Bell Gorge

 

Sunday 11 June – Manning Gorge to Bell Gorge                                                                            

A poor night’s sleep last night with a mixture of indigestion, too hot, too cold and snoring keeping us awake.  We were still awake at about 6.30am though and, after coffees, set to packing up the van for another move west along the Gibb.  Bad timing meant we slowly followed a large Jayco out of the campground and all the way to the water point.  That, combined with the incredibly low water pressure and time taken to fill the tanks, meant there was plenty of time for Jen to walk the rubbish over to the rubbish cart, go to the toilet and then go into the roadhouse to buy iced coffees/chocolates and chicken nuggets for breakfast (strange choice I know – I had though they were mini hashbrowns when I ordered them).

Shaun took the lead and we followed in his dust past the turnoffs we might have taken if not for the big wet such as to Mornington.  We made it to the Silent Grove campground by 11ish and found a reasonably shaded spot in the generator area. Surprisingly there seemed to be more vans in this part than in the non generator part which had been the opposite last time we were here and hence why we had chosen the generator area this time. Not to worry, we found a spot with  picnic table and campfire ring between us and reasonably level and shady so all good.

We ate up the  pizza for an early lunch and admired a big Titanium van near us.  As this is one of the brands L&J are interested in for our retirement van Jen wandered over for a closer look as there was no car there and it seemed all was quiet for a family van.  J jumped when the Mum inside said hello but we were soon chatting away and Jen was invited in for a closer inspection of the van having explained why she was invading their space.  Very nice and they are very happy with it and the after sales service they have received so it will stay on our list of desirable vans.

The poor night’s sleep and heat had given J a bit of a headache which had developed almost to a migraine by lunchtime and the prospect of the hike into Bell Gorge just didn’t appeal.  Once again, although it is really a fabulous waterfall this year, having been there twice before and knowing the rocky climb involved in getting down to the water, it seemed a good idea not to exacerbate a headache and annoy the boys with my slow going on the hiking section.

So a sleep and a catch up on the blog for J instead.  

When the boys got back it was cheese and crackers on the picnic bench while the lasagne heated up on the marine cooker.

It was very yummy and no leftovers followed up with port and Turkish delight chocolate which we all agreed was an incredibly delicious combination.