Carnarvon Gorge

 Saturday, 16 June 2012


Another bright, clear morning but a slight breeze did keep the temperature a little higher. Our maximum today was about 24-25 degrees.

We left Roma, heading north for Carnarvon Gorge, topping up with fuel at the small town of Injune. The road north was basically good, with some very good stretches and some not so very good stretches. A large number of trucks, heading in both directions, kept the driver on his toes this morning. This was also the first day since leaving the Barossa Valley that we didn’t see an emu. However, the crows were very fat and contented looking – with the large amount of roadkill (kangaroos and a pig), they didn’t have to look far for a feed.

It was with some trepidation that we turned off the highway and headed for Carnarvon Gorge. We knew that the last 12-14 kms was gravel, with some creek crossings to make life interesting. Not having an off-road caravan, we were a bit worried about the descents into the crossings – everyone had told us we “should probably be okay!” The road was very rough, which meant driving very, very slowly and the creek crossings really weren’t anything to worry about as there wasn’t a lot of water over the road. The worst crossing was probably the one after we had turned off for Takarakka Resort!

The resort is lovely, absolutely lovely, thankfully (at $42 per night it would want to be). A lovely bushland setting but grassy and open beneath the trees. The tent area is just gorgeous and the cabins are safari tents. There is an abundance of birdlife – plenty of lorikeets, apostle birds and magpies – and the wallabies and kangaroos are very tolerant of people. There is a beautiful sandy beach beside the river and a large pool which is supposed to contain platypus.
We had just finished lunch when another Tasmanian pulled in behind us – the Gurnhills, who we had both worked with before retiring. With no telephone, television or internet, there will probably a fair bit of socialising happening here. The afternoon finished with an informative talk around the campfire by a guide. He was very good, down to earth, easy to understand and added just the right touch of humour. He assured us that MOST of the snakes weren’t active at this time of the year. Not sure about the ones that ARE active!!! We don’t think we will tackle the full 18 km walk to the end of the gorge, but will certainly undertake some of the shorter walks.

Sunday, 17 June 2012


Another beautiful day, but with a slight breeze which kept the temperature down a little.

We decided to stick to shorter walks today, with the hope that by tomorrow we will both be feeling up to a longer walk. I have a sneaking suspicion that the five short walks probably added up to one long walk! Our first venture was to the lookout located in the resort. I have now come to realise that lookouts are always at the tops of hills, and this was no exception. What we thought was going to be a short climb turned into a much longer walker along the ridge line, with great views over the sandstone mountain range.

Our next stop was for the walk into Baloon Cave, with its stencil art. This was a nice walk through the Carnarvon fan palms and cycads, with just a little climb at the end. We did discover plenty of maidenhair ferns growing alongside the track. She with the shortest legs gets to lead the walks, which is good in that she also controls the pace. However, it does mean that she is also the first to find any snakes that may be lurking in the leaf litter! Not sure whether leading or following is the better option.

After admiring the hand prints and axe print, we returned to the car and headed for Mickey Creek Gorge – this was a longer walk along Mickey Creek, with similar vegetation, until we suddenly realised that the gorge had narrowed considerably and the high sandstone cliffs were very close on both sides. We encountered our first creek crossing on this walk and managed to negotiate the stepping stones without any problems.

After lunch, we finally made it to the visitors’ centre and were amazed to find that there was no charge to enter the national park. We wandered past lots of kangaroos and whip tail wallabies and had to cross the Carnarvon Creek (more stepping stones) on our way to the nature walk, which wound its way along the bank of the creek before heading back along the waters edge and another crossing.

The Rock Pool was our final stop but we baulked at the river crossing here – with water actually over the stones, Cat flatly refused to get his paws wet. This meant one of us had to make the sacrifice and stay with Cat while himself felt his manhood was being questioned and managed to get his feet wet crossing to the other side.

Tomorrow we will head into the gorge proper, but certainly wont attempt the full 20 km walk to the end.

Monday, 18 June 2012


Weather no different. This was our last full day at Carnarvon Gorge and our plans were to walk as far into the gorge as far as we felt comfortable going. Unfortunately, the best laid plans …

My cold took a turn for the worse last night and there was no way that I would be walking anywhere today. Instead, I took the opportunity to boost my vitamin D levels while Leslie set off for the gorge. He managed the 12 kms walk to the Art Gallery (aboriginal rock art wall) and the Moss Garden and arrived home with dry feet!

With 120 grade 6/7 school children arriving today and another group due tomorrow, it is time to move on.