Parry Lagoons – Wyndham – Ellenbrae Station – Drysdale Station (350kms)

Our plan was a short day’s drive to El Questro, so we dropped into Wyndham Bakery for some croc pies. Rob sent me an article about the Mitchell Plateau and Falls, which we had decided was too much driving.  I discussed this with Duncan, and an elderly lady overheard our conversation. “You must go, I was there yesterday. You absolutely must go.” (She had flown in with her son.) So, it was decided – somewhat late in the day – to go to Mitchell Falls. Our first target was Ellenbrae station, a mere 200kms away.  Duncan took the wheel for half the drive, which was a great help. We reached there mid-afternoon, and indulged in the scone, jam and cream, obviously. The decision was taken to head to Drysdale Station, as it had powered sites available. Well, this proved to be the most challenging drive of the trip. The first part of the drive was on the Gibb Road, into the setting sun, and being passed by cars going east; the result was minutes of almost blind driving in the backlit dust.  After the turnoff to Drysdale/Kulumburu, the driving conditions got worse, as if that was possible. We were driving along a heavily corrugated road, deep in shadow, and I could barely see the road; my “night vision is quite bad. So, Duncan relayed instructions to me from the passenger’s seat. It was absolutely nerve shredding, and a huge relief to reach Drysdale Station unscathed. We were kept awake by some “party animals” around a campfire, but we were too tired to join them, and besides the conversation was pedestrian. The next morning we met a “lovely family” from WA who had been on the road with their three children for about four months.