Carnarvon Gorge ,Central Queensland, 18 - 22 October 2021

Ten of our Dragon Boat Club members made the road trip, 8 hours drive NW of Gympie.   Two of the girls went with spouses by caravan but it was definitely a girls getaway, with lots of giggles and many hilarious happenings along the way.   Obviously 2 days were allotted to travelling there and back and we had 3 BIG  days of walking tracks in the gorge.

One of the roast nights at the Bush Bar.  Everyone together at the one time.

At the beginning of the first day, before the soreness set in…

The first day wasn’t a good start after discovering our communication skills were so lousy we met at different places and times.  Thereafter it became apparent, we would tee up arrangements with individuals otherwise we’d end up doing very little.  However on our first walk we got a good feel for what the heat and terrain were going to be like for the following days. 

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Beautiful clear sky and gorgeous palms in front of the sandstone cliffs

From the track looking down into the creek.  It was as peaceful as it looks.

“Picture says a thousand words” but this picture needs some clarification.  Billie at the back of photo has hips and all sorts of foreign pieces and Sylvie in the front goes close to rivalling what Billie has had done to him.  Helen in the middle is there to prod and pull them along.  Seriously they made a terrific effort, well done guys.

The Moss Garden was the destination for many that day, 7 km return along winding, sandy-pathed tracks, uphill and down dale, surrounded by cycads and palm trees and through dappled sunlight.  Despite an absence of rain in the area for weeks, there was a small amount of water dripping from the sandstone walls, supporting a lush carpet of mosses, ferns and liverworts.  Truly nature can be amazing!

Some of us felt our stamina would hold up if we ventured a little further along the track so we continued along the track for a look at the Amphitheatre.  It was truly worth the trudge as we came to a massive chamber 60-metre-deep hidden inside the walls of the gorge.  Access was up some ladder steps and through an incredibly cool ‘air condition-like gap in the gorge rocks to be greeted by a solemn-like chamber.  Awesome is an accurate description of the feeling of being inside.  It was very cool and a  feeling of being minuscule in amongst nature’s wonders.

A would-be yachtie correctly informed us we must descend the ladder facing inwards.

A pity the photo is dark but part of the inside of the amphitheatre.

Some of the first day heroes, Helen, Gwyn, Jean and Sylvie. Helen cause it’s one of the few social occasions she has gone away with us, Gwyn cause she’s 70 something and Sylvie cause she has nearly had her entire skeleton ‘fitted out’.  

We had varying degrees of fitness, confidence and robustness within the group, so on the 2nd day we decided to split into those with aspirations and those who felt their capabilities were not so great.

Day 2 - Gwyn, Barb and Jean set off on the walk to the Big Bend which was a 19.4 km return trip taking about 7-8 hours.

 

Some of the 13 creek crossings we made, they caused a great deal of focus!  The Cathedral cave we passed on the way, a massive wind-eroded overhang which apparently the Aboriginal people used as shelters for thousands of years.

Part of The Art Gallery, many engravings, ochre stencils and freehand paintings adorn the 62 metre long sandstone walls of the indigenous site.

Barb and Gwyn guarding the entrance!

Pleased to be resting for a couple of minutes

Barb displaying her balance skills.

After endless but pretty scenery, many loose stones trying to twist ankles, much sweating and few grumbles we reached the Big Bend.  Personally I didn’t think the area itself was worth the walk but good to have achieved a long trek, no blisters or dehydration, just 3 very chuffed ‘old girls’

Yaaay, we made it!

It was a long hot walk back with everyone encouraging one another.  Gwyn suggested a long dip in the creek back at camp would be just the medicine required and she was dead right.  We slept like good babies that night and barely a drop of wine passed our lips..

Day 2 - Boolimba Bluff Walk

A 2-3 hour return trip covering 6.4 kms with a very steep climb!  Barb was still on a ‘high’ from the previous walk so she joined Gwyn and I.  We were up a bit earlier than usual to beat the heat.  Luckily it was a little overcast so the heat did not become an issue.

As you can see there were formed steps so the climb was really only an exhausting aerobic exercise.

Some rough terrain

One of our rewards!

A special view

The girls improving my panorama

The rooftop of Queensland

We were ecstatic to say the least to have accomplished the climb without mishap.  I was particularly impressed with Gwyn’s effort and I always knew Barb had it in her, she’s just one of the lazy ones that need pushing.

We discovered this small cool overhang-cave on our descent.  We obviously were so focussed on the way up we missed it.

It took us about 45 minutes to reach the summit and we probably spent the same amount of time making up stories that we were going to attempt to make the others to feel lousy about not making the effort but stopped feeling mean halfway down.  However we felt  sufficiently elated to accompany Barb on a walk back to the Amphitheatre which she had missed seeing on the first day.  We had energy to spare!

Such beautiful bush

The other (slack) group of girls spent the last day being a bit more adventurous  and wandering up country.  Apparently one of the girls, Jan has a very melodic voice and entertained them all with a rendition of “How great thou art” whilst in the amphitheatre.  It’s a pity someone didn’t record it.

Our quarters for the time we glamped.   Each tent had facilities for 4, a bit cramped but okay for 4 days.  A bar fridge was provided and a set of shelves, table and chairs out on the deck.  The tank next door was the toilet and shower, a bit hot at this time of the year but better than walking to camp facilities in the middle of the night.

Anyway the trip had to come to an end and we learnt how fortunate we were because the National Park closed on our last day there.  A wildfire had entered the gorge from a private property, the winds were quite strong while we were there and the gorge had to be evacuated, so we were so lucky not to have had our trip cut short.  All in all, it was a wonderful time together - the caravanners made our situation a lot more comfortable than it would have been cause Norma wouldn’t allow all the mod cons to go along.

Really it was a lot of fun and laughs.  Billie and Chris (two husbands) were really good troopers and just went along with all the festivities and silliness that occurred from time to time.

At Eistvodt, halfway home and still good friends!

This type of photo goes close to typifying the gorge - really pretty stepping stones

A marvellous place to have visited and there are a couple of side gorges we didn’t have the time or energy to get to - Boowinda, wards Canyon and closer to camp, Mickey Creek gorge, so I do have an excuse to go back.