The pilots were great and the second flight wasn’t one of the usual offers, we put the flight together with the pilots to cover the three gorges. But the first one was terrific and something different that most people won’t see.
She sure was brave. Paula is an ok but not strong swimmer and not real keen on enclosed spaces. So this combined two things that aren’t her favourite things - and some rock scrambling up front!! . Funny, she was fine with the crocs provided they stayed where they were! 😂😂😉. Thanks for watching and the comment.
For various reasons we would have gone back to Broome rather than have a longer stay at Derby. But really glad we took the chance on Mt Hart. Might have been different if the weather system happened closer to the traditional wet season- it might have risked a much longer stay. But the calculated risk worked out very well and it was an experience in itself! Thanks for watching and the comment. Much appreciated.
Thanks for watching. They were wonderful chopper flights. It was a luxury to do two but given the circumstances it was worth it and you don’t get to see the Kimberley green like that in the dry season with the falls in full flow.
🤣 No the car has been operating well. the only niggle is the ongoing issue of dropping into 2WD/ caution, which we can reset and when on the gravel and off road we manually select the appropriate terrain mode rather than auto/ comfort. As for the snow peak toaster - I reckon it's the best of this style of camp toaster by a long shot. All snow peak gear is pricey but it's light, well designed and functional! And I have zero affiliation - I bought mine retail at Drifta.
Great video, especially the aerial footage from the helicopter flights. With the length of stay at the station you would have consumed a fair portion of your planned food for the Gibb River Road trip.
Thanks for watching. The weather watch had been around for a couple of days so we topped up and we were prepared for up to 3 weeks on the Gibb. Froze a bit of extra meat and had plenty of tinned stuff like tuna. Beside that the stations like Mt Hart are stocked for the season so we bought a few meals there as change. So all in all we were good. Ran out of fresh milk but had powdered and UHT as back up. We had also grabbed the wrong flour so the chef at the Station kindly gave us some self raising flour for the damper (and some bicarb of soda so we could use the plain flour). When we got to My Barnett they had the basics (except fresh milk that was in date) even though they hadn’t had a delivery truck on for 2 weeks. So we were pretty good overall.
Absolutely agree with your choice to get on the road and take the weather as it comes. (Can’t think of anything worse than being stuck cheek by jowl in a caravan park in town.) Great that you’re so well set up so you can be more off grid without issues. If push came to shove with your power you could always run the car for an hour or two. We’re still enjoying your videos a lot, thank you.
Thanks for watching 🙏🙏and your thoughts on the question. Yes we were set up for it. We’d like 1 extra panel for sure - but that wouldn’t have helped too much in heavy weather. If push came to shove I’m pretty sure the team at Mt Hart would have let us plug into the camp generator. They did let some people hook up their fridges when they ran out of power. All in all demonstrated that for a mid season risk where up to a couple of weeks was the likely worst case (we had a bit over a week at Mt Hart and then another week or so elsewhere as the GRR progressively opened) a station was better than an overflow in town. You wouldn’t have got a van park site in Broome that time of year in any case. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching and the feedback. It is an epic region and the weather and the Mt Hart diversion actually added to the experience for us. I know the helicopter flight bits are a bit long (they were 1 hour flights so these are very truncated) but these are not places many other videos show from the air and it was so green for the dry season! Thanks again.
Thanks again. It’s sometimes hard for us to know what and how much to include. The crocs in Tunnel Creek are freshwater crocs so smaller and will leave you alone unless you threaten them. We don’t take chances with salties. 😂
ZB413 we did Tunnel Creek a few years ago and I was terrified but glad I did it and yes we would do the same as you 2 head to the station and wait it out. Fabulous episode guys those helicopters trips you will never forget!
Thanks for watching. Tunnel creek is great. Once you get used to the cold water it’s good but yes - it is a combination of enclosed and dark cave plus some dark deeper water for a section. Throw in some freshies to make life more interesting. The station stay worked out well. People were getting a bit itchy to leave after a few days, we found a bit over a week was very tolerable. Thanks for the feedback. cheers
😂. It’s perfectly safe. Freshwater crocs will leave you alone and only have a go if cornered / confronted. As opposed to salties that you take no risks with at all. These crocs were probably 4-5 metres away minimum. The bigger issue was the cold dark water! 😂😂. Thanks for watching and the comment. Love it! 🙏.
Hi guys, just found your channel (anything to do with the Kimberley gets my attention 😊). I really loved this episode so much, I watched the flood warnings very closely as I knew I’d be heading up there soon, and it was so interesting to see it from the perspective of someone actually there during the event. Looks like you had a great stay. Those flights were incredible and I was so happy to see Windjana from above, I really missed not being able to get to it this year, it’s my favourite. What a beautiful and special place the Kimberley is❤️❤️. PS I’ve subscribed and will go back to the beginning and watch all of your travels. Thanks 😊
Hi. Thanks for watching and subscribing. Much appreciated. We love the Kimberley It was disruptive but in the end did us a favour. Slowed us down and also made the place greener and a bit wetter on what should have been dry. Very speccy. Have a good one. cheers
Really great episode David & Paula 👍 The cave stuff looked ok to me, until u were swimming through long sections in the pitch black ! Helicopter rides r awesome Best way to c the area u r in Expensive But worth it Mt. Hart looked great. There or Derby or Broome, depends on many variables How bad is the forecast ? What is your set up ? How self sufficient is your set up, and for how many days can u go with your solar and battery power etc As u have mentioned in other comments, for u guys, u made the right decision to stay at Mt. Hart.👍
Thanks so much. It ended up being a positive experience in any number of ways. After the car issues and racing up the coast etc it actually got us back to a better pace and slowed us down - and as you saw, we still made the most of the situation. I agree with your considerations on what the best location options are. Some other campers at Mt Hart were at the limit of their power and food and some were time poor. The helicopter rides were awesome and the the second one was tailored at our request (ie not a normal option ) the pilots were great.
I expect I would have made the same choice and gone to Mt Hart. Better to be at a site with an airstrip rather than at some bush camp. More interesting than being in a main centre as well. As long as you get access to water. Great views from the helicopter. Last time I was in one of those it was an Iriquois with no doors.
Agree. That was our thinking noting we thought the delay would be days rather than weeks. But it was still a great choice. Probably a bit expensive for some but better than being in an isolated bush camp, a crowded overflow or side of the road at Fitzroy crossing. They had plenty of water and the stations were stocked for the season with a good airstrip as you noted. it was a really good option for us and very comfortable place to hole up.
Another great video and Mt Hart looks like a nice place to wait out the weather. You mentioned using a Bluetti power unit so have you done a review on that? If not, could you include some info in one of your future reviews please?
thanks for watching and the feedback. It is very much appreciated. We liked Mt Hart and the team were great. It was in need of of some TLC and they were working hard to spruce it up a bit under the new owner. I touched on the Bluetti EB55 in my first Defender review. If i get a chance I will touch on it again in a future review for sure. It’s good, not ideal as a dual battery like I’m using it for and it’s only 587WH, but that runs the fridge for a couple of days and if the car is charging it up or the solar that gets extended. And it’s only 7.5kg. But i hate the connectors they use in this model - they come out when driving noting it’s really designed for static use. But If i can cover it off more / again I will try to. cheers
Hi guys on the Webber the eggs bacon and hash browns what is under it like a cooking paper or something ? Look fwd to your reply. Great vid . Very enjoyable
Hi, thanks for watching. It’s a BBQ hot plate liner. Great for this sort of stuff, a couple of steaks etc. anything that’s not too juicy - although you’d cook that stuff on the grills anyway. All barbie stuff is a bit messy and this is no exception but it’s generally pretty easy to clean and easier than pulling out the fry pan or cleaning a hot plate. we only have the grills on our BabyQ. If we need a hot plate type surface we use this or the weber frying pan. a thanks for watching and the feedback - amazing though what people pickup and see from the vids. Happy to share. cheers
I think you’re right. Staying on a Station for a few days and taking on the experience is a great choice over a township. Towns present other issues with property security….
Thanks for watching and adding to the discussion. It’s an interesting choice. Safety has to come first and you are first and foremost responsible for your own safety and not putting others at risk - so you take official advice seriously. We knew we would be safe and we rang the Lodge to make sure we were welcome - they were set up for the season and visitors so they were happy to have us noting they didn’t know when the Gibb would reopen. And the van is comfortable. The risk we took was whether we’d be isolated for a few days or a longer time and making sure the access road itself was going to be ok. The original warning said the event would pass within a few days - as it worked out it was over a week and even then the Gibb remained closed in sections for a couple of weeks. So we thought the choices were - do what we did, head to Broome rather than Derby because the services and local attractions are better - but we knew it was packed and we’d be in a crowded overflow - and yes, security of gear etc are proper considerations- or try to beat the system and go around Fitzroy crossing and go to the east and either wait there or miss the Gibb. As it worked out we were stuck for a week, but got in Tunnel Creek and some epic flights and Mt Hart was damp but very comfortable and friendly. But it was an expensive stay!! Fitzroy crossing subsequently closed and quite a few people got stuck there for a week. We didn’t want to give up on the Gibb so - apart from not thinking about whether the rains would affect the Mt Hart road worse than the Gibb (they didn’t) - we ended up making the right choice in this circumstance. If we were closer to the traditional wet season then it might not be the right decision. Thanks for your thoughts - we had a lot of respect for people who made the other decision especially if they had kids or less time to spare than us.
Yeah… nah! cant even think about work ATM ! 😂. Thanks for watching again. If you are set up and prepared for it, the Gibb River Road is pretty special (well the road isn’t 😉, but the sights and experiences around it are).
Lovely Ep Guys
Thanks for watching and the feedback. Much appreciated. cheers
What an incredible flight. Definitely on the do list
The pilots were great and the second flight wasn’t one of the usual offers, we put the flight together with the pilots to cover the three gorges. But the first one was terrific and something different that most people won’t see.
Paula was really brave with the cave swim. I would be freaking out. And than those freshwater crocs in the mix would have made me dressed.
She sure was brave. Paula is an ok but not strong swimmer and not real keen on enclosed spaces. So this combined two things that aren’t her favourite things - and some rock scrambling up front!! . Funny, she was fine with the crocs provided they stayed where they were! 😂😂😉. Thanks for watching and the comment.
Like what you have done better than staying in derby enjoy and safe travels
For various reasons we would have gone back to Broome rather than have a longer stay at Derby. But really glad we took the chance on Mt Hart. Might have been different if the weather system happened closer to the traditional wet season- it might have risked a much longer stay. But the calculated risk worked out very well and it was an experience in itself! Thanks for watching and the comment. Much appreciated.
Thanks…Chopper rides look great
Thanks for watching. They were wonderful chopper flights. It was a luxury to do two but given the circumstances it was worth it and you don’t get to see the Kimberley green like that in the dry season with the falls in full flow.
I love my Snow Peak toaster too! They are great.
No car dramas this episode :)
🤣 No the car has been operating well. the only niggle is the ongoing issue of dropping into 2WD/ caution, which we can reset and when on the gravel and off road we manually select the appropriate terrain mode rather than auto/ comfort. As for the snow peak toaster - I reckon it's the best of this style of camp toaster by a long shot. All snow peak gear is pricey but it's light, well designed and functional! And I have zero affiliation - I bought mine retail at Drifta.
Well done Paula,great coach. A lot of love and trust ❤😊😊
Thanks for the support. Paula ❤️🙏👍
Great video, especially the aerial footage from the helicopter flights. With the length of stay at the station you would have consumed a fair portion of your planned food for the Gibb River Road trip.
Thanks for watching. The weather watch had been around for a couple of days so we topped up and we were prepared for up to 3 weeks on the Gibb. Froze a bit of extra meat and had plenty of tinned stuff like tuna. Beside that the stations like Mt Hart are stocked for the season so we bought a few meals there as change. So all in all we were good. Ran out of fresh milk but had powdered and UHT as back up. We had also grabbed the wrong flour so the chef at the Station kindly gave us some self raising flour for the damper (and some bicarb of soda so we could use the plain flour). When we got to My Barnett they had the basics (except fresh milk that was in date) even though they hadn’t had a delivery truck on for 2 weeks. So we were pretty good overall.
Absolutely agree with your choice to get on the road and take the weather as it comes. (Can’t think of anything worse than being stuck cheek by jowl in a caravan park in town.) Great that you’re so well set up so you can be more off grid without issues.
If push came to shove with your power you could always run the car for an hour or two.
We’re still enjoying your videos a lot, thank you.
Thanks for watching 🙏🙏and your thoughts on the question. Yes we were set up for it. We’d like 1 extra panel for sure - but that wouldn’t have helped too much in heavy weather. If push came to shove I’m pretty sure the team at Mt Hart would have let us plug into the camp generator. They did let some people hook up their fridges when they ran out of power. All in all demonstrated that for a mid season risk where up to a couple of weeks was the likely worst case (we had a bit over a week at Mt Hart and then another week or so elsewhere as the GRR progressively opened) a station was better than an overflow in town. You wouldn’t have got a van park site in Broome that time of year in any case. Thanks again.
Great episode 😊
Thanks for watching and the feedback. It is an epic region and the weather and the Mt Hart diversion actually added to the experience for us. I know the helicopter flight bits are a bit long (they were 1 hour flights so these are very truncated) but these are not places many other videos show from the air and it was so green for the dry season! Thanks again.
Absolutely fantastic video, loved it. Gee your both game going thru the caverns with crocs !
Thanks again. It’s sometimes hard for us to know what and how much to include. The crocs in Tunnel Creek are freshwater crocs so smaller and will leave you alone unless you threaten them. We don’t take chances with salties. 😂
ZB413 we did Tunnel Creek a few years ago and I was terrified but glad I did it and yes we would do the same as you 2 head to the station and wait it out. Fabulous episode guys those helicopters trips you will never forget!
Thanks for watching. Tunnel creek is great. Once you get used to the cold water it’s good but yes - it is a combination of enclosed and dark cave plus some dark deeper water for a section. Throw in some freshies to make life more interesting. The station stay worked out well. People were getting a bit itchy to leave after a few days, we found a bit over a week was very tolerable. Thanks for the feedback. cheers
Just calmly swimming with a croc behind you I could not haha
😂. It’s perfectly safe. Freshwater crocs will leave you alone and only have a go if cornered / confronted. As opposed to salties that you take no risks with at all. These crocs were probably 4-5 metres away minimum. The bigger issue was the cold dark water! 😂😂. Thanks for watching and the comment. Love it! 🙏.
Hi guys, just found your channel (anything to do with the Kimberley gets my attention 😊). I really loved this episode so much,
I watched the flood warnings very closely as I knew I’d be heading up there soon, and it was so interesting to see it from the perspective of someone actually there during the event. Looks like you had a great stay. Those flights were incredible and I was so happy to see Windjana from above, I really missed not being able to get to it this year, it’s my favourite. What a beautiful and special place the Kimberley is❤️❤️. PS I’ve subscribed and will go back to the beginning and watch all of your travels. Thanks 😊
Hi. Thanks for watching and subscribing. Much appreciated. We love the Kimberley It was disruptive but in the end did us a favour. Slowed us down and also made the place greener and a bit wetter on what should have been dry. Very speccy. Have a good one. cheers
Really great episode David & Paula 👍
The cave stuff looked ok to me, until u were swimming through long sections in the pitch black !
Helicopter rides r awesome
Best way to c the area u r in
Expensive
But worth it
Mt. Hart looked great.
There or Derby or Broome, depends on many variables
How bad is the forecast ?
What is your set up ?
How self sufficient is your set up, and for how many days can u go with your solar and battery power etc
As u have mentioned in other comments, for u guys, u made the right decision to stay at
Mt. Hart.👍
Thanks so much. It ended up being a positive experience in any number of ways. After the car issues and racing up the coast etc it actually got us back to a better pace and slowed us down - and as you saw, we still made the most of the situation. I agree with your considerations on what the best location options are. Some other campers at Mt Hart were at the limit of their power and food and some were time poor. The helicopter rides were awesome and the the second one was tailored at our request (ie not a normal option ) the pilots were great.
@@nextleveloz
It was very distressing to c u putting up with powdered milk, with your coffee David !
That’s the absolute pits !
🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@StephenFogarty2023 😢😉
I expect I would have made the same choice and gone to Mt Hart. Better to be at a site with an airstrip rather than at some bush camp. More interesting than being in a main centre as well. As long as you get access to water. Great views from the helicopter. Last time I was in one of those it was an Iriquois with no doors.
Agree. That was our thinking noting we thought the delay would be days rather than weeks. But it was still a great choice. Probably a bit expensive for some but better than being in an isolated bush camp, a crowded overflow or side of the road at Fitzroy crossing. They had plenty of water and the stations were stocked for the season with a good airstrip as you noted. it was a really good option for us and very comfortable place to hole up.
Another great video and Mt Hart looks like a nice place to wait out the weather. You mentioned using a Bluetti power unit so have you done a review on that? If not, could you include some info in one of your future reviews please?
thanks for watching and the feedback. It is very much appreciated. We liked Mt Hart and the team were great. It was in need of of some TLC and they were working hard to spruce it up
a bit under the new owner. I touched on the Bluetti EB55 in my first Defender review. If i get a chance I will touch on it again in a future review for sure. It’s good, not ideal as a dual battery like I’m using it for and it’s only 587WH, but that runs the fridge for a couple of days and if the car is charging it up or the solar that gets extended. And it’s only 7.5kg. But i hate the connectors they use in this model - they come out when driving noting it’s really designed for static use. But If i can cover it off more / again I will try to. cheers
Hi guys on the Webber the eggs bacon and hash browns what is under it like a cooking paper or something ? Look fwd to your reply. Great vid . Very enjoyable
Hi, thanks for watching. It’s a BBQ hot plate liner. Great for this sort of stuff, a couple of steaks etc. anything that’s not too juicy - although you’d cook
that stuff on the grills anyway. All barbie stuff is a bit messy and this is no exception but it’s generally pretty easy to clean and easier than pulling out the fry pan or cleaning a hot plate. we only have the grills on our BabyQ. If we need a hot plate type surface we use this or the weber frying pan. a thanks for watching and the feedback - amazing though what people pickup and see from the vids. Happy to share. cheers
I think you’re right. Staying on a Station for a few days and taking on the experience is a great choice over a township. Towns present other issues with property security….
Thanks for watching and adding to the discussion. It’s an interesting choice. Safety has to come first and you are first and foremost responsible for your own safety and not putting others at risk - so you take official advice seriously. We knew we would be safe and we rang the Lodge to make sure we were welcome - they were set up for the season and visitors so they were happy to have us noting they didn’t know when the Gibb would reopen. And the van is comfortable.
The risk we took was whether we’d be isolated for a few days or a longer time and making sure the access road itself was going to be ok. The original warning said the event would pass within a few days - as it worked out it was over a week and even then the Gibb remained closed in sections for a couple of weeks. So we thought the choices were - do what we did, head to Broome rather than Derby because the services and local attractions are better - but we knew it was packed and we’d be in a crowded overflow - and yes, security of gear etc are proper considerations- or try to beat the system and go around Fitzroy crossing and go to the east and either wait there or miss the Gibb. As it worked out we were stuck for a week, but got in Tunnel Creek and some epic flights and Mt Hart was damp but very comfortable and friendly. But it was an expensive stay!! Fitzroy crossing subsequently closed and quite a few people got stuck there for a week. We didn’t want to give up on the Gibb so - apart from not thinking about whether the rains would affect the Mt Hart road worse than the Gibb (they didn’t) - we ended up making the right choice in this circumstance. If we were closer to the traditional wet season then it might not be the right decision. Thanks for your thoughts - we had a lot of respect for people who
made the other decision especially if they had kids or less time to spare than us.
I am passing through stations on way to Brisbane airport for a business trip, I would rather be on a station where you are though.. want to swap?
Yeah… nah! cant even think about work ATM ! 😂. Thanks for watching again. If you are set up and prepared for it, the Gibb River Road is pretty special (well the road isn’t 😉, but the sights and experiences around it are).