We had heard that the road into Mitchell Falls was in an atrocious condition (one guy had broken his axle amongst other things we were told) and that due to the poor wet season (only half the normal rainfall) the falls had stopped flowing so we had decided to do an extra day at McGowan’s and then return to Drysdale Station for a night before journeying back to the Gibb River Road and Manning Gorge our next destination. It was somewhat disappointing missing the falls but provides a good excuse for a return journey in a couple of years time…better to make the effort and see them at their best!.

Packing up camp after 3 days was not without a hitch…Gordon was again wrestling with his self inflating mattress – Branch stayed out of it this time and thus it took 3 people to wrangle the mattress into a form able to be put back into its bag – providing much amusement to onlookers!

After packing up and having brekky we had a short reading under the trees ably led by Trev and then said our goodbyes to all the characters and people we had met during our stay. Jordan and Mel were going to attempt Mitchell Falls as they felt the repair job on heir fuel tank was holding well.

Our first stop was Kalumburu to get some supplies and have a look around.

Kalumburu Mission was founded in the early 1900s by the Catholic Church and is still operating today. The community is a dry community and church and school attendance is compulsory. The mission was bombed  by the Japanese in WWII killing the priest at the time and several locals including children.

The museum was a fascinating place – an eclectic mix of memorabilia, historical and religious artifacts from the mission, aboriginal paintings and articles, rock collections and cultural items from around the world.

We went on to Munurra (King Edward River) campground just off the Kalumburu Road along the Mitchell Falls Road and crossed over the river which still had some water in it – our second river crossing that was still flowing.

Jordan and Mel were stopped on the side of the road there as their fuel tank repair had failed so they were turning around, aborting their trip to Mitchel falls and heading for Drysdale Station so we would catch up with them that evening.

Stopping at the campground day use area at Munurra we ate lunch and then went for a swim on the rock waterhole in the King Edward River – cool and refreshing – the water was very clean and clear…we had originally planned to stay here for the 2 nights in between doing a day trip into Mitchell falls – would have been  a great place to camp.

Annette gave Glen a quick cuddle pre swim in case of croc attack!!

On then to Drysdale Station for the night…camp was set up quickly – professionals now at quick setup – then on to happy hour. We ate the rest of the fish from yesterday’s catch for dinner – delicious and then enjoyed hot showers before hitting the sack.