Gorgeous Gorge

When Anna, my Australian mother in Brisbane, sent me off to Roma, she said “Make sure you go to Carnarvon Gorge, it is spectacular”. She also said “Roma is a lovely country town, I’m sure you will like it there. Maybe you will find yourself a nice country man.”

As I soon got to know how Roma and the country men were, her first suggestion was kind of discredited. But I did my research on the gorge, which convinced me that I want to go there and I had a non-country man, who was luckily eager to have a holiday.

Mav got his days off approved, I quit the job and there we went straight to Carnarvon Gorge dodging all the random cows,  alive and already dead kangaroos and few wild boar corpses on the way.

It was quite a challenge in the beginning. Driving the car with the wheel on right side,  that is. Mav would say it was a challenge for me the whole way through, but I’m pretty sure I got it better on the way back. No more turning windscreen wipers on instead of indicators and driving offroad in random moments. We did get stuck in the mud on the way back and had to be pulled out by a four wheel drive, but that’s another story and definitely not entirely my fault.

Anyhow, we made it to Carnarvon, car full of trekking gear, food and extra blankets. Mind you, it is winter in Australia now and nights can be freezing. However prices for accommodation are outrageous – little cabin with bed and heating, but no kitchen costs 240 dollars per night. That’s insane. So we opted for something that is called Taka tent. It’s like a tiny house, elevated from the ground, floor from wood, but the rest made of canvas.  There is electricity, a fridge, but no heating. Pretty comfortable actually.

When approaching Carnarvon, the flat, semi arid landscape changes and distant horizon is cut shorter by the hills. You know how good that feels after all the months on the flat flat ground, nothing higher than a two storey house?

We had three days there. Actually two as on the third it was raining and muddy (hence the minor incident of getting stuck). But on the first two days we got to see most of what there is. To give it a kick start I of course chose the hardest route for the first afternoon - getting up on the ridge to Boolimba Bluff.

This route was graded level 4 with description close to the one used for overland track in Tasmania – the classic “Death and injury are common in the Tasmanian mountains” (I still find that funny). As we successfully managed to get up the route “meant only for physically well fit”, we got to see what’s up there. It was a great view, no bluffing. As a cherry on the cake, there was also a perfect cliff edge to sit on, enjoy the view and ponder:  Jump or not to jump?

Second day trekking highlights where heaps of kangaroos, who don’t mind your presence, king ferns and fern tree rainforest  and the aboriginal rock art.

It was great to be outdoors again, eat and drink by the fire, not to mention that the food was made by a chef.It was lovely.

Nevertheless, all must come to an end. Got back to Roma, washed 10kilos of mud off the car and headed back to the car rental. On the radio Maroon 5 latest hit was playing.

Next day I had my flight to Brisbane.