7th September 2015 From Drysdale Stn to Mitchell Falls Plateau

The road north from Drysdale Station to the turnoff to Mitchell Falls had just been graded and was very good even if very dry & dusty.  However, once we reached the turnoff, the road deteriorated considerably - in fact it was very bad - probably the worst road of our whole journey. We had been advised to leave the trailer near the turn-off at King Edward River but it was deserted so was not an option.

As we entered the water at the first creek crossing, we were confronted by a number of tourists taking photos of us.  They were passengers from an Australian Pacific tour bus parked just around the next bend.  The driver had seen us coming and told them they could get some good photos.  (We are probably famous is some overseas country now).

It took us over 3.5 hours to travel 76km during which time we saw only 2 vehicles travelling together in the opposite direction to us both leaving the falls. They stopped for a chat and let us know that they were the last to leave and that there was no-one else there.

The "road" or should I say track was so corrugated that we lost our CB aerial which snapped off our bull-bar.  Our back lift-up window came open despite being locked and we lost our 3m TV aerial extension pole out the back.  It was some time before we noticed the open back window so everything in the rear of our Triton was covered in an least an inch of red dust!!  (We are still trying to clean it all out 4 months later!)

Our black tonneau cover on the camper just
turned a reddish brown

The road looks a lot better than it actually was!

The road to Mitchell Falls Plateau

Mitchell Falls Camp Site

We eventually arrived at the Mitchell Falls Campsite to find there was no-one else there - it was deserted so we had the whole site, the one and only drop toilet and 1 water tap all to ourselves.  The ranger who lived nearby was very surprised to see us there - he called by and asked what we were doing there!  He stopped for a chat and gave us advice and information about the 2hr walk to the Mitchell Falls which we planned to do the next morning.  An early start was essential as the walk was rugged and the weather was hot, we wanted to get there and back by mid-morning.

That evening, as the campsite was deserted we set up the bush shower stringing the shower head on a rope in a tree and showered with our swimming togs on - very refreshing after a long dusty drive!