Day 2: Carnarvon Gorge
11 September 2020
It rained during the night which was fine as my tent kept me dry. The day dawned OK, although further showers were promised for the afternoon. It's 20 kilometres to walk to the end of Carnarvon Gorge and back. My companions are considerably younger and healthier than me and a great deal fitter as well, so I shooed them off thinking I'd stroll a couple of kilometres along the trail into the park and back and otherwise have an easy day.
Carnarvon Gorge is what its name says: a valley between two escarpments of around 600 metres high. There's a pretty stream that runs through the valley. When there's serious rain, it becomes a river and is probably uncrossable. The track winds along the valley and there are side-walks to a number of interesting and scenic natural attractions. I figured my general lack of fitness and a dodgy knee meant I'd maybe make it to the second of these and then head back for a rest.
Carnarvon Gorge
As it turned out I enjoyed myself so much I walked in as far as the Art Gallery, a return walk of around 11 kms.
My wife says I take too many photos. She's probably right, but in these digital days it's no longer an indulgence, I'm not a great photographer and I generally apply the method Tom Lehrer set out in the The Hunting Song, "You just stand there looking cute, and when something moves you shoot". I reckon, if I press the button often enough, I ought to get the occasional good shot. To keep her happy, though, I reduced the two days at the park to less than 20 photos. Here they are.
The start of the walking track
The western escarpment
The climb to the entrance to the Amphitheatre
The entrance at the top of the steps
The western walls of the Amphitheatre
The Amphitheatre was formed by erosion over a long time. A sandstone core has somehow eroded away leaving an amazingly tranquil canyon that can be accessed only though a narrow cut through the rocks. The information sign tells how entertaining it can be during a flash flood.
Having been totally amazed by the Amphitheatre, I decided Ward's Canyon was not too far away and that I should be able to make the extra distance. I'm glad I did. It was well worth it; perhaps the prettiest feature I saw.
Waterfall at the entrance to Ward's Canyon
Pretty rock in the creek at the bottom of the waterfall
Ward's Canyon is described as a 'time capsule'. It is the last place in central Queensland where the ancient king fern survives. I heard a naturalist type in the canyon talking in terms of them being 10,000,000 years old. They can't survive without water as they have no woody tissue: water fills their fronds exerting outward pressure to keep them rigid. Like a fire hose, says the sign. It also says the fronds can grow up to five metres in length, placing them amongst the largest of the world's ferns. In some ways they are less prepossessing than the tree ferns in the canyon which have very long, straight trunks supporting their leafy canopy.
A king fern
Inspired again, I decided to press on for an extra kilometre or so and look at the Art Gallery.
Australian indigenous art on the rock face in the Art Gallery. The colour comes from ochre and the images tell stories of the use of the site by Aboriginals.
I'd walked far enough, so I turned around and headed out.
This kangaroo barely interrupted his eating to check me out
A scarlet percher dragonfly
Here's the obligatory bike picture. The BMW below was jammed amongst all sorts of camping and exercise gear.
Later, back at the camp site, we were enjoying a recuperative ale or two when this echidna popped out for a photo op.
A currawong
