14-July
We actually had a sleep in till 5:30 😊 Not much driving to do only 74 KM. we are apparently also reaching the end of the gravel road and the most of the roads from here going forward will be tarmac. Which is a welcome break, we will get another rough bit of road when we go in to the Bungle Bungles.
We crossed the Pentecost River, while Jen was sitting up front having the best view in the truck. We stopped at the crossing and Pauline spotted a heart shaped rock, this led to some funny scenes with Kaz on her knees accepting the rock from Jimmy.
I will try to explain the corrugated tracks we have been going over: They are caused by the combination of vehicle tires, speed, and loose gravel or sand. As vehicles drive over unpaved surfaces, tires hit tiny bumps, lose momentary traction, and push loose gravel forward before landing and compacting the soil. Consecutive vehicles repeat this bouncing motion, locking the ripples into a repeating, teeth-jarring wave pattern. And I tell you we had some corrugated tracks that where at least 10 cm deep. To help a bit Jimmy took air out the tires to reduce the amount of shaking, but you also have to keep up a decent speed to sort of ride the top of the corrugation.
Our first stop today was Emma Gorge, and again we are all blown away about how beautiful this area is. It was quite a hike, over large boulders and dried river bed to get there. But the water hole was beautiful, very cold but there was also a hot spring where you could crawl in to get feelings in your toes and fingers again.
In the afternoon we had a bit of free time, so time to work on the blog and get them out while we have reception.
For our sunset drinks we were taken to the Pigeon Hole lookout with another stunning view of one of the rivers. There was a bit of discussion on what river we were looking at. I think they agreed it was the Pentecost River.
Here are a few images of the day:
