Winter 2022 – Bilyuin to de Grey –

Monday 11th July

Today we headed north again heading for Marble Bar to refuel, there is a fuel station on the outskirts of MB and as we approached we realised that Brad and Denise and Garry and Vicki were there refuelling! That’s how it happens out here sometimes, so lots of greetings and mick taking. Having all topped up we headed off to find Coolgan Long Pool.

The entrance is not far up the road but it needs a bit of thought to get in the gate as there four-trailer iron ore road trains hurtling past at 80kph and you don’t want to have the back end of your caravan stuck across the road as the gate gets opened.

The track in is pretty reasonable but there were several other vans there and fitting our three in was a little tricky but Garry parked up on the hill and it all worked out OK.

It is a good spot.

Tuesday 12th July

This afternoon we went a little way down the the road and into Doleena Gorge. We had been told that you could not get caravans in here but as soon as we got into the gorge there were quite a few in there. It is another really good spot for future reference.

Collecting firewood is a common task and one that everyone can contribute to but we’re collecting dead wood – this we don’t want to see….. green wood cut just so a camper trailer can be got in!

After refreshment we decided to go and explore a track that we had noticed on the way in. After about three ks we found ourselves about one k up the river from our camp site! This is another really good spot but we would not get the BTs in here, or rather, we would get them in but not out again!

A good fire tonight and more ‘catching up’ stories, some funny, some requiring more serious consideration.

Wednesday 13th July

This morning we’re going to have a look at Coppins Gap, purportedly to be a scenic feature of the range at this point. The track in isn’t too bad but it is a bit steep and tight at the end, good practice for using the ‘driver assist’ systems on the new car!

About six weeks ago the girls and Gary would have been waist deep in water!

Some of the rock formations are really spectacular, even more so if water is splashed on it.

Later in the afternoon we arrived at probably our favourite spot, the De Grey river. There is less water in here than last time we came but more people (it being school holidays). We will veg out here for a few days, putting off the need to return south!