Day 56 - Hann River to Manning Gorge Campground

 (Kate)

Day 56 – Gibb Rover Road: Hann River to Manning Gorge Campground.

It was cold overnight and first thing this morning. By now an unfamiliar sensation, but welcome after the heat of the days. It warmed up soon enough though. Kate got another nice sunrise photo of the sun peeking through the gum trees. There were lots of frogs (or cane toad?) carcasses around the campsite. Dehydrated, not eaten. We're not sure what led to their deaths.

We set off and headed towards Mt Barnett, which has excellent reviews on Wikicamps for its hot food and friendliness. This is also where we would need to pay camp fees for Manning Gorge Campground, where we wanted to stay for a couple of nights. This campground had a “swimming beach” on the river, and a rope swing.

Water was also available at the Mt B R, and they had an expensive but well stocked store. We bought meat, frozen veg and some essential groceries, like Jatz biscuits We paid for 2 nights of camping and were advised that the walk to the gorge is unshaded, so is best done in the cooler temperature of the morning.

We couldn’t/shouldn’t collect firewood in the campground itself so we drove back out to the main road to get some. We then had to de-prickle ourselves and each other from the seeds of the long grass. That’s still hard to get used to up north – so many plants everywhere, occupying almost every square metre of soil. This place would be amazing to see in the wet season.

Back we went, and along the 7km of track to the campground. Great amenities, all unpowered, plenty of space. We camped right down the back, as is our habit. Slightly annoyingly, there are no public dump points between the GRR/Wyndham junction and Derby, so we needed to be conservative in our use of the porta potty. This meant a 3 minute walk from our campsites to the dunnies. Good exercise. There were signs all over the amenities block threatening people with fines and expulsion if they empty their toilet cassettes into the toilets here. I hate to think how many campers and caravaners have emptied their cassettes on the site of the Gibb River Road.

We went for a swim in the river. Sensational. Cool and refreshing. A big flat rock in the middle which you could sit on to warm up again, or to look for fresh water crocs, which kept a distance from these noisy splashing humans. There was also a rope swing, which Nicole and Keith had lots of fun on, with some other children. They all helped and encouraged each other.

Ben and I chatted to a family from Adelaide (Longwood) who were camping in a tent on a 3.5 month trip like us, with 3 children a bit younger – maybe 8,10 and 12. Also a 20-something man from England who is travelling Australia with his girlfriend, and wants to settle somewhere once they’ve visited all the states. (I have reached the age where I can no longer tell how old younger people are....) Also another family with 3 younger kids, but cannot remember where their home was. The Longwood family said they had no trouble getting their covid shots on the road – they simply rang the state's covid hotline, and got their first shot in Mt Isa, and their second shot in Broome. We will investigate this further when we get to Derby.

Hann River wins an award for tent-peg-friendly ground.

Our campsite at Manning Gorge Campground

The Barnett River

Nicole in action on the superb rope swing.

Keith on the rope swing.

Ben contemplating the state of the nation