12th June to 23rd
June
Possum Park
Our destination
today is Possum Park situated just 20 km north of Miles, our
overnighter, en route to Carnarvon Gorge. A drive of over 700 k's is
a bit too much for one day so we have picked the Miles area for
pulling up stumps for the night and it's about half way. We
travelled here via Woodford, Kilcoy, Yarraman. Had a lunch stop at
Dalby, another Queensland country town much like any other Queensland
country town!
Possum Park was a
surprise, we bounced along quite a few kilometres of dirt road before
reaching the park. During World War 2 RAAF Kowguran Sub Depot to No
3 Central Reserve Explosive Store was located here. It comprises 20
concrete underground bunkers and 25 timber accommodation and
administration buildings. RAAF Kowguran was the main explosive store
on the Brisbane line, holding at times 2,500 tons of bombs and
ammunition.
Today though it
has been renamed Possum Park and is now a quite unusual caravan park.
Several of the underground bunkers have been converted into modern
self-contained units for tourist accommodation. There is also an old
troop train here which houses self-contained carriages and is also
used for accommodation. There is a drive through area for caravans
and also a safari tent area. The most surprising aspect here is the
fact that an old Viscount aeroplane is being lovingly restored and
when the project is complete, the plane will contain luxury
accommodation for anybody wanting a different and special holiday
break. The proprietors are extremely friendly and accommodating. We
were invited to join everybody at the camp fire that evening. A
convivial hour or so spent chatting around the fire ensued. Every
other night there is music provided by a guitarist singing old time
bush songs. All good fun and chatting to others about their travels.
We had another two nights here on our way home. We will certainly
return on another occasion en route to 'somewhere'.
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| Outside one of the old bunkers |
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| Around the camp fire |
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| Sitting beside the old Viscount (Last flown in 1969) |
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| Brian entertaining the campers (True Blue) |
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| An example of some of the many bourgainvillias here (Plus Richard) |
Carnarvon Gorge
We travelled out
to the gorge via Miles, Roma, Injune (our lunch time stop). There
wasn't much going on in Injune, a very sleepy little town, perhaps it
would be better to visit in July! This is the last fuel stop before
reaching Carnarvon but as we had filled up in Roma we decided we had
enough in the tank, just another 150 km to go. We eventually arrived
at Takarakka which is just 4 kms from the gorge and the only caravan
park in the area. Maybe that is why is quite expensive to stay here.
However, a delightful park, full of trees, shrubs and kangaroos. We
set up and relaxed for the rest of the day. Over our five nights
here we did the majority of the walks.
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| Takarakka |
Carnarvon Gorge
Is an oasis in the
semi-arid heart of Central Queensland. Here, towering white
sandstone cliffs form a spectacular steep-sided gorge with narrow,
vibrantly coloured and lush side-gorges. Boulder-strewn Carnarvon
Creek winds through the gorge. It is very beautiful, so picturesque
and soul reviving.
Traditional owners
have a long and ongoing relationship with the area that falls within
Carnarvon National Park. National Parks acknowledges the connection
Aboriginal people have with this cultural heritage place and visitors
are reminded to treat the area with respect and care.
Mickey Creek Gorge
We wandered along
Mickey Creek and into narrow side gorges where the walking track
becomes a rock-hopping adventure. Wallabies live here in abundance
in the gorge and appear to be quite tame.
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| Hiking |
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| Through |
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| Mickey's Creek (We didn't see Mickey) |
Art Gallery
Over 2,000
engravings, ochre stencils and free-hand paintings adorn the 2 metre
long sandstone walls of this significant Aboriginal site. The Art
Galley contains one of the best examples of stencil art in Australia.
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| One of the many creek crossings |
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| En route to the Art Gallery |
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| An example of the Aboriginal engravings |
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| The board walk at the Art Gallery |
Amphitheatre
Hidden inside the
walls of the gorge is a 60 m deep chamber gouged from the rock by
running water. This is a place for quiet contemplation. The
towering stone walls create an awe-inspiring atmosphere within. A
very spiritual atmosphere is present here.
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| Wringing out socks after an unintentional paddle in the creek |
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| Walking through the boulders at the Amphitheatre |
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| At the Amphitheatre (lunch stop) |
Wards Canyon
A small but
beautiful side gorge. Ward's Canyon is a cool place on a hot day.
It is home to the world’s largest fern, the king fern. These
impressive green dinosaurs have strong links with the ancient flora
of Gondwana origin. A short, steep track winds through spotted gums
and around a small waterfall.
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| At Wards Canyon |
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| Ditto |
Moss Garden
Water drips
constantly from the sandstone walls of the Moss Garden supporting a
lush carpet of mosses, ferns and liverworts beneath tree ferns
straining for sunlight. A small waterfall tumbles over a rock ledge
into an icy pool.
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| The Moss Garden |
Boolimba Bluff
An upward climb to
the bluff which involves steps, steep sections and one very steep
section of around 300 m of steps with short ladders. In total
970-odd steps each way. Good for the Heart (so they say).
Eventually the lookout is within reach where distant ranges can be
viewed. The Bluff is the only formed lookout track from the gorge.
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| At the Lookout |
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| One of the Ladders leading to the Bluff |
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| On the way |
Baloon Cave
Is part of an
entry point to the gorge used by Aboriginal people for thousands of
years. This short walk among the fan palms and cycads leads to a
small sandstone overhang featuring a fine example of stencilled
Aboriginal rock art.
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| At Baloon Cave |
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| Aboriginal Art at the Cave |
Rock Pool
Has been carved
from the bed of Carnarvon Creek by the turbulent water of past
floods. We looked for platypus and turtles here but none were seen.
The pool can be used for swimming in the summer but too cool at this
time of the year. This is another area where there are lots of
little rock piles made by visitors, we added to their number by
building one or two.
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| At the rock pools |
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| Building my cairn |
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| The finished product |
Nature Trail
Is just a short
stroll along the shady banks of Carnarvon Creek, a very pretty area
which showcases plant life on the gorge floor. Again no turtles or
platypus sighted.
Quite a lot of
kilometres walked here in the Gorge over four days, very enjoyable
and peaceful. Beautiful clear skies and sunny days but cool once the
sun went down, the early mornings being quite cool till the sun rose
a little higher in the sky.
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| Another creek crossing to the nature trail |
Knitting Project
An Observation Day for Abused Children is a program currently in progress. Takarraka is taking part and at the cafe area there is a huge basket of knitting wools and needles. Knitters are encouraged to knit a piece which when big enough gets sewn around trees. Below are photos of the tree and my contribution.
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| Trees with their colourful knitted pieces |
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| Sandra Knitting |
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| Traffic Hazard Cows Crossing |
Bunya Mountains
Bunya
Mountains National Park, Queensland's second-oldest national park,
protects the world's largest remaining bunya pine rainforest. Until
the late 1800s, Aboriginal people travelled here from far distant
places for gatherings coinciding with large crops of bunya nuts.
Today visitors camp, walk and relax in the cool air and enjoy
mountain scenery and colourful birdlife. The park has three
picnicking and camping areas and is a walkers paradise, with 35
kilometres of tracks (from 500 metres to 10 kilometres). Walks lead
through rainforest, eucalypt forest and natural grassland balds, past
waterfalls and onto lookouts giving panoramic views east or west. An
abundance of wildlife is apparent here, wallabies, many birds such as
catbirds, rare sooty owls, noisy pittas and paradise rifle birds.
Their chorus can be heard while walking.
We spent three
nights here and each day enjoyed a very lovely bush walk. We did the 10 k circuit to Barkers Creek. Wallabies
abound here, literally, I counted 50 in the camping area one day. In
fact there were more wallabies than campers! We had lunch in the
delightful bistro while here, a very nice vegetarian curry, good meal
for a cool day. Temperatures here plummeted at night, we had to rug
up well as no powered sites here but we survived. We scraped ice
from the windscreen though on our departure morning. Richard was
very careful driving down the mountain trying hard to avoid kamikaze
kangaroos crossing the road.
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A most enjoyable
trip.
