Ellenbrae Station to Barnett river - VIA Mitchell Falls
Updated: Nov 3, 2018
GIBB RIVER ROAD - Part 2️⃣
After leaving the Durack River after one night, we popped in to Ellenbrae Station. The temptation of fresh scones was what pulled us in. The station is very green, with loads of plants, tall trees providing shade and green grass🌿. We grabbed a scone with jam & cream and enjoyed it in the garden.
Gibb River free camp, approx 20km north of the Kalumbaru turnoff was our next camp for the night. A big area along the side of a sandy creek. Plenty of room, for plenty of campers. A great overnight spot🏕 which had a small amount of fresh-water about for a quick dip. The next day we made it up to Drysdale River Station. A top up on fuel & water, plus a spot of early lunch. Kurt tried the Kimberley Monster burger while Amz had a cheeseburger🍔.
We pulled up to a gravel pit, which was 1km south of the Mitchell Falls turnoff. Unfortunately there is no dog friendly camps😕 closer to Mitchell Falls. We spent 3 nights here without any hassle. The first day we went in, while Kurts parents looked after Rusty🐶 and the campsite. The next day, they day tripped in and vice a versa. The road into Mitchell Falls wasn’t too bad, the worse part was the last 20km! That was bone shaking💀.
The walk itself is relatively easy with 90% of it being flat and 10% a bit of rock hopping. It took us 50minutes to walk the 3.7km each way👟. Plenty of water about to keep cool on the walks. Definitely start it early, as there is little to no shade on the trail. We grabbed a few photos, had a dip up the top of the falls and then headed back to the car. We stopped into the King Edward River camp for a squizz and a swim up at the King Edwards Falls💦. The falls are approximately 1km / 10 minute walk north-east of the ‘day use area’. Arriving at 2pm we had the falls all to ourselves!
After 3 nights at the gravel pit, we left bright and early Monday morning to make tracks back south, and to continue west. Well after only 15 minutes since leaving camp, we were waved down by a man with overalls👋🏼. He was camped on the side of the road and told us of his major car trouble. Poor John had the front hub of his cruiser fall apart, which resulted in damaged to the thread and nuts. He had resigned himself to the fact he would need a $5,000+ tow back to Kununurra. That was before Kurt and his dad worked their magic!🔮
Four hours later, and after alot of mucking around, the boys were able to rethread the damaged parts and assemble the hub back together to hopefully get John and his partner back to Drysdale🤞🏼. The boys patch job to the car, had to make it back 70km on some pretty badly corrugated stretch of roads. With lots of positive thoughts - THEY MADE IT!!🎉 They were so happy to roll into Drysdale, because this meant they had access to water, civilization, phone service and were able to organize new car parts.🛠
Knowing they were now safe and sound and not stranded on the side of the road, we said goodbye and continued the journey south. We made it to Barnett River - free camp later that night🌠. Barnett River Gorge is managed by the indigenous and a must see gorge along the Gibb. You camp approximately 1km out of the gorge entrance, which is all signed. In the morning, we walked the 1km into the start of the gorge trail, and then a further 1km into the gorge itself.
Rusty🐶 loved it, as she was able to join us on this walk. The path into the gorge, is a little tricky to find at first but a breeze once you get going and know what your looking for. You can swim in some sections of the gorge as it is all fresh water.
⭐️ our tip is to follow the trail up to the lookout - gives you a great overall view point!
Well we’re about half way across the Gibb now and we can’t wait to see what the other half has to offer. 🕺🏻💃🏻🤙🏼