Injune to Big Bend Campground (Carnarvon Great Walk Trip)

 https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-gorge

Sunday 10 September 2023

Day 1 Carnarvon Great Walk

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-great-walk/walking

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/164159/carnarvongw-topo.pdf

Today began with an approximately two hour drive to Carnarvon National Park – Carnarvon Gorge Section. 

We stopped at the site of a WW2 US Airforce Dakota remains and then headed into the National Park to begin our adventure. 

https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww2/display/101310-dakota-c-47-air-crash-memorial

Driving toward the National Park we could see the plateau rising above the surrounding plains.

It was a short walk today along the Main Gorge track out to Big Bend camping area.  

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-gorge/journeys/main-gorge-track

As we have previously explored all the side trips on this, we chose only to revisit the Art Gallery and leave all the other side trips. 

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-gorge/journeys/art-gallery-walk

There are 17 creek crossings – I was very glad I had a hiking pole to help me adjust my balance as I was not yet accustomed to the altered centre of gravity the pack created.  I spent the late afternoon exploring around Big Bend and enjoying the changing light on the towering cliffs above us.

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-great-walk/camping/big-bend-walkers

10.72km, 3 hours 38 minutes, 384m ascent

Carnarvon Gorge, Carnarvon National Park

2 July 2018 - Carnarvon Gorge, Carnarvon National Park

The Carnarvon Gorge Main Track with its side tracks was today’s goal.  We commenced walking just after 8am and headed directly to Big Bend, 10km down the gorge.  We were rained on much of the way and it was rather miserable at times.  Thankfully there was a brief pause in the rain when we arrived at Big Bend, allowing us to do some exploring.  Our first branch track was Boowinda Gorge – we went about 800m in over a rocky creek bed.  This gorge winds, narrows and widens constantly so you never have any idea how far it goes.  We had a picnic lunch at Cathedral Cave – a stunning cream overhang with aboriginal paintings on the walls.  From here it was a solid hike back to Ward’s Canyon, during which time the rain started to ease.  Ward’s Canyon climbs up, past a waterfall and onto another level where the rocks in the water appear to be covered in a red form of moss.  Old grinding stones were also visible here.  The Art Gallery was our next destination – smaller than Cathedral Cave but truly stunning!  There was a large quantity of red stencil art on the cream rock – hand prints, boomerang shapes and emu tracks.  There were also many petroglyphs of female genitalia that were believed to be carved as part of fertility rites.  The next side track was the Amphitheatre.  This is reached by climbing several ladders and then going through a crack in the rock to emerge into a moderately large, high walled open space.  The manner of formation was interesting – water erodes down cracks until it reaches an impermeable layer where it starts to erode sideways.  The remaining rock erodes over time and is washed away as sand until none remains. The last sidetrack was the Moss Garden.  Again, this is due to water, which has filtered through the sandstone, reaching an impermeable layer.  The water then travels sideways until it drips out the side of the rock.  This creates a constant source of water which supports ferns at the top and moss below.  We then had 3km to hike back to the car – we needed our headlamps at the end, but not for long.  All up, a long and tiring but terrific day!  9.5hours of hiking and approximately 29km.
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-gorge/