DAY 88 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip
GIBB RIVER ROAD - MANNING GORGE
We made our way slowly from Barnett Gorge as hubby is concerned that the temporary bolt stays put till he gets another. It was only 29km to Barnett Road House. Diesel here is $2.129 per litre. You can get very limited supplies here but the cost is through the roof. The service was dreadful. It was 7 km to the camping area here at the Manning River where beautiful boabs greet you as you enter the camp area.
I never thought I would swim to get to a gorge. Well the only way to get to the track was to swim across the river in the first instance. They provide white polyurethane crates/trays so that you can put your gear in and float your gear across.
You are advised to have sturdy walking shoes for the walk and you sure need them. At the roadhouse we were provided with a mud map and directions that stated “To start your walk please go to the sign at the water edge that shows the START of the walk and then follow the red arrows along the way. There are also tin cans and stone cairns the mark the pathway.” So often we went as far as the creek. Then off came the shoes and top clothes and we got into the cold water. And it was cold – for me at least as I like the water quite warm before I go in.
Initially it was shallow but at the far end you had to swim. Out we got, put on socks and shoes again, got dressed and off we went. At the beginning we had some trouble finding the signs but after that it was very well signposted.
There was some climbing over rocks but not that much so I began to fill quite confident about the walk. Then we met a lady coming back who said it was too difficult for her. She said she got down the first ravine but gave up after that. So doubts crept into my head whether I was going to make it. I was getting a bit fed up of missing out on the grand finale at the gorge walks. Then we met another two couples and they indicated that it was hard going but really worth it. They also told us that you go down a ravine, up another, down again up another and then down to the falls. More doubts. We continued on and came to the first ravine – quite a way down it was but it was not that bad. Then we started going up - that was harder – there were bigger boulders to get over. You had to use your hands to get up in places. After a bit of walk along a plateau it was down again. It looked like you had to climb down over a ledge. Even hubby looked doubtfully at me at this stage. Then he spied out an easier way down for me so we continued on. The further we went the harder it go. The white spots on the rocks mark the way.
I was determined to try and complete this walk and I did. I got down to the gorge. What a relief. Hubby had a swim in the gorge whilst I enjoyed admiring the falls. They were beautiful.
After a while we started to make our way back. My knees and bottom also got a good work out on this walk but eventually we got back to the river. By them my knees were locking as I walked making it quite painful. At the river we again put our shoes and backpacks into the trays and hit the cold water again. Once we crossed the river we have a long chat with another couple that had just arrived. Then finally we returned to the Oka to find the camp area full of vans, caravans and tents. We were surprised with the number of caravans here especially as some were not off road ones. What was supposed to be a three hour return walk took us five hours but it was worth it.
After dinner hubby got out the accordion. As he was playing two ladies came and joined us. Whilst he played we chatted. They were the ones we had met on the walk and one had mentioned what good shoes I had as she had exactly the same ones on. They had also told us about the ravines. As we chatted it turned out they were both quilters. Well we kept going for a long while after that. Hubby even made us a cuppa as we talked. One was the designer behind Whoopies Originals - patterns for children’s quilts. Another pleasant evening.
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