I had an early start -walking back in to Little Mertens Falls to try to see the black grasswren, but without any joy. I returned to find Trevor cooking my breakfast of bacon and eggs!
We packed up at a relaxed pace and left the campground at 9am. We had stuck with the plan to go and see Surveyors pool while the others decided to try to conserve fuel so they could make it back to Drysdale River Station. We are reaping the benefits of not towing when it comes to fuel consumption and also happy to have that long range tank that we put on, which helps in this situation.
17km out of the campground we turned left towards the coast and continued along here for another 23 km before finding the lookout area that afforded lovely views of the coast and islands down below us. The road further along is usually bad (they say it can take between 1 hour and 1 day to do the next 10km).
We turned back and 3 km back along the road turned right towards Surveyors Pool. The road to Surveyors pool was varied in quality and worked its way back for about 10 km. It followed virtually along the contour of the hill before heading back to the left across a saddle and then winding down into a gully. On the way down the road some of the friends we made yesterday stopped to let us pass them. We later learned that they are called Meri and Codge. They drive an Isuzu Ute with framework and canvas back which they sleep in. They are from SW WA. We parked near the path in and changed into our swimming gear, then started our walk. Soon enough we caught up with Codge and Meri chatting to David and Mary ( from Hamilton) who we also met on the walk yesterday. Both these couples seem really friendly and are easy to chat to, with similar tastes in walks and drives. Most people don’t bother to make this side trip, but we all have. David and Mary were on their way out from the pool.
A family had found their way to the edge of the pool far below but we decided not to try to. There is no swimming in the main pool so we contented ourselves with a sit in some rock pools and enjoyed watching the little fish swimming around us in the water. One sort have tiny blue fins underneath and seem to stick to the bottom more while the others have a reddish tinge on the tail and brighter stripe along their sides.
We followed along the path for about 1.5 kms and reached the dark red rocks, commencing our rock-hop along them and finding small shallow pools of water which gradually got bigger. Finally the ground dropped away dramatically and we found ourselves standing high above a huge clear pool of water with two waterfalls dropping in to it. This is surveyors pool.
We rock hopped a bit more, while chatting to Meri and Codge and trying to get a better view of the large waterfall,which is hidden largely by a tree and the lower pools which continue on from this one.
We hopped out of the larger pool to make way for Codge and Meri and dried off while they had their soak, then took our time coming back along the path as we looked for the black grasswren which are supposed to also be found here. Also no luck.
We changed back out of our wet gear and drove back to a gravel pit where button quail can usually be found. There we stopped for lunch, but no button quail were found. We are not very good birders it seems.
About 11 km out from the King Edward River campground the wrecked Nissan patrol showed up again in the bush. It hadn’t looked too bad at a casual glance. Trev was interested to check whether there were any parts on it that might be useful for Craig, but anything useful appeared to be gone already. It turned out that Craig and Ev were already ahead of us on the road, and Craig had actually already found his own spare parts. So great minds think alike.
We stopped at the art site that we hadn’t been in to on our way up the track. This was probably the best we have ever seen. We met Craig and Ev coming out as we walked in. Once again we wandered between the large sandstone boulders, looking to see where art had been created. Amongst the treats here we found an ancient burial site with bones on view ( skulls and femurs) and wonderful art. Bees were buzzing here, protecting the bones and sounding like a didgeridoo in the distance. There was also a large area of overhang which had created a catacomb like area with many small caves in under the shelter. Outside this was an area sheltered by rock all around it making a safe outdoor area. This would surely have been an ideal living space.
Before checking in to the campground we again visited the delightful pool at the day use area. (a good cool down) and again ran into Meri and Codge.
Then we were off to the campsite, where we located the others and fitted our hilux in the space between them.
Meri and Codge were just a couple of campsites over, so once the basic set up was done , we sauntered on over to take a look at their setup. 120 litres of water plus long range fuel tanks, double bed on the tray, Bunnings sliding drawers and a couple of low sealed boxes either side for cooking gear and mechanical tools, battery, and other bedding essentials.
We sat around our fire happily catching up on each others’ news until bedtime.
- 155 km
Luvapuzzle 