Mon 25th August – Day 107: Ellenbrae – Manning Gorge via Barnett River Gorge

A hot shower after lighting the ‘donkey’ was a great start to this morning, while Pete & Kids went to check the yabby trap (1 small blueclaw only, which they threw back). No School today so we were packed and on the road by 9, eating up the corrugations that make up this part of the Gibb River Road. After shaking, rattling and rolling along for 150km or so it was lunch-time and we elected to have a brief stop at Barnett River Gorge only 4.2km off the main road. Well that 4.2km took us over 40mins as we had to leave the trailer ½ way in. On arrival at the carpark we met some fellow walkers who were returning from their 1hour hike to the gorge! After a brief family discussion we all elected to pack the lunches, swimming gear and lots of water and see if we could find it too. The track was marked using stone cairns which among the rocky outcrops were quite hard to spot. We slugged it out for the full hour and just as we were about the despair of ever finding the place, the gorge loomed below pristine and well worth the effort. Being the only ones around we dispensed with the formalities of swimming gear and spent an hour or so frolicking among the various rock pools. Toby was in heaven as we came across a number of water monitors. Later referenced as a Mertans Water Monitor, they allowed us to get up close and personal which told us that not many people made the trek to this gorge. We returned to the car hot and sweaty but knowing we had shared a piece of Australia that very few people would ever see. This is a great part of our trip.
Mt Barnett Roadhouse was the next stop to purchase our permit to enter Mt Barnett Station (owned and operated by the Kulpungarri Aboriginal community).
It was a short, bumpy drive down to the campsites on the Manning River where we got prime position right next to the water. A hasty set-up with the awning needed for shade and we all plunged into the river for a late afternoon swim and dust off.
Movie night tonight and since it was still quite warm we set up the DVD outside and ate our butter chicken curry under the awning while watching the ‘Simpsons Movie’. A weird sensation being in the middle of no-where watching TV!
Manning River Campground (Bush $30)