Week 7 - The Drive to Home Valley – The big drive and a flat tyre!

Barnett River/Gorge

Major intersection - Kalumburu Rd and Gibb River Rd

Flat tyre - getting organised

The flat tyre

Ellenbrae for afternoon tea

Today we got up very early as we knew that it was going to be hot. It was hard to sleep last night. We had a long distance to cover to Home Valley.

After we packed up I wanted to see the Barnett River Gorge – only 3km off the Gibb. Very rough though! Gav was a little cranky until he saw the water hole. We all took a quick dip. Then back to Gibb. The road turned nasty with a lot of sharp stones and corrugations. Gav began to get tired at around 2.30pm and we hit a piece of sharp rock. Temperature was near 40˚C. It took around 50mins to change and we tried to plug the hole. It was too far split. Not one car passed us during this time.

Now we did not have a spare – only another tyre on the roof. Limped into Ellenbrae Station for scones and tea. We still had a long drive to go. As time went on the near full moon began to rise as the sun was setting. This gave everything an eerie glow. We felt like there was a special force helping us along the way – we could see the road and sharp rocks after dark.

Made it to Home Valley station at 5.50pm. Reception closed at 6pm and we booked a table to eat from the resort restaurant – near a beautiful pool. The beer was well earned!