We left Manning at 7.10 am. It had been an extremely cold night (10 degrees, somebody said). A cold draft penetrated my swag. My fleece was a no-no, being covered in double-gees.
Corky bark wattle was prolific on both sides of the road. We passed Mornington Station down to the left about 80 kms.
Just past Mornington station we saw some brolgas in the stockyard .
Imintji Roadhouse is now a small store in a shipping container. Previously it was a bigger building. There were three safari tents, quite large but out of action. There was an ensuite but the toilet was not plumbed in. There were two nice single beds though.
The road went up and over the King Leopold ranges. It was very difficult terrain. The road was winding. The mountain scenery and geological layering was quite dramatic.
We saw little pockets of Livistona palms in wet areas near the creeks. We also observed big black Dolerite rocks and tried to photograph them through the bus windows.
Windjana Gorge is only opening today after the wet season. We are the first tour group in, but there are lots of individual campers here already. They must have been queuing up at the entrance. We arrived in time for a late lunch. For the first time in this trip, the tents had to be put up, as no permanent tents are allowed in the National Park.
At 3.30 pm it was time for a walk into the gorge. Just before the entrance Tommo showed us a mass of Cluster Spear Grass. Back in the day, this put a damper on sheep farming because it clung to their wool, pierced their skin and made them bleed. They were then susceptible to diseases.
Inside the gorge, we found a fossil in the side of the cliff face. It was apparently the cross section of a nautilus. The magnificent cliffs once formed a coral reef and the existence of the fossil confirms this.
Near a big pool in the river there is a big rock named Bandigan by the local indigenous people. There is now a move to change the name of Windjana to Bandigan, because Windjana is a corruption of Wandjina.
Great excitement over dinner when a wallaby appeared and tried to beg food. Half the group thought he was cute, whilst the other half shooed him away in case he did some damage or overturned the table.
My one-man tent for the night was quite small. It was warm and cosy inside, though hard on my knees creeping in and out.
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