Shake, Rattle & (Almost) Roll.

On we go to Bell Gorge, some 180k down the road, to a lovely campsite at Silent Grove. It was about 20k north of the Gibb River Road, on a surface that was less than ideal, full of rocks and sharp stones, as well as the ubiquitous corrugations. Betty shakes like mad, and the rattles are deafening, but she perseveres and never lets us down- we thought! On the way we passed through our first river, not too deep, but very rocky in the bottom, but a doddle!

We had decided to relax for the rest of the afternoon, in a temperature of 106f, but not much relaxation as the march flies were out again, and the evening was a matter of trying to evade the flying cockroaches that were dive bombing us every time we went near the light.

Early the following morning we packed up to drive the 10k to Bell Gorge, and a short walk from the car park took us to a beautiful tropical valley, with a waterfall and safe swimming hole below. Words do not adequately describe the beauty of this whole region, and although we have seen many gorges and waterfalls this one is probably the best so far.

However all good things must come to an end, so after an hour of total peace there we made off again towards the Gibb River Road, once again tackling the very poor surface. Then- disaster! As we went round a bend the car started to slide and roll, only just coming to a stop close to the edge. We had a flat! And that was only the start of our problems. The liquid filler we had for this purpose didn’t work, so we had to change the wheel. Where’s the jack? Eventually we found it, but no handle. What to use? We had a small tyre lever which took the wheel up high enough to get it off, after a struggle with the studs as they had been hammered on. But not high enough to get the spare on. What to do? We could have let the new tyre down and then blow it up again, but a better idea was to get out our spade which had been bought for an entirely different purpose and dig a hole below where the tyre was to go. Bingo! it worked, and we were back on the road. We made it to Imintji, where there was a mechanic, cost us a new tyre, and we bought a second secondhand spare for the roof. Once bitten! Together with a jack handle we are now fully equipped.

After our adventure we drove to Galvins gorge, where there was a lovely swimming hole, We were exhausted after our exertions and needed to cool off, and in we went. It was glorious, just what the doctor ordered!

But ever onward, to Mount Barnett Roadhouse, and another campsite.