Mitchell Falls National Park {Gibb River Road}

A car full of stuff, no camper and off we went.

Alright I make it sound super exciting but it was plenty of list checking, double checking and trying to squeeze it all in the car before we actually left Drysdale Station.  The road to Mitchell Falls, again was corrugation heaven with a few water crossings thrown into the mix.

 

After what felt like forever we made it to the turn off, which was good given the rest of the road was actually still closed after all of the rain that they had had before we arrived {in fact the road to Mitchell Falls itself had only opened the day we arrived at Drysdale, so it was perfectly timed}.  After a few corners, and turns we made it to the river crossing {which actually was on a corner} and after checking everything was alright we started our journey across.  Was a great way to clean the car at least!

We decided to stop on the river {and one of the DEC camp grounds} to have some lunch before driving across the top of the plateau to the falls camp ground. It was a wonderful spot for a walk, with a small waterfall, all be it flowing extremely fast.  You can just imagine what the area would look like with more water, simply by looking at the rocks and the water that sat in some of them. 

 

After lunch it was time to make the drive to our stop for the next two nights.  It was actually a really lovely drive, full of palms, dogs, dirty roads and plenty of water & mud.  Mid way on the drive we stopped for a fire wood collection and it was interesting to observe the difference in the cars {meaning ours was by far the reddest but J had had fun getting it to that point}.  After way more palms than I car to think about we finally made it to the camp entrance and found a spot for us all to set up our tents.  It was right opposite the helicopter landing pad.

While the ‘women’ set up some tents the ‘men’ went to book our chopper ride for the next day.  We decided that we would walk into the falls and take the helicopter back out.  All of 6 minutes out and I don’t even want to remember what it was out of our pockets {however it was certainly worth it}.

After we set up we set off on a small walk to  let the smalls burn some energy.  We didn’t have to walk far before we got to the creek and a small area where everyone could have a wash off before heading back for dinner and an early night.

Monday morning was the morning we headed for the ‘big walk’ and of course the waterfalls that came with it.  We packed up enough food & water {or we had hoped enough at least} for the ride.  After weighing in at the helicopters and listening to the safety brief a quick loo stop and we headed off.

The first stop on our walk was Little Mertin’s Falls and to be honest it really didn’t seem that little to me.  We walked around it, checking out the pools above and below the falls.  Next we came across a pool of sorts, well it did also had some water flowing over rocks but not a water fall per say.  Across the otherside we discovered some rock art which was nice to see.

Not too far from here we hit Big Mertin’s Falls and that really isn’t just a figure of speak.  It was a scary long way to the bottom and had me on edge with the smalls around.  Surprisingly enough we made it in great time, but this didn’t work well considering there really wasn’t anywhere for the kids to swim and we had to wait until after lunch for our flight out of the falls {hindsight really is a wonderful thing}.  We spent a good hour of more here, with the smalls all splashing in the water at the top of the falls {promise it wasn’t as scary as it sounds}.

We managed to get some amazing pictures between all of us of this fabulous area and eventually it was time to head over the Mitchell Falls.  Spectacular from the ground, although given how fast the river was flowing we couldn’t actually cross to get a better look at the falls but from the air… Breathe taking.  As much as I complained about the cost {or more like it was shocked} it was worth every cent for the view and for the look on the kids face when we took off in the helicopter.

It was a wonderful day but very exhausting for everyone.  Another night of not fabulous sleep in the tent and it was back to Drysdale, after a stop at the river to clean the cars.  They certainly need it!