|
Date: May 2005
Location: Queensland Australia
The road seems to roll on forever through rugged brown pastures grazed by big rangy cattle with long pointed horns. Except for the odd small town, this countryside tends to lull the traveller into a thoughtful mood about how challenging it would be to make a living in such an environment.
But then, we turn off the paved road and hit the gravel, rattling through several
cattle-grid crossings, so we're wide awake when we spot the spectacular golden
cliffs of the Carnarvon Range
rising in the distance. Then the road twists and dips as it splashes through several
creek crossings and we are suddenly in a very different world, the deep forest
at the entrance to Carnarvon Gorge.
We stop first at our lodge, Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge, a peaceful haven from the dry plains we've just been through. As we walk along the paths between our canvas-roofed cabins we are startled to see a graceful grey wallaby with dark fringed eyes, hopping sedately and silently past, then disappearing into the undergrowth on the edge of the clearing.
Anxious to see more of the wallabies' world, we dress for the bush. Hiking boots, shorts, bottles of water, insect repellent, and hats, sweaters in case it turns cool are necessary even for a short walk in this changeable climate, according to the guide from the resort.
After a brief stop at the ranger station for a look at maps and information displays, we are curious to experience this unique landscape firsthand. We cross the first bridge and immediately the wide sandy path plunges us into the thickly forested gorge whose walls rise around us like giant buildings of rough sandstone.
The path is quite flat and easy at first and the vegetation is strange but beautiful. Huge cabbage tree palms and the strange grass trees with their green fountains of grass-like leaves sprouting from the top of a short black trunk, loom around us on the slopes that rapidly become sheer cliff faces. We are torn between staring upwards at the golden sandstone and keeping our eyes on the path as it meanders along the creekbed.
At times the track crosses the creek, a clear rushing stream, and we hop from rock to rock or over a log bridge, as it wanders in and out of the trees, deeper into the gorge.
Carnarvon Gorge is part
of the wide sandstone belt in the Central Highlands of Queensland, part of Australia's
Great Dividing Range, and is the largest of a labyrinth of cliffs, gorges and
mountains.
Having EcoCertification means the guides at the lodge are well trained in the flora and fauna of the park and are able to spot and identify the birdlife that carries on a lively chorus all around us. Kookaburras and currawongs, the all-Australian birds, dominate the concert at this time of day, but huge parrots of different colours and unsettling raucous cries are heard as well.
Everyone is on the watch for kangaroos and wallabies, but they are hiding in the coolness of the forest. We do see several big, fat, lace monitor lizards enjoying the sun like tiny dinosaurs and a goanna scurrying up a tree.
The easy walking is a surprise after all we've heard about the ruggedness of the landscape, and the older people we see are obviously enjoying this but there are also some special places that demand a bit more physical effort for an extraordinary reward.
We climb a path that takes us up the steep side of the gorge to a platform and here we see a metal ladder, surrounded by a reassuring wire framework, leading up the sheer face of the rock to an opening in the rock high above our heads. After a moment's hesitation we all decide that 'The Amphitheatre' sounds intriguing and when we see a grey-haired lady descending the ladder, we know we must brave the climb.
Once we have ascended the ladder, and stumbled through the short dark passage through the rock, we stand amazed. Our guide tells us that this magnificent space, like a vast luxury hotel foyer with a huge skylight, is simply a space in the rock, hollowed out by a tiny stream that also keeps the moisture constant and feeds the palm trees and mosses that grow here. With its cool air and soft shadowy light filtering in through the vegetation overhanging the opening at the top, this is like another oasis from the warmth of the midday sun outside.
Back on the main path again, our guide also tells us that, far from being a lonely,
uninhabited wilderness, this place was once home to tribes of Aborigines who used
the vast walls as a canvas to record their dreamtime images. Carnarvon
Gorge was an important place to the original inhabitants of Australia, which
is not surprising, given its powerful beauty.
Even older than the Aboriginal settlement, but still living here today are the
ancient Angiopteris ferns that are found along the path into Ward's Canyon where
there is a beautiful waterfall cascading down the side of the gorge. This is one
of only two places where these giant plants are found, the other being Heritage-listed
Fraser Island off Queensland's east coast.
Back at the Carnavon Wilderness Lodge that evening, we rest on the verandah of our cabin, unwilling to move for fear of frightening away the wallabies and birds that wander fearlessly across the green lawns. After dinner, we spend the evening watching a slide show and talk about other features that we want to explore. Our first day here is enough to whet the appetite for further rambles into this fascinating environment, which no longer seems like rugged, fearful wilderness but a welcoming oasis where time stands still.
For more information:
Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge
Tel +61 7 4984 4503
Carnarvon National Park
- By Suzy Young
|
|
