Next stop Carnarvon Gorge. We stopped to buy supplies at Emerald. On the way in we saw what looked like a huge steel tripod. When we got closer we found it was a giant easel, 25m high, with a picture of Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’. It is the largest painting in the Southern Hemisphere and part of a series of projects by Canadian artist Cameron Cross (thebigeasel.com)
Carnarvon Gorge was vast and inspiring. It took about 230M years to make with sandstone, shale, more sandstone and finally a cap of volcanic basalt. The basalt cap then eroded away. Water eroded parts of the sandstone and the gorge was formed through undercutting and rock falls. Park Rangers Russel and Steve were wonderfully informative.
We decided to attack the gorge walks progressively. On our first day we walked up to Boolimba Bluff which sits above the gorge. The walk was about 6.4km return and involved a 300m climb up steps and ladders. The view was definitely worth the climb.
The second day we walked half way up the gorge to Ward’s Canyon, a 12km round trip. The Ward brothers used the canyon to store possum pelts because it was so cool.
On the way back we were sitting in the Amphitheatre when a member of Queensland Big Bend which is the furthest point and a 22km round trip.
Carnarvon has a large selection of wild flowers and shrubs. The wattles and boronias were flowering profusely, as were the hoveas. The mixture of bright yellow, orange and purple created a very pretty canvas.
Cycads were in abundance and we could not help but think of the cost of small cycads in the nurseries around Brisbane
The Carnarvon Fan Palm is not found anywhere else. It grows to a very tall and stately tree.
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