We refuelled at Drysdale River Station, some 59km north along the Kalumbaru Road, and were intrigued by a mudmap on the shop counter showing some Aboriginal rock art sites near the King Edward River. These sites are not shown on the regular maps, nor are signposted. We followed the mud maps and found ourselves among ancient sandstone blocks coloured with Windjana and Gyorn artwork.
This was a beautiful place to wander around and we were very pleased we stopped here for lunch.
It was amazing to wander around this ancient art gallery
As I wrote earlier, we had intended to camp at the King Edward River campground. As we had arrived early in the afternoon, and the road was no where near as bad as we had been led to believe, we decided to press on to the Mitchell Falls Campground. Whilst the road certainly deteriorated after we left the Kalumbaru Road, and was rough and corrugated in places, we made good time and soon were set up at Mitchell Falls campground for the night.
We had a glimpse as to why people find these roads so terrible on our way here. We had been driving between 40 and 60km/hr, slowing down for the river crossings and really bad sections when we came across a convoy of three vehicles travelling at around 20km/hr. Their speed meant they were literally driving in and out of every corrugation and as we matched their speed, we too started to really rattle and shake. It was terrible. Thankfully they soon let us past, after the subtlety started to wear out of my hints that we would appreciate overtaking them, and we continued on our merry way.
We soon arrived and set up camp - tired after a long 389km day on rough roads, and all voted for a rest day the following day. We had caught up with Bron and Paul again, and shared wine around the camp-fire in the evening... real glamping!
A rest day meant school day, and we spent most of the morning trying to catch up on our schooling. The afternoon was warm, so we decided to go for a walk to the fabulous swimming hole at Little Mertens Falls, a fifteen minute walk.
As we dropped from the open savannah woodland into the cool shade below the falls, we stepped into a different world altogether. The pool was fringed with pandanus palms and figs, contrasting entirely with the vegetation above the falls. The water was decidedly on the cool side, but well worth a swim, and we spent some time here checking out some of the magnificent Aboriginal rock art painted on the surrounding sandstone cliffs.
The artwork on the cave walls obviously told several stories, and there was a mixture of artwork from Windjana to Gyorn (Bradshaw) paintings. This was an incredibly special place to view. The boy's found a hand stensil about the size of their own hands, and I wondered if that child knew that their handprint would one day viewed by people from a very different world.
It had been a wonderfully full 'lazy day' but the next day was to be even more exciting.
There are two ways to get to and from Mitchell Falls. You can walk the gentle 5km walk, or you can fly in a 6 minute helicopter flight. We decided to book the helicopter flight for the return journey - but not tell the boys and keep it a surprise. Our plan almost came unstuck as we were required to weigh in and receive a safety brief before we set off on our walk. We made some story that everyone needed to weigh in just incase they were injured and needed rescuing or the park needed evacuating. The staff at Heliwork picked up our hints and played along wonderfully.
Along the walk to the Mitchell Falls, we diverted to the River View Lookout - a 3.2km diversion rewarding with distant views of the river. We returned to the main track and found some more Aboriginal Rock Art, with some distinct Gyorn or Bradshaw figures, all holding one hand up as if shielding themselves from the sun or worse. Some were exquisitely painted. Whilst their age can only be estimated, the Gyorn artwork is believed to be around 17 000 years old - with some of the figures of kangaroos believed to be even older still. This is an ancient art gallery and it was beautiful.
Not far down the path we crossed Mertens Creek just before it cascaded down Big Mertens Falls. The view down the valley was almost eerie as the creek continued its passage some 80 metres below. There are esturaine crocodiles in the pools below the falls, and swimming was not allowed, but we had no idea how anyone could get down there for a dip anyway!
Literally just around the corner from Big Mertens Falls is the Mitchell River and what we had walked all this way for. The Mitchell Falls is a tiered waterfall descending 80 metres over four teirs. We waded across the upper pool and then walked around the cliff top for the impressive views of the falls. We were lucky - the river crossing walk had only opened a couple of weeks before our visit.
We sat for quite a while admiring the falls from our vantage point in the cliff tops. It is an impressive place and we were glad we had made it. With all the hype on the road and the '8 hour' walk, we were glad we hadn't been detered in our efforts to get here. The walk is nice and easy - the extra time is taken in checking out all the artwork and features. It had taken us well under three hours - including our 3.2km diversion. The walk was a gentle downhil amble really - but no one really wanted to do the return walk.
But that wasn't a problem as we had a seat booked on a flight back to camp. After lunch and a refreshing swim, we told the boys we would watch a couple of landings and then walk back. They loved watching the helicopters coming in to land, but when the second helicopter came in and there were no people lined up to board it, the game was up. The boys might have suspected something funny was going in, but they played their part and the thrill in their faces when they realised we would be taking a helicopter back to camp was worth every penny of the fare.
The ride home was short, but we managed a couple of passes over the falls before returning back to camp.
It had been a fantastic day - but in a strange way it wasn't entirely what we expected. We had been led to believe that the road to Mitchell Falls was terrible - but it was really a corrugated dirt road - certain ally suitable for offroad camper trailers. The walk to Mitchell Falls was reputedly a 5 hour slog. It is really only an hour walk - with additional time for swimming or checking out the rock galleries. The majority of the walk is gentle and in woodland savannah, making it pretty easy going. Having said that, having a helicopter ride home was simply fantastic. We left the campground at 8am and rode home in the helicopter at 1.30pm. We filled the time nicely (including our 3.2km sidetrack) and didn't feel rushed or short of time.
A few people had said that WA doesn't really like tourists, and here in the Kimberley we started to believe them. The signposting is generally pretty ordinary, information on gorges or walks hard to find, and the guide book (rrp $5.00 - available for $7.95 @ Broome Visitors Centre) often lacks vital information such as opening hours or how long walks are to the gorges. Perhaps we should have done more homework - I don't know.
That said, if you are prepared for this area, it is fantastic fun. We are having a ball. Our car and camper are eating up the rough stuff (it is what they were made for after all). In fact after seeing all the various set ups in the camp grounds, and hearing people's problems with either caravans rattling to pieces, or tyres being destroyed (Coopers seem to be magnets to sharp rocks up here), we couldn't be happier with our choice of car or camper.
But - hey, we're only half way there. Time to return to the Gibb River Road and continue our journey east. That part of the journey can be found here: http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/gibb-river-rd-part-iv-home-valley-and.html
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