DAY 90 - GIBB RIVER ROAD - CHARNLEY RIVER STATION

28 May 2008

DAY 90 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

GIBB RIVER ROAD - CHARNLEY RIVER STATION

It was a lovely day to explore the station. I am not sure of the size of this station but both Drysdale and Mount Elizabeth were 10,000 square kilometres each. At a guess I would say it would be of similar size. The owners are away mustering on their other property near Fitzroy Crossing. The caretakers have only been here a very short time so were not familiar with the workings of the station. The property has hills, creeks, billabongs, gorges and lots of cattle.

Chooks, peacocks and geese roam the campsite as well as a small herd of poddy cows with a mischievous donkey. It is a wonderful place for kids to interact with the animals.

The chooks and peacocks came running to our campsite when the bread appeared. Was someone in their element – I think he has missed his chooks.

One chook even got itself comfortable on someone else’s open car engine. They ended up checking that no egg was laid on the engine before leaving.

We set of this morning to see Dillie Gorge. To get there we had some water crossings and had to make our way through several large herds of cattle lying on the track.

They had even managed to obliterate any sign of past car tracks. As they moved on they raised quite a bit of dust.

Dillie Gorge was a pleasant swimming gorge that was moderately easy to get to. There was a lot of water flowing in it.

Water cascaded over the rocks.

Whilst hubby had a swim I enjoyed the view and the textured basalt rocks. The rocks were gleaming in the sunlight.

From here we made our way back to a junction to continue to Grevillea Gorge. There were some very large termite mounds on the way. We hadn’t seen any of this size for quite a while.

It is a beautiful gorge but not that easy to get to. After scrambling down rocks you had to get over to an aluminium ladder to descend the rest of the way into the gorge. Well this is where I stopped - ladders are a no no for me- fear of heights its called.

The view from the top was great. There were several pools each lower than the other beneath the waterfall. What a lovely thing to have in your own backyard even though it is 40km from your homestead!

We backtracked to the junction and went to see Donkey Hole. It is a swimming hole that is absolutely beautiful. Several wallabies jumped past along the rim of the rocks whilst we were there.

Water lilies grow in the pool and it is surrounded by a lovely rock wall.

On our way back to the campsite we had a final creek crossing to get through but the cattle wouldn’t get out of our way before the creek crossing. They decided to proceed us across the crossing before we could get to cross it.

We finally made our way back to the campsite and got permission to wash our solar panels as they were very filthy and not working to capacity.

On our way back the car radio system stopped working. A couple of fuses had to be replaced and a wire required re-attaching.

We are sipping tea now as we listen to our i-pod under the bright starry Kimberley skies.

DAY 89 - GIBB RIVER ROAD - GALVANS GORGE – ADCOCK GORGE – IMINTJI - CHARNLEY RIVER STATION

27 May 2008

DAY 89 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

GIBB RIVER ROAD

GALVANS GORGE – ADCOCK GORGE – IMINTJI - CHARNLEY RIVER STATION

Woke up this morning feeling somewhat stiff but I knew there were two gorges to face today. Hubby was a bit down over the car, particularly the temporary shackle bolt fix as he was concerned it would not hold.

We left early and headed for the Barnett Roadhouse to get the puncture fixed from several days ago as the person was having a day off yesterday. When we got there they told us they were too busy restocking so the tyre could not be done. They had already told us yesterday that they were getting stock in tomorrow ie today so knew what their staff requirements were. They have the attitude take or it leave and as if they are doing you a favour – no customer focus here.

So we headed for Galvans Gorge. You can’t drive into it as parking is now just about on the Gibb River Road. It is a 1.3 km easy walk in. It is a beautiful small gorge. Waterlilies greet you at the gorge.

Hubby swam up to the falls whilst I clambered over rocks to see if I could find the aboriginal paintings that are on the rocks surrounding the water. No luck – I couldn’t see them.

We then continued on to Adcock’s gorge and I could see my hubby getting tenser as we drove the 4.5 km track that is rough and rocky. He needed to carefully considered wheel placement again as we went along. Not a happy chappie. Well the walk to the gorge is not easy - scrambling over boulders is more like it. We got to the gorge as far as we could go as you had to walk over some rocks in water before trying to find a way to scramble over a huge boulder that was nearly vertical out of the water towards the end. The falls were spectacular from where we were with three levels of falls. However, I felt the write up for the spot exaggerated it somewhat.

There was a cluster of beautiful boabs near the car parking area. Those boabs are just so full of character.

We agreed to go to Imintji next and then to backtrack the twenty or so kilometres. At Imintji hubby got the puncture fixed on the wheel. We had split our tube in quite a few places.

So a new tube was put in. He also got a shackle bolt that was not quite the Oka one but one that was the correct size. The mechanic checked what he had done and said the current bolt most likely would get us all the way back home. So someone is now very relieved. Diesel was cheaper here than at Barnett Roadhouse as were groceries. The people here were friendly.

We backtracked to the Charnley River Station turn off and drove the 43 km to the station. On the way we saw a helicopter mustering cattle. For the stations here in the Kimberley this time of the year is extremely busy as it is muster time and tourist time and both require great effort and resources.

As we were driving I thought what a paradox out here - remote but not remote. No mobile phone, no radio, no news, minimum services, no shops – how isolated. Yet cars galore travelling the road so there are lots of people around.

The road into Charnley River Station is the best road we have been on here in the Kimberley. There were several water crossings on the way. The station is just beautiful. There are only two other groups of campers – a family and a young people. Nothing like the crowd at Manning Gorge.

DAY 88 - GIBB RIVER ROAD - MANNING GORGE

26 May 2008

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.

DAY 87 - GIBB RIVER ROAD - MOUNT ELIZABETH STATION – BARNETT GORGE

25 May 2008

DAY 87 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

GIBB RIVER ROAD

MOUNT ELIZABETH STATION – BARNETT GORGE

Even cooler this morning – 9 degrees when we got up. However, it did reach 30 degrees after noon today.

This morning hubby spent considerable time doing an interim fix it job on the springs till we can get the correct shackle bolt. The station did not have any suitable bolt but a passing traveller had something that would tide us over till we could get the right one. Whilst he was working a beautiful male peacock kept circling us and kept showing an interest in his toolbox. The feathers looked wonderful.

So the front of the car had to be jacked up and slowly but surely the job got done.
As a result he is feeling very stiff and sore. Thank goodness he is a bush mechanic of sorts. Travelling in these areas you need to be or be prepared to spend big bucks being fixed. In the meantime I made some bread.

I spoke to some other campers and they said they had spent the last several days camped at King Edward River Crossing waiting to get to Mitchell Falls. The river was still very high and the grader was working on the east side of the road. So we are glad that we didn’t go in that direction. Many cars were voiding their car insurance by going on the closed road and many of these were getting into some sort of strife.

Finally we were ready to go. So we returned 30 km to the Gibb River Road and then travelled a further 10 before turning off to Barnett Gorge. The track into Barnett Gorge is 4WD and very, very rough. We took it very slowly as hubby manoeuvred very smoothly between potholes, washouts through rocky terrain.


The track to the gorge and along the gorge is not signposted and is hard to find. The first track took us down to the Barnett River and very soon the only choice one had was to swim quite a distance through very cold water to the falls or stand and admire them from a distance.

There was a lot of water flowing here. The flying foxes/fruit bats had a colony across the river and were making quite a racket. Were they noisy!

I told hubby that Pat at the station had told me there was another track and that one had to follow the boab tree line to it and that it took you across the top of the escarpment. I don’t think he quite believed me. But near the point where we entered the river bed walk there was a boab and we followed it to the next boab and then saw a cairn, and then another. We started to follow the cairns as they were clearly marking out an easy walking track over the rocks and boulders.

We had some beautiful views from here. On our way back we saw another snake, not a big one, but not a baby one either – King Brown snake it was. It slithered quickly across the path in front of us. I am glad I was the one following.

As it was late afternoon we decided to spend the night here at the gorge. The reflections in the creek were fabulous.
We saw a most stunning sunset. We lit a campfire for the first time on the trip.

And now a quick word to our young readers and especially our grandchildren. Sometimes signs are put up in nature areas to help people find their way. At Barnett Gorge some person or group of people have made cairns like the one below to mark the trail as otherwise it would be very difficult to find one’s way through all the terrain here.

How many cairns can you see in the following photos marking the trail?

Why do you think there are so many?

Why do you think they are placed the way they are?





What sort of things do you think you could use to mark a trail using natural objects found in your area? How about sending us your answers.

DAY 86 - GIBB RIVER ROAD - MOUNT ELIZABETH STATION and MUNJA TRACK

24 May 2008

DAY 86 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

GIBB RIVER ROAD

MOUNT ELIZABETH STATION and MUNJA TRACK

Ten degrees this morning. It was a bit cool getting up but by 8.00am it was 22 degrees. After an early start this morning we did not get very far – only about 55 km before we turned off on the spur of the moment for Mount Elizabeth Station 30 km from the turn off.

There were more river and creek crossings with water on the Derby side of the Gibb than in the northern section. Every so often we came across grazing cattle.

Lovely scenery along the way and a dingo appeared on the road.

After about 10km, having just crossed a creek we got a puncture – flat tyre. It had gone down very quickly. So out come the jacks and the tyre is changed.
We continued on our way again to this remote cattle station. A well kept airstrip is parallel to the road in. There are grand looking salmon gums amongst the trees and they really do stand out.

We decided to stay the night here and got permission to drive along the Munja Track.


It is a very interesting track.

Beautiful flowers grow in the middle of the track in places. They look like the pictures of native cotton but are more likely to be native hibiscus.

The track is narrow, with river and creek crossings that have steep entries and or exits.


The track is washed out in places making travel very slow and rough – took 2 hrs to do 40km. Min enjoyed driving this part of the track. He really needed to use all his driving skills to negotiate the terrain. However, the scenery compensated for this. We saw some aboriginal art amongst the sandstones.

At 3.00pm we turned back as we needed to negotiate our way back in day light. After a river crossing he found that we had lost a right front shackle bolt. It happened to be one, that because of its obscurity my hubby had forgotten to check on the trip. Mmmmmm! We managed to get back to the homestead and hope that we may get a temporary substitute bolt here tomorrow morning. If not we have a long way ahead of us without a shackle bolt. Oh well, need to keep positive!

Saw another dingo on our return trip, as well as kangaroos, cattle and horses.



The campsite on the station provides barbeques so we decided to have a barbeque dinner tonight. After dinner Min played the accordion for a while whilst I downloaded today’s photos. It is cool again tonight and we needed a cuppa to warm up. My fingers are getting cold but it is only 16 degrees. The days do still hit 30 degrees plus.