Airlie Beach – Hervey Bay
30 October – 3 November
After just under 3 months living the tropical lifestyle, it was time for us to head south across the Tropic of Capricorn into the temperate zone again. We haven’t been for a long drive for a while… why not Goat it to a Gorge?
To mix things up a bit we decided to head inland to Carnarvon Gorge, a 720km drive which is the longest single distance we’ve driven in a day – distances in Queensland have snuck up on us a bit. On the road early we had coffee in Mackay, lunch in Emerald and then pulled up at the resort campground by the gorge as the sun was setting. It doesn’t take long, when you head inland, for the countryside to start stretching out in front of you.
Carnarvon Gorge is considered an oasis in the semi-arid heart of Central Queensland, where the Carnarvon Creek has carved out a winding path through towering white sandstone cliffs with a number of branching side gorges. We got up early the next day and headed out on what turned into a 26km walk over ~9hrs. We headed up the Gorge picking our way across boulders as we zigzagged across the creek underneath the striking shear white walls. Having reached the turnaround point at Big Bend we headed back exploring all the side areas.
Boowinda Gorge – a side gorge where the track continues up to the ridge line, we wandered the first kilometre or so. The rocky windy gorge is only a few meters across in some sections with the bottom of the sculptured walls only receiving reflected light. It was really neat seeing what was around the next corner.
Cathedral Cave and Art Gallery – The first a large wind eroded overhang provided shelter for Aboriginal people and features a panorama of rock art and the second a wall gallery covered with stencil art, engravings and some free-hand paintings. The area was split into men’s and women’s business. Carnarvon Gorge features some of Australia’s best indigenous stencil art. A university researcher was at Cathedral Cave recording engravings when we were there and it was interesting to chat with her and find out a bit more about the art.
Ward’s Canyon – stepping into Ward’s canyon you could feel a cooling breeze like someone had left a giant air conditioner on, and after climbing up past a little waterfall we found ourselves in a small shaded space with ferns overhanging the creek. The world’s largest fern, the King Fern, grows in this sheltered canyon. Its fronds, 5m+, are supported by internal water pressure without any fibrous structure to them, kinda like a firehose. We soaked up the coolness of Ward’s Canyon as the heat of the afternoon was filtering through the main gorge.
Amphitheatre – Without knowing anything about this side trip we expected a semicircular space at the end of the gorge. Which there was, but there was also a ladder climbing up to a crack in the rock. Through the crack hidden in the walls of the gorge was a 60m deep chamber gouged out by running water. Sitting in the amphitheatre with just a window of sky above the rock walls we enjoyed playing with echoes. A very neat surprise.
Moss Garden – With water dripping through the sandstone walls where the sandstone meets the harder impermeable rocks underneath, the rocks around the creek are covered in mosses, ferns and liverworts. But with the mozzies hovering we didn’t hang around too long. Time to head back out, grab a bit of dinner then hit the sack after a big day.
Another early start to beat the heat, and we headed up Boolimba Bluff at the mouth of the Gorge. 800+ stairs later we were looking out over the surrounding ranges. Our last side trip up Mickey Creek to Warrumbah Bluff saw us scrambling through narrow passages. The tourism brochure for Carnarvon Gorge featured a lady ‘exploring exhilaratingly’ and climbing up the creek I think I nailed it …
A quick dip at the Rockpool to cool off then it was time to hit the road again and head back to the coast. Today was Melbourne Cup day, so when we pulled into the small township of Rolleston an hour before the race and saw that there was a pub we decided to hang around and watch the race with the locals. A bit further down the road we passed through the town of Banana. No it’s not what you think they don’t grow bananas here, rather it was the name of a yellow bullock that died by a stream there. Go figure.
Back to the coast we took the tourist drive from Rockhampton out to Yeppoon then down the coast to Gladstone. We spent a happy afternoon on our own self-drive tour of the industrial highlights of the city which included stops at the Power Station, Big coal loading port, alumina refinery and lots of hilltop lookouts.
Following the rough guide suggested by the guy in the Cairn’s visitor centre we headed on down the coast to the Town of 1770. We still aren’t quite sure whether the official name of the town is the digits 1770, or ‘seventeen seventy’ but either way we were intrigued. The coastal town is in the spot that Captain Cook first set foot on what is now Queensland in (you guessed it) … 1770. Beautiful golden sand beaches line sheltered coves on the inland side of the point; it really is a great holiday spot. Unfortunately we had places to be so couldn’t spend too much more than a morning here.
We continued south through Bundaberg (yip had an obligatory photo shop at the distillery) and down to Hervey Bay. Sometimes being in the cheap unpowered spots works out well as we rolled into a backpacker $15 spot right on the beach. But only so much time to kick back and take in the view – we had some serious planning for our next stage of the adventure … Fraser Island here we come 🙂
E