We left the Mango (orange kayak), all five surfboards, and two of the bikes at Drysdale River Station for the short (distance) but long (time to drive) trip to the Mitchell Plateau. The road heads north for about 100km before we turn off for the final 86km to the camp ground. The whole trip took about 4 hours, including stopping a while to help a vehicle with a problem.
The track is slow (if you hadn’t worked that out), with corrugations you have to yell to be heard over. Despite this, the boys still did some maths and grammar in their work books. Can’t say it’s easy to read though!
At some point along this road, livistona palms began to abound. It starts as a mix of palms and eucalypts, bloodwoods and very low undergrowth, and then the palms eventually abound. It seems strange to be surrounded by palms in this arid place.

The road winds its way to the final reward of the campground – and the end of the road. Most people seem to drop their trailer back at the station and take just a tent. But Trevor has done well, and we’d never think of leaving him behind.
It was hot when we arrived, so after some down time, it was cool (I use the term loosely) and we wandered down the track to Little Mertens Falls.

Here we are cooling off at the top of the falls. It was a big drop to the base of the falls, but the flow was never going to wash us over.
Below – is Fergus in a small pool above the falls.

And then we went to the base of the falls for a swim in the huge pool below.

Tomorrow we continue to Mitchell Falls.