Big Day

 

Tuesday 6 June 2023 – Mitchell Falls

A bird flew onto our awning at 6am this morning and shouted “Wake Up!” at us.  Nature’s alarm clock!  We set off at 7.30am as we have a helicopter to catch at 10am.  We thought we would be in plenty of time as we had allowed 2 hours and got to our usual half way rest stop in about 45 minutes flying over the corrugations.  We saw a dingo which ran along the road in front of us for a while before then running along next to the car for a bit.   Reminded me of when we used to run Tinker alongside the car back in the day.  The second half was more slow going, however, as there was a lot of exposed rock and the last 16km was particularly slow going and we got caught behind a couple of trundling cars. 

We got there about 9.40am so time for a toilet stop before weighing in and having the safety briefing for the helicopter.  We climbed into the helicopter with two older ladies, one of which was on crutches so an extra Helispirit bloke had to come with us to help her on and off and so we were a full chopper.  Jen got to rub knees with the Helispirit guy sitting across from her which was no terrible thing given they are all young, good looking 20 something guys!  The only downfall being that I had to look nonchalant about sitting on the edge seat of a helicopter with no door as it tipped me towards certain death after plunging into the Mitchell River.

No such fate though and we landed safely and then had all the time in the world to look at the falls from all angles. Other times we have been here we have had time restraints because of a return helicopter booking and have only had time for quick photos at the top.  This time we wended our way around to the furthest vantage point and got sit in the shade of a tree and east morning tea enjoying the view.

We then crossed the river and went looking for the spot we had had a swim in 2019.  Due to the river being a lot higher we couldn’t make our way into the water where we wanted and the other spot was being dominated by two yobbo families and wasn’t conducive to a relaxing swim.  Feeling a bit miffed and a bit hot we left the river and headed down the path hoping for somewhere a bit further downriver where we could swim.  We met Shaun and the Adamsons coming up looking hot and bothered and were able to reassure them they were getting close to the falls and where best to access the river for a swim (being the other side from where we had tried).  We then continued on to Big Mertens falls where the river was high enough for us to slide across the rocks and into the water for a much needed soak to lower our body temperatures and to stop Jenny’s grumbles.

Feeling much happier we continued on ostensibly down but with way to many climbs up to feel like that was the case.  We eventually got to Little Mertens falls and clambered down the rocky Cliffside to the water’s edge.  The whole place to ourselves was lovely and the water so so nice and refreshing with the added bonus of the falls cascading into the pool for a truly fabulous swim.  Hunger eventually drove Jen out of the water and eating my lunch in my wet bathers realised that it was getting on for 2 o’clock.  Knowing we still had a 2 hour drive back to camp Larry was called back to the towels also so that we could complete the hike back to the car.

As we walked along we walked along we wondered aloud what the orange fruit on the ground were. A voice behind us said “they’re quinny” (or something like that) and gave us a quick bush tucker lesson.  You can’t eat them but apparently the indigenous chew on them to cure toothache as they have a bit of a numbing quality to them. In addition the women use them as a birth control method as they can pretty much flush anything out of your system.  So don’t eat the little orange fruit folks!

We made it back to the car about 2.30pm and only time for a cold drink from the fridge before hitting the track again.  On the way out we saw a big lizard on the road.  Kind of looked like a giant frill necked lizard but not sure what it actually was.  The Adamsons caught us up just before the rest stop but didn’t stop there as beer was calling Shaun from afar and Darryl’s car doesn’t have a fridge on board.  As we do, we stopped for another drink and some chocolate biscuits before hitting the road for the last stretch.

Back to camp and a slow and laborious climb out of the car as by now our legs and knees have seized up after our walking and rock hopping today.  The others, albeit much younger than us, had walked the track in both directions and were also feeling exhausted.

Luckily we had a fairly easy meal of burgers which Shaun cooked up with bacon and onion whilst J quickly defrosted the buns and prepared some salad.  The burgers were really yummy.  We then sat around a really good fire until it was an ‘adulty’ time to go to bed (probably about 8pm!)