Mitchell Plateau and Kalumburu road.

From Mt Elizabeth station we returned to the Gibb River Road, then turned north towards Kalumburu, and then onto the Mitchell Falls road. This section was not as bad as we had expected so we made good time,  arriving at King Edward River/Munurru campsite by late afternoon. 

The next morning we set off to visit the nearby rock art sites, featuring Wandjina paintings, but with many layers of differing styles created over thousands of years. In contrast to the huge rock shelters we saw in Kakadu, the rocks at Munurru were more a collection of scattered boulders, with art panels on the lower surfaces. Interprative signage was minimal, giving a sense of exploration to the experience.  Later we found a guide book specific to this site - it would have been handy!

After a refreshing swim in the nearby River we set off to  Mitchell Falls campsite. This was only 76km away, but due to the rough road it took us over 2 hours.

Palm trees featured along this stretch of road as we climbed up to the Mitchell Plateau.

The following day we set off on the walk to Little Mertens Falls, Merten Gorge and Mitchell Falls. Although many people prefer to take a helicopter ride one way, we decided we had enough time to walk it all, about 11.5km return including side trips. We set off quite early, around 6.30am, to avoid the hottest part of the day. The track was quite rocky in a few places, but not as difficult as we expected. We soon reached Little Mertens Falls and took a side track to the pool below and a couple of large art galleries. It was beautiful to stand behind the waterfall and look out.

We didn't feel the need to go swimming yet, so continued walking along the main track to Big Mertens Gorge, a scarily deep gash in the sandstone.

 Just a few minutes walk further on we arrived at Mitchell Falls. It was a bit like all the gorges that we'd seen along the Gibb River Rd joined together. It's nearly impossible to photograph the whole series of waterfalls and pools unless you're in a helicopter. The only swimming allowed is in this stretch of water above the Falls.

The figure standing above the first waterfall gives some idea of the scale of it all.

There is yet another waterfall below the lowest pool seen in this photo. After a swim, we returned along the track, stopping at Little Mertens for another look at the rock art and another swim. We arrived back at camp by early afternoon. 

The next day was spent driving back towards the Gibb River Rd with a lunch stop at Munurru, arriving at Drysdale River Station to camp overnight. 

The highlights of the following day were scones with jam and cream at Ellen Brae Station, lunch at the Durack River crossing, driving on some sections of bitumen again,
the scenic lookout towards the Pentecost River and Cockburn Range, finally arriving at El Questro and having a beer while doing our washing before driving out to our quiet campsite by the Pentecost River.