On the road again - Carnarvon Gorge

22 – 26 October 2016

We left Capella and drove on to Emerald where we refuelled then stopped for a cuppa at the Lions Park just north of Springsure. It was a nice spot with a beautiful view, as well as a covered picnic table and toilets.

From there we made our way to Carnarvon Gorge. You can only camp in the National Park during school holidays so we had booked in to the caravan park which is adjacent to the National Park. The park is well laid out with lots of trees and visiting wildlife. Each evening there is a happy hour at the bar, followed by a talk about the National Park and the walks available. We ventured down to get the information we needed to plan our walks.

A couple of young Eastern Grey Kangaroos sparring

The beautiful Whiptail Wallaby (Macropus parryi)

Even though the weather here has been quite mild, we had a very cold and wet evening and night. Much colder than we had expected, and certainly wetter. Because rain was forecast for Sunday too, we decided on a couple of short walks as a warm up to the big gorge walk.

Channel-billed Cuckoos were seen and heard frequently.

I was surprised to see a Channel-billed on the ground

I was delighted to find that there was a a large group of Channel-billed Cuckoos in and around the campground. At home I frequently see these large (57 - 70 cm) migratory cuckoos flying over, alerted by their loud, raucous calls. Until now I've not had a decent opportunity to photograph one. 

Channel-billed Cuckoos migrate south to Australia in spring (some overwinter) to parasitise the nests of large birds such as currawongs, crows and ravens. Figs are their favoured food. There were many fruiting sandpaper fig trees around the campground at the time of our visit and these offered the best opportunities for me to get photo or two. Many of the fig trees were no more than 3 or 4 metres tall but the cuckoos are shy and masters of keeping obstacles between themselves and an observer. Mick

On Sunday morning we set off early and stopped at the Baloon Cave walk carpark. As promised, this was well signposted and easy to find. This walk is a short 1 km round trip from the carpark to an overhang (cave) where a small art site is visible, as well as the place where ochre was sourced. This was an easy and pleasant walk.

Ancient hand print.

Red-backed Fairywren

From there we drove up to the National Parks visitor centre and walked the 1.5km Nature Trail. Again well signposted and fairly easy. The most difficult part of this, and other walks, is crossing the creek. Free WiFi is available at the visitor centre – thanks National Parks! We stopped for a coffee and a look at the visitor centre at the lodge down the road, then returned to camp for lunch. Even though it was overcast and quite cool, we didn’t get any rain.

After lunch we set off again, this time to the Mickey’s Creek Gorge walk. This one is a bit longer at 3km return, but again well marked and fairly easy, with a couple of creek crossings. We marvelled at the spectacular scenery, and we hadn’t even ventured into the Carnarvon Gorge itself.

Back to camp and the sun eventually emerged from behind the clouds and the temperature dropped for another cold night.

Currawongs and Kookaburras look for an easy meal around the campground but should not be fed.

Kookaburra sits on an old Cub Camper awning.

Monday morning dawned clear and warm – but not too hot. We rose early and set off for the main gorge walk around 8.00am. There are a number of options and we chose the shortest and easiest. The main walking track snakes through the gorge and there are a number of side tracks taking visitors to various points of interest. Guides recommend walking up the gorge and stopping at the featured sites on the way back. We chose to just go only as far as Moss Garden – a 7km round trip, although we could have walked up to 14 km return had we opted to visit Art Gallery, Amphitheatre and Ward’s Canyon as well.

The walls of the gorge close in as you approach Moss Garden.

Weathered sandstone.

The moss garden

The walk is described as fairly level in some guides, but we found it to be more accurately described as a Grade 3 track. It had many stairs, although only in small groups, as well as a number of creek crossings (using stepping stones) and short climbs up and down. It was manageable but you do need a reasonable level of fitness. Because of the distance and challenges we knew we would encounter, Mick decided not to bring his big camera lens and this was the right decision. The walk up to Moss Garden was certainly worth the effort. Once there we were rewarded with a glade that was several degrees cooler than the surrounding gorge. We had the place to ourselves for much of our time there. There are a number of seats on the main walking track and we took advantage of these, as well as up at Moss Garden. The walk took roughly 3 hours so we were back at camp in time for lunch.

Rocks in a stream

One of the creek crossings on the walk to Moss Garden

We spent the afternoon resting and taking some gentle walks around the caravan park to keep our muscles working. Oh, and we did shout ourselves an ice cream too!

The early morning sun about to illuminate a Macrozamia ( moorei) cycad across from our camp.

Tuesday morning was spent washing and rearranging things ready for the next leg of our journey. We also visited the Rock Pool which is the only place where swimming is permitted within the National Park. We revisited Baloon Cave in the hope of finding some birds – without much luck this time. We finished our visit to Carnarvon Gorge with the roast dinner that is available three times each week. Great value at $25 each, for roast pork and lamb, apple and mint sauces, gravy, vast quantities of vegetables as well as bread and butter. This was followed by apple crumble and custard. You have to bring your own plates, bowls and cutlery, and drinks too if you want. Bookings are essential. The bar is not open at dinner time. We left feeling well satisfied.

The swimming hole. We didn't try it.

We set off early on Wednesday morning, still not completely sure where we would end up....