Cobbold Gorge

TUESDAY, 21 JUNE 2016

Blue faced honeyeater

Infinity pool and dam

This is what we ended up climbing!

Termite mound

John Corbett's final resting place

Leichardt's breadfruit - bushtucker

Desert rose - and more thorns than a garden rose!

We were on top of this cliff

Yesterday, we travelled from Croydon to Georgetown – a relatively short hop of just under two hours.  We had intended to book into the Goldfields Caravan Park, having stayed at Midway in 2009 when we broke down.  However, a mix-up with phone numbers found us booked into the Midway Caravan Park, and after checking out the other one, we definitely made the right choose – even if it was a mistake!  The park has new owners and has certainly been cleaned up a lot and we have a lovely big grassy site with a tree behind us that seems to be home to a large number of blue faced honeyeaters.

This morning, we were both up bright and early for our 8.00 am pickup for the Cobbold Gorge Tour.  Cobbold Gorge is 90 kms south of Georgetown and about 80 kms is very rough gravel road with lots of steep creek crossings.  There were nine of us on the truck/bus and it took an hour and a half to get to the resort.  There was time for a quick comfort stop and a look at the above-ground infinity pool before we were ushered onto more buses, along with about another thirty people.  We drove directly on the sand across the dry Robertson River and saw the pump extracting fresh water from one metre below the surface – the resort’s water supply!  After arriving at the creek, we discovered that the three hour tour involved a two hour bush walk (thank goodness for 4WD shoes)!  The first part was easy walking, with frequent stops in the shade to look and learn about the vegetation and bush tucker, as well as the local history of the property.  After reaching John Corbett’s grave, we about turned and then discovered we were going to climb to the top of the sandstone escarpment!!!  A couple of ladies decided to sit this out but the remainder reached the top without too much trouble.  We found we were directly over the gorge but could only see a small amount of water in the distance and had strict instructions from the guide to keep away from the edge – not that he needed to worry!

After retracing our steps, we were loaded into the small boats with electric motors and glided into the gorge.  Such an amazing place, with high walls but very, very narrow – in places, it would be possible to touch both sides of the gorge at once.  Needless to say, lots of Kodak moments were all the photographers, but very tricky light conditions and beautiful reflections.  The gorge is 450 metres long and we went right to the end before returning.  Unfortunately, all the freshwater crocodiles were feeling a bit unsociable today.  After our cruise, it was back to the resort for lunch beside the pool and the rough journey home to look forward to.

Lots of photos today and most are self explanatory.