The
Gibb River Road was in superb condition except where we left it to do the side trips. The road into Windjana and
Tunnel Creek was hard going and very corrugated but we arrived at Windjana in time for the most brilliant sunset and that was worth every bump. I think those cliffs of Windjana looming up so close make one of the nicest
camping spots I've been to. Next day we walked into
the gorge for a couple of hours and then headed off to
Tunnel Creek where we took our torches and waded through to the far end. What an interesting place this is. It was made even more interesting when I almost walked out on top of a big black snake. Luckily someone warned me in time!
Lillimilura Police Station ruins and the story of Pigeon took up our lunch time.
Back on the
Gibb River Road and our first stop was at the
shop in the caravan on the bank of the Lennard River. What a funny place..it even has chairs, tables and umbrellas!
Bell Gorge was our
camp for the night and the next day we walked in then climbed around the falls to swim. From there we moved on to
Charnley River Station. It's about 42kms off the Gibb on a pretty good road and once there the campground is large, hot showers and several gorges and pools to drive to and spend time. It was $24 for the night. We went to
Dillie Gorge and for that entire afternoon had the place all to ourselves. We swam and wandered around and it was so peaceful. Charnley would be a bird watchers paradise as we saw so many different kinds that I lost count. From Charnley we returned to the GRR and stopped at Adcock's Gorge which is open and worth the drive and the walk in. Next was Galvan's Gorge which I think is one of the real gems of the drive. A small semi circle of cliffs surround the falls and
the pool below. There is a boab looking down over
the pool from above. We had a swim and spent some time before heading off for
Manning Gorge.
You get your permit for
Manning Gorge from the Mt Barnett Roadhouse and it's $25 for a couple. This includes
camping so isn't too bad. The campground has flush
toilets and cold showers. The walk to the top pool takes about an hour and a half but is so worth the effort. It's just so beautiful up there with the waterfall and the large pool of clear, clear
water surrounded by enormous
red cliffs. Unfortunately I got really hot walking in and then when I got into the
water my body temperature plummeted and I thought I was going to faint. Not a good feeling when you're out in the middle of the
water. Luckily Ray was close by and helped me out to the edge. There were a lot of campers at Manning but since it's a large
camping area there was plenty of room.
From
Manning Gorge we went to Barnett River Gorge the next day and then on to the Gibb
River Crossing for lunch then to
Drysdale River Station. The GRR continued good until about ten kms after the
Hann River where it was very corrugated to the
Kalumburu road
junction. The grader was working around the
Hann River area so by now it may be good all the way to
the junction.
It was really good to get to Drysdale and enjoy a drink in a pleasant atmosphere, do some clothes washing and prepare for the trip up to the
Mitchell Plateau and
Kalumburu. The road from
the junction to Drysdale was excellent and continued that way for about 70kms north. After that it was very corrugated. I agree with those who say there is a sweet speed over corrugations which varies with the conditions but I also agree that there are some corrugations where there is nothing else you can do but slow down. Anyway, we got to the
Mitchell turn off and of course the conditions got worse from then on in to the campground. This was expected and endured!
Our walk to the falls began with me not looking where I was going and falling flat on my face. I mean flat on my face too, as my knees never touched the ground at all. The last thing that hit was my nose..kerplunk! Ray looked around and I was lying at full length! Luckily for me no rocks were on the track and all I got was a sore nose and the stuffing knocked out of me! But, on we went and the walk was easy going really. We stopped at Little Mertens, were astounded by the drop at Big Mertens, then rounded the corner and there they were, the
Mitchell Falls. Words fail, don't they. With every traveller this year, we were lucky that the falls were still flowing. We ate our lunch, had a swim, wandered around and took endless photos and then it was time for our helicopter flight. With two others we circled the falls, went out to Surveyor's Pool then to the coast and back along the
Mitchell River to the falls, then back to
camp. It was a terrific experience. It's truly a magnificent place.
We camped that night at the
King Edward River where I saw a huge goanna near our
camp. Next day we made the trip up to
Kalumburu. That road was bad enough but we found it ok. I guess anything after the
Mitchell Falls road felt good! We arrived, got our permit ($40) and noticed people waiting near the museum at the Mission. Since this was the main thing we'd come to
Kalumburu to do, we rushed over and were told we could join in. This was a special tour that Father Anscar was giving for a group of people who were taking a cruise from
Wyndham to
Derby. We had just come off the dusty road and been away from proper showers for two days..they looked like they'd stepped out of Vogue magazine. One lady looked me up and down and said "you're not with our cruise, are you"? Anyway, this was very nearly the highlight of our trip. Father Anscar is such a quirky, intelligent, kindly and knowledgeable man. The collection in the museum defies description as it ranges from pieces of rock from ancient times to jewellery, pottery, modern day items from all over the world and on and on..each item had a story and Father would let a happy Ah Ha after each one. At the end I went up to speak to him. The reason for my wanting to visit the museum and see him was that he was born in
Beulah, the place where I was born and where I work. He grasped my hands and beamed with delight, loudly telling everyone about our connection and saying how pleased he was and that I was the first person from
Beulah to ever come and visit him. All in all it was such a happy and unforgettable afternoon.
The rest of the day was spent driving out to
Honeymoon Beach and seeing the sea at the top of WA.
Next -
Kalumburu to
Kununurra and the Bungle Bungles