Last time, we checked out Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Go here if you missed it. This time, the delightful Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge) and Dulundi (Silent Grove).
Nature’s Skincare
There’s something special about swimming in freshwater creeks. Afterwards, your skin feels soft – and you feel relaxed and refreshed.
Too many people spend huge sums of money on skincare products and fret if they get a wrinkle.
Yet, the best skincare regime is to simply have a swim in a creek or river. Oils are picked up along the way – ti tree oil, eucalyptus oils and the like – so you are effectively swimming in a delightful mix of pure water and natural oils.
We’ll get back to this shortly. First, let’s have a look at where we came from and exactly where we are now!
Lennard River Snack Stop
We left Windjana Gorge and headed towards Dulundi (Silent Grove). Dulundi is a campground providing access to Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge). We brought Anna with us (who is Anna again?) so she could see more of the sights along the GRR.
She left her car at a “snack stop” on the main road at Lennard River and hopped in with us. The snack stop was a caravan parked on the bank of a river and was run by a bloke who lived there in the dry season. Bizarre! Unfortunately this is no longer operational.
Queen Victoria And King Leopold Range – What’s With All The Royals?
After crossing the Lennard River you’ll squeeze between the Napier Range as you drive north-east. This is the same range that forms Windjana Gorge. As you approach Napier Range, an uncanny likeness to Queen Victoria emerges from the rocky cliffs. Must be the nose…
This part of the Gibb River Road (GRR) is rugged with spectacular scenery; we then wound up and over Wunaamin-Miliwundi (formerly King Leopold) Range. The GRR was in good condition and some of the steeper parts were tarred. Way too civilised…
The King Leopold Range was renamed in 2020 to reflect the names used by the First Nations People. Makes a lot more sense than a using the name Belgian king who had no ties to the area and was responsible for an estimated 10 million deaths in the Congo…
The country flattened out near Dulundi (Silent Grove). It’s about 15km off the GRR to the north-west. You’ll cross a couple of reasonably deep creeks – depending on the season of course.
Dulundi campground was excellent, very quiet and peaceful – and had flushing toilets and hot showers (as did Windjana Campground). The drinking water was beautiful, fed directly from a natural spring.
Ben & Anna set up their swags side by side under a tree. The kids were fascinated by Anna’s Akubra hat. It had blood spatters all over it from de-horning cattle at the cattle station she worked on!
Nature’s Skincare in a Red Rock Gorge
In the afternoon we drove to Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge). It’s quite a walk from the carpark, but well worth it. The gorge has a waterfall which drops into a deep swimming hole and we just had to have a swim. Sensational place, paradise.
It’s hard to describe the beauty of this place. You swim in pristine waters with those natural oils we talked about earlier. Float around on your back and take in the deep red rock walls that seem to envelope you.
Spend some time wandering along the creek above the waterfall. If you’re patient, you’ll likely see lots of little fish, lizards and maybe even a goanna sunning itself on the rocks.
A truly magical – even spiritual – place. And that lovely water will have soothed your sore muscles, so you’ll hardly notice the long walk back to the carpark.
Anna left us the next morning – she managed to get a lift back to her car at Lennard River Snack Stop with two young ladies. We all missed her, she was great company.
Next time: Mornington Wilderness Camp – eco camping in the Kimberley.
Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge) and Dulundi (Silent Grove) are on Unggumi Country.
Looking for more information on the Gibb River Road? Then go here.
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Thanks for all the info, very interesting! We are headed this direction in a couple of months and just had a question about the difference between Dulundi & Dalandi camp grounds. Is one better than the other? is one closer to Bell Gorge or harder to access? any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Sally
Hi Sally,
This is really confusing! It seems Dulundi and Dalandi campgrounds are one and the same. I’m happy to be corrected on this. Enjoy your trip. Cheers, Andrew