Carnarvon Gorge

It was Thursday and nearing Carnarvon Gorge. It was good having a chat to truckers on the UHF and calling them around to overtake in the safest way. I was to meet my sister Kay and bro-n-law Derek there and amazingly saw them on the road in. Derek went on ahead but not for long as he did a tyre a couple of kms further on.

Changed the tyre and went on in to stay at Takarakka Bush Resort. We set up and settled in for a good night. Kay saw a platypus the next morning in the pool right at the campground. They are known to be there as are echidnas. It is a pristine National Park area.

Overnight it started raining. Unfortunately there was a leak in the roof of our van over the bed which occurred at the end of the last big trip. I thought it had gone as there seemed to be no leaking since then. So it is handy Linda is not here at the moment otherwise I would have to sleep on the floor while a tub catches the water on my side of the bed. When the sun is out I going to have to see if I can fix it.

After breakfast we went on the Warrumbah Bluff walk. It was an amazing chasm, a bit like Echidna Gorge in the Bungle Bungles.

On the way back it started raining harder and we got a bit wet. The rain just kept coming harder and harder so we went to the Nation Park Info Centre and then back home for lunch and called it a day as far as the walks were concerned. The campsites were just pools of water. I am glad for rural QLD for the rain but I won’t be sorry to see the end of it now they have had a good dose. At least this rain is giving me a chance to catch up on blog texts and sorting photos.

That night the rain kept coming harder and we had thunder and lightning. We hunkered down in the van and cooked dinner inside so that made things a bit more pleasant. However, the leak in the roof tracked further along and was dripping in two spots over the bed so now I did have to sleep on the floor. It was actually quite comfortable as I used the air cell thin mattress on our bed, doubled over plus Derek’s self-inflating mattress.

Saturday morning (4^th June) the rain had gone from us and was headed east. So we went into the National Park (NP) again and did the Boolimba Bluff walk. 900 steps up with ladders. It was a good workout. I took a couple of videos to try to capture the view.

The walk itself is beautiful especially at the creek crossings.

Went back to camp and had lunch. It is only a short trip to the NP from Takarakka. Then back out and took the short walk to Balloon Cave. There was a lot of Aboriginal art on the cave in the form of stenciling. The artist mixed up the ochre (in the mouth I think) and blew it onto the rock with a hand or club or other object they wanted to display pressed against the rock. That made a stenciled pattern of the object.

When we got back to camp we walked up to the Lookout at Takarakka and caught the sunset.

That night after dinner we went over to the campfire and Kay tripped over a heavy steel grill and badly cut and bruised her shin. It actually needed stitching but that was not to be as we were along way from nowhere. There were a couple of medical students there who were a great help and taped the wound together. It was a disaster for Kay as she would now be severely restricted in her movement.

The next morning after assessing what to do, Derek and I headed off for the Big Bend walk, doing Cathedral Cave and Boowinda Gorge which was a 22km return walk. Kay stayed behind in the comfort of the van, icing here shin and resting it.

It was a beautiful walk along the Carnarvon Gorge floor. The creek and palm trees were beautiful and reminded me of Palm Valley in the West McDonnell Ranges, except bigger in terms of area and palm trees.

Cathedral Cave. A lot more stencil art.

Boowinda Gorge. The action of water in this gorge is so evident and along with some photos this deserved another video.

This 22km walk was grueling, partly because we walked quickly and did it in 5.5 hours rather than the 8 hours the Rangers say it should take. We were stuffed. The beers went down well after that one. We had two more days here so after such a hard walk we decided on a lay day on Monday. That would also give Kay’s leg an extra day to recover before trying to walk what is known as the Big 4. They are caves and gorges which are the jewel in the crown of Carnarvon Gorge.

So Monday morning was beautiful with little wind and beautiful sunshine. Derek and I tackled my leaking roof problem. We had a look and could see where the water was getting in through cracked sealant around the four seasons hatch. I borrowed some silicon and gun from the park maintenance guy. We pulled Derek’s Prado up beside the van and used his roof rack to stand on and Derek did a great job of cutting the old silicon out and sealing it up again so now, hopefully, it is sealed. With that job done and more of the day to relax, again I am getting the chance to do a bit more on the blog.

That afternoon we went and had a look at the Rock Pool which is a popular swimming hole in warmer months.

On return from the Rock Pool we went up to the Lookout at Takarakka and watched the sunset again.

Tuesday was a beautiful day again. It was last day there and Kay was able to do the 14km walk to see the Big 4 spots. It was slow and what the rangers say is a 5 hour, we did in 8 hours and that was fine. The slow steady walk allowed Kay to do the lot so that was great. So here are photos and videos of the Big 4.

The Amphitheatre. It was amazing and also deserved a couple of videos.