Set off early for Silent Grove which is the campground near Bell Gorge. The road was very good and even sealed in a few places. We passed through the Yamarra Gap in the Napier Range we saw the rock formation that looks like a silhouette of Queen Victoria’s head. The road passed through savannah then climbed up through the King Leopold Ranges; the views were spectacular, other than the road there was not a man-made object in sight. As we descended towards Imintji the road was sealed and passed through pretty tree-lined groves that reminded us of the south of France. We crossed some small creeks the prettiest of which was Fern Creek which was covered in blue water lilies.
We were low on fuel when we got to the Bell Gorge turnoff so we continued straight on to Imintji (8 kilometres) to refuel. The Roadhouse is like a little oasis, it has a green lawn with tables under Frangipani trees. The store sells a variety of stuff, from biscuits to thermal socks. They also do really nice coffee and milkshakes.
After refuelling (the car and us) we drove back to Silent Grove, set up camp and then drove 10 kms down the track to Bell Gorge. By this time it was getting very hot. We walked down the rocky path to the top of the waterfall. Upstream was a series of shallow pools linked by small waterfalls and lined with smooth rock. We followed the path across the river and over the shoulder of the waterfall, it then descended steeply to bring us out at the foot of the waterfall.
Bell Gorge. Meeting a Local
The children’s faces lit up at the site of the water cascading down into the large deep pool, another family were enjoying a swim so Ems and Ollie were in within seconds. Emily, Oliver and I swam up to the waterfall then across to the other side andclimbed up onto the rocks. As we swam back we spotted a Merten’s Monitor basking on the rocks near Charlotte. It didn’t seem at all bothered by our presence and allowed us to get up close for some photos.
Back at the campground we had hot showers – these DEC sites are brilliant – then dinner and an early night.