Wednesday 30th May 2018
Today we started out early to do what was on yesterday’s itinerary. A walk through Windjana Gorge and hopefully see our first crocodile. So off we go at an amazing 7.30am. Woohoo us!!
It was very still and the gorge was very peaceful, big and the water was smooth as glass. Will we or won’t we see a croc today. There are supposed to be lots of freshwater crocodiles in this gorge. David was very excited to see a croc so he headed straight to the water whilst I investigated a fossil cave. It didn’t take long for him to see his first croc but it was way over the other side of the river. Oh well, with the first sighting we could only improve, which we did. The gorge was amazing and the lighting was great at this time of the morning. we continued to walk through the gorge and we saw lots more crocs. They were of varied sizes and they were very much not interested in us. Except when you get a little closer where they follow you with their eyes. They don’t move just their eyes do. We then continued walking through the gorge which was over 3km in length. It was a pleasant walk but really after the initial cavern was just an enjoyable walk. Usually the end of a gorge walk ends in a spectacular pool or cavern but this one just had a sign which read “End of walking trail”. So we turned around and walked back. We went down close to the water again to see if the crocs were more active as it was a couple of hours later. And yes they were and there was a few more of them. It was a very beautiful gorge.
Ok well its 10am and we headed back to camp to pack up. We had a decision to make as well, whether to go to Mt Hart or not today. Petrol is an issue for us as we can only fill up at Barnett Roadhouse which is at 305km across the Gibb River Road which if we were just going straight across from Derby to Kununurra without any diversions we would make it without refuelling but each sidetrack adds 50 to 200km in distance to our km tally and we only have 900km to our fuel tanks. With this in mind we decided to give Mt Hart a miss this time. Mt Hart was apparently a very nice drive through the King Leopold Ranges but not sure if there was much to do there.
We had lunch at a lookout over the King Leopold Range and then made our way to our next stop Bell Gorge. This will also be our home for the night. On our drive in to the gorge we had our first creek crossing, very little water but at least there was some over the road. It is amazing how quickly the water disappears after the wet season. The road has only been open for a few weeks and it is already very dry here. After that we crossed another 6 creeks crossings with varying levels of water.The walk down to the gorge was very pretty with lots of water and greenery. We had a couple of water crossings where painfully we had to take off our shoes. We finally made it down to the gorge to join the many people swimming there. David finally had his first swim in a gorge, the other closest at Python Pool (where he almost made it in the water but a fish bit him on the leg just as he was working up to getting in which made him stop. It really was too cold for him there anyway). The water temperature here was beautiful and we swam for about 30mins. We then headed back to camp at about 4.30pm. Yay us, in and set up by 4.35pm. We even had dinner by 5.30pm which id very unusual as we are usually racing the sunset to find our camp site. It is so much easier when we get there in the light..
Another fun filled day of adventure. Where to next? Only time will tell.
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Windjana Gorge campsite with a backdrop of the gorge cliffs. It was a beautiful peaceful campsite even in the Generator area.
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Some information about the area
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Our first walk in an area that has crocodiles. At least they are freshwater ones which apparently are OK. I am still a little wary.
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David walking as quickly as he can to get to the water’s edge. A croc sighting is in the making!
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Within minutes DB has seen his first croc. WOOHOO!! All the way over the other side of the river. Thank goodness for zoom lenses so we could record this moment. Neither of us have seen a croc in the wild before.
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I had a look at the fossils in the cave whilst DB almost ran to the water. I wasn’t quite as keen to see my first wild croc. A little apprehensive I would call it.
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A bird playing “Tip toe through the tulips” with the crocodiles. A little game as he could probably been their breakfast at any time.
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As we keep looking for more crocs…
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..it really is a beautiful gorge…
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..Imagine how beautiful it is straight after the wet season as there would have been so much more water..
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The cliff faces must be at least 100m high..
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It is very beautiful and the water was so smooth this morning.
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Another croc, look at the detail of the legs and how long their tail is. I feel it is quite disproportionate..
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David is intrigued.
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Another animal we met along the way, just back from the water…
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…And another one, a honeyeater of some sort…
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…And another one. A sand monitor or sand goanna..
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Walking back through the gorge..
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..we managed to see another croc or two. This one was quite big.
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..the amazing backdrop to the crocodiles home. Very beautiful..
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..up close and personal, as he eyes off DB taking his photo.
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Just another pic of the beautiful view.
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The last of our crocodile pics. From a distance these just looked like a shallow mud section, but on closer inspection there were 4 crocs here basking in the sun. The baby one climbing up for a better tan. Check out the cheeky grin of the one at the back on the right.
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..One last look before we leave the gorge.
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One of the tour groups we have been seeing along the way. They have a group of 12.
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This is how another group of 12 men are travelling the Gibb River RD. On postie bikes. I am glad it is them travelling over all the corrugated roads on the bikes. I think I prefer the comfort of my car. They are doing it just for something to do. Great fun! I think!!
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One of the views along the way from Windjana Gorge to Bell Gorge, near Lennard Gorge
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We came to our first creek crossing with water on it since we started along the Gibb River Road, not much water but at least it was some..
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Kookaburra Rock, we also passed Queen Victoria Rock as well today.
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Lookout over King Leopold Range
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We had out lunch overlooking the King Leopold Range
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Now that’s a little bit more water to cross.
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A little bit of information about Bell Creek and Gorge..
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..and the plants..
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..and the animals..
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Time to go hiking.
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Our first walk through water to the gorge..
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..it was very beautiful..
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..and the waterfall was flowing..
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..we had to take off our shoes to cross the creek..
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..a little bit of concentration.
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Just a few people having a swim.
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But at last DB thinks it is warm enough.
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He would have liked to do some swimming training but it was a bit crowded.
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As we left the gorge the numbers had dropped and it was very beautiful
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Heading out of the gorge.
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On the way out we tried to avoid removing our shoes. A little challenging for some..
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..Just a hop..
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..a big step..
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..and a jump and we are there.
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Our new camp at Silent Grove Campground Bell Gorge. Preparing dinner before it is dark. Very Novel!!