Carnarvon Gorge

Carnarvon gorge was a real delight. The walls based of the floor of the canyon, and are quite easy.  The white cliffs,  and cool streams and lush vegetation leads to the feelings and descriptions akin to "oasis", "eden"or "paradise". It is a rightly popular park, but none-too-busy when I was there. 

It is a fair drive to Carnarvon gorge, several hours from any major city centre.  The reward is big for the effort. As you drive on the long roads, the ranges are seemingly sheared and heaved up. They are unusually white, - where their southern cousins are more a golden colour. The white cliffs are contrasted nicely with the abundant foliage typically of Australian mountains.


I stayed here a couple of days, as I was limited in capacity to walk any distance on consecutive days. My foot protested as I overdid it on the second day walking to the end of the gorge and back again. It is still early days after my operation on it.

 If I return, I would be interested in doing the extended walk that encircles the border of the escarpment.


On arrival after the drive from Mitchell,  I  went for a brief 4hr walk to the ampitheatre, the moss garden and bluff tops. Every nook and cranny has a name. 

How crazy and irritating is Qld national parks ? No staff so they only open camping in school holidays. The visitor centre was closed, and bookings can only be done on-line.  I hate this cost cutting measure and it is truly annoying when you are road tripping. Oh well, see how I go with the officials tonight - hopefully there is a lack of them ! 

The kangaroos do not care.

 Early morning rise meant I had the walk to myself most of the day.  I even managed to spot a couple of dingoes playing on the track (quickly disappeared though). Walking on the gorge floor is interesting with its many stream crossings and natural bridges of stepping stones - placed their by a person of course.


The trails , especially in the early part of the walk free from debris and are easy walking. There is this back of the mind thought sitting there with regards to the odd viper, but they were absent (from my view anyway).
You are not permitted to swim in most of the watercourse due to the risk of sunscreens nd cosmetics killing the animals. Understandable especially in dry periods with the number of visitors.

The gorge has many sites of interest, the action of water has eroded narrow gorges and holes. Metal staircases make it easy to get up or down safely into these areas.


Money has been spent on high quality fenced ramps into sensitive areas.

Early in the day, the birds and wildlife are out and visible. I managed to capture a kookaburra and the odd kangaroo in my lens, but the others are a bit camera shy.

Being such a beautiful area, the gorge was also loved by the Aborigines. There are many sacred areas and paintings that adorn the rock faces in grottos and other weather protected areas.

There are plaques near most of the publicly accessible areas explaining the meaning of the pictures.


Wandering around the long gorge tributaries was a lot of fun. If I  decided to camp at the end of the gorge a day or two, it would be nice to perhaps sit in one and read or reflect awhile. They kind of lend themselves to that mindset.

There is no getting lost - the signposts are clear and well designed.


On the way out of the park, I was fortunate to see an Australian Bustard. A mate of mine who is a bird lover said I was a lucky bastard for seeing one, as to date he hasn't see one.
Here is a flower: my commiserations to my friend ! Jealousy gets one one nowhere - go see Carnarvon Gorge.

For an interactive map see:
Blog Indexes:
Location: Carnarvon Gorge National Park, QLD 4702, Australia