4 Stray Katz: Stealth Camping Episode 1: Secret Gorge

Upon leaving Silent Grove and the hordes of other travellers we vowed to find a secluded free camp where we could toilet train and deal with tantrums without an audience. Every track we checked out was either gated with signs saying 'No trespassing' or led to nowhere. We had nearly reached the next gorge and were coming up with alternate plans when Daniel spotted a track near a river crossing. We hastily u- turned and headed down, full of anticipation. We persisted past a very rough part of the track and were rewarded with several shady camp areas next to the river to choose from. We ended up with a great area near a flowing part of the river, complete with 2 large boab trees. We spent 6 great nights here enjoying the solitude. We had campfires, waded in the river, the kids enjoyed the river mud and they could ride their bikes on the less sandy parts of the track. Jackson got completely toilet trained and impressed us with his ability to use a bush loo (a hole). The river ended just near us and the rocky river bed was calling for exploration. Daniel did a preliminary look and found a huge gorge. According to our map it is a private gorge and the entrance was on the other side but we hiked to the top of it and again marvelled at the beauty and expanse of the gorges in the Kimberly. It was too hard to get the kids down for a swim and Daniel had seen a large freshwater croc there so we were put off swimming. It was a great find though and the kids did well scrambling over the rocks to get there (and Daniel did well carrying them both through the prickly grasses when needed)! From this spot we did 2 days trips, to Manning Gorge and the Mt Barnett Roadhouse (ice-cream tastes extra good when you haven't had it for a while) and to Galvans Gorge. Just up from the roadhouse we found a track that led us to the white sandy banks of the Manning River, a secluded spot for stealth camping number 2.