Day 10 - Mt Barnett Campground, 7th July 2025

We decided to tackle Manning Gorge early so we were up before 7am and on our way. The first part of the walk is a water crossing. You can touch the bottom for the first part but then you have to swim so our shoes and bags all went in a tub to push across the water to keep it dry. I was dreading it but the water wasn’t actually as cold as I was anticipating.






Once on the other side it was a 2.5km hike to get to the gorge. Grade 4 so fairly hard, quite steep and lots of clambering over rocks. Some good views along the way.


 It took us just under an hour to get there and it did not disappoint! The view was spectacular, the waterfall stunning and the fact that there was hardly anyone else there made it even more amazing. We swam across and then went in behind the waterfall, the sun hitting it made a beautiful rainbow. We climbed up on the rocks and basked in the sun, Ian an and Amanda went up higher and jumped in.




Stayed for a while and had something to eat before heading back the 2.5lm we had come and back across the river. 
Our early start meant we were back before lunch so the girls had a lazy afternoon playing cards while Shaun and Steve went back to the roadhouse to get firewood and ice and Ian tried to fix our battery so our fridge/freezer would stay on. 😢
We decided to take drinks and nibbles down to the swimming spot and that’s where the Gincident began! We had a great time swimming and listening to tunes but the double shots probably weren’t a great idea! 





The night went downhill from there lol!
The boys cooked a bbq for dinner and then Amanda suggested a nudie swim! Gone were all my worries about crocs as we headed back to the river in our oodies (and nothing else!). 
There was lots of laughing and squealing along with a couple of stacks, in hindsight maybe not a sensible idea but it was fun at the time!




Came back and warmed up around the campfire. The fire was awesome and the spuds tasted divine!









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 161 - Streaky Bay, 5th December 2025

Image
We reluctantly said our goodbyes to the farm this morning and to the koalas and horses and set off for Streaky Bay. Stopped in at Point Kenny to grab our lunch, We turned off just before Streaky Bay  to check out Murphy’s Haystacks, a 1500 million year old geological wonder. Buried by calcareous dune sand 30,000 years ago, erosion has revealed the pink granite forms standing on the hill top. According to local legend, a Scottish agricultural advisor saw these landmarks in the distance and thought they were baystacks. It was only a short drive to our beautiful camp at Streaky Bay. It wasn’t right on the beach but it was pretty close. Ian went to do some fishing and I went for a walk into town. I found Ian out on the beautiful old jetty. He had caught a couple of fish but nothing worth keeping. Back at the caravan park we sat and had dinner on the beach and watched the sky change colour as the sun started to go down. It was beautiful. We even had rainbows. It just got better and bett...
Read more

Day 168 - Kalgoorlie, 12th December 2025

Image
 We set the alarm early this morning to head out onsite.  We had to check in and get our visitors passes and our PPE before we could get entry onto the mine site. Then Waz took us on a tour of the site, explaining the process…. …before we had to don our hard hats and safety glasses to enter the Gold Room. Once inside the first room, we had to remove our boots and scan our cards to gain entry to the next room. Then we had to put on their boots before we could enter the viewing area to watch the gold pour. It was like a big cauldron full of molten gold that was then poured into the tins like loaf pans. It was amazing to watch. Then they cooled them before tipping the gold bars out and cleaning off any excess slag. Then….we were allowed to hold them. I could barely lift it with two hands, it was so heavy. The one I held was bar number  57657. The biggest one was 17 kilograms worth about 3.5 million dollars. The pour we watched was the first of two they were doing that day. T...
Read more

Day 121 - Mount Field, 26th October 2025

Image
No need for alarms today, we had a sleep in and headed off for our walks mid morning.  We checked out the visitor's centre and then headed off on the 6.1 kilometre Three Falls Circuit.  It started with a short walk to Russell Falls, through some beautiful forest…. …before we came to the falls which were just stunning. We then climbed a bit higher…. ….to Horseshoe Falls. The walk continued on the Tall Trees walk which took us through the forest and showcased some magnificent old trees.  Last but not least was Lady Barron Falls.  The walk wasn't too difficult but there was a couple of steep staircases with quite a lot of steps....I hate steps! We walked back to the vans and on the way we ran in to some local wildlife.  He didn't seem bothered by us at all and certainly wasn't in a hurry, just poking around looking for food. We had some lunch while sitting in the sunshine.  We decided to go up to Left of Field campgrounds to have a look.  We had heard it ...
Read more