Wilsons on the road: Monday 24 June 2013

Monday 24 June 2013 - Charnley River Station

It’s been a busy couple of days. After leaving Barnett River Gorge we only had to drive 30km to reach Mt Barnett Roadhouse. The Manning Gorge campground is 7km further up the track, so after picking up a couple of groceries, filling up on water (and emptying our bodies of our own water - it’s what you do at a roadhouse!), we drove in and found a spot to set up. It had been a cool morning, but by the time we’d finished it was starting to warm up a bit and we decided against walking into the gorge that day. So we wandered down to the creek for a swim and who should I see as we pass another ‘Crocodile Bus’ (Adventure Wild tour group – the same one Mum and Dad went on), but Mum and Dad’s friends Reg and Judy! Big country, small world. After a bit of a chinwag, their group set off on the big walk and we had a nice cooling paddle in the water.

On returning, Yasmin spotted some kids in the camp opposite to us and she and Sienna did their ‘oh-so-subtle’ stalk, where they tiptoe up (it’s so exaggerated, almost like in the cartoons!) and just stand close by until someone speaks to them. Soon they were playing with Reilly (nearly 6), Nate (4) and Yasmin was holding baby Jay (7 months) in her lap. A little while later she decided to pick the little fella up and when I told her not to, it gave her such a fright that she dropped him! Fortunately it wasn’t from a great height and he seems to bounce ok. Christine and Trent, the boys’ parents, are really lovely people and we all enjoyed spending time with them over the past few days.

Yesterday morning we tackled Manning Gorge. It was a bit like a cross between Mitchell Falls and El Questro Gorge in terms of difficulty for Yasmin. The walk is 5km return and the terrain at the gorge end is pretty hard going, with heaps of steep rocky gullies to climb up and down. The easy walking part is through the grass in the warm (well, hot) sun. We were very proud of her though – she made it all the way there on her own and over halfway back, tackling all the tricky rocks herself. The promise of two lollipops and an iceblock may have helped!

The gorge itself was pretty awesome, huge, with a waterfall and waterhole, lots of cool rocks to clamber over, little rapids and the rest of the river flowing from it. There was a little bit of Aboriginal art (not sure if it’s called Bradshaw or Wandjina) on the underside of one of the obvious rocks and probably stacks more if I’d spent a bit more time looking for it. You could spend a whole day exploring and playing in the water, but we were conscious of the ever-climbing sun and two little girls who needed an afternoon nap after their exertions (well, Yasmin exerted herself – Sienna grudgingly rode in the backpack). The water was cool so despite stripping off and paddling in, neither girl had a proper swim. Glenn and I didn’t brave it either, but we did get wet on the way back. At the beginning/end of the walk, you have to cross the river. On the way there, we pulleyed across on the little punt, but on our return, Glenn swam back. I was going to as well, but Sienna wasn’t thrilled about sitting in the boat on her own (well, with Yasmin) so I rode with the girls and then had a quick dip once we got back to the other side.

After lunch and a big nap (for all of us!) we went back down to the water with our new friends and the kids splashed around and played in the sand for a bit. The beauty of creek swimming means we don’t have to worry about showers (camping ferals!) so after dinner and a few marshmallows courtesy of Christine, we popped the girls into bed. We weren’t far behind! The nights are quite cold now so we’re rugging the girls up in winter PJs and extra blankets, but occasionally they’ll wake up cold. Sienna has a sleeping bag which helps keep her warm, but she’s not as good at keeping blankets on so the past two nights, I’ve had to get up to her and cover her up again. Fortunately they sleep in a bit with the cool mornings – Yasmin didn’t wake up until 6:30 today! Sienna woke Glenn and I just before 6 and I got up soon after and set out for a run, while everyone snuggled in the warm tent. I’d challenged myself to 10km (nearly twice what I’d been doing recently) so was back in just under an hour (52:15 if anyone cares about that kind of thing) and the girls were just having breakfast – very unusual for them to not have eaten before 7am!

Rocks, sky, trees, the usual

The river at the start of the walk to Manning Gorge

Pulling the boat across

Harder Sienna!

Pretty

About a quarter of the way there

We made it to the gorge - and look what we saw there!

Nudists! Everywhere!

Yum (bikkie)

Smoko

You gotta problem wif me?

Looking down the river (waterfall behind)

The waterfall

Little rapids

Spiderweb..

Charming

Dunno what they are but thought I'd photograph them in case they're special

Looking at the waterfall and waterhole from the other side of the gorge

Aboriginal art at Manning Gorge

Yasmin at the gorge

Yasmin & Riley pulling the boat across

Picture perfect

Manning Gorge from the river at the campground

Riley, Yasmin & Nate playing peek-a-boo over the sand dune at Manning River

Boab at Manning Gorge campground

Today was another huge day of gorges. After packing up, we said goodbye to our friends (who were heading further on than us) and drove on to Galvan’s Gorge. This is a beautiful little spot with the carpark right on the road and a very doable 1km walk in. There was a bit of rock clambering, but our little Rock Wallaby (the name I appointed Yasmin with yesterday in an attempt to gee her up when energies were flagging) coped with it beautifully. Again, the water was a little too chilly for us north Queenslanders, but we enjoyed hanging out there for an hour or so. There was another little bit of Aboriginal rock art there as well. Sienna did her own version of art, a little on the revolting and smelly side, when she was walking around in the raw, including no nappy. Did I mention how feral we get when we camp?

The next stop wasn’t too much further, this one called Adcock Gorge. Unfortunately, the 5km track in from the Gibb wasn’t signed real well and the first turn-off took us to a little campsite beside a waterhole. After backtracking, we took the less-traversed track (go figure) and found what we were looking for. We got out and had lunch before going exploring. This gorge didn’t really require a big walk, just some good rock-clambering skills, so it wasn’t a huge challenge for the girls (Sienna got the cruisy ride in Glenn’s arms again). It was pretty magnificent, but we were pretty worn out from the past two days efforts so we didn’t stick around for too long – the water was very cold so we didn’t swim, plus we needed to get to where we were camping for the night before the day was through.

The drive to Charnley River Station was quite scenic, but unfortunately we were all too exhausted to really care. Sienna got quite restless in the car (the girls had slept between the gorge visits, so were wide awake in the afternoon) and Glenn was pretty shattered from all the walking, carrying and then driving, especially as we didn’t have a lot of diesel in the tank (we’re holding out for Imitji store, where it’s cheaper). Fortunately it looks like a lovely spot here (even though it’s 43km off the main road!) and we got to enjoy a really hot shower (first one in two weeks!) before another dinner of fish and lentils.