Most of us thought that we were only going to spend one
night at Mount Barnett before moving on to other spots. How wrong most of us
were! The campsite at the Lower Manning Gorge sports probably the best swimming area along the whole GRR
and Cheryl (who is searching warmth, sun and water away from the southern
winter for her well-earned long service leave) was not about to let this slip
through her fingers. We hiked to the (upper) Manning Gorge on the first day, which also
boasts a magnificent stretch of water and falls. As the days passed by, the cool,
clear waters of the swimming hole and the fact that we had found a little path
down to the river at the back of our camp that led to a private stretch of deep
water beckoned us to stay. Talking to a few other people, it was apparent that
the other places that we had planned to visit were not as good as where we
were. Our campsite was shady and well positioned and we figured why not use Mt
Barnett as a base, visit the other sights, and keep swimming for as long as our
provisions held up. We managed 15 nights! Most people only stay one night and
move on.
Lower Manning Gorge swimming pool
Maurs and Cheryl checking out the swimming area from on high.
Maureen and Cheryl love to pad around rivers and creeks to
check out wildlife and just...be. They think they are alone but they rarely
are. On one field trip they found a Bower Bird's Bower. On another they had to gingerly tiptoe around a couple of rather
large station bulls who believed that stretch of river to be their own bit of
turf, and later they were checked out quite closely by a wild dog/dingo who
looked hungry enough to have a go at anything. It eventually sloped off again
into the bush and the ladies resumed their romp up river to our private beach
behind our camp.
The Bower - this bird uses shells and vertebrae to attract its mate
Manning Gorge Falls
Close encounter of the dingo kind, and don't he look starved!
While they are away on these river trips Vic and I busy
ourselves by talking about them, making cups of tea and eating our snack of
choice up here, Black and Gold brand fruit cake. Cheryl and Maurs attempt to
bake cake for us, but they only use healthy ingredients while the B&G cake
contains ALL the food groups! Heaven...
The ladies a baking a cake camping-style...
The clear winner in cakes though...mmmmm!
We did a day trip (240 kilometres) to take in Galvans Gorge
and Bell Gorge – both quite beautiful. Bell Gorge is spectacular with a cascade
of waterfalls emptying into a big deep swimming area. We swam, but not alone. I
noticed a splash from a rock ledge into the water where it took shape into a
rather large python that swam to shore and slithered out of sight into the
rocks. Headline would read – “Women Swimmin’ with Serpents”! The rest of the
trip that day was relatively uneventful until we were about 200 metres from the
Mount Barnett turn-off. I had slowed right down to make the turn and yet I
managed to collide with and despatch a small (apparently suicidal) wallaby that
leapt out of the long grass on the side of the road and under the vehicle
before I could react. So much for the “Shoo Roo” I had fitted! I now call it
the “Here Skippy!”
Bell Gorge from above
The punt across the Barnett River - spills and action aplenty for those who wish to stay dry but generally don't. It's much better to just swim across.
Hauling water from our "private stretch" of the river.
Every morning I wake up and suppose, “What is going to try
to bite me today?” and up here in the Kimberley that can range from a sizeable
crocodile through to dingoes and snakes right down the food chain to ticks,
mosquitoes and sandflies with the smaller denizens mostly succeeding with their
aftermath displayed as spots and welts on the legs and arms of numerous happy
campers walking around the campsite. It may be a truism that human beings have
a primal need to leave their perfectly comfortable surroundings from time to
time to spend periods walking around in the dirt, foraging for firewood, living
quite ferally really, and presenting their nether regions as a target for
voracious insects. One day I may find that need also...
Our campsite - Lower Manning Gorge
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