Mawle Family

Packed up the tents then walked down to Little Merten’s Waterfall to look at the rock art behind the waterfall.  We were surprised at how much space there was behind the waterfall and at how dry it was.

Behind Little Mertens Falls

The paintings were easy to see and some of them looked as though they had been painted only a few years ago – amazing to think that some of the pictures are over 30,000 years old:

Little Mertens Rock Art

We had a swim then headed back to the car for the drive back to Drysdale Station.  After only a few kilometres we saw a Dingo cross the road ahead of us, it didn’t seem too bothered as we drove towards it and it stayed close enough for us to get a good look.

Arrived at Drysdale at 1:30PM (total drive time from Mitchell Falls was 4 hours) just in time for a Kimberly Burger and a cold beer – excellent!

We spent the afternoon preparing for tomorrow’s 236 kilometre journey to Home Valley Station.  Later on Oliver and Emily played Quiditch (Drysdale Rules).

Hot showers then back to the cafe for dinner, a lovely finish to a brilliant couple of days.

Up at 6:00AM.  Slept well apart from being woken up by Ollie giggling in his sleep, he couldn’t remember what he was dreaming about.

Quick breakfast then off down the 4.2km hiking track to Mitchell Falls.  Thankfully it was still overcast and quite cool; the signs at the start of the track warn hikers about the heat and provide advice on what to carry – particularly the amount of water.  The trail was well marked but there were some very rocky sections and some clambering over large boulders.

Emily and Oliver at top of Big Merten’s Waterfall, we hiked across from the far bank.

The trail crosses the top of Big Merten’s Falls; from there we could look down Merten’s Gorge which finishes below the Mitchell Falls.  Upstream the river had formed a large pool carpeted with blue water lilies, Dragon Flies skimmed the surface and the trees around the pool were alive with birds.

Successful River Crossing at Top of Mitchell Falls

We arrived at the Mitchell River just above the top waterfall (there are four main falls).  The path crosses the river here so we took off our walking boots and followed the marker poles that indicate the safest crossing point.  Once on the other side it was a short walk to the Lookout with a view of all four waterfalls.  “OMG!” said Emily.  “Whooaa!” said Ollie.  Yep, “OMG!” and “Whooaa!” sum the sight up pretty well.  By the way, “G” is “Gosh” in the Mawle family.  From our vantage point we could see all four waterfall inline.

Mitchell Falls, OMG indeed!

We had lunch at the Lookout then walked back to the crossing point above the top waterfall and had a swim.

Lilies At Top of Mitchell Falls… and a couple of scruffy urchins.

We found a fast flowing section and had great fun riding the rapids:

Mini Rapids At Mitchell Falls

At mid-afternoon we headed back up the trail to the campground, we were glad we’d carried the recommended water supplies as it was hard going and very hot.  Ollie was very tired by the time we reached the little creek just below the campground so we stopped for a dip in the cool water, Charlotte found some snacks in one of the backpacks so all was well.

Cooling Off After Hike Back from Mitchell Falls

Sausage Hotpot (tinned) with Noodles for dinner.  It was actually quite good!  Or perhaps we were just happy to eat after the long day.  After dinner the Ranger did a video and slide show presentation on the Mitchell Plateau.  It was really interesting, he told us about the geography, flora and fauna, the seasons and the rock art – some of which is over 30,000 years old.  There are good examples behind Little Merten’s Waterfall so we’re going to have a look tomorrow.

It rained a little bit last night.  I spoke to one of the tour guides and he said it would remain overcast with an odd shower today then clear tomorrow.  A little rain should damp down the dust on the road to Mitchell Falls.

Setoff for Mitchell Falls at 8:30AM, the road was very good – we cruised most of the way at 80kph (we were still overtaken by several people).  Occasionally we hit some corrugated sections and a few short rocky sections.  The road passed through grassland, gumtrees and palms.

After 103 kms we turned off the main track and headed along the 85 km ungraded track to Mitchell Falls.  Initially the road was lumpy with rocks the size of beach balls, so we picked our way along, avoiding the worst rocks.  After about half an hour the road became smooth, hard-packed mud and passed through groves of ‘Livistona Eastonii’ palms that thrive in the lateritic bauxite deposits that are on the Mitchell Plateau.  We drove through a couple of tricky creeks and quite steep descents.

Top Of Little Merten’s Waterfall

We arrived at the Mitchell Falls campground at 1:15PM (three hours to do the 85 kms from the turn-off).  We set up the tents, had lunch then walked for 30 minutes down to the pool at the bottom of Little Merten’s Falls for a swim.

Charlotte with Rugged Good Looking Bloke Below Little Merten’s Falls

Early dinner and early to sleep.  We have a long day tomorrow.

Chef By Torchlight

Oliver In Tent at Mitchell Falls

Woken before 5:00 AM by the tour bus party having loud conversations by the showers:

“DID YOU SLEEP WELL?”.

“YES THANKS, IT’S REALLY QUITE HERE ISN’T IT?”.

“YES, AMAZINGLY QUIET”.

I’m sure you get the picture.

We dozed until 6:00AM, had breakfast then packed up the camper and set off on the drive to Drysdale Station, 160 kilometres away.  The road was pretty good (just a few corrugations in places) but our fuel consumption was not.  There were lots of creek and floodway crossings which required us to slow right down then slowly get back up to speed.  The Hann River was our biggest crossing to-date.

The road from the Gibb River Road to Drysdale Station was the worst we have encountered so far.  59 kilometres of bone shaking corrugations.  Rachel and others had warned us about it but assured us that the section from Drysdale Station to the King Edward River (Mitchell Falls direction) was very smooth.  So we slowed right down and reached Drysdale at 12:30PM.

What a brilliant place!  As well as a fuel station, Drysdale has a shop and a very good cafe that serves excellent Beef Burgers the biggest of which, is the Kimberly Burger; they’re very good!

The afternoon was spent preparing for the trip up to the Mitchell Falls, we’re very excited!  We hadn’t planned to go to the Falls but, because of the good road conditions, decided it was too good an opportunity to miss.  We’ve decided to leave the camper trailer at Drysdale and take tents because we’ve heard that the road from the King Edward River to the Mitchell Fall campground is ungraded and has a couple of nasty creek crossings – should be fun!

Had dinner at the cafe.  The food was good and the Chef kept the children entertained – “No dessert unless you eat your greens!”.  Quite right too, it’s important to have a healthy, balanced diet.  Dessert was Chocolate Mud Cake.

Manning Gorge from Top of Waterfall

After breakfast I wandered down to the river.  I walked past the German couple who were sitting outside their Campervan, drinking coffee and watching the tour party decamp.  They exchanged good natured banter with some of the tour party and offered encouragement to the bewildered.  The German guy looked across at me and grinned.  I asked him if he had ever heard of Benny Hill.  He laughed and agreed that the Benny Hill music would have been appropriate for last night’s performance.

We set off for the Manning Gorge waterfall which required a trip across the river in the little Pull-Yourself Ferry:

Ferry Across the River

After reaching the other side without capsizing, we followed the rough path for 45  minutes, effectively the path cuts across the inside of the river bend between the waterfall and the campground.  We were joined by Rachel, a Police officer from Kununurra.  She was having a few days off and was heading along the Gibb River Road as far as Windjana Gorge before heading down to Fitzroy Crossing then on to Broome for the “Staircase to the Moon” which is when the Moon sinks low over the Indian Ocean and the reflected light on the sea gives the impression of a staircase.  Rachel told us that the road from Drysdale to Mitchell Falls was really easy (recently graded) so we decided there and then that we would go to Drysdale and give the falls a go.

Manning Gorge Waterfall

The walk to the Manning Gorge waterfall was well worth the effort.  We immediately jumped into the deep pool and swam underneath the falls.

Olliver Swimming to the Waterfall

Rachel, the children and I climbed to the top of the waterfall to have a look down the gorge, Oliver and Rachel discussing the finer points of IPod games as we went.  Above the waterfall the river flows through several clear, shallow, pools.  We got a good view down the gorge and could see where the river curves towards the campground.  We could also see some guys jumping from the side of the waterfall into the pool below.  Emily’s face lit up!

We descended to the jumping point and I asked the guys if it was deep enough, it  certainly looked deep – from our vantage point we couldn’t see the bottom even through the water was crystal clear.  The guys confirmed that it was extremely deep, they had been snorkelling there and could not see the bottom even when they duck-dived.  I jumped in then it was Emily’s turn:

Emily’s Leap

After a snack and drinks we headed back to the camp ground for lunch.  We had a lazy afternoon then went down to the river for a swim.  Oliver took on the role of Ferryman and pulled people across from bank to bank, he didn’t charge anything though (I must have a word with him).

Rachel joined us after dinner for a beer and we put the world to rights.

Galvan’s Gorge Lily

Up early to get ready for the drive to Mount Barnett and Manning Gorge (about 110 kms).  Whilst we had breakfast, Rocky the Mudlark slithered around on the bonnet of another car as he jabbed and butted his opponent.

There was also a group of Bower Birds loitering nearby.  They were a comical bunch, hopping around with a tall posture, looking left and right in search of bright and pretty things to nick and take back to the Bower.  This particular group reminded me of Oliver Twist – one bird (Oliver Twist) seemed to be doing the risk-taking whilst the other birds (Artful Dodger and gang) seemed to egg him on (no pun intended) from a safe distance.  When Oliver Twist got close to a tent or caravan, he leaned forward theatrically to peer around, over and under tables and chairs for loot.  The gang also tried too hard not to be noticed; when they saw me watching them they all stopped and seemed to try to look inconspicuous, each looking in different directions.  I’m sure one of them even pretended to read a news paper!

Left Silent Grove at 8:30AM and drove to Imintji Roadhouse for diesel, cooking gas… coffee and milkshakes… and cakes before heading east towards Mount Barnett.

We stopped at Galvan’s Gorge for lunch and a swim.  We were glad we did as it’s the prettiest gorge we’ve seen so far.  The path from the road drops down to a little tree-lined stream flowing through several clear shallow pools dotted with blue water lilies.  Shafts of sunlight broke through the trees, creating a dappled effect on the water and catching the red fins and tails of fish darting for cover as we passed by.

Galvan’s Gorge Waterfall

After 10 minutes or so we reached the main waterfall and pool which is surrounded by cliffs of about 20 metres height.  The pool is surrounded by small Palm trees and a few Boabs, and the waterfall is topped by a large Boab.  We stood for a few minutes, just looking.  This place would win “Best in Show” at Chelsea!

We swam over to the base of the waterfall and saw a Merten’s Monitor on the rocks.  Then the real excitement started; “Daddy there’s a rope swing!”.  Sure enough, hanging over the pool from a Boab branch was a rope with a large stick tied to the end.  Access to the swing was along another Boab branch that jutted out over the pool.  Perfect!  You can see the show here:

Emily on Rope Swing.MOV

Ollie’s Big Leap

We had the gorge to ourselves for about 45 minutes before a few other travellers wandered in for a cool dip.  We had lunch by the pool before heading back up to the car.

We arrived at the Manning Gorge campground at 2:45PM, set up camp then wandered down to the river.  Wow, another beautiful place to swim with a sandy beach, rocks to jump off and a little boat with which to pull yourself across to the far bank.

The campground is privately run and isn’t as good as the DEC sites.  The showers are a bit temperamental and hot water was a bit scarce.

Saw a German couple set up their little camper van in a nice quiet spot under a tree.  When finished they sat down for a nice relaxing drink.  Ten minutes later the Tour buses arrived and parked all around them.  The Germans remained stoic as the tourists (mostly retirees) spilled out of the buses and chaos ensued.  The Tour Guide set them all tasks – some started to set up tents whilst others unpacked camp beds.  The Guide wandered from tent to tent reminding his group on how to assemble their items, it went something like “The poles with the red tape are for the beds, the other poles are for the tents!”.

As the Germans looked on, tents went up and some fell down with a clang of poles, lumps moved under the canvass as people stumbled around to find the exit and assess their progress.  The Guide continued to encourage his flock with a tired but patient demeanor.  As he strode across the site to solve another problem he was followed by an eager gentleman holding a cluster of multi-coloured poles jammed together to resemble a broken TV antenna.

The Germans remained seated for the entire performance and, eventually, the camp was set up and relative calm spread across the site.

Dinner then an early night (v. tired).

Last night it was nice and cool.  Woke up to the Dawn Chorus which was occasionally interrupted by “tap tap bump, tap tap bump”.  I peered out of the window and saw a small black and white bird (a Mudlark I think) having a punch up with its own reflection in the car windscreen.  He was losing badly.  Each “tap tap” was followed by a full-on head butt (the “bump”) which resulted in the bird collapsing on to the bonnet, wings flailing in all directions.  Undeterred he fought on with determination whilst we had breakfast but he finished up in a heap on the ground after trying a blindside attack from the wing mirror.

Bell Gorge Waterfall

After breakfast we headed back to Bell Gorge.  We met JR and Bernie, a nice couple taking a few days off from work at El Questro station (where we plan to finish our Gibb River Road trip).  They were heading West to Windjana Gorge from where they planned to cut down to Fitzroy Crossing then back east to El Questro.  They told us not to miss Galvan’s Gorge which is beside the Gibb River Road just before the Mount Barnett Roadhouse, it sounds like a good place to have lunch.

When we reached the base of the main Bell Gorge waterfall the children and I set off to explore the pools and small waterfalls downstream.  As we drifted with the current we saw several Merten’s Monitors basking on rocks that broke the surface of the pools.  The gorge echoed with the sounds of excited children.

Bell Gorge Below Main Waterfall

We reached a tricky little waterfall and, after some careful deliberation on the safest place to descend, we found a small rock step near the centre of the fall.  The step was covered in bright green weed but, unlike many of the surrounding rocks, it wasn’t  slippery.  We continued on downstream, marvelling at our magnificent surroundings, until we reached the shallow pool at the top of a huge waterfall.  From here there was no easy way down but the view down the Gorge was amazing.

Bell Gorge Swimming Downstream from main waterfall.

Charlotte swam down to join us then we retraced our steps/swim back up to the main waterfall, the current was not very strong but we were pretty tired when we got there.  We hiked back up to the top of the waterfall where the children had another swim and played a game that appeared to be a combination of Avatar and Crocodile Dundee.

Bell Gorge Above Main Waterfall. A game about Crocodile Dundee and Avatar!

We collected firewood on the way back to the campground, and after dinner we toasted marshmallows.

Toasting Marshmallows at Silent Grove; an end to a fantastic day.