Carnarvon Gorge

The Gorge - which I showed you from above on Boolimba Bluff,  is what we explored on foot. Thomas Mitchell named it Carnarvon after his welsh homeland. The Gorge is a collection of sandstone cliffs which narrow as you walk into it, which have been shaped by wind and water over the years.The small creek now runs at the base of it.  The sandstone cliffs are extremely porous and absorb a lot of water and over them is a basalt ( volcanic ) layer of rock which is more stable.The average rainfall is higher here which may account for the rich and varied vegetation. 

Occupation of the Gorge is estimated to go back as far as 19,500 years. The Bidjara and the Karingbal tribes are the main tribes in the area and their ancestors were probably responsible for some of the amazing aboriginal rock paintings. 

The Gorge is some 10 kms in length - at least the part which is now accessible. We walked all the way to the end where C in his effervescent state dived into a rock pool to cool off. The joy was short-lived as this gorge inhabitant swam right past me and headed straight for him. I called out and he jumped out in time. Checking with the park warden this is a keel back snake one of the few freshwater snakes in the area.

There are many walks in the Gorge - it is a long path with galleries on either side that we explored, starting from the unique aboriginal art in the Art Gallery and the Cathedral. We saw examples of stencil art that are probably the most sophisticated in the world. They are applied to the wall by blowing an ochre pigment mixed with water from the mouth. We also saw lots of engravings, a whole wall dedicated to the female vulva. Forms that can be recognised are hands and boomerangs, kangaroos and emus as well as funeral rites and customs. 

In my next bog more about the fauna and flora of the Gorge. 

The Roof of Queensland

Following on from the Sapphire Gemfields we headed south towards Carnarvon Gorge in the heart of central Queensland. The surrounding area was flat and dry - there has been a drought in this area for several years now and the fields which would at other times have sunflowers and sorghum wheat looked dusty and barren except for the flocks of emus and cranes feeding on the seeds in the fields.

It was still very interesting to see on the one hand the migratory birds and on the other hand the flightless birds. 

We climbed up to Boolimba Bluff which is some 200 metres above the Gorge. It is walk worth doing for the wonderful views it gives you over the Gorge. You can see the Gorge's open mouth to start with and then the way it narrows. You can see the winding path that goes down the middle of it. On either side some impressive sandstone cliffs, interesting side gorges and of course some amazing Aboriginal stencil art. More about all of this in my next blog. 

Emerald and Sapphire Country

Did you know there are three towns in central Queensland called Emerald, Rubyvale  and Sapphire ?

No prizes for correctly identifying why they might carry these names - Yes they are all part of a small but incredibly precious area in Central Queensland - with the emphasis on precious - which are awash with sapphires called the Sapphires Gemfields.

They were found way back in the 1870s when mines were dug with picks and shovels. The mines were dug and shafted and the  dirt brought up and then washed to reveal the precious stones.The mines got another lease of life in the 1960s when mechanised mining came into use and Australia supplied a lot of the worlds sapphires at the time but the business was severely affected by the influx of cheaper stones from Asia and now the mines offer interesting tourist experiences but also keep mining with limited returns.

We loved our adventure of exploring a living mine with Ruby!

She took us down the mine that she and her husband have been mining for a number of years. They have a good historical display in their shop as well as some lovely sapphires, uncut and polished. Sapphires here come in all colours which was an interesting fact - anything from yellow to green to blue and the most precious of all was one called Autumn Glory which was orange.

In 2000 a tourist found an impressive sapphire weighing 200 carats and named it the Millennium Sapphire - She said it was just lying there and she picked it up !

We had the chance to go fossicking ourselves - looking for precious stones in buckets of wash that come out of the mines and it was a great experience. Out in the warmth and brightness of the sun, sieving your bucket of wash and then carefully picking through them to see if you too have found some precious stones - we did find some,  though ours were not as big as the Millennium Sapphire but our joy at learning to spot them and set them aside were probably even greater then hers.

And the bounty that resulted - 24.8 carats of mainly blue but some zircons and an orange one. Off to my jewellers without delay.

Russell Falls and the astounding Wall

Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park was truly impressive - not surprising perhaps after all the  snow that Tasmania has had this winter. We enjoyed walking around it from below and further up the mountain and taking in the profusion of tree ferns and river gullies but also the tall, tall trees, which were hundreds of years old. 

In the usual Aussie style which always amuses me we were out in a national park and we come across this sign. BEWARE OF TRAFFIC WHEN CROSSING ROAD. The road ahead is in the Park and used infrequently but we stopped and looked both ways before we crossed with a great big smile on our faces. Better safe then sorry and we have Australia to thank for that !

The astounding wall is the one we came across in Hobart's impressive Botanical Gardens,  which we were established as early as 1818. It is full of local plants, Japanese gardens, and interesting statues, historical information about the gardens and great views. The Historic Arthur wall constructed in 1830 was a heated wall designed to protect plants from frost with internal channels in the brickwork which were heated by a coal fire. In fact in the end it was infrequently used as apparently Van Diemen's land while cool was not as harsh as English winters so the fruit trees flourished unaided by this centrally heated wall constructed as early as the 1830's. 

The lovely bronze statue of a worker in the gardens and on the side his jacket( in bronze ) folded over a shovel stuck in the earth. Thought that was beautiful especially as the bronze took in the softness of the folds of cloth.

 The trees were in bloom and the Arch below is the Anniversary Arch built to commemorate 170 years.

Pandani Grove Nature Walk

We spent some delightful days exploring Mount Field National Park. We loved the Pandani Grove Nature walk around Lake Dobson, looking at the Pandani plant which apparently is a subalpine plant only found in Tasmania. Looking at the, snowy mountains, the lakes and the heathers which surround this area.

The richness in fauna and flora is forever changing and I just hope that these pictures convey some of the vistas that we were able to enjoy. 

Mount Field National Park-

We chose this National Park because it was not too far away from Hobart. It has been a tough winter in Tasmania but we didn't quite know how tough it was until we headed out there. 

We stayed in some lovely cottages and this was our view from our deck. A fast flowing river that we would check constantly for the elusive platypus sighting. We did see one - in the salmon farm next door and who could blame him, it must be like Xmas every day. 

We headed out to the mountains and were warned by the Park office that we may find snow. I am ashamed to say we were a little blasé about it all and off we went with walking boots on but not the proper gear. Jonathan Halstead would have been appalled at our amateurishness, yet again. 

We walked in mossy forest paths which were vibrant green and rocks alive with the colours of the ferns and the bracken on them. We arrived at a beautiful lake, called Lake Fenton and sat down for a drink but the idea was to head higher to the mountain ridge and come down the other side. 

 The ridge we were hoping to reach -

 Lake Fenton

 Some snow but there was a lot more up above.

Some dry bark which fell off a tree that looked like your mind's eye or a bird's beak.

Only problem was that there was snow on the ground and we could just barely make out the path. That was not so much of a problem as what we encountered a little further up. There was no sun on that side of the mountain and the higher we climbed the deeper the snow. Well not rocket science I hear you say, but we had hoped that the sun would have melted some of the higher areas. We soon found ourselves thigh high in snow and unable practically to pull one foot out to move forward, we were sinking so far down. Our socks and our boots were wet and so were our trousers so we reluctantly had to accept that it was dangerous to go any further especially as it was difficult to see where the path was going.We returned to the lake and took our boots off and rung out our socks. However soggy my boots felt walking back I was elated we were finding our way safely out of the forest and into the local bar - I was the only woman- where we befriended the locals and drank lots of beers. The steak with chips was the best I have tasted in a while. The events on the wall caught my eye and I finished my evening with ROAD KILL - which was just delicious.There is so much roadkill in Tasmania, it even inspires cocktails.