THE BIG TRIP - 2008
AROUND AUSTRALIA 2008
Saturday 6 September – Friday 12 September
Silent Grove to Kalumburu and back to Manning Gorge
Blog 7
We woke up to the songs of the birds in the trees and were ready for more exploring.
We asked the locals at Imintji, an aboriginal roadhouse, about the gorges ahead of us. Our first was Galvin’s Gorge. The March flies and mosquitoes were vicious so we wore long sleeves for protection even though it was very hot. The gorge was lovely and we really enjoyed the easy walk. We stayed for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet and then continued our journey to Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we paid our fee to explore Manning Gorge and stay at the campsite for the night. It was another lovely campsite.
We started our walk to Manning Gorge and tried desperately to follow the signs but got terribly lost. We eventually crossed the river and found a path that took us to the ridge. John continued on to the falls while Mike and I made the return journey following the clearly marked path!!
When we got back Mike started a fire and we sat, relaxed and enjoyed the flames, the birds and the colours of the afternoon sun which included a swim in the lake, a cold shower and a cold beer at the end of the day. What could be more perfect!
We continued our journey along the Gibb River Road which so far had been excellent turning north on the Kalumburu Rd that had just been graded.
We arrived at Drysdale River Station before lunch and settled into the luxury of a powered sight making the most of the opportunity to catch up on some house keeping.
We drove down to Minor Pool, a beautiful spot on the Drysdale River and then on to the Drysdale River crossing. We spent the evening chatting with a group of pilots who were flying their small planes, known as Moonies, around the Kimberleys.
We continued our journey north to Mitchell’s falls. There were a few river crossings with water still in the rivers and the tyres of the car and van seemed to say thankyou for the cooling off. The weather was very hot and didn’t cool down at night.
We made the beautiful King Edward River campsite our base for the next three nights. It was a lovely spot for swimming, relaxing and chatting with other travellers after long hot days of exploring.
We found the 2 Aboriginal art sites in the area with the directions from the driver of an APT tour bus. Most of these sites in the outback are not signposted very well.
It was very hot when we walked around the rocks to look at the rock art in the various places. It was a mixture of art with some old Bradshaw type paintings, the aboriginal name is GWION, clawed hand paintings and irregular infill paintings. The GWION paintings depict humans in ceremonial garb and anthropomorphs with almost all early examples painted red. Within this style there are recognisable stages, the “Clothes Peg” style is believed to be the youngest. A minimum age of 17,000 years has been established using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) technology.
The Irregular infill paintings depict humans, plants and animals, some of which are now extinct (eg the Tasmanian tiger and the thylacine). These paintings are aged at 30,000 – 40,000 years and are the oldest art styles in the Kimberley. The clawed hand painting depict humans and animals with clawed hands and feet. We then wondered further around ourselves we came across a burial site in one of the rocks with 3 skulls, one adult and 2 children and some other bones. We kept our distance and then drove to the second art site. The art there was mainly Bradshaw and Wandjina art and quite beautiful. The Wandjina paintings depict deities with head dress, halos, no mouth and a large nose. They are considered to be less than 1000 years old and are the most recent style in the sequence.
We packed lunches for our day to Mitchell Falls and drove the 87km to Mitchell Falls on the most shocking road of the trip with corrugations too far apart roll over the top which reduced our speed to 20k/h in parts.
The aboriginal name for Mitchell Plateau is Ngauwudu. The flora in the region of forests lining rivers and creeks, rainforest patches and mangrove species are considered to be more closely affiliated with flora of the Indo-Malaysian region than the Australasian groups that are represented more widely in the Kimberley. The Livistona Eastonii or the Mitchell Plateau Fan Palm is unique to this area.
We walked the 3.5km from the car park to the falls which took us 2 hours not because the walk was so strenuous but because there was so much to see on the way including 2 Aboriginal art sites. Again we were lucky as there was a tour group in front of us and without their advice we probably would not have found the sites.
When we got to the top of the falls it was beautiful and very hot. The walk took us through different environments from a Spinifex plateau, shrub land, and tropical woodlands. There was not a lot of water in the falls but still enough to enough the beauty of the area. There was no water falling over Mertens Gorge and we could walk across the dry polished rocks and then we could cross the Mitchell River at the top of the Mitchell Falls without getting wet by stone hopping. It must be magnificent in the wet with water falling everywhere from the top of the falls to the bottom of the Mitchell river as it continues on it’s journey to the sea. We had a swim in the Mitchell River above the falls before lunch and just enjoyed the scenery, the area and chatting to the other people. We walked around the area and then really enjoyed the 6-8 minute flight over the falls and back to the car park.
We again packed lunches for our day to Kalumburu.
Kalumburu is just like many Aboriginal communities with its mission and store but it has beautiful brick buildings. The original mission was on the coast at Pago established by Benedictine monks from New Norcia, 132km north of Perth, in 1908 and was moved to Kalumburu in 1927. We took the mission tour run by the Father who had been there 25 years and had spent many of the last years collecting information and establishing a beautiful museum largely to record the history of the indigenous people. He had a great sense of humour and spent much of his commentary laughing at his own jokes. It was a delightful few hours.
We located Lili Karadada, a well known Wandjina aboriginal artist who lives in Kalumburu and managed to buy one of her paintings.
We drove up to Pago on the coast and enjoyed walking on the white sands of the mangrove beach especially while the tide was out. The water was a spectacular blue and according to John the circular patterns in the sand were made by stingrays as the tide was going out.
On the edge of the beach there were many dumped petrol drums that were stamped by the American and Australian army dating back to 1943 obviously remnants from WW2. We stopped at the ruins of the original mission which just a few weeks before had celebrated its 100 year anniversary. Only a few floor slabs, an old brick oven and some of the 11 wells made of brick were left. We drove back to Honeymoon Bay, which is one of the fishing and camping spots in the area and after walking on the beach stopped for lunch under the shade of one of the trees.
Our last stop for the day was at the fishing spot of McGowans Beach which was by far the loveliest of the spots up there. It had a beautiful beach which of course is not swimmable due to the salt water crocodiles. There were many families camping and fishing.
On our way back to our camp site on the King Edward River the air conditioning in the car stopped working with temperatures over 400C it made the rest of our trip back to Broome very hot and dusty with open windows on the dirt roads.
We again stopped at Drysdale station on the way back where the mechanic was unable to help us with the air conditioning in the car. The generator at the station stopped working for a while so most people in camp gathered in the bar area and the stories became more interesting as the afternoon progressed.
Before leaving the area Mike and I took a flight over Drysdale River Station, Prince Regent River and National Park and then the Mitchell Plateau and Falls. The scenery was spectacular and the rivers and roads easy to follow. The area was very isolated and rugged.
Once we were back on the Gibb River Road we decided to stop off at Barnett River Gorge on the way. We drove in and were lucky enough to come across a walker just coming out and he told us to turn toward the river at the large old Boab tree and follow the many footsteps to the Barnett River as an APT group had just done the river. Without that information we would never have found the gorge. Another case of good luck. From the river we climbed to the top and followed the gorge along the top of the ridge which was very clearly marked with cairns. It was a spectacular day and we arrived back at the Manning Gorge campsite in late afternoon to a full campsite with at least 3 different tour groups and many other campers.
Saturday 6 September – Friday 12 September
Silent Grove to Kalumburu and back to Manning Gorge
Blog 7
We woke up to the songs of the birds in the trees and were ready for more exploring.
We asked the locals at Imintji, an aboriginal roadhouse, about the gorges ahead of us. Our first was Galvin’s Gorge. The March flies and mosquitoes were vicious so we wore long sleeves for protection even though it was very hot. The gorge was lovely and we really enjoyed the easy walk. We stayed for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet and then continued our journey to Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we paid our fee to explore Manning Gorge and stay at the campsite for the night. It was another lovely campsite.
We started our walk to Manning Gorge and tried desperately to follow the signs but got terribly lost. We eventually crossed the river and found a path that took us to the ridge. John continued on to the falls while Mike and I made the return journey following the clearly marked path!!
When we got back Mike started a fire and we sat, relaxed and enjoyed the flames, the birds and the colours of the afternoon sun which included a swim in the lake, a cold shower and a cold beer at the end of the day. What could be more perfect!
We continued our journey along the Gibb River Road which so far had been excellent turning north on the Kalumburu Rd that had just been graded.
We arrived at Drysdale River Station before lunch and settled into the luxury of a powered sight making the most of the opportunity to catch up on some house keeping.
We drove down to Minor Pool, a beautiful spot on the Drysdale River and then on to the Drysdale River crossing. We spent the evening chatting with a group of pilots who were flying their small planes, known as Moonies, around the Kimberleys.
We continued our journey north to Mitchell’s falls. There were a few river crossings with water still in the rivers and the tyres of the car and van seemed to say thankyou for the cooling off. The weather was very hot and didn’t cool down at night.
We made the beautiful King Edward River campsite our base for the next three nights. It was a lovely spot for swimming, relaxing and chatting with other travellers after long hot days of exploring.
We found the 2 Aboriginal art sites in the area with the directions from the driver of an APT tour bus. Most of these sites in the outback are not signposted very well.
It was very hot when we walked around the rocks to look at the rock art in the various places. It was a mixture of art with some old Bradshaw type paintings, the aboriginal name is GWION, clawed hand paintings and irregular infill paintings. The GWION paintings depict humans in ceremonial garb and anthropomorphs with almost all early examples painted red. Within this style there are recognisable stages, the “Clothes Peg” style is believed to be the youngest. A minimum age of 17,000 years has been established using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) technology.
The Irregular infill paintings depict humans, plants and animals, some of which are now extinct (eg the Tasmanian tiger and the thylacine). These paintings are aged at 30,000 – 40,000 years and are the oldest art styles in the Kimberley. The clawed hand painting depict humans and animals with clawed hands and feet. We then wondered further around ourselves we came across a burial site in one of the rocks with 3 skulls, one adult and 2 children and some other bones. We kept our distance and then drove to the second art site. The art there was mainly Bradshaw and Wandjina art and quite beautiful. The Wandjina paintings depict deities with head dress, halos, no mouth and a large nose. They are considered to be less than 1000 years old and are the most recent style in the sequence.
We packed lunches for our day to Mitchell Falls and drove the 87km to Mitchell Falls on the most shocking road of the trip with corrugations too far apart roll over the top which reduced our speed to 20k/h in parts.
The aboriginal name for Mitchell Plateau is Ngauwudu. The flora in the region of forests lining rivers and creeks, rainforest patches and mangrove species are considered to be more closely affiliated with flora of the Indo-Malaysian region than the Australasian groups that are represented more widely in the Kimberley. The Livistona Eastonii or the Mitchell Plateau Fan Palm is unique to this area.
We walked the 3.5km from the car park to the falls which took us 2 hours not because the walk was so strenuous but because there was so much to see on the way including 2 Aboriginal art sites. Again we were lucky as there was a tour group in front of us and without their advice we probably would not have found the sites.
When we got to the top of the falls it was beautiful and very hot. The walk took us through different environments from a Spinifex plateau, shrub land, and tropical woodlands. There was not a lot of water in the falls but still enough to enough the beauty of the area. There was no water falling over Mertens Gorge and we could walk across the dry polished rocks and then we could cross the Mitchell River at the top of the Mitchell Falls without getting wet by stone hopping. It must be magnificent in the wet with water falling everywhere from the top of the falls to the bottom of the Mitchell river as it continues on it’s journey to the sea. We had a swim in the Mitchell River above the falls before lunch and just enjoyed the scenery, the area and chatting to the other people. We walked around the area and then really enjoyed the 6-8 minute flight over the falls and back to the car park.
We again packed lunches for our day to Kalumburu.
Kalumburu is just like many Aboriginal communities with its mission and store but it has beautiful brick buildings. The original mission was on the coast at Pago established by Benedictine monks from New Norcia, 132km north of Perth, in 1908 and was moved to Kalumburu in 1927. We took the mission tour run by the Father who had been there 25 years and had spent many of the last years collecting information and establishing a beautiful museum largely to record the history of the indigenous people. He had a great sense of humour and spent much of his commentary laughing at his own jokes. It was a delightful few hours.
We located Lili Karadada, a well known Wandjina aboriginal artist who lives in Kalumburu and managed to buy one of her paintings.
We drove up to Pago on the coast and enjoyed walking on the white sands of the mangrove beach especially while the tide was out. The water was a spectacular blue and according to John the circular patterns in the sand were made by stingrays as the tide was going out.
On the edge of the beach there were many dumped petrol drums that were stamped by the American and Australian army dating back to 1943 obviously remnants from WW2. We stopped at the ruins of the original mission which just a few weeks before had celebrated its 100 year anniversary. Only a few floor slabs, an old brick oven and some of the 11 wells made of brick were left. We drove back to Honeymoon Bay, which is one of the fishing and camping spots in the area and after walking on the beach stopped for lunch under the shade of one of the trees.
Our last stop for the day was at the fishing spot of McGowans Beach which was by far the loveliest of the spots up there. It had a beautiful beach which of course is not swimmable due to the salt water crocodiles. There were many families camping and fishing.
On our way back to our camp site on the King Edward River the air conditioning in the car stopped working with temperatures over 400C it made the rest of our trip back to Broome very hot and dusty with open windows on the dirt roads.
We again stopped at Drysdale station on the way back where the mechanic was unable to help us with the air conditioning in the car. The generator at the station stopped working for a while so most people in camp gathered in the bar area and the stories became more interesting as the afternoon progressed.
Before leaving the area Mike and I took a flight over Drysdale River Station, Prince Regent River and National Park and then the Mitchell Plateau and Falls. The scenery was spectacular and the rivers and roads easy to follow. The area was very isolated and rugged.
Once we were back on the Gibb River Road we decided to stop off at Barnett River Gorge on the way. We drove in and were lucky enough to come across a walker just coming out and he told us to turn toward the river at the large old Boab tree and follow the many footsteps to the Barnett River as an APT group had just done the river. Without that information we would never have found the gorge. Another case of good luck. From the river we climbed to the top and followed the gorge along the top of the ridge which was very clearly marked with cairns. It was a spectacular day and we arrived back at the Manning Gorge campsite in late afternoon to a full campsite with at least 3 different tour groups and many other campers.
posted by Mike and Carol at
1:22 PM
