BELL GORGE NATIONAL PARK

SILENT GROVE CARAVAN PARK W.A

 

Driving, driving, driving... no wonder dad has a sore back. Mum keeps on telling him to let her drive for a while, but dad said no... he likes to drive sure, but we don't particularly like the 'complaining' part later.

We arrived and chose a campsite nice and shady, but the ground was a little bit uneven so dad dug a small hole on one side and drove the van a little bit forward and voila! even steven.... That trick we learned on our travels from Glenda and Barb the girls we met at Koonaldra Station. So, with the van level and the morning sun to heat up the solar panel and the afternoon shade, we set up and had a wander around. A smallish campsite about 150 kms or so from our last camp site, and guess who the ranger was? it was Rod! We waved and said hello, he came over when mum joked with him and called out.. Do you have a twin that works at Windjana? Rod replied, 'yeah, but he's the ugly one'.. we all laughed.

Rod showed us the area of the Parks he was responsible for and it was no wonder he looked tired! It's a really big task for one man. Rod said he had been asking for someone to help out at Windjana and they sent a lady out who had a no nonsense approach and who was very knowledgeable about parks and animals, wildlife and said she had more certificates that you could poke a stick at, took to the job like a 'duck to water' and he was able to concentrate more here at Bell Gorge.

As it was late in the afternoon by the time we got there, we stuck to our plan of just 'chillaxing' and enjoying a 'refreshment' or two. I had a glass of water, mum and dad had a bottle of their 'giggle juice'. Netta came over and gave me a cuddle and said hi to mum and dad. Talked for a bit then went back to her 4WD group. I thanked her for my beautiful green cap! She told me I was welcome...

We went for a little walk and when we got back, Dianne and Dave had arrived. We hugged and talked together outside our van until it was time for dinner... I had a salad and dad cooked a BBQ for mum and him. Big day so sleepy but we are going to drive out to the gorge tomorrow and it's going to be hot. So and early night for this little wombat.

After brekkie, we put on our swimmers under our clothes.. dad got his back pack and put in crackers, vegemite, cookies, licorice, ginger sweets a knife and cookies! We took two cans of coke and a bit bottle of water, Rod told us it was a rocky path that would take about one hour to walk to the actual gorge. You get dried out real quick in this dry heat it's very deceptive! Dad parked the car in the car park and we all went to the toilet and started the walk down the hill to the rocky river bed which was way down as it was the dry season and then we climbed or 'rock hopped' over big rocks, little rocks, sharp rocks, rocks that would slip from underfoot, and then we came to where the small river runs into the small gorge. We were hot and irritable so we stopped and had a small dip in the shallow pools. After the short break we climbed up to the top of the hill and the sight that awaited us took our breath away... cliffs and waterfalls, this was the real gorge and it was stunning!

We walked back down to the river, crossed it on foot (difficult to do as it was really slippery in some places) and then we climbed up, up, up... then, we had to climb very carefully down... squeezed through big rocks keeping left and close to the cliff.. down and down and down further to the granite flat rock where people sat. Sticky, hot and frustrated even more than mum and dad (remember I am a wombat and my fur is for cold weather not the hot stuff) we found a safe entry point and in we went. The water was cold, but not as cold that you couldn't stay in. We loved it. Mum swam out to the waterfall but the current was so strong it was impossible to grab onto the rocks. We watched as one of the tour guides who had obviously done this many times before, climbed up and onto the first level of the waterfall and dove off into the cool waters off the gorge. Making sure he 'launched' himself out far enough so he wouldn't hit the rocks on the side. I took a video of it and have put it on here for you!

We got there in the morning and spent over 5 hours there, sunning and swimming.. but then, we had to climb back up the cliff, and then down again... over the smaller river and pools leading to the gorge, back over the rocky, spikey, shaky rocks on the river bed, across the small water crossing and then back up, up and up to the car park. It was like the trek was never going to end.. so we were all really happy to see the car park sign.

A nice cold shower upon our return to camp, dinner and a beer with Dianne and Dave coming over like always to share our daily adventures and a laugh. This would be the last night we would see Dianne and Dave as they were headed in a different direction after this stop. They came by to say good bye to us in the morning, we said goodbye, hugged and exchanged email addresses all of us promising to keep in touch.

Packed up, ready to hit the Gibb River Road again.... our next destination? Ellenbrae Station. We were told about this station by Alison back at Indee Station where she told mum the scones, jam and cream were to die for. That was all mum needed to know! See you on the road sometime.

Tahune xx

 

THE SMALL ROCKS POOLS 

MUM ENJOYS A QUICK COOL OFF 

THE WATERFALLS FROM THE TOP OF THE CLIFF.. WOW! 

MUM EMERGES FROM THE GORGE AFTER

SWIMMING ALL THE WAY OUT TO THE

WATERFALL 

I TAKE A PHOTO OF MUM AND DAD BEFORE

THE LONG HOT CLIMB BACK UP