In the morning, Maxim (our newly acquired French friend) informed us that the road to Carnarvon was blocked due to flooding. We called the Takarakka Bush Camp where we booked (and prepaid for) a site for three nights, and they informed us that although the road was still officially closed, some vehicles have already made it through, and they expect it to be officially reopened by noon. We decided to take it easy and not hurry there, in order to let the water level subside. Nevertheless, before reaching Rolleston there was a point where the road was covered with flowing water to a depth of ~50cm, a police car was at the side of the road, and several cars (including our young friends, who left earlier) were waiting at the side of the road. After seeing a couple of trucks and one Campervan cross the road, I asked the policeman whether he thought it was safe for us to cross. He said that we have high enough clearance and sufficient weight not to be carried by the flow, and suggested that we drive very slowly and stick to the center of the road in order to avoid debris carried by the water and possible road erosion at the edges. We followed his instructions and made it through with no difficulty. In Rolleston we stopped for refueling, coffee break at the local park, where we also bought some ground coffee from the volunteer-operated coffee booth (“All income goes to the beautification of Beazley Park”), refilled our water tank with drinking water and used the local dump point. On the way into the Carnarvon gorge there were a couple of additional streams to cross, at least one of them with rather fast flow, but we followed the cars ahead of us (and the policeman’s advice), and all went smoothly.
https://youtu.be/_7cVVH0ziLE&rel=0
After registering at the caravan park and getting our site number, we headed to the park’s visitor center, in order to take the short “Nature Trail” as an afternoon walk. It turned out that the trail crosses the creek, and the stepping stones across the creek, which are usually exposed, were submerged under several centimeters of water. We took off our shoes and waded through. On the way back, the crossing at a different point down the stream was significantly more challenging, with faster flow and stepping stones which were submerged deeper than before. Fortunately, there was a nice family there that guided us, and even helped the kids to cross while we tried to keep the cameras and binoculars from falling into the water. While we chatted with them on the other side, their kids started disassembling a dam they have built all afternoon right above the stepping stones from many big stones and pebbles. It definitely looked like this dam was at least partly responsible for the harder crossing…
Back near the visitor center, we encountered a group of Eastern Grey Kangaroos, a Swamp Wallaby and a couple of Whip-tail Wallabies. We prepared dinner there, using one of the BBQ spots scattered on the grass area among the cycad trees, and ate it at one of the picnic tables. After dinner we had a short walk, heard many Yellow-bellied Gliders calling between the trees, and saw one high up in the canopy. Shortly afterwards we saw an amazing sight – a Greater Glider jumping from one tree to another, about 20 meters away. This is the largest species of glider, and can reach more than a meter from the nose to the tip of the tail. It can allegedly cross distances of over 100m in the air! After landing smoothly on the tree trunk, it quickly jumped up, and we followed it for a long while, and even managed to take some very blurry pictures of it. With 5 new marsupial species on the first night, we started to really like this park.
On the second day we took a hike of about 7.5km to a place up the stream called the Moss Gardens, where the porous sandstone releases accumulated water year-round, creating a local microclimate suitable for mosses and ferns. On our way back, just after crossing the creek back to the visitor center area, Daniel spotted an Echidna right on the track, in broad daylight! We stayed with this amazing animal for quite a while, examining it closely. The Echidna is the only extant monotreme other than the Platypus. In addition to the uniqueness of being an egg-laying mammal, it shares with the Platypus the ability for electromagnetic sensing – using its sensitive long nose to locate ants and termites, digging their nests with its powerful claws than licking them out with its slender, long, sticky tongue. It’s a very timid animal, and when frightened, as clearly happened once some more people gathered around, it starts quickly burying itself in the ground, leaving only the spines sticking out. After a while it relaxed, and we could follow it making its way to a large rotten log under which it found shelter.
The kids had no difficulty with the track, and asked for a more challenging hike on the next day. However, since we stayed up very late doing laundry, checking emails, and more such chores, we woke up late on Saturday and only headed to the park around noon. We therefore decided that a long hike would not be suitable, and instead tool the shorter path to the rock-pool. On the way there we saw a nice monitor and many nice birds, and had fun splashing in the creek on the multiple crossings. By now the water level went down noticeably, and most stepping stones were exposed or nearly so. At the rock pool itself we swam in the very cold water, and Tamar demonstrated her climbing ability on the large rock at the other side of the pool. We decided to add a fourth night at the park, in order to be able to do another long hike on Sunday, then leave on Monday relatively early for the long drive east.
For our Sunday hike we picked the route that goes up to the Boolimba Bluff – a 6.5km return trip with a 200m altitude gain going up to the bluff that overlooks the whole gorge. Again the kids demonstrated remarkable fitness, and spent the whole way chatting causally. Daniel prepared a special strengthening potion for us (which required a small rock, a green leaf, and a special chant) , which gave us all stamina on the way up and cheered our spirits. The flora changed on the way up, becoming drier and more sparse, and the view from the top was spectacular.
On Monday we cleared out of the campsite at 10, and before leaving the area visited the Baloon Cave with its aboriginal rock art. The short trail to the cave had signs with a lot of interesting information about the local flora groups and about the way the aboriginal way of life. We had light lunch at the Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge, and headed east. We made the same stop at Rolleston (Fuel, coffee and dump point), then drove several hours to Biloela (in Banana shire!) where we spent the night. Since by that point our stocks were nearly empty, we had a long restocking stop at the local Woolworth, before reaching the town’s caravan park at 8pm. We found the place dark and quiet, and when I rang the night bell the proprietor came out in pajamas responding with “you’re joking me” when I said we were looking for a site for the night. But he did let us in, and we made ourselves a feast of steaks and beef sausages, then relished in the renewed internet connection for several hours before going to sleep.
Family Trips 