Carnarvon Gorge

King Ferns

The 'Art Gallery'

Ward's Canyon

We woke to the laughing Kookaburras. It was a cool night, only about 2 degrees but looking like a beautiful day. After breakfast I packed some snacks and lunch and we drove to the visitor centre to find out about the walking trails. After obtaining a trail map from the unfriendly and seemingly disinterested park ranger we decided to do the main trail into the Gorge as far as the 'Art Gallery' and return via some of the side trails, time permitting. It was nearly 10.30am by the time we started walking. The main track criss-crosses the winding Carnarvon Creek which flows all year round. The towering sandstone cliffs are quite a spectacular sight and along with the fan palms, giant cycads and spotted gums it feels like an ancient world. Both Caitlin and Cooper started off quite well carrying their own packs and enjoying the rock hopping over the creek but it was quite slow going and took us nearly two hours to do the 5.4km. We saw a gorgeous swamp wallaby just as we got to the turn off. The 'Art Gallery' is a 62m long sandstone wall adorned with Aboriginal rock imagery, 1000s of years old. The images were stencilled, painted and engraved. This significant site was thought to be a place where Aboriginal people gathered for ceremonies and social rituals. We had some lunch and headed back down to the main track and out to Ward's Canyon (270m off the main trail) which is a beautiful side gorge with a tiny pocket of rare king ferns - the only colony in Qld. A little further down the track we did the Amphitheatre which was 630m off the main trail and included a 4 tier ladder. It is a 60m deep chamber gouged from rock by running water. Back on the main trail the kids were beginning to tire and Cooper's whingeing was winding up. With about 2.8km to go he hit the wall and we had to coax him with lollies, singing and short piggy back rides. All up by the time we got back to the car at 4.00pm we had walked over 14km so the kids did really well for such little legs. We went back to the van for a drink and a snack then went to listen to Simon Ling, a local tour guide who spoke about the region. We had tuna pasta for dinner and went to bed early, all exhausted.