Day Eleven: Saturday, 15th May 2021

June 05, 2021

Rose early, and left the room at 6:00 am for a stroll around the homestead precinct. Another beautiful, clear day displayed a pretty sunrise, followed by breakfast at 7:00 am, and departure at 8:00 am.

Sunrise at Drysdale Station

Helen rode up-front this morning,

and, opened and closed the Station gates.

A single specimen representing thousands! - The tree or the steer, I hear you ask!

Re-joining the Kalumburu Road - red dirt and in pretty good condition - the dominant flora was roadside cane grass and savanna (acacia & eucalypt) woodland. We turned southwards for about sixty kilometres to the Gibb River Road junction, where we continued southwards and then the road turned southwestly.

Gibb River ford - view upstream

The following series of photos were all taken in the vicinity of the Gibb River ford.

Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

Rosella is thought to have originated in Sri Lanka, then been introduced to Australia by Indonesian fisherman. Having grown here for thousands of years, it has developed characteristics that make it uniquely Australian. Despite all being the same species, our variety differs to the Hibiscus sabdariffa of New Guinea, Indonesia, and China. In the wild, you can find this edible hibiscus growing in the forest, rainforest and sand dune regions of our tropical north.

Unknown, but pretty beetle

The two Helens.

The Gibb River ford

Unidentified plant

Native Yam

Flower of the Native Yam

Pretty, five-petalled, white wildflower

Leaf of the Native Yam

Continuing along the Gibb River Road, we made a number of ford crossings, and enjoyed much the same landscape, with the occasional livestock coming into view.

Barnett River

Black crows dealing with a dead steer

A cloud, a host of ... pink Batchelor's Buttons

Boabs maintain an intermittent presence

Barnett River and paperbark trees

Turnoff to Manning Gorge

It was recommended that hikers allow 1.5 hours for the return Manning Gorge Walk, so we filled our waterbottles, adjusted our hats, and set off.

Manning River lagoon

St Andrew's Cross spider

A much better example of the cross-shaped decorations that we also saw yesterday. This spider is seen from underneath, whereas yesterday's specimen was seen from above.

Manning Gorge swimming hole

Double-barred finch (Stizoptera bichenovii)

The double-barred finch (Stizoptera bichenovii) is found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Bicheno's finch or as the owl finch, the latter name due to the dark ring of feathers around the face.

Sand Hibiscus (Alyogyne pinoniana)

The flower of this species opens widely - presumably to maintain some humidity inside. It usually grows in the deep red sand on sandplains and between dunes. It was formerly included in the hibiscus family, but has an unbranched style, and five closely bunched stigmas different to Hibiscus. The name is pronounced: al-ee-ODG-in-ee.

Freshwater Crocodile

Only sixty metres upstream from the swimming hole (to the left of the photo above) was this little chappie - just watching! Some of our group swam, but most just enjoyed the ambience - together with a large number of other tourists, many of whom were swimming. Shortly though, we retraced our steps, boarded the bus, and returned to Mount Barnett Roadhouse for lunch, after which the next destination was Galvan's Gorge.

Pretty flowers of the Darwin Woolly-butt

Galvan's Creek

Galvan's Gorge swimming hole

Walking the track out

Leaving the start point of the Galvan's Gorge walk, we headed off by bus on the 45-minute drive to Bell Gorge Wilderness Lodge, where we settled-in, enjoyed pre-dinner drinks, partook of an excellent dinner, sat around the camp fire, and retired at 10:00 pm - well pleased with our day.