Day 12: Gibb River Road - Manning Gorge / Mt Barnett to Bell Gorge (Silent Gorge campground)

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After a peaceful night at the Manning Gorge campsite, we got ready to go and visit the Manning Gorge Falls. This was futile though as at the beginning of the walk there were 2 options :-

1. Swim across the river (approx 150m)
2. Walk around the river and across the creek. However at this time of year the creek was not very empty either and this would also have involved getting quite wet - wading knee deep in weedy murky creek water for about 20m or so.

Neither option was that appealing, especially as I'd read in guide books that in swampy creek areas there could be leeches. The swim would have been OK were it not for the fact that you would also need your hiking boots / walking shoes to continue the walk on the other side. In the end we decided to give up and head off on the road.

Stopped in at the Mt Barnett roadhouse on the way out to pick up some bread. The only loaves available - either white or brown - were already a day past their used by date, but we paid our money anyway - $5.20 for one loaf of bread ! Whilst there we noticed them putting signs on the bowsers advising travellers that there was no more diesel fuel available until tomorrow. Lucky for us we had fuelled up yesterday as soon as we got there.

Back on the road, we stopped about 15 kms down the road to go and visit Galvans Gorge It was a short walk there from the GRR of about 1km or so, and we followed a pretty creek for most of the walk in. En route in Grant spotted a water monitor lizard basking in the sun beside the water, with its head half hidden under some grass. It didn’t seem scared of us in the slightest allowing us to get reasonably close (within a couple of metres) to take some photos of it. Once at the gorge, it was more a swimming hole really at the foot of a waterfall running down a rocky outcrop. Very pretty with some others already swimming there when we arrived. I tested it out also, and found the water to be “swimming pool temperature” and very refreshing. At the foot of the waterfall a little stone coloured frog did a huge jump away not long after I arrived over. Grant remained on the bank to take photos, and whilst there spotted what looked like a snake swimming in the pool. On closer examination this turned out to be another monitor lizard with its legs tucked in gliding along in the water. It was a great spot.

Back on the road we headed onto the Imintji Store which was the next “landmark” on the road. Turned up around 12:30pm and saw adverts for real cappuccino, pies & sausage rolls so we decided just to have lunch there and avoid the drama of having to stop & set the 4WD up for lunch. The coffee was not too bad and the Mrs Macs pie & sausage roll were a welcome change from the tuna wraps & tomatoes of the past few days.

Next stop was Bell Gorge, which was approx 30kms off the road in the King Leopold Conservation National Park. Bell Gorge is one of the many and better known gorges along the Gibb River Road. A 20 min walk from the car park led us down to the gorge area complete with very pretty waterfall running down a series of ledges. It was quite spectacular with crystal clear water with the gorge at the highest point perhaps being 80m or so down to the water. You could walk down to the bottom of the gorge via, what looked like, a steepish walk down a rocky outcrop but we decided not to bother given it was fairly hot (mid 30s) and just took photos of the gorge from the top instead.

Another bush camp tonight at Silent Grove, which is part of the National Park. Showers & flushing toilets but a lot of flies & mossies again which are ultra annoying. Aeroguard & Bushmans is hopeless and has no effect on them whatsoever and just make your skin tight & smelly. The past few nights there have also been some cool spiders in the grass which have glistening eyes under torch light; it looks like there are little diamonds in the grass.

Mini disaster whilst blogging & downloading photos from the camera - the power converter (which we have been using the past couple of nights as we’ve been in bush camps with no power the past 3 days) has blown 2 fuses in the 12V battery which runs the small chest fridge and lights in the 4WD. Looks like we will need to go back to the Imintji Store in the morning (luckily a back track of only about 8km up the road) to see if they have any replacement fuses. For now keeping the lid on the fridge tightly shut to try & keep contents as cool as possible.

Distance travelled : 132 kms (2 hours 15 mins)

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Photos

Lower Manning Gorge
This is where we gave up on trying to cross to get to the other side & the walk to the Upper Manning Gorge & waterfall

Mt Barnett Road station
No fuel today, love

Water monitor lizard at side of path
Found this fellow on our walk into Galvans Gorge

Galvans Gorge
not really a gorge as such, more a beautiful swimming hole

Swimming water monitor lizard
At first Grant thought this was a snake. Glad it wasn't as I was in the water when he spotted this

View from GRR lookout
Not too many hills in the middle section of the road, this was one of the few vantage points

Imintji store
had real coffee, we liked it !
Still about 250kms or so from Derby

Bell Creek
On walk to Bell Gorge