4 Stray Katz: The breathtaking beauty of Bachsten (and the mission of the Munja).

WOW. Once we made it to Bachsten Bush Camp our expectations were well and truly exceeded.

Before Bachsten though we were having doubts and were ready to abort our Munja adventure. We had planned to use Drysdale river as our base camp and explore from there without the van, however when we arrived it was certainly not the flowing, swimable river we had envisioned. The previous wet season had been a dry one so many of the rivers and creeks in the Kimberley were down to a trickle and Drysdale was no exception. The drive that was meant to be 2 hours max ended up being a 7 hr epic mission as we explored all side tracks and investigated the infamous Magpie Jump Up to determine if it was plausible to get the van down (and then up again in a few days)- Daniel decided he could do it but could not guarantee the van would get through damage free so we decided not to risk it.

We ended up back at the stagnant waters of Drysdale River feeling very disheartened and ready to give up on the Munja. A few glasses of red wine in front of the fire later and we had come up with what would turn out to be one of our best decisions. We talked each other into turning our disappointment into an opportunity for a bigger adventure and by the morning we were psyched for our few days in our tent exploring the Munja. After a day of preparations we squashed everything (including our mattress and two of the couch cushions for the kids as we never brought lilos) into the car and set off at 7am, headed for Bachsten Bush Camp. 6 hours later, after 95km of an extremely challenging 4wd track in some of the most remote (and extremely beautiful) bushland in Australia, we pulled into Bachsten praying our effort would be worthwhile. Worthwhile it was and we wished we had packed more food. We managed to stretch our planned 3 night stay into 4 nights with the help of some freshly baked bread (thanks to Janet the caretaker). As well as being the cleanest camp area we have ever stayed in, we had the luxury of hot showers (heated by a fire under a 44 gallon drum and some creative plumbing) and we were given a secluded, shady camp area with tables, a sink and running water.

There was heaps of Indigenous art all along the Munja track.

The landscape went through so many changes - this was Emilia's favourite as she felt she was in a fairy forest.

The car doing the Magpie Jump Up, we decided not to risk the van.

Two graceful brolgas.

Coffee & breakfast stop, check out the jam packed car.

Dingo spotting

After a refreshing swim Bachsten river & some dinner we were all excited for our first night in the tent. To make it even more exciting for the kids we put on a movie ( the fist movie for Daniel and I in 6.5 months) and we all snuggled together watching the movie and listening to the quolls and bandicoots explore our campsite (we had been warned not to leave anything out as they were very apt at getting into any food). We all slept well and our initial hesitations about sleeping in tent all together were forgotten.

We were given some ideas of places of interest and decided to hike to the Bachsten gorge. It was only 1km so we decided to do it in thongs. After the short hike we approached the cliff face where we had been told to go to the lookout. What we saw literally took our breath away. A deep, long gorge with two huge pools at the base and a tiered waterfall cascading down. It was so unexpected and we had heard nothing about this gorge so we were certainly taken by surprise. We had the whole place to ourselves all day. We began by exploring the waterfalls and getting massaged by a particularly strong one. Emilia was thirsty so decided the waterfall would be a great place to drink. The water was lovely so we all filled up our drink bottles. After seeing the lovely pools below we had a family meeting and decided we needed to go down and explore them. We had been told the track was rough but decided to give it go. Rough it certainly was! It was literally straight down the rocky cliff face, through pandanus, over large tree roots and generally clambering on our bums down the steep stuff (well that was Emilia and I). Daniel actually carried Jackson down as he was falling asleep, an impressive feat considering he was wearing thongs and Jackson now weighs 16kgs! With Jackson sound asleep on a rock, we swam and ate our limited lunch (we hadn't brought much food as it was only meant to be a short walk). We still had 150 metres of rock hopping left and were rewarded with a deep pool surrounded by towering red cliffs, it was incredible. We couldn't believe our luck to have such an amazing place to ourselves, and we were completely awed by the power and beauty of nature

A river crossing on the way to Bachsten.

The kids were super excited to sleep in the tent.

Collecting firewood.

Bachsten gorge from above, we made it all the way down to the lower pool.

Refreshing with a drink of waterfall.

Nature's hydrotherapy massage

We had the whole gorge to ourselves so of course Daniel got nude!

Exhausted after a morning hiking and swimming.

The lower pool at Bachsten Gorge

Bachsten still had more to offer and over the next few days we visited Wren Gorge, where we again had the waterfall and pool to ourselves. We swam and explored the surrounding caves for rock art and the kids enjoyed perfecting their bombs. We explored the walking trails around the camp and followed the track that promised to take us to some 'interesting rock formations and caves'. Interesting they were. Huge mushroom shaped rocks, large boulders teetering on top of others (looking like they would fall with a push), rocks with huge crevices and so many caves to explore. The caves all had bats flying around with some large enough for Daniel and I stand in. We found heaps of rock art and had a great afternoon exploring the area.

We were lucky enough to meet Ann and Rick Jane, the owners of Bachsten. Ann's father was a Kimberly pioneer (and founder of Mt Elizabeth station) who first pushed through the Munga track, droving cattle. They were wonderful people who had such interesting stories about their life in the Kimberley's. They certainly got Daniel even more interested in seeing this region during the wet season and their photos of opening the track after the wet season really impressed him.

The experience of Bachsten was made even more memorable by an exciting first for Emilia, she saw her first shooting star. Daniel and I had seen heaps and had been trying to explain them to Emilia. Sitting by the fire, Emilia on my knee, we saw a huge shooting star. Her reaction was priceless, the look on her face was something we will never forget. She has been so excited and has told heaps of people about it. Now Jackson is desperate to see one and keeps pointing at any star asking if it is a shooting star!

After some of the most memorable times in our trip we left Bachsten after 4 nights and headed back to our home (and the relative luxury of our campervan). Thankfully it was all still in one piece and the next day we left the Munga track grateful we had made the effort. I was so proud of Daniels incredible driving capabilities and so glad we both talked ourselves into such an adventure.

Art at Wren Gorge.

Daniel is amazed by how high some of the art is, we are unsure how some of the art was done as it is often in difficult to reach places and often very high up..