The Gibb River Road

My first blog, how exciting! Starting off on a low intensity twitch, with a thoroughly enjoyable family twitch with my lovely wife Kellie and three year old boy Jaxon, across the Gibb River road of the Kimberley in August 2014. So this one is more travel diary, with some more technical diaries to come in the future. Hope you enjoy :)

The Gibb River road is an iconic Australian holiday. It is regarded as one of the great adventures, through one of the last wild frontiers, the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Having talked about it for a while with Kell, and a brief visit to Broome earlier in the year, we were hooked on the Kimberley and decided to embark on our own Gibb River adventure in August 2014. So a family twitching trip was decided on, which meant i couldn't go hard core adventuring, but also meant i could spend quality camping family time with Kell and our three year old boy Jaxon, you beauty!

After much research, we decided with only three weeks for the trip, we had to sacrifice some well known spots. We were conscious of too much travelling versus chill out relaxing time, so planned our schedule around two to three night overstays at each location, with only four or five camping spots all up. In order to choose which spots to stay at, I did a bit of research for potential bird lifer species at various locations. Should i get a good proportion of potential lifers, i could edge over 400 birds for my WA list, a noteworthy achievement. It showed Mitchell Falls as clearly the stand out location, but also the furthest diversion off the Gibb.....

We decided to see how things were panning out, and just wing it a bit once up there. With all the massive planning and preparation required for a trip like this, it felt like forever before we finally got on the road. In order to save time, we decided to to do two large driving legs on the way up, Perth to Newman, the Newman to Broome.

Jaxon with his portable dvd player on the long drive up. Best $90 ever spent and meant Jax was entertained for 12 hour drives.

The drive to Newman went well. I was excited to show Kell the landscapes and habitats i regularly work in, through the Murchison and Pilbara regions. I also took the opportunity to give (another) Night Parrot natural history lecture, as we drove through the Fortescue Marsh region.....

On any big road trip, my largest fear is always car trouble. Almost on cue, the Navara starting showing worrying signs, with coolant over-pressurising in the cooling system, forcing itself out of the reservoir tank, an issue i hadn't seen before. We limped in to Roebuck Plains caravan park (scene of the epic Hoopoe twitch a few years earlier), and i arranged to drive in to Broome the next day to met a mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the issue as a buggered thermostat or radiator cap. A relatively minor repair, so after purchasing a new thermostat and cap, i went about changing the thermostat in the mechanics workshop. All went well and after a one day delay and slab of beer for the mechanic who helped me out, it was back en route to the Gibb.

There are worse place you could be stuck for a day - Cable Beach...

It was great to get back on the road, although we were a little apprehensive as to whether we had actually fixed the problem (thankfully we had no further cooling issues). A quick stop in at Derby for last supplies before it was off to our first camping spot - Windjana Gorge. The Gibb River road is legendary for its corrugations that swallow up small soft road four-wheel drives. We had no such issues for the first leg of the drive, but once we turned off the main road to detour down to Windjana, things noticeably got worse. However slow and steady we made it to Windjana, and were immediately impressed by the mighty Napier Range which literally erupts out of the surrounding plains.

Jaxon with an impressive termite mound and very impressive Napier Range in the background.

Windjana also produced the first lifers for me for the trip! Two Grey Goshwaks flying through the gorge was great. And early morning got us Sandstone Shrike-thrush, our only sighting for the trip. Within the freshwater pools in the gorge are Freshwater Crocodiles, which Jax was very excited to see. A local Southern Boobook Owl was present at camp and gave us great views early in the night.

A colony of Little Red Flying Foxes make themselves at home within Windjana Gorge.

Me and Jax, who is pointing out the local Freshwater Crocodiles.

A Windjana Gorge local.

From Windjana it was back up to the Gibb and on to our next location, Mt Barnett station and Manning Gorge. The camp site was busy at Mt Barnett, but it was an excellent spot and in hind sight was probably my most enjoyable spot to stay. The camp site is along the river which has beautiful clean white sand, with deep water pools to swim, splash and go fishing in. Upon arrival on the first afternoon, we were sitting down just relaxing when i spotted the telltale jizz (general impression, size and shape) of a small flock of pigeons walking down for a drink on the far side of the bank. A quick look through the bins revealed White-quilled Rock Pigeon, a lifer! I also spotted some honeyeater action revolving around some flowering grevillea on the opposite side of the river. I had to investigate and was rewarded with another lifer, Bar-breasted Honeyeater. These days when i see flowering trees and shrubs, i target them hard for birds, and often get rewarded. Tim Lowe's excellent recent book "Where song began" describes the long and important relationship between Australian honeyeaters and its flowering plants, and how they have helped shape our environment and the world.

Kell and Jaxon after the trek to Manning Gorge.

Jax and his walking stick.

Why not?

I managed to get out and do some spotlighting in the sandstone escarpments surrounding Mt Barnett. Although significantly warmer then down south, this time of year is cold for up here and the resulting reptile activity is poor. Even still, i managed to find a few frogs and geckos.

Rock Frog - Litoria coplandi (Frog IDs are my achilles, correct me if I'm wrong!)

Gehyra nana

Being an avid fisherman, i took an opportunity the next day to catch some Cherabin and Rainbowfish with Jaxon, before heading off down river by myself. I found an excellent water pool, and had a blast catching Sooty Grunter virtually every cast. I also flushed a Black Bittern, which is always great to see. That afternoon i took Jax and Kell down to my newly found water pool, close to camp but completely to ourselves, and probably had the best afternoon of the trip, sitting on beautiful sand on the banks of a lovely water hole, catching Sooty Grunter one after another on lures with my family, and sucking down a few red cans. Absolute bliss and i couldn't imagine anything better.

Fishin with the young bloke on isolated water hole with red can = winning!

Success (Sooty Grunter) 

Kell trying her luck

The next morning I was up early and birding the surrounding woodland. I love getting up early for first light. You can't beat that smell of a fresh day, and when the birds are calling it's going to be a great day. A thoroughly enjoyable morning, with 42 species in 45 minutes, including very rewarding lifer Northern Rosellas. These days I've gained enough confidence in my birding ability to really trust me senses, which is critical in nature observation. Prior to the trip, in my research phase, I decided the call of Northern Rosella was similar to our local south west Red-capped Parrot. So when in the field, following a tiny squak, i was confident i was on to them. I tracked down these two parrots about 300 m away from where i initially heard that single call, which was really satisfying.

We took a little trip to nearby Galvin's Gorge, a really pretty little spot which we had to ourselves. Jax spotted a Merten's Water Monitor (Varanus mertensi), and i went for a swim, over watched by a Wandjina spirit rock painting. The Wandjina is the rain or cloud spirit of the Kimberley who in the dreamtime helped create the landscapes and inhabitants.

Merten's Water Monitor basking at Galvin's Gorge.

Wandjina rock art

Unfortunately while staying at Mt Barnett, Kell had noticed fluid leaking out from underneath my car. Tracing it to the source, it was apparent the fluid was diesel, and we had a pin-prick hole in the fuel tank. Bugger. It wasn't too bad, but we decided it wasn't worth the risk detouring to Mitchell Falls, so the lifers up at Mitchell Plateau would have to wait for another trip, and instead would head straight to El Questro station.

Water crossing in to El Questro station

We found El Questro way too touristy and a bit of a let down to be honest. Having stayed on many stations throughout WA, i was very underwhelmed at this over-priced wannabe outback station. I struggled with the concept of paying for a "Wilderness Pass" to help protect the local wildlife, yet the station was still actively stocked with cattle, destroying and degrading the habitat. Presumably the cattle are to entertain the tourists, but leaves me wondering about the wilderness quality. The best thing was the very helpful mechanic who helped me drain the fuel tank, and patch the small hole with some QuickSteel which held for the rest of the trip. Birding was pretty quite, Green-backed Gerygone was a welcomed lifer and Shining Flycatcher a nice WA tick. 

After a couple of nights it was time to move on once again. Next stop Parry Creek near Wyndham. Not before a stop off in Emma Gorge. I've swum in many cold places before, i grew up in Bridgetown (aka Fridgetown) swimming in rivers and dams, and the southern ocean coming straight from Antartica. But that is nothing compared to Emma Gorge, I love extreme environments, and the crazy senses they bring on. And swimming in Emma Gorge was extreme, it was lung draining, skin burning, ball inverting freezing cold. And i loved it! It was also a saddening experience, after swimming up to a rock ledge just above water level, with the anticipation of seeing a lifer tree frog of some sort, i was greeted with a packed ledge of Cane Toads, our first encounter with this alien species.

Emma Gorge - ball invertingly cold, but spectacular. 

Wyndham doesn't have a lot going for it. Its up there with Wiluna status as places you should avoid. However, Wyndham will always have birders flocking to it, as during the dry season, it is one of the best places in Australia to see the Gouldian Finch. One of the worlds most recognisable and stunningly coloured birds, they have undergone a severe population reduction to now be federally protected and listed under commonwealth law as Endangered, with an estimated population potentially as low as 1,000 adult birds. I love finches, and the thought of seeing a wild Gouldian had been one of the key drivers to complete this trip. So I was anxious (to say the least) about dipping on this bird. We pulled in to Parry Creek farm and caught up with the manager, who informed us Gouldian's had been seen recently, great news.

Kell and Jaxon striking a pose on a rustic tractor at Parry Creek.

The next morning i was up pre-dawn for a stake out at the local billabong where Gouldian's are supposed to come in to drink. Every now and then in this nature observation business, you see something that literally takes your breath away, a surreal moment, which makes you question whether it is actually real or not. This morning I was to have one of those moments! I had spent about 30 minutes of scanning the edge of the water back and forth, watching other finch species such as Long-tailed, Masked and Double-barred Finches coming in to drink. After a standard left to right scan of the bank, i went back to the start point and through my bins there right in front of me was an adult male Gouldian Finch. It was there, right in front of me, jumping around on the ground. I hadn't seen it fly in, it just appeared right in front of me. It was a great moment and one i won't forget. That morning there were two adults and three juveniles.

With the pressure off, we could relax. The next morning Jax and Kell came down, and over a 20 minute period were treated to sensational views of up to 45 individual Gouldian Finches. Six birds were adults with the remainder juveniles, a great sign of breeding success. Nothing too tricky about tracking down these guys, but absolute birding bliss.

Absolute birding bliss - Gouldian Finch (adult and juveniles) lifer action

With the key species in Wyndham ticked off, we didn't really feel the need to stay any longer so off we headed to our next destination - Lake Argyle. After the dry and dusty Savannah woodlands of the Gibb, Kununurra was a refreshing change of scenery with green lush gardens and water everywhere. Lake Argyle caravan park was pretty specky, with the highlight infinity pool overlooking the lake. I was after Mannikins, as to date hadn't run in to any of the three potential species of the region. I hit up a small creekline and was rewarded with great views of a nice flock of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. I didnt have alot of time for photography during the trip, but was happy to get some nice pics of these guys.

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin from near Lake Argyle.

Infinity pool at Lake Argyle.

Getting close to the end of our holiday, we decided to treat ourselves and go for the sunset jet boat cruise. Not too much wildlife action out on the lake, a few Freshwater Crocs, some Euro's on the islands and Masked Lapwings running around on the banks. But the weather was beautiful, and was a nice way to cap off the trip.

Looking back off the back of the Lake Argyle speed boat.

Me and Jax took the chance to have a bath.

By the time it was to leave, it dawned on us we were only 600 odd km from Darwin. And it was very tempting to keep heading north instead of the 3,000 km trip back to Perth! Unfortunately not this time, so it was three days of very solid driving back to Perth. Apart from the two minor vehicle hiccups, the Navara got us home safe and sound and was a good workhorse for the trip. I ended up seeing 135 bird species from Broome onwards, with 25 of those birds WA ticks and 11 lifers. Mammal, reptile and frog activity was low, with just three, 10 and four species respectively. But August represents the worst time of year for reptile activity so not surprising. We all had a fantastic time, and the only disappointing element was not being able to stay longer. But I feel there will be a dedicated hardcore twitch to the Mitchell Plateau some time in the future....

Rainbow Paddlepops make any long drive better.

"Sam" the crocodile was with us every step of the way.

Thats 7,023 km for the trip. WA is a big state.

Birds for the trip:

Brown Quail

Magpie Goose

Wandering Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Duck

Radjah Shelduck

Black Swan

Grey Teal

Pacific Black Duck

Hardhead

Australasian Grebe

Hoary-headed Grebe

Crested Pigeon

Spinifex Pigeon

White-quilled Rock Pigeon

Peaceful Dove

Bar-shouldered Dove

Little Black Cormorant

Pied Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

Black-necked Stork

Black Bittern

Eastern Great Egret

Intermediate Egret

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

White-faced Heron

White-necked Heron

Pied Heron

Nankeen Night Heron

Glossy Ibis

Australian White Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

Royal Spoonbill

Black-breasted Buzzard

White-bellied Sea-eagle

Whistling Kite

Brahminy Kite

Black Kite

Brown Goshawk

Collared Sparrowhawk

Grey Goshawk

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Australian Kestrel

Brown Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

Brolga

Purple Swamphen

White-browed Crake

Australian Bustard

Bush Stone-curlew

Black-fronted Dotterel

Masked Lapwing

Common Sandpiper

Common Greenshank

Gull-billed Tern

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo

Galah

Little Corella

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cockatiel

Red-collared Lorikeet

Red-winged Parrot

Northern Rosella

Varied Lorikeet

Horesfield's Bronze Cuckoo

Pheasant Coucal

Brush Cuckoo

Barking Owl

Boobook Owl

Azure Kingfisher

Blue-winged Kookaburra

Red-backed Kingfisher

Sacred Kingfisher

Rainbow Bee-eater

Black-tailed Treecreeper

Great Bowerbird

Red-backed Fairy-wren

Variegated Fairy-wren

Weebill

Mangrove Gerygone

Green-backed Gerygone

White-throated Gerygone

Red-browed Pardolate

Striated Pardolate 

White-gaped Honeyeater

Yellow-tinted Honeyeater

Grey-fronted Honeyeater

Yellow-throated Miner

Bar-breasted Honeyeater

Rufous-throated Honeyeater

Banded Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeater

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Silver-crowned Friarbird

Little Friarbird

Grey-crowned Babbler

Varied Sitella

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

White-winged Triller

White-breasted Whistler

Rufous Whistler

Sandstone Shrike-thrush

Australasian Figbird

Yellow Oriole

Olive-backed Oriole

White-breasted Woodswallow

Black-faced Woodswallow

Little Woodswallow

Silver-backed Butcherbird

Pied Butcherbird

Australian Magpie

Northern Fantail

Willie Wagtail

Torresian Crow

Leaden Flycatcher

Shining Flycatcher

Paperbark Flycacther

Magpie-lark

Jacky Winter

Lemon-breasted Flycatcher

Buff-sided Robin

Horsefield's Bushlark

Golden-headed Cisticola

Rufous Songlark

Yellow White-eye

Mistletoebird

Double-barred Finch

Long-tailed Finch

Masked Finch

Crimson Finch

Star Finch

Gouldian Finch

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin