Walking through Carnarvon Gorge

For a long time I have heard of and been reading about what a great place Carnarvon Gorge National Park is to walk and hike through.  Now, being in the vicinity and with time to visit, we booked ourselves in for a 5 night stay.

Our campsite was a beauty sitting atop a sandstone ridge that afforded a 360 degree view of the area.  From this vantage point, seated in our camp chairs, in the morning we could watch the sunrise over the plains to our east while enjoying a coffee and then, with nothing more than a swivel of our chairs, we could observe the sunset behind the walls of the gorge to our west with a ‘sundowner’ in hand as the day came to a close!  This is the life!

View looking west from our camp chairs.
Picture a glass in hand as the sun goes down behind the ridgeline...life is good!

The park information brochure identified several short walks and some longer more adventurous hikes that could be undertaken.  We planned our time so that we did the shorter walks first with the more difficult and longer hikes to follow on later days.  The last day was reserved to simply rest and relax.

On the first day we did two of the short walks which covered a total distance of less than 2km.  These amounted to what was literally ‘a walk in the park’.  One walk took us through a grove of fan palms and cycads nestled within the walls of the entrance to the gorge and popped out at a cave containing some great examples of stencilled Aboriginal rock art.

Heather in a grove of palms and cycads within Carnarvon Gorge

Aboriginal rock art - Ochre stencils of hands, boomerangs and axes

The second walk of the day was really just a visit to a rock pool where we hoped to see some turtles or a platypus but there none to be seen while we were there.

The next day took us along the bank of a small creek where, after a couple of kilometres, the formed track ended and we proceeded carefully into a narrow side-gorge.  The gorge got progressively narrower, cooler and darker until, with outstretched arms, we could touch the walls on both sides!

The gorge got so narrow that we could touch the walls on both sides!

Later that day, after a light lunch, we completed a sedate stroll along a nature trail located near the park ranger station.  Once again we hoped to spot a platypus in the clear flowing waters of Carnarvon Creek.  Once again, unfortunately, we were unable to spy one of these elusive creatures.  Total distance covered was about 4.5km.

On day 3 we did the 6.4km hike to Boolimba Bluff.  This hike required us to scale the steep slope of one of the gorge walls to a lookout situated 200m above Carnarvon Creek.

The sign was right!  It was very steep and I needed to be supervised at all times!

Upon reaching the lookout we were rewarded with views of the gorge from above as well as getting to see more of the surrounding ranges.

We were rewarded with some great views from the lookout at Boolimba Bluff

Our walks and hikes over the first 3 days of our visit, while getting progressively longer, were not that taxing (I used to walk 7km going to work and back home each day).  These were mere 'warm-ups' compared to the hike that we completed on day 4!

Day 4: The Main Carnarvon Gorge Walking Track criss-crosses Carnarvon Creek about 20 times (which equates to more than 40 crossings as you have to come back) as it wends its way to its end point at Big Bend some 9.7km upstream.  The hiking guide recommends trekking all the way to the end of the trail at Big Bend and then visiting the sites as you return rather than visiting them as you reach them on the outbound leg so this is what we did.

It took us about 2.5 hours to reach Big Bend with each of us managing to get a boot full of creek water along the way at different creek crossings.  We decided to have an early lunch before commencing the return leg which was to include numerous diversions along side-tracks leading to narrow hidden gorges, fern and moss gardens and several Aboriginal rock art sites.

Each of the highlights at the ends of these off-shoots were special in their their own different ways and well worth the extra km to get into and back out again.  In the order that we came to them as we returned to our starting point, I will briefly describe each.

Cathedral Gorge is a large rock overhang that provided shelter to Aboriginal people for thousands of years and its walls are covered in images reflecting the culture of those that gathered here.

Large rock overhang at Cathedral Gorge was full of Aboriginal stencils and paintings

The ‘Art Gallery’ contains over 2,000 rock engravings, ochre stencils and free-hand paintings on a 62m long sandstone wall.  This is one of the places within the gorge the ‘secret women’s business’ was conducted.

More ochre stencils and paintings - this time from the 'Art Gallery'.

Ward’s Canyon was a short but steep climb from the main gorge track.  We passed a small waterfall on the way up into a narrow side-gorge that shelters one of the last groves of the world’s largest fern - the King Fern.

Large Tree Ferns and King Ferns could be found in Ward's Canyon

Getting to ‘The Amphitheatre’ required us to make a bit of a hike off of the main trail then climb a series of ladders in order to access the narrow gorge which opened out onto the floor of a 60m deep, fern filled chamber.  With high stone walls and a natural skylight high above, the atmosphere inside is awe-inspiring.  We took the time to sit and contemplate in the peace and quiet within.

It was necessary to climb these ladders to reach the narrow entrance to 'The Amphitheatre'

Ferns growing inside the Amphitheatre reaching for the light 60m above

Heather quietly contemplates her surroundings inside the Amphitheater

The last diversion from the trail took us to the ‘Moss Garden’.  Again, after a bit of a hike and climb, we arrived at a steep-sided, cool, fern-filled sandstone walled gorge.  A small waterfall cascaded into a shallow pool before the water trickled away downstream while more water drips constantly from the sandstone walls all around it.  This constant supply of water sustains a lush green carpet of mosses on its walls and ferns along the creekside.  It was a beautiful cool place to sit briefly and take a load off our now noticeably tiring legs.

'Selfie' from the Moss Garden

Heather & small waterfall in the Moss Garden

With all of the listed sites along the route now visited we wearily completed the hike back to our vehicle parked at the trailhead.  By the time we climbed into the ute 7 hours and 40 minutes after we had started, we had covered about 26km (34,700 steps) and our legs were feeling them all!  Despite our tiredness we were very happy to have made the effort and highly recommend that anyone that can include a visit to Carnarvon Gorge in their itinerary should do so.

Heather has made a couple of videos of our Carnarvon Gorge walks - these can be viewed on YouTube by clicking on the links provided below:

Short Walks: https://youtu.be/4ctnA7V1zho

Long Hike: https://youtu.be/0TkUor8GEi8

If you like the videos and would like to see similar movies relating to the activities WTF? - Where are The Farrows? get up to, please click ‘Subscribe’ when at Heather’s YouTube channel to receive a notification whenever she uploads a new movie.

As WTF? - Where are The Farrows? continue their odyssey northwards towards the Gulf of Carpentaria we will be sure to let you know about the significant, weird, wonderful and quirky things we encounter along the way.

Personal Footnote: It has been 7 years since you passed away but I am still missing you dad - Love Grant.

NSW Mid-North and Northern Coast

Having descended to the east coast from the mountains for the first time in our journey thus far we decided that instead of making and breaking camp every day or two we would set up a base-camp and put our nomadic wandering activities on hold for a week or so.

Being the ‘off-season’ as far as tourists are concerned, i.e.: NOT school holidays, NOT summer, NOT a public holiday long-weekend, NOT Easter or NOT Christmas (that is a pretty narrow window when you write down all of the 'exceptions'), NSW National Parks were promoting a ‘pay 2 stay 3’ deal.  Hot and cold running water, a camp kitchen and laundry facilities were just what we needed after several days in the bush so we ‘doubled-down’ and signed up to pay for 4 & stay for 6 nights at the Trial Bay Gaol campground.  It was perfect - our site was sheltered from the wind but had views looking out across Trial Bay while the resident kangaroos provided some close contact with nature as well as the entertainment with their antics or when they sparred with each other!

Our base-camp was located to the left of Trial Bay Gaol - nice view!

Resident campground kangaroo enjoying a scratch as Grant looks on

After taking care of domestic duties on day 1 we were free to explore the region via daily outings up and down the coastline.

To the south we visited the town of Port Macquarie that happened to be in the midst of its “Hello Koalas” festival.  More than 60 koala sculptures, all the same but each with a unique ‘paint-job’, are located across the town and surrounds.

Heather with a Koala Sculpture in Pt. Macquarie

Grant with one of the other 60 odd koala sculptures in town

In nearby Kempsey we came across the Slim Dusty Centre.  Slim Dusty passed away in 2003 but  is an Australian country music legend and the centre is a museum honouring their most famous son.

Out the front of the Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey

One of Slim’s most well known songs is ‘Pub With No Beer’.  The song tells of the sorrow felt when, parched and thirsty, you arrive at a pub only to find it has no beer!  The Pub upon which the story was based is located in the hills not that far away in the tiny town of Taylor’s Arm so we decided to pay it a visit.

The 'Pub With No Beer' in Taylor's Arm was made famous by Slim Dusty 

Fortunately, when we were there they had beer so we had a drink to celebrate then went home.

Enjoying a beer at the Pub With No Beer.  How does that happen?

The town of Coffs Harbour is the major regional centre along this section of the coast with all of the facilities expected of a town with a population of ~70,000, but it was the ‘Big Banana’ located on the highway as you enter town that caught our eye.

Heather standing at left of the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour

Why a Banana?  Well, as you may have guessed, bananas are grown in the region.  We stopped, took a photo, had a Banana smoothie and moved on.

The coastline in this part of NSW is beautiful.  Waves continually rolling in from the Pacific Ocean to the east crashing into long white sand beaches and headlands make for great walking, fishing, surfing and sunrises.  One of the best known locations for all of the above is Byron Bay.  While there, we visited the lighthouse situated atop Cape Byron at the easternmost point of the Australian mainland where, it rightly claims to be ‘the first place in Australia to see the sun rise each morning’.

Heather at Cape Byron - the most easterly point of the Australia mainland

We were not there early enough for the sunrise but we did see shoals of fish being hunted by sharks, dolphins surfing the waves in towards the shore and humpback whales blowing and breaching as they make their annual migration northwards.  Not bad for just an hour of viewing from the lookout!

In total we spent 12 days in and around this stretch of the NSW coast and we enjoyed every bit of it but it was time for WTF? - Where are The Farrows?, like the whales, to resume our northward journey.  Next stop will be somewhere in the state of Queensland.  We don’t know where just yet but will fill you in when we next post. 

Waterless Waterfall Way

It has been a while since my last post from the Warrumbungles and it has been even longer since meaningful rain has fallen in the New South Wales hinterland (the mountains and hills inland from the coast) - hence the title of the post!

Before I proceed, a little bit of Australian geography is necessary to help set the scene:

Australia’s Great Dividing Range is a mountain range that runs parallel to almost the entire length of the continent’s eastern seaboard.  This ‘spine’ of mountains pretty much separates the coastal region from the interior and most of Australia’s population chooses to live between these ranges and the coast.  Apart from the great weather typically experienced along this coastal strip, the key reason for the higher population density is an abundance of the water necessary to support this many people.  The ranges intercept the moisture laden clouds that roll inland from the Pacific Ocean, forcing them to rise.  As they rise, they cool and subsequently drop their moisture as rain on the coastal side of mountains which makes it way back to the sea via numerous rivers and creeks.  Here endeth the lesson - now back to the story...

We had decided to head towards the mid-north NSW coastline from the interior via Tamworth (the Country Music Capital of Australia), and a driving route known as ‘The Waterfall Way’.

'Straw Hat Heather' and her Golden Guitar in Tamworth - Yeee-har!

With Heather having released her inner hillbilly in Tamworth (I am glad to report that she has now got that out of her system), we were excited to set-off down the Waterfall Way to see some of what the national parks brochure was spruiking.  It says:

“Explore the parks along the Great Escarpment and the Coastal Ranges on the eastern edge of the New England Tableland.  Watch cascading streams and waterfalls still shaping this dramatic mountainous landscape, as you travel along the Waterfall Way.”

First stop along the route was a place called Dangar Falls.  The gorges and canyons were indeed spectacular, however, the water was not there to fall.  We said to each other, “It must be magnificent after it has rained!”

Next was Wollomombi Falls.  Again, breathtaking cliff lines and plunging ravines cut by the forces of water but no water was at work when we were there.  We said to each other, “It must be magnificent after it has rained!”

A couple more kilometres down the road and we were at Chandler Falls.  For an accurate description of this beauty, see paragraph above.  Also, and you probably know the drill by now; we said to each other:  “It must be magnificent after it has rained!”

Given our lack of success viewing waterfalls thus far we decided that as our campsite for the night was quite close to a lookout from which you could see all the way across the foothills of the plateau and out to the coast some 60 km away, next morning we would get up, make ourselves a coffee and head to the lookout in time to watch the sunrise upon a brand new day.  While the falls may not have had any water falling over them we had more confidence that the sun would come up tomorrow and at least we could watch the sun rise!  As sure as day follows night, the sun did indeed rise - and right on schedule too!

Heather bathes in the orange glow of sunrise on a cold morning

Last of the listed major waterfalls along the route was Ebor Falls.  Our previous recent experience had us expecting more of the truly spectacular scenery (it really was spectacular), but no water.  Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the lookout and first heard and then actually saw water!  Not much but water falling over the falls nonetheless!  Below is a photo of Ebor Falls just to prove that you really can see water-falling along this route.

Ebor Falls - the only falls along the Waterfall Way to have water during our visit!

With the sun rising as it should and water falling once more we were satisfied that the normal order of things had been restored so it was time for WTF? - Where are The Farrows?, to move on.  Next up, we take in some of what the mid-north and northern NSW coastline has to offer.