptus trees (which we call gum trees). Gum trees are evergreen, so do not show autumn colours.