Our fourth Be A Guest Travel Writer competition winner, Lou Bromley, enjoys the delicious food and stunning sights of El Questro Wilderness Park in the Kimberley.
I arrived at Kununurra to find myself on the edge of the last frontier: one million acres of the El Questro Wilderness Park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The landscape is a palette of primary colours from the poems of Dorothea Mackellar, "I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains…"
How did they get here? See the Be a Guest Travel Writer Competition winning entries8 more to go! See the reports filed so far from the winners' travels
Ragged mountain ranges burn brick red against an azure blue sky. Boab trees bulge out of the dust while all around them golden wattles wilt under the hot sun. Water breaks through rock and splits cliffs more than 1800 million years old into a series of gorges bursting with green palms, ferns and gum trees. This is how I found Emma Gorge Resort situated – an oasis of cabins tucked into gardens of swamp bloodwoods, boab trees and spiral pandanus along the banks of Emma Creek.
The resort encouraged more lazing than adventuring. I was more than happy to relax in the shade of the deck on my cabin and watch the antics of the rocket frogs and tiny honeyeaters. On dusk, I strolled to the bar to try a cocktail before deciding upon dinner served under the stars. My favourite meal was an entrée of scallops in the shell with lemon and thyme, followed by salmon, juicy and still pink in the centre, served with spiced gazpacho emulsion, caramelised sweet potato croutons and seasonal vegetables – simply delicious! It was perfectly matched, as per the chef’s suggestion, with a glass of local Kimberley Rosé. But it wasn’t just the menu that continued to thrill and surprise guests. Gourmet turned extreme one night when diners were greeted by the resident snake catcher to have a close inspection of an olive python before it was returned to the wild.
The next day I conquered the Emma Gorge walk at dawn when temperatures were cool and my trail blazing efforts were rewarded by having Emma Gorge Waterfall to myself. I watched the sun come up and set fire to the ancient sandstone cliffs while my feet cooled in the waterfall pool.
I joined a half-day tour which began with a soak in Zebedee Thermal Springs under the shade of the pandanus and palm trees. I could have happily stayed there, if it were not for the imminent departure of a champagne cruise up the Chamberlain Gorge. At the furthest point up the gorge, El Questro rangers handed out bread for guests to entice the ‘archer fish’ to spit water at us time and time again to earn a feed, while the barramundi circled below. Catfish and a red-cheeked turtle joined the feeding frenzy, hopeful for leftovers. Rock wallabies, euros (a kangaroo particular to the Kimberley) and dingos were all sighted, but crocodiles remained elusive.
Nature and food lovers will be satisfied with walks, tours, and menus at El Questro but the greatest offering is the seemingly infinite space across earth and sky. I watched the land glow as the sun heralded the beginning of night with a symphony of purple, pink and orange streaks across the sky. The weight of urban living emptied out of my mind, and I let the enormity of the land and the raw colours of the outback take its place. I didn’t leave with just photos. I returned to the smoggy haze of the concrete maze with an imprint of El Questro, the oasis of the Kimberley, on my mind.