Wednesday 3rd & Thursday 4th September 2014 – Barnett River Gorge to Silent Grove NP Warm Sunny Clear Skies 35c – 15c (finally warmer overnight)

 

Mt Barnett Road House 

We left Barnett Gorge around 9.30am and headed for a fuel top up at Barnett Road House.  The vegetables were a reasonable price, so I topped up with fresh veggies.  Heading towards Charnley River Station, but at $40 per night for a  unpowered site and basic amenities with a 86 km round trip, we decided to bypass the station.   There appeared to be no river nearby the station or a gorge, so we would have been in for a dry and hot camp.  We were approximately that distance from Silent Grove National Park, so decided to camp there.  The full fill was at Imintje Community as it is the cheapest fuel on the Gibb River Road.

Imintje Community had neat and tidy houses, a good art display and are entered in the community tidy towns.  The locals were friendly and said g’day.  The store and petrol station was well run and had a large variety of grocery lines.   We had lunch there – bacon & egg burgers @ $5.50 were reasonably priced.  I bought a large bottle of lemon drink (for a lunch drink – the small bottles cost almost the same) – Everywhere outback, they only sell cold drinks, nothing hot off the shelf.  Knowing that I bought the drink for lunch, the girl offered glasses to use.  Now that is service. A lot of other communities could take a page out of the running of Imintje.

 

 

 

The King Leopold Ranges looked spectacular driving towards them.

We drove over the Barnett Range on the way to Imintje.  This is the view once you leave Imintje. 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at Silent Grove mid afternoon and set up camp.  After a cuppa, we went for a walk up the nearby mini gorge.  The track was listed as grade 3 and it was quite rough, While we were on this track, it occurred to me, how easy it would be to twist your ankle.  Little did I know then, that there would be further news on that subject.

Out here the best spot to camp is under a tree that gives you shade from lunch time onwards.

 

When we got back to the camp ground who should be there but the Kimberley Tour 2014. We went over and said g’day to Marlene and her family. They hadn’t intended to camp here tonight but while they were at Bell Gorge when a Swiss woman slipped and broke her ankle. (Stepped onto smooth rock with loose sand – like stepping onto ball bearings). She had to be stretchered out. The Evac helicopter arrived about quarter to five and left around 5.30pm.  Her husband stayed in the ranger’s house and left first up this morning for the long drive back to Derby Hospital.  It seem to surprise people that it would take 4 hours to get a helicopter out here. Obviously the word “remote” means something else to them, maybe they were expecting a helicopter that is just on standby for here and can beat the sound barrier.

I think that this is a honeyeater nest   I love the way Pandanus grows in a spiral

BUT, it has nasty little spikes that break off into your skin if you brush past too close

I have had several spear me, and it’s a case of the tweezers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Lily about to flower in Bell Creek, the walk up the creek at the end of the camp area.  Not particularly exciting and a difficult track. Above (R) I think that this is a Quoll track. 

 Thursday 4th September 2014 – Silent Grove Conservation Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                 

This is the track that they had to stretcher the woman out on.   We see lot of people who think that thongs are the footwear of choice for these tracks. This is a Class 5 track – we are working our way to the top :)   Class 6…. hopefully we won’t be silly enough to fall over.

 

 

After you walk down the steep slope, you walk along a creek bed which joins the top of the gorge.

 

 

 

 

 

Our first view stepping into the open – you arrive at the top of the gorge, (L) is the view upstream and R is the view to the top of the waterfall. The rock is very very smooth from the water flow, so you have to be careful.  They say the rock is a type of sandstone only found in the Kimberley region.   On the park notice board it says that the solid rock of this type in the Kimberley’s has been found to be 5000 metres thick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View (L) showing falls and the view downstream.  The second part of the walk is down to this water’s edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(L) this is the large overhang to the left of the falls. (R) the falls are a series of high steps – too high to climb up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take one big rock, lots of fast flowing water and several thousand years and you get one big smooth bowl.  This is the largest carved bowl that I have ever seen. The rock was half a metre wide.

The waterfall was really high, but now looks very tiny in comparison to the cliff walls downstream

 

 

After climbing back up from the water’s edge, we walked upstream a little and this is another upstream photo.