AUGUST 2013 – CARNARVON GORGE, CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, QUEENSLAND



Mickey Creek

It’s the day to do the ‘big walk’, so up bright & early on a cold morning armed with refreshments, camera & map. We soon warmed up with the sunshine shortly after starting the track. It is perfect weather for walking & it is not long before the track is quite busy. It is a well formed track 9.7km mostly flat with 6 side tracks additional to that, some of them with steep sections . Zamia palms & huge tall grey gums which look like massive power poles adorn the bush together with long grasses & other trees. There are apparently about 170 bird species present in the area & the cacophony of bird calls at this time of the day is incredible, most of them so high up it is difficult to identify them unless you know their calls. We do know there were lots of blue-winged kookaburras who incidentally do not laugh like the more common brown one. However they are certainly as noisy as are the Friar birds which are a bit ugly really.

One of the 32 crossings

The first side track we take is to the Moss Garden – a beautiful little Oasis with water contantly dripping from the steep sandstone walls & supporting a lush carpet of mosses, ferns & liverwort. Beneath the ferns struggling for sunlight is a small waterfall tumbling over a rock ledge into an icy pool. The dripping water has been proven to be over 1000 years old by the time it makes its way through the cliff walls. Truly amazing!

Moss Garden

Next we visit the Ampitheatre - Hidden inside the walls of the gorge is a 60m deep chamber gouged from the rock by running water. This is a place for quiet contemplation with towering stone walls which create an awe-inspiring atmosphere within.

Along the Gorge Track

Entrance to Amphitheatre
Find Stu

Third on the list is Ward’s Canyon – a small but beautiful side gorge which would be a wonderful place to be on a truly hot day. It is home to the world’s largest fern, the King fern. These impressive green ‘dinosaurs’ have strong links with the ancient flora of Gondwanan origin. It is a steep, thankfully short track through spotted gums & around a small waterfall. Wonderfully peaceful if you are lucky enough to be there alone.

Wards Canyon

Number 4 is the Art Gallery – Over 2000 engravings, ochre stencils & free-hand paintings adorn the 62m long sandstone walls of this significant Aboriginal site. It contains some of the best examples of Aboriginal stencil art in Australia.

Aboriginal stencil art in the Art Gallery

Cathedral Cave is the next one along the track & is a massive wind eroded overhang which sheltered Aboriginal people for thousands of years. A panorama of rock imagery across it’s wall reflects the rich cultural life of those who gathered here.

100 metres upstream we come to Boowinda Gorge which is a real rock-hop to access. There is 1.5kms of gorge but the first 1km is the most spectacular. It is boulder strewn & the walls are green with mossy growth, & the walls are sculpted by water & time.

Boowinda Gorge

Finally we come to Big Bend, where a natural pool in the Carnarvon Creek lies in an elbow beneath looming sandstone walls. There are apparently turtles & catfish in the waters here but we were not fortunate to see any. It is set up as a small camp site for those who wish to stay overnight or just stop for a picnic lunch as we did. Not too many seem to reach this last part of the gorge though we did meet two different couples with backpacks & camping equipment, set to do the 82km round trip. Obviously they were in the younger age group.

So now it was time to turn around & walk the main track back again, having set off at 8.45am & back at camp at 4.30pm, having rock-hopped the river 32 times (great fun) & walked 27kms in total. Tired but feeling satisfied that we had accomplished it, needless to say we slept very well that night. There was just one more walk to do which was 1000 rocky steps to the Bluff – a lookout over the surrounding landscape. Although I was keen to do it next morning, one knee was a bit sore so I opted out & left Stu to do it alone, so he set out at 7.30am & was back again in less than 2 hours, pleased as punch with himself. How did I manage without him? I had a later morning in bed reading, & gave the van a good cleanup without someone to walk in & out all the time. We spent the rest of the day relaxing & that night joined 8 others & a ranger in a ‘spotlighting’ tour of the area hoping to witness some nocturnal wildlife. There are 6 different varieties of ‘Gliders’ in this park & we managed to see 4 which was fantastic & quite exciting. They are possum-like creatures with long tails & wings like bats who spend their lives in the high canopies of the trees. Some are very tiny like the ‘feather-glider’, up to the Great Glider quite a lot larger like a baby possum. It was just wonderful to see them glide from tree to tree guided by their sonar & the calls of their family. A real magical & different experience though I had hoped to see another little creature like a wallaby but with shorter limbs. I’m having a senior moment & can’t remember it’s name???

Carnarvon Gorge from the Booolimba Cliff