The following morning we packed up and made our way back down to the Gibb River Road. I’d forgotten how bad the road in was!!! Lots of corrugations and a few bad corners and 160 kms out! But it was definitely worth the diversion into the falls.
When we came to the junction we stopped and made a coffee. It was a very popular stop for caravaners and tour buses as it had toilets and a large area to park. I beat the tour guys to the toilet! 😜
We continued along the Gibb which was surprisingly quite smooth. There were still a couple of parts with corrugations but nothing like we expected. Luckily for us it must have been graded recently.
We had a quick stop at Barnett River Gorge. The road in was surprisingly quite rough! It wasn’t far but there were some very deep lumpy holes and rocky bits. There were walks to the upper gorge and lower gorge. We chose to do the upper gorge. It was about 1km across rocks but no climbing.
The gorge, like most gorges, was amazing. But all the gorges are amazing in their own way and some are obviously better than others.
After some lunch back at the camper trailer we drove back out on the lumpy road to the Gibb River Road. It was a fairly big drive so we didn’t go too much further down the road to Mt Barnett Station to camp for the night.
It was another station with the campground away from the shop. It was also very busy so there was no chance of being near the toilets. But that’s not a problem because I have my portable toilet. 👍
We set up and went for a swim in the Manning River. It was a beautiful spot for a swim with a sandy base and a little sandy bank in the shade to sit. We had just booked a campsite at Mornington for the following night and planned to do the gorge walk early in the morning. But when we saw how beautiful the swimming spot was we decided we needed another night to enjoy it.
The next morning we were on our way by 9am to the gorge. There was a little tinny with a pulley to take you across the river to start the walk.
The walk was through some deep rocky gullies as well as some easy grassy and flat rock areas. It was about 4kms and took us 45 minutes to the Manning River Falls. It was quite a tricky walk around a rock ledge which we couldn’t find until someone who’d been before showed us. Once again it was a beautiful swimming hole with a good flow of water falling. Steve swam through the falls and I swam around behind them. We didn’t stay too long because we wanted to beat the heat of the day.
When got back we had a yummy feed of chicken wings cooked on the Baby Q.
After lunch went back down to the river for a swim. We sat/layed on a rock in the middle in the sun which was lovely.
It was another awesome day in our beautiful country. It made me think again how lucky we are to be doing this trip exploring all the amazing and remote parts.
The following day we were on our way to Mornington Wilderness Camp. On the way we had a quick look at Galvans Gorge which had another GORGEous swimming hole.
It also had some more rock art. Wanjinas and some snakes.
We didn’t swim because we had a bit of a drive to go.
We continued along the Gibb and turned off south onto the road to Mornington.
Before you head in you had to radio in to let them know you were on your way in. It was to check if you had a booking or needed to make a booking before you traveled 88kms in. It’s a very popular stop and people are often turned away.
Luckily we had a booking for two nights.
It took an hour and a half to get into the camp. The drive in was along the the King Leopold ranges – once again a beautiful setting.
It was a very nice bush camp and we managed to get a shady site. It also had a restaurant and bar! It also had roaming wifi!!! We thought we were in heaven! So the afternoon was spent catching up with the world and enjoying the lovely, peaceful setting.
We thought we’d really spoil ourselves and booked in for dinner.
The dinner was very yummy!!! Stuffed Chicken Kiev on a lemon risotto and spinach on the side. It was a set menu so it included dessert! Chocolate mud cake , cream and berries. Delicious! After dinner was spent around the fire meeting some fellow campers until we were sent to bed at 9. 😳
The following day we did a day trip to Dimond Gorge for a paddle. Not in our kayak! But in one of their $70 canoes. Unfortunately it was too far to carry the kayak in. We did use our own paddles and life jackets.
It was another spectacular gorge and an easy 2km paddle to the end.
We thought we might’ve seen some freshies but all we saw were bubbles which may have been turtles.
We found a nice spot to stop for lunch and then paddled back.
On the drive back to camp we stopped at a look out. It was an amazing view of the ranges.
We also stopped at Cadjaput where we could’ve had a paddle but decided it wasn’t as spectacular as Dimond gorge.
So we went back to camp and had our catch up with the world with the roaming wifi because it was going to be the last for awhile.
The following morning we headed to our next stop Silent Grove campground near Bell Gorge. It was a well set up campground and we scored a shady spot near the toilets with a fire pit. We were only staying one night so went to the gorge after setting up.
It was another spectacular gorge!!
It was a bit of a walk in with a steep rocky climb down to the swimming hole. But it was worth it.
It had lovely little water falls that even I could put my head under and a over hang you could sit under. It was a beautiful place to swim and soak some of the dirt off!! 😜
That night we had a fire and cooked our best damper yet.
The next day we headed to Wandjina Gorge. It was just over 100kms so a pretty short drive along the rough and ready Gibb.
We drove through the King Leopold Ranges which had some spectacular views.
We then entered the Napier ranges that have a rock formation at the entrance that supposedly looks like queen Victoria’s head? Or maybe a ram? Or maybe just a rock?
The Wandjina campground was the same as Silent Grove. We managed another good spot near the toilets. 👍😜
In the afternoon we went to walk the gorge. The towering rock walls were different again to the other gorges. Made from an ancient limestone reef instead of sandstone.
We didn’t get far and we saw our first snake this trip. It was a whip snake and quite venomous according to a tour guide. It was just over a metre long and very thin.
It didn’t look very friendly. It disappeared into some grass but then popped out again just as we were about to continue along the path!! From then on I was freaking out about snakes!! 😳
A little further along we came across the fresh water crocs. The information board said there are between 50 and 100 of them in the gorge. Of course it also said they won’t hurt you if you leave them alone. Well I think they got the count wrong – they were everywhere – in their hundreds.
They had a photo of some poor persons foot that had been bitten. Apparently when they bite you they scrape their teeth back and forwards rather then just bite out a chunk.
So although the walls of the gorge were amazing to look at, the fact that we couldn’t swim, or didn’t want to swim with 50 or so crocs we decided not to continue the walk because it was so hot and not really that interesting. Part of the walk was closed anyway.
So we drove 38kms to Tunnel Creek instead which meant we didn’t have to do it in the morning.
Tunnel Creek was a creek that ran under the Napier ranges, creating a big cave. It had water you had to wade through which apparently had a freshie or two in residence!! Thank goodness there wasn’t too much wading because it was late in the dry season. You needed a torch to find your way through and out the other end. It was a bit freaky at first but it really was amazing.
At sunset we made our way back to the gorge to watch the bats fly out. We had been told about it by some other campers. What an amazing sight – it was like being in a David Attenborough documentary. When we got there the crocs were all in the water waiting. The bats flew out and there were tens of thousands! As they dipped into the water for a drink you could hear and see the crocodiles snapping for the bats. It was beautiful to watch it all with the sun setting in the background.
Another amazing experience in The Kimberley.
The next day we drove the remaining 130km to Derby, finally hitting the bitumen again. A little bit bit sad to be finishing the trek. 10 days of crossing close to 1400km of dirt, exploring all the Kimberley has to offer, we had finished the Gibb River road. What a wonder filled experience. Loved it so much.
Belinda and Steve, am enjoying sharing your trip and the wonderful photos, brings back great memories for Peter and I.