We’re still travelling westward on the Gibb River Road towards Derby and Broome. We travelled through the King Leopold Ranges and got a few sections of bitumen!
There were still plenty of red dirt to pass, but the road was much more smoother here than back at Mitchell Plateau.
Our afternoon swim was particularly scenic at the very pretty Bell Gorge in the middle of the King Leopold Range. It was about a 1km walk from the car park, and on the way we passed many a ghostly boab.
Our first glimpse of Bell Gorge was of a tranquil pool amidst the red ochre of the King Leopold Range.
Time for a dip! The pool wasn’t very deep up top.
You could even peer over the edge of the waterfall (the current wasn’t strong at all).
Others took a steep track to the bottom pool. I didn’t go however those who did said it was nice and deep.
Another nice end to the day.
We’re on the home run back to Broome now, and the weather also got hotter – way over 30C maximums required a cool down so I’ll give you a rundown on swimming stops we visited.
First up was Miner’s Creek on Drysdale River station. Sandy bottomed and quite deep in places, it was a pleasant place to swim. It however had a metre long freshwater croc on the bottom and what I thought was a mischievous spirit. We were told by our guide to introduce ourselves as some strange things have happened to him on previous visits – like his air-conditioner breaking down for no reason. I had my own experience – my retractable walking stick refused to retract for several days!
A hundred or so kilometers down the track was Galvans Gorge with a pretty swimming hole, and pretty lotus flowers. The swimming hole was very deep, and the steep sandstone cliffs proved irresistible to leap from for some – not a good idea though as there were some hidden rocks at the bottom.
And as a final treat, we got to ride a helicopter back to the start of the walk.
We strapped ourselves in, since the back seat was once again door-less.
But the view of the falls was priceless.
With all that blue water, you would think that the falls are a good place for a dip. You can swim, but only in the upper pools – saltwater crocodiles may be lurking in the lower pools.
We got a bird’s eye view of the track we had walked on.
And five minutes later, we touched down!
The falls (and the helicopter) was my picture of the day.
A little bit more walking over the stony plateau.
Along the way, we saw some beautiful flowers that seemed to thrive despite the dryness.
Then we reached the drop – we’ve arrived at our destination!
After 5km of walking, we are finally at Mitchell Falls.
We walked across the plateau – it was a bit uneven in places, but at least not too steep.
Much of the landscape was dry stone country, but things changed when we reached a river.
This pond was at the top of Big Mertens Falls. The waterfall was dry but there was still a bit of water about.
This was my picture of the day.
There was more rock art to be seen. This one is a Gwion Gwion style depiction of animals.
And of course, there are the hand-prints. Traditionally they should be found in pairs – one when the person was a child and the other as an adult. However many in the last hundred or so years many did not get to return as an adult and so only single hand prints are found.
We drove another 70km down the rough road to the campground at the start of the Mitchell Falls walk, deep in the Mitchell River National Park. The walk, a 5km one across the plateau, was definitely one of the highlights of the fortnight. We were led through the park by these poles.
It was quite right that one of the first diversions off the track was the rock art under the sandstone overhangs by Little Mertens Falls. Once again, they consisted of both Wandjina and Gwion Gwion style paintings.
Static and Silence 