The Gibb River Road: Galvins to Drysdale

**To maintain some privacy for Rob and Jade, I won’t be using their surname. I will refer to the family as The RJs.

Turns out we are travelling in the same direction as the RJs, and since they seem like cool normal people, and as an added bonus our kids have gelled beautifully, we decided to camp together at our next stop, Manning Gorge at Mt Barnett Station. Elsie, their eldest, gave strict instruction to save them a spot… next to us, with a fire fit, and suitable trees to secure their rope swings. Mission set!

The Gibb continued to deliver very unremarkable road conditions. We stopped for fuel at Imintji which was an interesting store. Fresh food always goes quickly in our fridge/pantry so I bought some more apples and another UHT milk just in case. I have no idea about food availability on the Gibb, so milk, bread, wraps and apples will be bought at every opportunity. 

Galvins Gorge

We deliberated about whether to stop at Adcock Gorge or Galvins Gorge (or both) on the way to Manning. All reports I heard and could read were that Adcock has a pretty shocking road in, that you’d be irresponsible to tow anything in there, and that it’s not really worth the effort anyway. Based on that we decided to only visit Galvins before heading to Manning. I’ll have to wait and see other people’s photos etc. of Adcock to know whether I agree with the reviews, but I am so incredibly glad we visited Galvins.

It’s a short walk from the carpark just off the main road, following a tiny rocky stream with some occasional rapids, before opening up into a beautiful little oasis with an intimate feel. We shared the plunge pool at the bottom of a tall and graceful water fall with one or two other couples at any given time. Pete and Lynette were there when we arrived, and left not that long afterwards. There was a perfectly placed Boab standing just to the left of the top of falls, a monarch watching over her land. We swam and explored, used the rope swing to launch into the water, and sat beneath the falls for a massage. It was glorious.

On the walk back out we saw some interesting skinks, some little red berries that looked like they’d be delicious (we didn’t test the theory), as well as the RJs! When we left them back at Silent Grove they were searching for a bottle opener that was an anniversary gift, loaded with sentimental value. Sadly we heard that the search was unsuccessful. We said good bye once again with a reminder of the very important mission of reserving a campsite.

Night 4-5 Mt Barnett/Manning Gorge

We pulled in to Mt Barnett Roadhouse to find Simon and Caz parked out the front. They were deciding whether to stay here and do Manning, or to skip it and go to Mt Elizabeth. They have both done Manning in the past and Caz needs to be mindful of her ‘pump’. I assume it was diabetes related but actually have no idea. The problem was the river crossing that you need to swim in order to start the walk, and the pump needs to stay generally dry. We paid for our camping and picked up some frozen bread, waved Simon and Caz goodbye, and went to choose a campsite at the end of a 7km dirt track from the roadhouse.

I continue to be amazed by just how many people there are out in the middle of nowhere. There would have been about a hundred vans/tents etc camped here. Apparently in peak season they’ll get up to 700. It’s insane! 

Beezan and Farah, another couple we got talking to at Silent Grove about their plans and the decision to do Mitchell Falls or not, were at Manning Gorge the same time as us. They have two children, one about 5 and the other maybe 10-12 months. They decided against Mitchell Falls, but they plan to use one of the half drums to ship their baby across the river, Moses style, which I thought was pretty cool. 

Set-up

We chose our spot and put our dining table (complete with table cloth) in an area opposite us (on the other side of the firepit) to reserve it for the RJs. Fingers crossed Elsie would be impressed! We set up camp and chilled out for the afternoon and collected some firewood etc. When the RJs drove in, Elsie enthusiastically jumped out of the car, came and wrapped her lanky arms around me and exclaimed, ‘You’ve made all my wishes come true!’ 

The rope swings were set up, as was the hammock, and the kids played the afternoon away while the adults chatted, continued to set up and sort dinner etc. I took a walk to the creek. It was a beautiful white sandy beach that fringed the crystal clear river that flowed over a rocky bed. Very different to Bell. It would be easy to spend days just here, lazing on the sand and taking a swim every time you got too warm. It was perfect. Rob and Leon chatted about the Margaret River wheel alignment because the RJs also have a very worn tyre with wires exposed that needs changing before they drive further. There was also a strange sound from their engine as they drove in… Turns out the winch had been activated somehow, and as it was hooked to the bull bar, had pulled the front of the car in on itself until the motor burned out. They’re not having a good run. Rob is grateful to have met Leon at this point in their trip.Teddy lost one of his top front teeth before we left home. The other was ever so slightly loose at the time and has naturally become progressively looser as the weeks pass. Tonight, after a minor freak out, he pulled it out. 

Oh dear god, the damn tooth fairy! Slacker still hasn’t come for Malachi’s tooth lost 7 weeks ago! Theodore is acutely aware of this and basically assumes we’re too far from home for the tooth fairy and that he won’t be receiving any cash. A quick whisper to Teddy that maybe when you’re this remote the tooth fairy only comes out for bulk trips, and he was excited to see what would unfold. Jade puts me to shame. You could write a series of fantasy children’s novels with the elaborate tooth fairy system she has set up for her kids. Charlie, the youngest, can tell me the entire enchanted story despite never having lost a tooth! But, since each time a human baby is born a fairy is born, he does in fact already have a tooth fairy assigned. I can’t remember their name, but it’s elaborate. The Geissler tooth fairy’s creativity doesn’t have a chance of matching the RJs; however, she did manage to fold some paper envelopes, adorn them with juvenile style drawings of teeth and each child’s name, and enclosed a $2 coin. Worked like a charm.

Rob and Jade, Leon and I sat around the fire chatting about life and our Gibb plans from here, but the cold sent us to bed pretty early. Another night where I’m very grateful for Leon’s effort sourcing and installing that thing. 

The Walk

In the morning we got ready for the walk to Manning Gorge. Beezan and Farah passed us on their way and we wished them luck.

All 10 of us made our way to the river. After some tough talks of building up courage and loading all our backpacks and shoes into the drums, we ventured across. Having Harriet around definitely helps with Joey and his reluctance/hesitation/overthinking. Harriet is such a fun time, up for any challenge or adventure. Joey never wants to be left behind and if he sees Harriet literally take the plunge first, he pretty quickly follows suit. We all made it across the river in one piece and didn’t spot any crocs!

Barefooted Bandits

On the other side of the river we asked some people returning what kind of a walk it is. Yes, we know it’s classified as a grade 5 walk, and we know that it’s 5km return. However, we’d read and heard that about other walks only to do the walk and find it was basically rock hopping the entire way. What I wanted to know was, would the kids be better with or without shoes… which other people simply can’t answer. The people returning from the walk told us it was rock base the vast majority of the way with a small scrambling decent at the end. I was tempted to leave our shoes but Leon wasn’t a fan. However, when I saw Jade leave their family’s shoes, that was all the convincing I needed.

2.5km was a long way in bare feet. There was much judgement from those coming in the opposite direction in the way of disapproving stares and comments. However, there was also a showering of accolades from a pretty rugged man who trudged up behind us exclaiming, ‘Wow, you guys are really tough. Here I was thinking I was f***ing hard doing it thongs.’ I appreciated this man. It was definitely not rock base the majority of the way. That was a fallacy. There were short stints of rock base broken up by long stretches of narrow path with a compacted dirt base littered with dried spinifex – perfect for painful microscopic splinters to embed deeply in the many pairs of bare feet.

I am still carrying the burden of my shellac damaged nails struggling to recover. Thin and flaky, no good for splinter removal. Thankfully Jade didn’t mind pulling such splinters out of all of the children’s feet as well as mine. I think I managed to return the favour once. I’m also sure both Jade and I decided to trudge on and bury said splinters deep into calloused heels, as we knew they were irretrievable point in time.
We also saw two black snakes having a fat ol’ time in the grass by the path, where we walked bare foot. Grateful for my snake bandage, though regretful of the no shoe decision, Jade and I managed to convince ourselves that there’s nothing to suggest the snake would bite the foot anyway.

The Falls

Eventually, after enduring the 2.5km splintery walk, we were gifted a beautiful waterfall and swimming holes.

We passed Pete and Lynette who were leaving as we arrived and they leant us their noodles and pointed out the rock art. We invited them over for beers around the fire on our return. We were quick to get in and cool off, and as I did, I forgot about my beloved new sunglasses sitting atop my head! As I dived in they were swept off my head and swiftly plunged to the bottom. That was a short lived relationship! Karijini to Manning Gorge. ‘Twas a beautiful life! The water was so incredibly deep and despite being crystal clear we could not reach the bottom to even begin to look for them. Gone forever. I felt worse about the pollution than the loss of sunglasses.

Jade and Elsie swam to falls with me and Malachi. You could swim all the way out to and behind the falls without too much trouble. The current mustn’t be as strong as Bell; however I didn’t swim out to Bell and at these falls Malachi shared a body board with Elsie. Both Jade and I were able to hang out in the waterfall and let the water fall on our faces and heads… which was significantly more powerful (and painful) than expected!

Elsie and Malachi are really get along. They’re very different kids. Elsie is a spirited child with a heart of gold. Full of confidence, a master of the art of story telling, and could talk underwater. Malachi is a great listener, but also does a really good job of letting Elsie know when he has something to say. It’s quite lovely watching Malachi and Joey form these relationships with the girls. These relationships are beautiful, but when you’re spending such concentrated time with anyone, let alone brand new people, there will also be learnings and points of uncomfortability. All four of them do a remarkable job of letting each other (and their parents) know when they need a breather. Joey and Harriet are more similar than Malachi and Elsie, and listening to their debrief conversations with each other is heartwarming because they ‘get’ the big emotions of the other, and sometimes behaving in a way you’re not proud of once you’ve calmed.

Once out of the water, and after the obligatory rock baking shot, we all walked around and through the creek, to waterfall. All the kids, as well as Rob and Leon, jumped off the waterfall. Again, the presence of the RJ kids gave Joey the confidence to have a go, when I am very sure he otherwise wouldn’t have. He was so proud of himself. Charlie was also proper proud of himself saying that he would never usually jump off something like that, so perhaps the two families being together is mutually beneficial.

On the way out we saw some rock art. I’m not sure if there is other art to view at Manning, but this was one painting of what looked to be a goanna. My assumption is that there must be more we didn’t see, or that other art must have existed and has been lost to either water or tourist interference. It seems odd to me after what we learnt at Uluṟu, that there would be a single depiction.

The Return

The walk home matched the walk in with regards to splinters etc. On the walk in Leon’s habit of walking ahead did not work in his favour, as all the kids kept up with him. To his disappointment, this was not the case with the other adults. He was grateful the walk back to camp had the responsibilities more evenly spread. He was also grateful for the comment from a passerby highlighting him as the only one in shoes and labelling him a ‘smart man’.

The walk home gifted us a sighting of a bird Teddy has been quite taken with. A beautiful kingfisher looking bird with quite striking pastel-rainbow colours. We’ll have to find out what it is.

When we arrived back to the river crossing there was a tiny black/brown snake sun baking on the rocks by the bank which we had a good look at. We all swam back across the river which was uneventful, and Jade went up to the Roadhouse to make use of the internet to do some work. I was touched when she told me while she can be hesitant to leave her children with another family, that she was happy to leave her kids with us because she was confident I’d be able to manage them should conflict or big emotions occur. What’s also very comforting, is that I feel entirely the same way and would happily leave our children with Jade (and Rob) knowing she would understand and cater to the nuance of their various individual needs.

The Evening Fire

We returned the noodles to Pete and Lynette and soon after they came for some afternoon beers. I am enjoying the talking and the socialising. Particularly when we keep running into and spending time with the same people; the conversations have some depth. I enjoy learning about people and the lives they lead. What has brought them travelling, what type of traveller they are and so on. 

Leon was keen to get some firewood. There is signage around on your way in that you’re not to collect firewood. But the caretaker had said it was okay to collect dead wood from around the place. There wasn’t much laying around, but there was a big dead branch hanging from a tree. Leon was reluctant to yank it down and gain too much attention. But Rob and Pete were more than happy to give him a hand, wrenching the giant beast to the ground. We were set for the evening! 

Tonight we had some time with Rob and Jade around the fire without their kids or ours, and it was lovely to chat uninterrupted. Again, just learning about people, sharing relatable stories about the intricacies of parenting kids who can require careful management, our plans for the future – immediate as well as back in reality. We shared the celebrations and the challenges of travelling, how these differ between our families, us travelling for three months and them travelling for thirteen. Soon enough it again grew too cold to stay and chat, and we went to bed, continuing to be grateful for the heater.

Heading to Drysdale

In the morning we packed up and Leon helped Rob change the bald tyre on their camper. They decided against the wheel alignment. And we headed to Drysdale Station. I am very keen to go to Mitchell Falls. We are hearing mixed reviews about Kolumboru Road as well as the road to Mitchell Falls being seriously rough, potentially not okay to tow on, etc etc. but I am committed, so I find every shred of evidence that it isn’t irresponsible. I also said we would double check with the people at Drysdale – surely they’ll know. 

We got fuel at the Mt Barnett Roadhouse, as well as a few supplies and some sausage rolls before heading off. A Lady who worked there told me we’d be totally fine going up to Mitchell, her and her husband were going on the weekend, it’s rough, but it’s fine. So my confidence was building. 

Night 6 – Drysdale

The RJ’s have decided to go where we go… as long was we aren’t sick of them! We’re not sick of them… and also, there is comfort in having someone do these roads with you. I said that Rob and Jade are normal. And by that I mean easy. They’re easy people to have around and easy to get along with. In some ways our kids are remarkably similar, and in some they are starkly different. But what I love is that they know their kids. They think they’re incredible, but they’re also aware of their impact. Between us we have six kids, who only just met, spending almost every waking moment together, going on four nights. There’s bound to be niggles. And there’s very open and honest conversation about whether people need a break or not and facilitating that. One thing I have noticed is that the RJ children need clearer expectations and boundaries than our boys. Or perhaps it’s tighter routine and predictability. I can’t quite put my finger on it. But Rob and Jade deliver, and do just that. It’s quite impressive. I wonder if I had kids who needed that, if I’d be able to be that vigilant. While my expectations are clear, the routine or consistency of general practice can be pretty flaky. I am the one who loses track of time and therefore meal times are whacked, as is bed time!

We arrived at Drysdale before the RJs which surprised me as I was sure they’d left first and we hadn’t passed them. I checked that they hadn’t registered to camp and they hadn’t. I wonder how you decide when to worry about someone out here. The thought did cross my mind that perhaps they actually were over the Geisslers, and decided to split while they could! But no, they had in fact taken a different exit from Mt Barnett and ended up behind us. They also had to manage a child melt down en route which took some time to de-escalate. Nonetheless I was relieved when they drove in.

Drysdale is a pretty cool little place. I don’t believe there is much to actually see and do here, it’s more a resting spot if you’re taking the Kolumboru Road detour off the Gibb, but they do have a restaurant and bar, and hot showers and flushing toilets. We decided to have dinner and a few drinks at the restaurant.

We asked the men at check-in as well as the people behind the bar at the restaurant, about the road to Mitchell Falls. They all said we’d be fine. The road is rough, but if you’re well equipped, no problem. They said the King Edward river is a decent crossing. Loose rocky bottom and about 700mm deep. Decision made, we’re going! Now just to decide how to do the trip. Stay at King Edward River and break up the drive or go straight there? Then there’s the temptation of a helicopter ride the option of flying one way (either from the campground to the falls, or the reverse) is very appealing. 

We decided to take the chopper from the campground to the top of the falls provided we could get a booking. We also decided we’d get to King Edward tomorrow make a decision when we arrived about whether to stay the night, or push on to Mitchell Falls.

Dinner at the restaurant was probably the first test of the kids tolerance levels for each other. It was interesting with houses of cards being built (and occasionally knocked), uno games being played (with two different sets of family rules), burgers ordered without lettuce (and arriving with lettuce on them), all the things. And it had potential to go pretty badly. However, when you have parents whose philosophies closely align, and who all think remaining calm is the best response; while tiresome, it all worked and did not end in disaster.