Saturday 3 September El Questro

The delay in blogging has been due to my inadequate computing abilities but I won’t go into it for fear of earning yet another new nickname! We headed out to Zebedee Springs in the famous El Questro station unsure of what we were off to see. Of the 90 minute drive about an hour was on unsealed roads. A few corrugations, loose rocks and a little soft sand but not too bad. Glad we decided not to venture in with the caravan. Gunlom has put us off doing that again! Zebedee Springs was beautiful, 28 degree water with many small pools on varying levels separated by small water falls. Lots of people there so you progressively move into a better small pool as people leave. The children loved it (of course as it was swimming again!) and we shared a birthday morning tea for Imogen, a friend we have made while traveling and we have caught up with her family at each place we have stopped since Mataranka. We then attempted driving to Moonshine Gorge but a 40 metre wide water crossing up to 50cm deep put me off! Jake was disappointed- he thought there was no better time to learn how to 4 WD than then! Th disappointment was short lived as we headed off to Emma Gorge for the 1.6Km walk into the Gorge. I was lucky enough to be pack horse for the day so by the time I had completed the rocky hike I was able to tackle the very cold water and venture in for a swim! The sight at the end of the walk was stunning. The Gorge is cathedral like in shape with a smallish waterfall in one part and water droplets falling off ledges all around the remaining rock. Ferns were growing off the veritcal walls and the sun was just low enough that part was shaded and part sunny. Spectacular! I could have sat there for hours- it was a moving experience. This trip continues to leave me in absolute awe of nature. Hard to believe these wonderful things we are seeing/experiencing are here every day and I feel lucky to have witnessed them even for a few mintues. The children didn’t seem to appreciate it all as much as I did but that was mainly due to the cold water which limited their swimming enjoyment. The walk back (minus the weight of 3 Kgs water and lunches) was downhill and much more enjoyable. The colours of the gorge walls as the sun lowered were stunning. The water in the creek alongside us was so clear you could see all types of fish and the rocky bottom. This was all we got to see of El Questro and if the rest is anything like this we will have to come back one day.....