Carnarvon Gorge 2022

We got away from Narangba around Midday, we went the back way up through Kilcoy for lunch Dalby at about 4.30 pm. No accommodation booked. Our usual Fairway Motel is fully booked. Got the last (apartment) room at the Homestead Hotel. Whew!

Breakfast in our room — our cereal. To Dalby Woolworths for grocery shop for our trip, esp. our stay at Carnarvon Gorge. Coffee to go. Stop at Dulacca Truck Stop for lunch — burgers. Stop Roma for coffee + I (Kay) steal a visit to Ace Drapers for some animal fabrics for men's quilts. Arrive Mitchell ~4.30 pm . Take a walk about town till dinner. It got to about 17°C today. It's a cold change moving through.

This was technically work, but we have always enjoyed visiting John and his beautiful farm near Mungallala. For a couple of hours Kayleen acted as my assistant testing a new product, and taking pictures of birds and other wildlife. Back into Mitchell at 3pm. Walked the main street and relaxed.

Kay: Is always a pleasure to visit John's place. Is very grassy & green at the moment. Sheep are lambing. We saw 2 emus along Thommo's Road — on the way out + on the way home. John wasn't at home today. We finished up & were leaving site at 1 pm. Stopped at Fisherman's Rest picnic area to make a sandwich for lunch. Drive to town to collect coffee/milkshake and cakes the back to Fisherman's Rest — watch the pair of galahs making house in a hollow log, 4+ kookaburras skipping along the banks in the big trees, a bird of prey — possibly a whistling kite.

Back to motel. Snooze while Paul works. John Ford drops in to say "Hi". We walk to IGA to get frozen dinners to have at motel.

Drive from Mitchell to Injune via Womblebank Gap Road. Stopped at Major Mitchell's second camp site. Saw wedge-tailed eagles, Maranoa Creek crossing. 5 groups of emus (1 group of at least 7 or 8, 4 pairs, 1 group of 6), lots of fat cattle, green green grass everywhere.

Topped up grocery supply and had lunch in Injune.

Arrived Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge at 3 pm. Relaxed after moving gear from car to Glamp Tent/Cabin. Took a walk. Cooked dinner.

To common room for reading/relaxing in lounge. People join us & make a fire and chat. They recommend the nature walk — to see platypus.

Meal prep is to be done in camp kitchens (not in rooms). Restaurant on site is closed due to not being able to get staff. So glad we have our fridge — we are self catering. All basic utensils, fridge, gas provided.

Cook breakfast after cereal in our room. Head off to do Mickey's Creek walk + Warrumbah Bluff. At the suggestion of lady at the Lodge reception we walk beyond the "The Formal Walk Ends Here" signs and are treated to special formations at both — an amazing water feature — large rocks made into large basins holding water. The water was not descending down through them at present, as if the water feature had been turned off.

Warrumbah Bluff extension led us into a long cavern. Went on Nature Walk — as far as the platypus's hole + watched 2 platypus.

Rock Pool walk was cut short as the rocks in the creek were too small & would Internet + phone coverage is hopeless here. Though phone shows 3/4 bars of 4G. While watching the platypus we are intrigued by the patterns of the rings of water made whenever the platypus surfaced. How the ripples bent the shadows on the water.

We took the short walk to the creek where people had said there were Platypus, not really expecting to see any, and wow! After that we did the Mickeys Creek hike.

Up — big breakfast in prep for walk. Pack the makings of a lunch.

Walk to Cathedral Cave — lunch there, then back directly. A total of 20 km according to Paul's app. Kayleen gets a sore knee.

Cathedral Cave's Aboriginal art is stunning. So glad we got to walk it again despite the pain.

Sleep in. Late cooked breakfast. Rest. Shower + massage legs with physio cream. 12 noon — we decided to tackle another walk — will do each feature of the gorge as we come to it + see how far we get.

So → Moss Gardens ☑ Amphitheatre ☑ Art Gallery ☑ and Wards Canyon ☑ All ticked off.

Get back to base ~5 pm. 16 km.

A lazy (truly lazy) day — feeling like a holiday. Cook breakfast, coffee, morning tea and reading on the verandah, drive into gorge to walk the Nature Walk again to see platypus — and we do see one, only one, today — lunch. Relax, afternoon tea, bird watching. [margin: 1.5 km walk]

Then a bit of a frustrating time trying to get internet or phone to work to make a motel booking for tomorrow night (in Roma).

More reading and relaxing before and after dinner.

Pack up, just cereal in our room/tent. But stop and sit for coffee in the sun on our verandah. Paul has been making our flat white coffees as he does at home with our mocha pot.

Drive to Nuga Nuga Lake. Road included some dirt — the last section was pretty beat up after the rains.

Nuga Nuga Lake is a natural lake in this basin surrounded by the Carnarvon Gorge cliffs. Bird life abounds, lots of kangaroo family groups. Can camp here but would need to be totally self sufficient — not even toilets provided.

We pull out our camping stove and cook lamb steak & veges for lunch. "Civilised" in the outback on the shore of Nuga Nuga Lake.

On the road to Roma we saw another echidna — our third for this trip — waddling along the side of the road.

Don't remember seeing echidnas out here before, though there are supposed to be lots of them. We did see one last trip — at a bush reserve, not on the road side.

Arrive Roma at 6pm, Explorer Inn Motel. Dinner at the White Bull Tavern.

Roma was the coldest town in Qld overnight at 3°C !

Washing day. We stay late (11 am) at the motel + take advantage of their laundry to do our washing. Book tonight's accom'n. Then into Roma's main street in search of coffee + thread/stitch holders for my knitting project (an infant's red pullover). Also get a few groceries from Woolworths. Burger lunch at Surat.

To St George — green green green lush grass all the way — staying at Jacaranda Motel. Take a walk to + along the Balonne River after check-in at around 3 pm.

Coffee at the Farmhouse Cafe in St George while Paul does some homework for one of his standards groups. Then a walk to river — too cold to walk far — so back to car via another cafe to buy a takeaway coffee (a not-so-weak coffee).

Drive on … via cotton farms (a little detour from the highway for a short time) — lots of rain has left large puddles of water by the roadside — between the water canals for the cotton growing + the road. + So many water birds — I guess the canals + waterways/dams attract many, even without the rain — storks, ibis, herons of all sorts + varieties.

See another group of emus today.

Visited the Weengallon Aboriginal Rock Wells.

Nowhere to stop for lunch (to buy lunch). We stop at a spot on the map with a park.

But too cold + windy to prepare lunch out — tuna + fruit in the car. Goondiwindi Shire roads are shocking. A couple in a caravan at this park had broken a U bolt on the springs of their caravan. Not impressed.

Get to Goondiwindi around 2.30 pm. Get a pie, book a motel room + go to Natural Heritage Water Park for a walk — we really really rug up. Is 14° + feels like 8 with the wind chill. We don't walk far — about 1 km along the track + back. We retreat to the Country Roads Motor Inn for warmth + comfort, read + relax — wine + cheese. There is McDonalds next door where we get dinner.

Check out and into to town for coffee, the best store has a long wait. I drove while Paul participated in a management meeting. We are out of signal for a lot of the meeting. More rough Goondiwindi roads. Stop at Millmerran for pie and chips lunch. Too cold for a walk. Paul takes up driving.

Stopped at the outskirts of Brisbane (~Wacol) for a drink. Then through Friday pm traffic to home (at 4.30 pm).