Gibb River Road – Part 2 (Bells Gorge)

Our second stop on the itinerary was Silent Grove. The spring that flows along the back of the camp proved to be a great birdwatching spot with many avian visitors coming to drink from the spring, or feed from the surrounding trees many of whom were in flower. Friarbirds and honeyeaters were in abundance, as were double-barred, long-tailed and crimson finches. We found a Stimpson’s Python one evening and others saw a resident Olive python on the other side of the campground.

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Ten kilometres further down a very corrugated road from the campsite lies Bells Gorge. This is a very popular stopping point for many on the GRR due to the picturesque falls to a pool that is large, deep and a great swimming hole. For those not inclined to climb down the rocky path a shallow pool at the top of the falls offers an infinity pool alternative.
On our first trip the one of the small cracks in the windscreen spread rapidly to the base of the windscreen whilst another edged a couple of centimetres towards the driver’s side. We made a couple of trips to the gorge over two days and spent a substantial time in the water and exploring further down to gorge to the bigger waterfall downstream.
Even though the wet season only yielded approx. 60cm this year instead of an average 200cm, the falls were still an impressive sight making this one of the favourites on the GRR.