El Questro Wilderness Park

El Questro is like a privately owned national park, spread out over the far east end of the infamous Gibb River Road you'll only have to manage extreme corrugation and a few shallow river crossings to get there - in the dry this should be no problem for any vehicle, in the wet you'll probably need 4WD.

El Questro has a number of rewarding tracks that are highly varied in their geography - unlike most gorge walks in Western Australia you're not just clambering over river rocks in a dry river bed from end to end, you will be clambering up and down boulders, clinging to cliff tracks and walking narrow paths alongside running rivers, the walls of the gorge bulging in so close as to almost tip you into the water. At the end or along most walks there's the opportunity to have a swim in the river or in the drop-pool at the base of a roaring waterfall, to refresh yourself ready for the trip back. It makes the walks all the more worthwhile - the scenery may be amazing and photogenic, but there's nothing like a relaxing swim after hours of trekking through the hot sun of outback Western Australia.

The El Questro property is split across the road - to the North is the fabulous Emma Gorge, and at it's base is a restaurant-quality cafe and some rather strange accommodation: raised platforms hosting permanent tented structures with built-in bathrooms, queen beds, fans etc. It's not quite a hotel room, but trying to be one while still being under canvas. Sadly this combination is a bit unsatisfying - you get a bed, toilet and shower but it's hot and there's no television or air conditioning. It's a tented structure but you're not actually camping - there's no campfires and you can't really hang out with everyone else - they're inside. It's all a bit expensive for what it is, although understandably so - the structures are probably quite expensive to build - and re-build seeing as they occasionally get swept away in floods when Emma Gorge gets a bit too active!

However, on the other side of the Gibb River road is the main El Questro property which hosts many more excellent gorge walks, and the unmissable Zebedee Springs: a series of shallow waterfall pools formed by the dense but soft roots of a palm tree forest and filled with the warm waters of a hot spring.

For accommodation there is an excellent range of options - for 14 dollars a night you can camp either with the main group of travellers in the center of the property (so by the bar, restaurant, reception, swimming spots, showers, toilets, cattle) or for no extra cost camp out at one of about 20 private spots along the river, hidden from sight and sound of every one else. All you have is a campfire and a croc-infested river, but basic toilet facilities are dotted around, you can request a camp near one.

For a hundred dollars or so you can stay in the cabins by the restaurant, which are air conditioned and have nice views over the river, and for about a cool thousand you can stay in the homestead itself and be pampered with the finest foods, wines and helicopter tours!

Camping and travelling around Australia, most of the best things you can do and best places you can stay are either totally free, or prohibitively expensive. El Questro manages to be a private affair that cares for it's natural resources as sensitively as any national park would, and yet still offer accommodation options cheaply enough to allow anyone to access everything they have to offer. 14 bucks for a private camping spot is very good value when you consider everything El Questro has to offer - it truly is one of the absolute highlights of the Gibb River Road, and you're only 50kms into it! I spent my first wedding anniversary there, and couldn't have asked for more.

If you're only planning a day trip, I strongly recommend walking either El Questro Gorge for the river or Emma Gorge for the waterfall, and leaving plenty of time to relax in Zebedee springs. However 2 nights/3 days will serve you much better. (Date of experience: Oct, 2009 )