Everyone was woken with a lot shout of “Get out of it!!” coming from Gordon’s tent at 0200hrs…. Just prior to that we had heard a loud rustling and then when Gordie called out, the sound of tent zips in unison being ripped open was heard. We all jumped out and shone torches around – but nothing was seen. Whatever had been rustling around was long gone…but everyone was now awake.

The night was surprisingly warmer than at Manning Gorge and the stars, as always, were a myriad of sparkling diamonds in the night sky. We all went back to bed and woke to the sounds of birds at about 6AM.

We began to pack up when an older guy came over asking for help to jump start his car – Dave already had the Pearl running charging his fridge battery so he drove over along with Branch who had been having a bit of a dry patch with no real issues to deal with in the camp (or so he tough as potentially some issues were going undisclosed….)

Unfortunately the Pearl could not get their car going so MacGyver came over…and then Glen, Gordie with his generator, a couple of other blokes from the camp ground and finally the Landcruiser kicked into life – the couple were now heading straight for Derby unable to stop their car as a battery cell had collapsed and they needed a new battery.

The birds in Slient Grove were in abundance and very cheeky – Rosie could not help herself and fed them a weetbix which only encouraged them further…. Lots of bird poo on chairs, tents, my hand…the GOPRO!!

Before we left for Bell Gorge we had a team meeting (aka everyone talking at once!) to sort out protocol for travelling together to ensure debacles like yesterday such as overshooting turnoffs/ missing turnoffs/turning the incorrect way do not occur in the future – and to ensure everyone is quite clear on where we are heading and what we are doing…. Suggestions were flying left right and centre – if this team had to care for critically ill patients they would have killed them all as no one would have received clear directions or messages – nor would they have remembered what was the correct type of info. ISBAR communication style was introduced and the team left for Bell Gorge with a better understanding of how to work together – the team that grows together works together!!

We drove the 10ks to Bells Gorge and began the walk along the creek bed and up to the waterfall and gorge.

The scenery was beautiful with lots of palms, pandanus and gums. We arrived at the top of the waterfall and took in the beautiful area.

We continued on down the descent to the falls which became a bit challenging as it was steep and lots of boulders to walk down but was really worth the effort.

Large rocks teetered on the edge of the cliff and there were huge overhangs – all looking as if they could fall at any moment!

The waterfalls were still falling and the pools were large and great to swim in.

Trev and Gordie filled up Rosie and Kerry’s waterbottles under the falls – the water was cool and pure – great to drink.

The rocks under the water were so slippery they necessitated a crocodile-like exit!!

After morning tea and a refreshing swim we left and climbed up the cliff, returned to the cars and drove back out to Imintji  – along the way Glen and Dave stopped to help Gerdie – a German woman who had a flat tyre – then we all met at the Imitji Community Store where we grabbed some icecreams and coffee. It was a great store with grass and shady trees out the front.

We drove on to Windjana Gorge through the King Leopold Ranges the landscape changed again to tall mountains ..

– past Napier Station and the very prominent Queen Victoria’s head rockface..

across the Lennard River which was dry…

We turned off to Windjana Gorge National Park and arrived at a great time to get good spots in the generator camping area.

We set up for the last time on this leg of the journey – by this time everyone was a well oiled machine and setup went really smoothly.

Len the park volunteer had informed up that you could not swim at Windjana Gorge as the water was putrid and there were over 140 freshwater crocs in the gorge – everywhere apparently and as we are approaching mating season the females were getting cranky!

Tunnel Creek was still flowing and Len gave us a very informative and descriptive narrative on accessing and walking through it – the guys were relieved as we could get in the water there…

After eating dinner we had listened to a talk on Daniel Chapter 2 which prompted a long and great discussion on how God works in peoples lives, end times and what we should have as priorities in our lives.

Another pack up and hitting the dirt again we left Manning Gorge for Silent Grove campground.

A quick stop on our way out at Mt Barnett Roadhouse for some more baked goods…

Along the way we had planned to stop at Galvan’s Gorge and Adcock Gorge – however talking to a couple yesterday they had told us that there was a dead croc at Galvans Gorge and the place stank – as it was a 1 km walk in and no opportunity to swim due to the rotting reptile we drove on for Adcock Gorge…

The Toyota Precision Driving team once again overshot the turnoff…..which was signposted….but no  real issue as they did make a u-ie and returned back finally rejoining the party.

The landscape was ever changing as was the Gibb River Road with some small tar sections appearing at times however still mostly dirt but in better condition than the start.

Adcock Gorge was a short walk in – easy and very picturesque with small waterlilies as well as larger ones and unusual red plants which we had never seen before.

The waterhole was beautiful – we had it all to ourselves and had a great swim and look around. There was a small aboriginal painting on the rockface. Again the waterfall was not flowing – the legacy of a poor wet season….

We drove on to Silent Grove with a brief toilet stop at Imintji…

Silent Grove is part of the Leopold National Park and is nestled at the base of the Leopold Range.

Bell Gorge is about 10k from Silent Grove and is the gorge walk we are planning to tackle tomorrow – apparently about 1.5km in and another beautiful swimming hole at the end.

We set up camp again and had lunch… and a shower to beat the tour buses who would come in and use all hot water..

Gordie was bent on having a fire tonight and climbed up the cliff to gather wood – again another faux pas – no collecting wood in this area despite the provision of fire pits…

So no fire tonight!

As it was Sunday we had breakfast then a reading, discussion and prayer before leaving to do the Manning Gorge walk. To access the trail you had to cross the river – a barrel on a pulley system was provided to get your gear across dry. It was already pretty hot so it was great to start the walk with a cool swim and then walk in your cozzies to the gorge pool and falls.

There had been a bushfire 2 days ago and parts of it were still smouldering. As we climbed higher the views back towards the campsite and beyond were beautiful.

The walk was not too difficult – fairly even path with a few rocky sections but lots to see on the way – boabs, gums and great views.

After a couple of rocky gullies up and down we arrived at the gorge which had an amazing swimming hole – very deep and clear with a sandy section. Unfortunately the waterfall was barely a trickle but it was such a serene and picturesque place it did not really matter.

The water was so deep it was safe to jump off the rocks so we swam, jumped and generally cooled off after the hot trek in.

Rosie gave instructions to the girls as to how to get your hair wet and keep your sunnies dry….

We spent a fair bit of time there enjoying the ambience of the place….

eventually we had to leave to make the 1.5km walk back – at least there was a great rockpool to swim in at the end of the journey!

Back at camp a whirly-whirly swept through the area – quite a large one – by the time it was captured on camera it had started to dissipate vut it caused a bit of havoc in one area of the campground.

Rosie was on a mission to get her thongs clean so out came the bucket and pumice stone – first person ever known to use pumice on their thongs!!

As it had been cold we decided to have another fire – and again a huge amount of firewood was collected….no damper tonight but we had marshmallows and chocolate fondue instead…awesome dessert when camping.

Everyone rose early and pulled down tents, packed gear and ate brekkie before topping up the fuel at Drysdale Station and travelling back along the Kalumburu road – destination Manning Gorge. Branch had to assist me finding my phone – located in the pouch under my seat in the Ranger…but no success finding Annette’s phone as it had also gone walkabout…

The Kalumburu road was now a bit worse for wear as so many vans, trailers and vehicles had been up and back the last couple of days since we had travelled to Kalumburu – the corrugations were a bit harsher but still not to be compared to the Oodnadatta track.

We turned onto the Gibb River Road heading towards Mt Barnett Roadhouse and Manning Gorge. The road improved somewhat and the scenery was serene with grassland and gums with the escarpment in the background shimmering in the heat. The road alternated from red dust – an unbelievably deep red – to grey and sandy as well as sharp rocks protruding looking ominous – able to puncture even the toughest tyre with a single stab!

River beds that usually still have some water in them were very dry….

 A quick stop for morning tea at the Hann River revealed some further small incidents….

Glen and Annette did not arrive at the riverside as planned and were not responding to radio calls – after about 15mins they arrived just as we were contemplating whether to drive back – turned out their aerial had snapped off with all the rattling – much to Branch’s delight Trev had a spare on our car as our CB was still not working and we were using our handheld CB so the transfer was made…

Gordie also had another screw loose on his mudflaps – Branch crossed over to assist and was astounded at the appearance of a PINK toolbox out of the back of Gordie’s ute – SERIOUSLY!!! What bloke uses a pink toolset????

After morning tea we arrived at Mt Barnett Station and bought our camping passes for Manning Gorge – a short 7km drive in from the GRR. At Mt Barnett Station they had the awesome roadhouse sausage rolls – huge with thin puff pastry so no one could resist and we bought them and some hot chips for early lunch – washed down with a Splice icecream – first we had seen for ages it seemed!!

On the way we saw a large blowup pool toy on the side of the road in pristine condition so stopped and shoved it in our car (a LOT of shoving!!) to hand in at the campground caretakers place – someone will surely come looking for it . Sure enough we saw a ute with an aboriginal boy in the back tray driving at pace past us – we could not flag them down but took the toy to the campground – about 30mins later they came in and retrieved it!

We arrived at the Manning Gorge Campsite and grabbed a great spot under some trees with a firepit and not too far from the amenities.

A quick setup in the 34 degree heat which revealed Annette’s phone in the pouch on her campchair – and then we all went down to the swimming hole for a well deserved dip in the cool clear water…the place was busy with lots of campers and a couple of tour groups but the water holes were large and we had a great time cooling off.

The campground had some massive boab trees in it as well as lots of other tree varieties – gums, melaleucas and acacias.

Back at camp the Bottomless Barista was at it again….

Dinner sorted and firewood obtained (more than needed as usual!!)..

After dinner we sat around the campfire while the damper cooked…

Glen had bought a new toy at the roadhouse – an upmarket headtorch with multiple functions including a sensor light – as he had been coveting McGyver’s ever since we have been on the Gibb. He was so attached to it he wore it to bed…don’t know how the sensor light will go over night – may be quite annoying…

the Bottomless Barista could not help himself and had to take a look – almost falling into Glen’s tent in the process..

Manning gorge walk tomorrow….everyone was keen for it!

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.

The guys were up predawn having brekkie and the drove out to Honeymoon Bay to go fishing with Les one of the local indigenous charter boat owners. In the car on the way there they prayed for their day fishing – not only to be successful fishing but also for an opportunity to be fishers of men and share their faith with someone…

Back at camp we had a slower start to the day and after breakfast went for a long walk up the northern end of McGowans and around the point.

The day was hot and fairly still – not much wind as we walked over shelly beaches, rocks of varying colours and sizes and through the mangroves.

The place is wildly beautiful with copious amounts of driftwood beached by sun and salt water lying around, red- striated rocks with hues of pink and grey…dark rocks at the water’s edge with huge oysters able to be eaten (max 3 per person per day allowed according to Matt) all against an ocean of greens and azures and the sky a vivid blue…

We paddled in rock pools to keep cool and chatted to other tourists also enjoying the rock walk.

As the tide was coming back in we walked back so we could get around the mangrove area easily and got back to camp.. The guys were not back yet so we all relaxed in the heat of the day under the large mango tree with a cool drink and then lunch.

Rosie had been feeding the resident chooks and one had taken a shine to the underneath of Trev’s Ranger – we were hoping for fresh eggs but no such luck!

It was about 130 when Trev, Gordie and Glen arrived back and we had just enough time to hear about their trip before we had to leave at 2PM to get to Honeymoon Bay for our tour.

Glen and Gordie had fish envy as Trev caught the largest fish about 5 mins into the day – a 72cm trevally!! Glen had success catching 4 sharks and Gordie caught a red emperor and 2 sharks. Trev also caught 3 sharks – the place must be teeming with sharks!!

The guys had a great chat with Les the charter boat owner while they were relaxing after the trip eating icecream with he and his wife Joy. He had lived in Kalumburu since he was 4 being brought up by his grandparents at the mission there. It proved a great opportunity to share the gospel with them and discuss the differences with their cultural beliefs. Gordie promised to send them a couple of books with Kerry this afternoon when we went on the sightseeing tour which we remembered to do and they were very thankful.

The four girls and Dave arrived in Honeymoon Bay and were greeted by Les who promptly took us down to the beach and onto his boat. The Honeymoon Bay campsite itself was not as green as McGowans but they did have hot water provided by 2 donkeys and toilet paper!!

Honeymoon Bay was a large circular beach area again with clear blue water.

We took off in the boat and were grateful for the cool breeze that came with the boat ride – even though we had to hang onto our hats!!

Les navigated the boat out and across to an area called the Lost City – amazing rock structures of sedimentary rock layers all eroding away looking somewhat like old buildings in pillar-like formations.

Les explained that there were plenty of sharks, crocodiles, dugong, mudcrab, turtle and fish as well as kangaroos and wallabies that his grandfather had taught him how to catch and eat…

We stopped at a small beach area in the Lost City and walked around looking for wild life. We saw the imprint of a large croc that had been sunning itself on the beach but no croc in sight…

A large bull shark swam lazily by the edge of the rocks and we enjoyed looking around and taking lots of pics.

Les took us further along the coast then across to the other side of the bay towards McGowans…and back to Honeymoon Bay after a great 2 hours on the water. Les recommended his grandmother’s rosella jam to us – homemade by his wife so we each bought a small jar – great for damper!

Back at camp the guys had been tinkering with fuel cans, checking over cars, cleaned and tidied…and had a swim in the rockpools.

After happy hour watching an amazing sunset we cooked the fish and shared it with Jordan and Mel who came over for dinner after putting the kids to bed.

The successful day out on the water must have motivated the guys as for the first time Dave, Glen and Gordie got stuck into the washing up….or was it just a smooth move to impress our guests??  Either way we were thankful for being able to sit back , relax and enjoy the experience!

Everyone awoke to the birds heralding the sunrise…. After a cooked brekky we headed down to the shore to look around and find somewhere to have a safe swim.

We located the rockpools Matt had told us about and Trev, Gordie and I hopped in for a quick dip while keeping an eye out for crocs. The daytime temperature here gets up to the mid 30’s at this time of year but the nights are a pleasant 15-18. A cool breeze comes up at about 1PM which is refreshing and takes the bite out of the heat.

Matt had said that the fishos often threw their waste into the sea past the rocks and some lemon sharks would come and have a feed…and also tiger sharks and possibly the local crocs so we were keen to have a look and take some photos.

Before venturing down to the beach we went and booked a fishing charter for the guys tomorrow (always living in hope of finally catching a fish…apparently guaranteed!!)… and the girls booked to go on the sightseeing boat trip – should be a really interesting day tomorrow…

We took the drone down and flew it over the coast – the coastline was really beautiful with azure water, white sand and the rocks lining the shores….

Trev spotted a huge tiger shark swimming slowly around in the bay close to the shore….

Some lemon sharks came over much to Rosie’s delight but the fishos still had not come to throw in their scraps…. so we went back for a coffee made by the Bottomless Barista (aka Gordie)

We then headed out for a swim down at the beach area that was a bit safer as long as someone was a spotter.

The small beach looked so peaceful and another couple had just come out of the water so we felt OK about having a swim – we took turns being the shark spotter up on the rocks!

The water looked so enticing and so we jumped in briefly to cool off….and took some more drone footage – no crocs or sharks in sight.

Rosie and Kerry took the safer option of sitting at the edge of the water while Gordie and Trev were in further as shark bait!!

Back for lunch and then a relaxing afternoon under the shade of the mango trees…

or so we thought until Trev noticed that our fridge had stopped working – Branch who had been very quiet (relaxing in the tropical paradise of McGowan’s) appeared to provide a calming influence as Trev did some troubleshooting to work out the issue – seems it was the pin in the 12volt charger – which he promptly fixed…

Fridge issues were not unique to Trev – there was trouble in the Wells and Hackfath camps as car batteries flattened with fridges working overtime in the heat and no dual battery systems with solar panel assist…and Kerry noted an issue with their outdoor shower – Gordon had insisted there was no need to peg it down – fortunately it was not in use or there may have been some northern exposure!

Gordie and Trev were wandering around the camp making friends with all and sundry – there were a few guys with Rams who had bought their vehicles at the same place Gordon had bought the Titan so the vehicle stories were flying!!

Happy hour was spent on the front beach watching the sun go down – spectacular!

After dinner we sat around and chatted with Jordan who was camping next to us with his wife Mel and their 2 kids – we had met them at Drysdale Station when we were swimming at the Miner’s Pool – he and his wife had spotted the small freshie that was nearby while we swam. They had managed to get a puncture in their fuel tank and were having some issues getting it fixed. Some guy had given them some putty which Jordan was planning to utitilse for the repair – hopefully it works!

The guys had an early morning start with their fishing charter leaving at 0630 from Honeymoon Bay so they packed their gear and food in preparation just before going to bed.

Everyone awoke to the sounds of birds heralding the dawn after a night in the tents….Rose and Dave were much warmer than the night before after using their towels as blankets and putting on the fly of their tent.

Packing up went smoothly as everyone was getting in the groove …except for Gordie who again had a fight with his self inflating mattress…Branch decided at that moment to hop in for a mattress test much to Gordie’s frustration!

We left Drysdale Station and travelled further along the Kalumburu road towards McGowan’s Sunset Beach…the landscape was full of variety… and at some points looked quite lush. Brumbies grazed at the side of the road and there was water in some of the rivers – we crossed the Drysdale River and arrived at Kalumburu just in time to buy our visitor’s permits before the office closed for lunch.

Kalumburu Mission and the town looked well cared for and definitely worth a visit when the shop, museum and gallery are open.

Driving on to McGowan’s Sunset Beach the road changed to a sandy track then finally we saw the ocean – the Timor Sea…beautiful turquoise water, white sand and gorgeous coastline!!

We were greeted by Matt the caretaker who gave us the rundown including the croc instructions. Apparently there is a resident 5m male saltie here with 2 slightly smaller female crocodiles so there is no swimming on the main beach. There are 2 rockpool areas for a quick swim if you use a croc spotter as well as a shallow beach further up from the main beach again where you swim at your own risk and use a spotter.

Our campsite was fantastic – great view of the beach under a large mango tree. We set up the tents in a circle with relative ease although there was trouble in the Hackfath camp when Glen decided to put his groceries through the compactus (aka left rear wheel)…Branch felt it best to let that one ride!!

After setup and lunch we went for a walk to find the rockpools for a swim.

We walked for quite a while but did not find the pools so returned even hotter. The sun was over the water by this time and so the reflection meant you could not see into the water so we did not swim that afternoon.

The sunset over the beach was beautiful – spectacular colours of oranges and reds mixed with purples and blues.

Everyone was up early and stinging for the legendary scones that were coming out of the Ellenbrae station oven at 0800hrs… packing up never went so quickly…but Gordie did have a space issue trying to squeeze everything into the Titan!!!

Branch got on the bandwagon as “gasgate” was still ongoing….and reassured everyone that there were sufficient gas cookers to manage the catering for this leg of the journey….

We drove back to the station and ordered the scones – they definitely lived up to their reputation – light fluffy with delicious fresh cream.

The grounds of Ellenbrae Station were like an oasis in the desert…lush and green with abundant birdlife and other forms of wildlife!!

After enjoying the early morning tea and discussing tales of woe with other fellow Gibb travellers we were on our way to Drysdale River Station. Everyone felt pretty privileged as we had so far been fortunate on our Gibb River Road journey – others had shredded tyres, broken axles and various other calamities…

At the Kalumburu turnoff Trev put up the drone to get some footage of the convoy – the scenery was quite green looking down on the tree canopy.

Gordie had been in the lead and rocketing along at his favourite corrugation speed – as fast as possible – but while we were waiting for the Hackies and Wells at the turnoff Branch had detected a lost nut on Gordies front guard – all other cars were so far unscathed.

We continued on to Drysdale River Station – the road was not too bad with some corrugations but not as bad as the beginning of the GRR yesterday…

The Toyota Precision Driving Team (aka where are we??) of Dave and Rose came in behind Gordie at pace and overshot the turnoff to Drysdale River Station resulting in a dust storm of mammoth proportion as the car came to a skidding halt…

We checked in and set up camp under some shady trees – booked dinner for 630pm at the restaurant and then ate lunch.

A short drive away was the Miner’s Pool – a waterhole for swimming which we all went to and had a dip in the cool refreshing water – the area looked a bit croc friendly but the station staff assured us the there were only a few freshies there…

After a refreshing soak we went back along the bank only to be told by some other campers that there was a croc sunning himself on a log just on the bank….

He was only smallish but pretty ugly – Annette stated she would definitely not have gone in if she had seen him prior to our dip.

Drysdale Station is a working cattle station that runs shorthorn cattle – seen in abundance as we drove back from Miner’s Pool – some horns shorter than others!!!

Back at the station we had showers – the amenities at the Drysdale River Station are great – and Dave got the party started by lighting up his tent with their led strip lights!!

We walked down for dinner in the open air at the Station Restaurant – delicious buffet style roast and homemade desserts!

It was time to leave the comforts of the van and start our camping leg of the Wild Adventure. The vans were moved to the storage area of Wyndham caravan park and locked securely…..

We headed out full of expectation and excitement for the Gibb River Road stopping momentarily to have a pic at the giant crocodile at Wyndham.

The road from Wyndham was great – straight and lined with spectacular hills, mesas, boab trees and savannah…

The mandatory group photo under the Gibb River Road sign done and we started on our way after a prayer for safe travels for the day ahead.

First stop was Emma Gorge – part of the El Questro station – and our first 2 river crossings still with water flowing.

We did the gorge walk – about an hour each way to the top pool. The gorge was beautiful with the creek still running – the pictures do not do it justice.

The top pool was absolutely stunning and we all jumped in for a swim – the water was cold but refreshing after the hot hike up the gorge – Rosie even went in in her clothes as she had not been able to locate her cozzie before we left the cars in the carpark. There was a great sense of achievement by all having reached such an awesome place – it made the trek very worthwhile.

The water dripping over the rocks was warm – shower material so we all swam over and enjoyed the experience! The rock shelf was deep so it felt like you were in a cave – hopefully no tremors or rockfalls or we would have been history!

After spending  a good hour at the pool we returned back along the gorge with only 2 minor incidents – Gordie tripping and falling into one of the only thorny bushes along the way and Rosie taking a tumble leaving her legs up in the air!

We grabbed some lunch at Emma Gorge Resort and continued on reaching El Questro and the start of the dirt road. After letting down our tyres we travelled the Gibb heading for Ellenbrae Station the location of our first nights camping.

The road itself was not too bad – corrugated in places and some small tar stretches. Grading and roadworks were underway as they were preparing to tar some more sections.

The views over the Cockburn Ranges were magnificent – the reds, greens and blue of the sky a great contrast. The area was remarkably green but the river crossings including the Pentecost River were dry although the river itself still had some water.

We arrived at Ellenbrae at about 4PM and set up camp for the night – lovely flat sites with trees around. Everyone was keen to try the famous scones jam and cream here – they will be ready at 0800 tomorrow morning so we planned for brekkie, pack up and then an early morning tea before heading back on the Gibb.

The campsite had a donkey to heat the water and the showers and toilets were rustic but very clean!

A slight hiccup occurred when cooking tea – a bit of a “Gasgate” affair as confusion arose between Kerry and Trev as to what Trev had said about how many gas cookers we were bringing…Kerry had remembered (correctly) that Trev had instructed the Hunters NOT to bring their small cooker as they were carrying the big BBQ…. all was sorted out after some lively discussion!! Our first dinner on the Gibb was enjoyed by all…