Is this what are people looking for ?

Emma George is an athlete Squizzy. She was a good Aussie pole vaulter a few years back. I thought she was pretty too, but built like a building? I think not. My BIL always called the gorge Emma Gorge as he liked getting there ;-)))))

I'm with you Squizzy. If you want up-market resort stuff there is already plenty of it. The trouble is that the more of these there are, the less business they get if there aren't enough tourists to fill them all. This drives the prices up as they need to cover their overheads. Sometimes this works to our benefit as they offer deals in the off season. But realistically, the over-inflated high season price makes the off season deals sound really good.

I know exactly what you mean Squizz.
I pulled into Emma Gorge late one night earlier this year after riding my motor bike along the GRR looking for somewhere to camp and not knowing that it was a flash joint.
I was covered in dust and the looks I got from the Staff and guests who were sitting around their fairy light draped boab tree, sipping $20 apertifs and had arrived in their air conned tour buses was typically "whats he doin here". They wanted $400 for a room for the night and they had no camping area.
Looked like a very boring place to stay, so I bought 2 $12 crownies just to show em I could and I headed back to el questro which was much better.
Would be dissapointted to see other places go down the emma gorge route.

Hiya Squizzy,

Yep - Emma Gorge Resort is pretty plush and has no camping area. Unfortunately the WA Government didn't see fit to make that a National Park, in much the same way theyhave neglected to make the rest of the Mitchell Plateau (except the existing postage stamp-sized NP) and the Kimberley itself National Park as it should be. I suspect this is so that they are free to support stupidity like the current Woodside Pluto desecration of rock art on the Burrup - look for that sort of madness to continue at Walsh Point and on the Plateau where the Bauxite prospects are sounding like bees nests with the number of engineers and geologists flying around those parts at present.

Anyways, ELQ is privately owned, so can charge what they like, but the place is pretty nice. The facilities at the "Station Township" camp grounds are quite nice, and they keep the grass watered - and not too exy. They are making new 4WD tracks including a nice new one out to Pigeon Waterhole and, I understand, others elsewhere, so whilst I think Voyages are certainly not charitable, it is pretty much fair enough - they own it after all.

Sure, if you want 4-star and expensive restaurants, you can have it there - in fact 5-star and then 5-star plus if you stay at the old Homestead and get waited on hand and foot.

As to HV8, they did a big building effort this season just passed - new shower blocks, new staff quarters... and new eco-tents and other plush bungalow accommodation - they are also pretty comfortable, and much more reasonably priced than ELQ. Plus Nick and Sarah make great hosts.

HV8 is owned by Aboriginal Land Corporation and HV8 has funding - government, I guess, as part of their indigenous jobs creation things, to upgrade the main facilities, and create more units. Their masterplan must have failed to anticipate this alleged $9 million expansion because one of the new toilet blocks is being demolished to make way for new units, although a lot of it is being reused at the Pentecost River Campground which will now have hot and cold running water to go with it's new ablution blocks.

The HV8 homestead will have a new floor - occ health and safety issue apparently, and the old dirt floored accommodation is coming down and being replaced too.

The HV8 Pentecost River campsite is not closed, however... and I really don't think that the ever friendly Nick and Sarah and their ALC land-lords have any interest or capacity to compete with the arrogance and extortion of Voyages - the folks that run (badly) ELQ as well as Yulara and Kings Canyon Resort.

What is closed will probably be open early next season anyways, and with it so hot up there, and with the mozzies built like B52s, I'm happy to leave it to the poor contractors to work their butts off in the wet.

As you say, the GRR (with the exceptions for when the main river crossings or wet weather closes it) is open for any old vehicle most of the time these days. When I was at Emma Gorge a few weeks ago, there were 20 Audi Q7s there - admittedly they were having tyre problems ;-), but it is indicative of how easy it is to do the GRR. If you want to go bush, you really need to get a bit off the GRR to some of the less commercial stations that are still tourist friendly (as the late Ian Stabler would have said) or use the numerous bush camping sites that are there for all to use ATM. (The Audi Q7s must have been averaging 110+ on the GRR from what I saw of them).

Cheers
Andrew who did see a few folks riding deadly treadlies on the GRR, but then, he saw a bunch of them riding across the Simpson last week!