El Questro

Looks like a good outcome all round Peter. Thanks for the link.

Yes it sounds like good news.

Would that be the same body of people who run Home Valley ?? let's hope not :((

Nick .........why?

Cuppa...We were there after the reopening with the new management and the conditions were pretty average ..
Had to ask management to do something about overflowing rubbish bins in the caravan park and would appear that staff were reluctant to do daily chores.. rather tear around the place in the buggies this seemed to be the attitude of the running of the place.
Menu in the restaurant was nonexistent but this may have changed for later season??
Nothing like it was in previous years
Home Valley was one of our favourites stops over the years....
Last year we camped down on the Pentecost and although the conditions were very hot it was very enjoyable ..

Hopefully it will improve with time & with understanding of what is needed Nick.

Home Valley didn't open this year. I was there six years ago late in the season and it was showing the strain with a very dry and dusty camp ground. Meals were ok. But that was then

Stayed a couple of nights at El Questro in August and it was chockers. Multiply all the caravans in their area by two (at a minimum), add in the overflow camping paddock, the tour bus camps and the cabins I reckon there could have been 1500 people there.

I guess it will only get bigger with the new ownership arrangement.

1500 people or even half that? Yikes. Gives new meaning to the idea of getting away from it all Rocco.

Big4 are also running a number of outback parks associated with aboriginal corporations eg Kings Canyon and Glen Helen in the West MacDonnells.

The RSPCA would be pleased about the removal of cattle. No doubt the cattle would be relieved too.

Somehow I doubt the cattle will enjoy losing their lifestyle, but I am confident that without them native species will once again begin to flourish as they have done in the AWC properties.

We have spent a fair bit of time in the Kimberley but never visited El Questro. Our best understanding of the place is that it showcases the Gibb River Road region very well to those unable or unwilling to drive the GRR. The GRR in a nutshell as it were & more easily accessible.

As we drove past the turn off to ElQuestro in 2019 there were a constant stream of caravans coming from the east & turning in there. In view of the great experiences we had just had, avoiding too much exposure to the tourist hordes ) over several months on the GRR & north, plus us limping along with a busted rear top leaf spring ( not that we knew what was causing the noise at the time) we looked at the seemingly never ending caravans & said "Thanks, but no thanks". We weren't ready for busy 'Tourist-ville'.

Disappointingly our mechanical woes also saw us pass the Karunjie track by. We will return sometime to drive that when we visit friends in Kununurra, & maybe we'll give El Questro a look too.

The southern end of the Karunjie road passes through El Questro property. We drove it in 2005. They tried to close it some years ago, but since it is a public road (the old main road), they failed, but you can not camp or fish along the way without their permission (which would not be forthcoming).
They did successfully close the King River road though.
New owners will bring different restrictions.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Peter, I confused the two. Years ago we rode motorcycles out from Wyndham, across the mud flats & along the King River for a distance, to a rock art site. When I said Karunjie, I was thinking of the track in from the GRR near Home Valley which would have taken us along the river & out across the mud flats. It was the King River Rd I was thinking of. Shame it's closed.

We spent 3 days at El Questro back in May this year, in our new roles as grey nomads. Really enjoyed our time there, though the suburbia-like powered van area was not a good place to be. We were quite happy with our unpowered sites, well away from the hustle & bustle. Close enough to the toilet/showers/laundry amenities, but far enough away from the bar, so by happy hour, the walk to the bar warmed us up enough to knock off a couple of schooners of ginger beer @ $10 each.

The scenery is typical Kimberly charisma, and self drove to the spots we wanted to see. Zebeedee Springs is "nice" but with 42% of Australia there each day, having a therapeutic dip, one look was enough.Chamberlain Gorge, Branco's Lookout & Packsaddle Lookout were some of our favourites. Our companions did a 10 km walk to one of the sites up the Pentecost that was enjoyable, they said!

All they need to do is upgrade their communication skills next year, both at ELQ & Lake Argyle. Was a waste of time sending emails, don't think anyone had time to read them. Best plan was to just rock up & take what was on offer. Imagine it would have been utter bedlam later in the year?

Bob

We were there in June this year and it was that busy we didn’t even stay and headed up the road for a quieter bush camp.
Way to busy and commercialised for my liking