4 Stray Katz: Bell Gorge(ous)

From Windjana Gorge we headed 100kms further onto the Gibb River Rd to the King Leopold Ranges. The campground at Silent Grove was beautiful and we had our pick of the sites as we had managed to arrive early. We chose a large shady area complete with 2 boab trees and a fire pit and enough room for us and our friends. There was a lovely creek walk adjacent to the campground (however no swimming was allowed as it was the drinking water for the campsite) but we found a great spot to cool off at the river crossing about 1km from the campsite. Everyone would ride down (except me who doesn’t have a bike) to cool off and wave to the passing cars, a few were quite shocked to see 2 bikini clad women and 3 naked children as they crossed the river. You couldn’t see us until you were driving through as the river was shaded by heaps of pandanus palms. The kids had a blast bike riding around the dirt roads of the campsite and spent several fun mornings sailing leaf boats down the small waterfall. From the campground it was a short drive to the impressive Bell Gorge, where cascading pools flow down to a large waterfall and a huge swimming hole. It was a rock hopping walk down to the large swimming hole but the kids did it with ease (in fact they were more confident on the rocks than me). The water was icy but so refreshing after the dusty walk in and we used the rocks to warm us up afterwards. It was busy the first time we came so we went back a few days later early in the morning and had the pool to ourselves. We sailed the kids to the waterfall in a blow up boat (which was quite a mission as the water was so powerful and kept pushing us back).
The kids had a great time playing together and their imaginary play was hilarious to listen to. One morning they decided it was time to get married and got themselves made up (Jackson included) so Jackson could marry Emilia, with Alexandra the bridesmaid. Emilia already had a baby so that came to the wedding too. The girls talked a lot about weddings and who they would marry, Emilia decided she could marry Daddy but Alexandra didn’t want to marry her dad as she was worried he would be too old! Poor Martin.

Our friends left after 4 days to continue their Gibb trip but we stayed a few extra days enjoying the campfires and warm showers. After 6 days we were ready to camp off the beaten track and left to find a secluded spot.