The Kimberley’s – The Gibb River Road - Part Two.

We made it back to the Gibb in one piece and still had a few hours of daylight left so we continued past our planned stop at Lennard River and ambitiously continued east. Before we knew it we came upon the turnoff to Lennard River Gorge and didn’t realise we had come so far. With the motto running through our heads of when will we next be here, we took the turnoff and followed a rough track for 8km with a creek crossing (shallow but still cool) to the car park. After a quick chat to a couple who were finishing up, we decided what the heck, lets go for a quick wander and see why no one was that interested in this gorge. Even though it was getting late and we were rather unprepared, ended up scrambling up and down hills, over many rocks and through a lot of spikey spinifex, to reach the gorge lookout before sundown. We were pretty tired, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the view. If we had had a few more hours of daylight we might of attempted goat tracking it down to the gorge, but with darkness looming and many signs making it perfectly clear that we had reached the end of the track we decided to head back to The Hulk and go find somewhere to camp for the night. We pulled into March Fly Glen, not the most spectacular spot, however it was serviceable and free J. The last minutes of driving with sunlight were spectacular as there were several small lookouts over the Kimberleys to take in.

The lookout at Lennard River Gorge

The sounds of birds singing merrily awoke us the next day and we took this as a good omen of what was to come. The King Leopold Ranges loomed ahead of us, with some caricatures to look at, including one that looked the head of Queen Victoria (even had a sign for it). To the north was our next campsite - Silent Grove, inside the national park. We quickly set out the mat to reserve a spot and proceeded on to the car park at the start of the track in to Bells Gorge. This was bound to be busier than Lennard River Gorge, with several cars and a tour bus in the car park, however it was also expected to be far more spectacular and accessible. The Gorge itself was something to behold. Initial views were of the upper pool and river that fed the gorge and waterfalls. We had to hop over a few rocks, climb up and down to even reach the start of the goat track down to the plunge pool – where all the people were (except some oldies with bung legs in a puddle up top…well pool maybe) but also the best swimming.

The Main Waterfall at Bells Gorge.

Looking from the top of the waterfall was great, but seeing it from the bottom up was amazing and we could hardly wait to hop in the water. This ended up being a more cautious task, as the rocks were extremely slippery and could easily send you flying – great fun, but also dangerous and makes you worry about your exit – don’t want to look like a beached whale. After a suitable spot was found, we slid into the water and immediately went to the waterfall for some fun and some selfies – loving the underwater camera. We hung out in the plunge pool for a while then decided to get adventurous and travel downstream away from the tourists. We slipped down waterfalls, slid past shallow rocks, barely made it down some other rocks when the waterfall looked a bit much and finally decided to call it a day when we reached the 20-odd metre drop of the next waterfall through the gorge. If we thought that was fun, getting back was downright tricky, with the current now against us those waterfalls weren’t in our favour, and resulted in us being out of the water more than in it. Some tricky rock climbs, an ingenious use of a diagonally growing tree trunk (hello ramp) and some more slipping and sliding later we made it back to our stuff on the edge of the water. Luckily nature also played friendly with us, with stunning blue skies and a warm breeze we were not left feeling cold, and the only scary reptiles we found were a few lizards sunning themselves on the rocks.

Massage under the waterfall.

The waterfall that stopped us from further adventuring.

Feeling quite proud of making it to the end of the line. Selfie because no-one else was there :) 

Some of the waterways we had navigated.

After a bit of a feed to replenish our energy levels, we ventured back up the track and trail to the car park and made the quick dash back to the campground. We were thankful we had set up the mat previously, as the area was starting to fill up and we had prime position by a picnic table, a fireplace and just the right amount of shade for the afternoon. We spent a couple of minutes setting up then proceeded to relax in the shade, enjoy a couple of solar showers and getting ready to do dinner – camp oven casserole here we come! That night we met a couple, Geoff and Jen, who were travelling together with only the bare essentials, but seemed to be living it up with casseroles cooked on the fire and home-made damper, which also inspired me, resulting in not only a great dinner but also some yummy dessert. It seemed funny when an old couple walked past us four young ‘uns cooking in the camp ovens and making damper and realising hope is not completely lost with the younger generation. We ended up staying up late chatting to our new friends around the fire, until eventually the wood ran out for the night and it was time to call it quits.

After tossing up whether to stay a second night or continue on, the decider was when we realised it was a Saturday, and a day later and the roadhouse, Imintji, would likely be closed and deny us the “cheapest fuel on the Gibb” (at $2.39/L). Turned out Geoff and Jen were going in the same direction as us and with a similar pace we kept bumping into them for the next week on the road. We ventured back down the “driveway”, refuelled at Imintji by a lovely old fellow who had only been there two weeks (who we had actually met and chatted to for an hour or so at Quandong Beach but with many names and faces in between we didn’t work it out for another couple of days). We mentioned that our next stop off was Adcock Gorge, and was given the inside scoop that we should also venture over to Adcock River, not on the maps but a great location.

The road into Adcock Gorge was not too rough, with the last section providing some nice water to cross and bumpy rocks to traverse. As we often do, we timed it perfectly, three cars were just leaving as we arrived. The gorge was stunning, with a couple of large pools, and had it been a little later in the day we would have been straight in there swimming, however the sun had not yet penetrated the gorge, leaving some of the night chill in the air. On the way out we said a passing hello to an American couple(Neil and Kathy) we met briefly at Windjana Gorge, who affectionately recognised us as the “slide out guys”, another of those couples we would continue to leap frog along the Gibb. We then ventured off the beaten track to Adcock River where we wandered along the banks for a bit, ate some left over damper, then continued back to the main attractions.

Galvans Gorge was one of the most accessible gorges on the Gibb, with a car park right on the main road (luckily tarred due to the hill next door – bit less dust). The walk in was an easy km in with a formed path and plenty of shade. This gorge was pretty and took little encouragement for us to jump right in. In no time at all we were climbing the waterfall to jump from the rocks above into the deep plunge pool. After several jumps it was time to hop out and dry off. We explored a bit and found a rope swing that almost tempted us back in, and also some Aboriginal art on the gorge wall.

Galvans Gorge.

In the car park we saw a couple slaving over a very flat tyre, and decided it was a good opportunity to lend a hand and have a chat. Michael ended up getting to see how to plug a tyre (sadly without success), then help get the spare on. We got chatting as they were heading the opposite way to us and felt it was a great opportunity to exchange points of interest along our routes. We eventually found out we got the good end of the deal when we pulled off the Gibb at the Barnett River crossing and found our campsite for the evening. This site was about 500 metres off the road, with a bit of sand needing all four wheels spinning and a small river crossing before we reached where Lesley and Allan had stayed the night before. We set up in no time next to the “bath” dug into the river and the fireplace. Wood collection took no time at all with the amount of gum around and the decimation resulting from each wet season. We shared the site with another couple we spoke to at Galvans, Richard and Karen, who we ended up chatting to for an hour or so before tea.

The next morning we were up early to go for an epically long drive to Manning Gorge – a full 10km! This was another advantage of where we stayed, as it left us it good stead for our epic day in Manning Gorge, without paying $40 to stay in a dusty camp ground ( there was an $8 per person day entry fee, but we had heard good reviews and were happy to part with a bit of cash at the roadhouse).

The walk in to the gorge was about 4km, so we prepared ourselves so we could spend at least half the day in there enjoying the water. The best part of the walk was right at the start, where the track meets the river. Instead of having to detour around the water, or swim through it, there was a dinghy on a rope that you sat in and pulled yourself across. This was great fun and a great service provided. The rest of the walk was over rocks, through spinifex and savannah country, until finally we reached where the track almost disappeared it went downhill so quickly. Shortly after, there was the sight of water. After watching some fish for a few seconds we were in the first pool of water we found. After splashing about here for a little Geoff and Jen showed up and we had a bit of a catch up before peering around the corner of a rock for what was upstream. We immediately swam along because we could see a beautiful waterfall and a whole lot more water.

The boat over to the walking track.

The water was cold, but outside was colder, so the few metres between pools was traversed quickly before jumping into the plunge pool and making our way over to the waterfall, which ended up being quite rough after the 20 metre or so sheer drop. Not satisfied with just a swim, we decided it would be a great idea to jump off the rocks surrounding the pool, as we had no idea how deep the pool was, except that we could not touch the bottom. We jumped from some brilliant heights – none wed ever attempted before! It was ridiculously fun, however after several dives it was time to sit on the rocks in the sun and try and dry off and warm up (not to mention rub our sore spots from some of our jumps). The swim and walk back was fairly non-eventful, however we were starting to wish we were back in the water with the sun now in the middle of the sky. The dinghy ride was once again great fun, then it was time to get back in the car and check out yet another gorge – Barnett River Gorge.

The first beautiful water body of Manning Gorge.

The Main Waterfall at Manning.

Michael, Myself and Jen jumping off the rocks!

Here we once again met up with Geoff and Jen, and also a bloke with two German backpackers who had just come out of the bush where they had snapped their winch cable trying to get out of a creek bed. Turned out these guys were just having a bit of fun, especially the Aussie bloke who was a little high, had a few beers under the belt, and had lost his licence a few years ago and was to the point of being targeted by the cops in the big smoke, so felt it time to go bush where nobody would bother him…Anyway yarn over it was time for a swim! We briefly crossed paths with Richard and Karen who said the water was very inviting and before you could say billabong we were in the middle of the water splashing and having fun. There was a colony of bats in a nearby tree which we enjoyed watching whilst drying off, then with the sun slowly sinking we decided it was time to get to camp.

This looks Batty! At Barnett River Gorge.

We spent the night on the banks of the Gibb River, which also marks the start of Kalumburu Road. There were a few people camped in the main section, but being the adventurous type we are we decided to follow some tyre tracks heading upstream. There were some inviting spots, however the soft, deep sand was too much for us – we had already had to lower the tyre pressures and dig ourselves out of a boggy situation – so with tail between our legs we made camp with everyone else right on dusk.  We’d been to so many gorges that day, yet no two were the same, some left a more lasting impression than others but you have to see all of them to appreciate that. It’s also worth noting that these gorges are like adult jungle-gyms, you get a serious workout when exploring and use all sorts of muscles you didn’t know existed to get down, up and around them!

Lesson of the week: Sure driving off the beaten track is wonderful, but walking, climbing, hiking and swimming off the beaten track just tops it off!