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.
Our second walk that day was at Echidna Chasm, in the north end of Purnululu National Park. From the car park, the vegetation was all gum trees and scrub. The domes here were less pronounced, however they were taller.
As soon as I hit the trail, I noticed that the gum trees disappeared, replaced by a grove of palms.
The trail led into Echidna Chasm, and pretty soon its walls were towering over me. The temperature also seemed to drop by 10C.
The path got narrower and narrower. Occasionally we got a glimpse of sky.
Pretty soon we were in murky darkness, clambering over boulders.
At the end, the chasm narrowed into a one metre wide space, and it was so dark that I wasn’t able to get a clear shot. I imagine that in the wet season the entire chasm would be under water. This isn’t a walk for the claustrophobic or with mobility problems! I was pleased to walk back to the entrance and catch a glimpse of sky.
The following day we drove the 53km into Purnululu National Park to see the Bungle Bungles up close. We did two walks that day – the first was to an area called Cathedral Gorge.
The walk started with a grand vista of the domes among the usual savannah landscape of low scrub and termite mounds.
The domes towered above us the further we walked into the gorge.
There were lots of interesting details to see: a close-up of the stripes, and the amazing places that termites are able to build their mounds.
Holes in the ground grinded down by rocks being caught in a whirlpool.
Giant slabs of sandstone that have fallen away due to the intense weathering in the Wet.
And at the end was Cathedral Gorge – a pool dwarfed by sheer sandstone cliffs and overhangs. The acoustics were magnificent, as the boys found out when they sang a tune.
The scenery on the walk was so inspiring that it became my picture of the day.
It was all very quiet at Umina Beach, even on Queen’s Birthday weekend.
There weren’t any swimmers this time, just a few walkers.
I’m guessing that the crowds have headed for the mountains, but winter at a seaside town has its own delights, I think.
The sun sets fast in autumn, so it wasn’t long until we got a glimpse of a lovely sunset over Umina Beach.
Soon it will be winter solstice, and perhaps a wet patch, so let’s enjoy the beach-going weather while it lasts.
I can’t quite believe that Bridie the Beagle is now at the ripe old age of 13. She’s well into pensioner age now and much of the time is content to lounge about.
Unless she senses another dog ‘invading’ her territory.
Or when there’s a beach walk on the cards.
That’s when she gets really active, behaving more like a disobedient pup (do beagles ever grow out of this stage?)
Sprinting, jogging, and all the while sniffing out the many scents on the beach. She particularly likes seaweed!
Strange dog…
This spell of warm weather seems never-ending at the moment. Today it was 28C here in Sydney, warm enough to enjoy the beach. These photos though were a few weeks ago during the Anzac Day weekend. Umina Beach was surprisingly deserted for a long weekend.
There was very little swimming going on even though the water temperature hadn't dipped as yet.
I think there were more dogs than people in the water that afternoon.
Static and Silence 