Author: Mrs A
Location: Carnarvon National Park, Qld
After several early starts, Sunday morning began much slower, and we decided to enjoy a leisurely breakfast while enjoying our view. Tassie of course made the most of us being there, and after her customary explore of our site, settled down on a cushion in the sunshine.
We decided a slower pace all round was required for today, and set off to do a 7km walk down in the gorge. We started with a trail called the Nature Walk, an easy stroll along Carnarvon Creek, occasionally crossing via stepping stones, and tagged on another walk to the Rock Pool, a large natural swimming hole further along.
The Pied Currawongs were plentiful, and sat in their dozens up in the canopy gorging on tree fruit and whooping and whistling their delight. If you have never heard this sound, I would check out the little snippet of video I recorded while we were walking along, purely to capture it (Click here: Currawongs calling in Carnarvon Gorge) it was incredible.
Little Straited Thornbills, tiny little yellow, mottled birds flitted around the trees on the water’s edge hunting for insects, almost impossible to photograph. And under the water, we spotted a short necked turtle, hunting in the shallows – definitely impossible to photograph!
Little red backed fairy wrens were often seen hopping around the trees, their feathers glowing in the sunlight. It was a stunning afternoon’s walk, with barely another soul seen.
After seeing someone jump into the waters at the Rock Pool, we decided against going for a dip…we’d heard enough profanities for one day!
Instead, we returned to camp for a relax and read before an early dinner. We had more walking ahead.
Michelle and Simon are two experts who have worked in the gorge for a number of years, taking visitors on tours, bringing the scenery and wildlife to life. Simon had presented the introductory talk when we arrived on Friday, and Michelle was who met us and half a dozen other couples after sunset that evening.
She brought along binoculars and herself had a powerful torch with an orange light filter. Yes, we were going spotlighting. Mr A and I saw a brush tailed possum and two black brumbies (wild horses) on our drive down, so had high hopes for the evening. It didn’t take long for us to find our first beast – a chattering call from the treetops drawing us into the woodland and allowing us to see our first Yellow Bellied Glider.
At first, a glider looks similar to a possum, being furry with a long tail, but its main difference is the stretch of skin reaching from its wrists to its ankles, allowing it to deftly glide from tree to tree. The tail is not used at all in climbing, more of a tool for balance and perhaps as a rudder while in the air. We watched her as she travelled from tree to tree, feeding on the sugary sap from the trunks, and hunting for nectar among the flowers.
Down at the creek it was seconds before we spotted a Platypus swimming along, hunting for larvae under the water. Just magical, and I gave up trying to capture an image! Across in the gorge, it was a Greater Glider’s eye-shine which captured our attention, sitting on the side of an old gum tree letting his diet of eucalyptus leaves digest.
Our torchlight walk finished around 9pm with a sighting of a little burrowing frog who had emerged from the sand, no bigger than a 10 cent piece, it was amazing nobody trod on him. Michelle’s knowledge about everything was incredible – there was not a question she couldn’t answer, she clearly knew her stuff. A fabulous evening, and great conclusion to our stay at the gorge.
Miss Tassie jumped out of the car enthusiastic for an explore, but was quickly scared back into the caravan by a pair of yapping dogs in the van behind us. She chose not to come out again.
The owner of aforementioned dogs came over to apologise and explain that his fur children lived with cats and were not threatening Tassie, just saying hello. They were holidaying at this spot for 10 days. One night was more than enough for us – while at face value the riverside camp looked pretty enough, the road trains thundering just metres away along the highway from 4am onwards were not ideal.
We selected a spot with no nearby neighbours and plenty of views, and got settled in. Miss Tassie had a good look around and gave it her tick of approval before retiring to bed.
At 4.30pm there was a talk by a local expert about the gorge’s history and the wildlife we can expect to see. There are extensive examples of Aboriginal spray painting artwork here, much of which has been dated back 20,000 years. We are looking forward to seeing that. It was a great talk, and we’re feeling extra enthusiastic about our hike in the morning.
Mainly holiday rentals and a caravan park, the river was pretty broad and would have been fun to explore if we had our big kayak with us. The brisk southerly that had blown up meant getting the packrafts out would have been a struggle.
After a lovely salad for lunch, it was time for a read for me, quickly followed by a nap, I’d had another 5am wake up this morning.
There are some pretty swanky houses here, a mix of holiday rentals and retirees we would guess by the demographic of the residents we saw.
Just over 10km. under our belts, Ms Tasmania decided to take a pre-dinner stroll – returning at full gallop to the “safe Zone” once the magpies and minor birds had spotted her and let their feelings known shouting “Cat! Cat! Cat!” (or so it sounds like to us!).
For dinner we decided to test out the pub’s very predictable menu. We shared a plate of oysters. I asked where they were from which threw the kitchen into a hubub – apparently no one has asked that before. For main Mrs A had a nicely done Red Emperor with chips and salad, and I had the locally caught Barra. Very nice…even though the pub has all the atmosphere of a bus shelter. Nothing unusual about that of course – situation normal in Australia.
An off-road cycleway follows the coast for several kilometres, commencing at Urandangi Pier to the south and leading to Point Vernon in the north. We’re staying in a suburb called Torquay (now where have I heard that name before?!) so we started there and headed north. It’s the first time in a long while (since South Australia) that we have seen flat water along the coast, the islands and reefs offshore calming the waves. The beaches are pristine and empty – it’s like a little paradise, a long way from the Hervey Bay I remember. I first visited this town 19 years ago as a backpacker – it has changed substantially since then, becoming more of a destination in its own right than just a hopping off point for Fraser Island.
The pathway winds its way along the coast through picturesque scenery, through parklands and bush, along cliff tops and past mangroves. We had a small diversion to a bike shop on our way so Mr A could check out a strange clicking sound on his bike. The bearings had worn down and needed replacing. He later found someone to do the job on the spot for $55, for a 45 minute job. Certainly not Sydney prices!
The expensive part of the day came later in the afternoon – our faulty plug and under-spec wiring in the car was replaced, we had to purchase three new batteries for the caravan (replacing the ones which had been damaged and no longer held a full charge), and a 160 watt portable solar panel…more than $2k in total spent – gulp! At least we are back on track again for getting off the grid without sleepless nights worrying whether our fridge will still be running in the morning.
A guy bounded out and with my city hat on, I wondered what we had done wrong. But no – he had come to check we had enjoyed our stay on their free RV camp. He owned an adjoining property and was himself building an RV park on his other property just outside of town. We chatted about the likely demand, and what customers are likely to be looking for. I am so enjoying this different pace of life in the country where strangers are still willing, and have the time, to talk to one another.
Then after some hectic calling around to determine a supplier to help us with some battery charging issues, we headed for Battery World in Hervey Bay, a relatively short drive down the busy Bruce Highway.
We were promptly met outside by a very polite technician who started to diagnose what was going on. I’m in no position to assess anyone’s technical skills but I can see when someone is clearly sincere about trying to help customers. That was Dan. Then the girls in the shop were just as helpful, one of whom even gave Catherine a lift to a hair appointment she was running late for. Finally we met one of the franchise owners Dave, who picked up where Dan had kicked off and soon had the issues isolated.
Lunch enjoyed, we picked up a few other supplies in town before heading back to Kenilworth, hitching up and saying goodbye to our fellow Zoners.
Bauple is the ancestral home of the macadamia nut, discovered thousands of years ago by local aboriginals. There is a little museum here, a petrol station and free wifi for the residents between 9am and 12pm. There are even clean toilets for campers open beside the museum, complete with green tree frog!
It’s extremely peaceful and Miss Tassie enjoyed a d.o.g free stroll around the area during the afternoon. We camped for free in the RV rest area with a lovely view across the park towards the hills in the distance, not another soul seen.
Tassie also enjoyed the attention from Charlotte.when we got back:
In the evening we went to Sum Yung Guys restaurant at Sunshine Beach, a 10 minute drive that gave us one of the best dinners we have ever eaten. Thai food cooked with the freshest local ingredients, served by knowledgeable young folk clearly passionate about providing a first rate experience for their customers.
Below: Charlie (Charlotte) took this of Wendy and I
Below: Chris and Sue
We sped across the water, enjoying the fresh breeze that came with it.
Charlie even helped skipper the boat, with the help of Ray of course.
Reaching the other side of the river, we set off for a short walk across the dunes, watching jet skiers leaping over waves on the incoming tide at the river mouth. Ray and Charlie jumped in for a dip in the water. The rest of us stayed relatively dry, not quite feeling the need to swim and enjoying a glass of chilled Chardonnay as we watched them and the gradually setting sun.
As we headed back to the apartment we diverted alongside the river bank where a beautiful White Bellied Sea-Eagle kindly posed for a few photos.
Mr A and Ray returned the boat to its dock…I don’t think Mr A actually skippered, unless Ray hasn’t heard the stories yet…
Following showers, a lovely evening ensued with a delicious chicken meal which had been cooking while we were out…wine was drunk, laughs were had, and geckos hunted (by Tassie, not us, though we did try to encourage them down off the ceiling so Tas could chase them!). Fabulous fun.
And what an end to the day, Mrs A produced for dinner the most amazing Thai basil chilli stir-fry. It was just so delicious. She knows just how much heat we like, all the ingredients are made up from scratch, and there’s been many a Thai restaurant I’ve been to over the years that have turned out a lot less tastier food. Mmmm
Late afternoon and we were back at Zone with all the jobs having been ticked off.
It was almost dark though as we headed off to find our camp for the night on a property north of Noosa. We pulled into the farmyard and there’s another Zone! Fellow Sydneysiders as well from the northern beaches enjoying their “gap year” travelling around Australia. We are looking forward to hearing their stories in the morning!
We headed out for a paddle this morning, unfortunately just as the wind picked up so it was a pretty short one. We headed across the Wooli Wooli river (so good they named it twice?) right from our caravan, then headed along the opposite shore towards the ocean. Beautiful paperbarks and mangroves lined the edge, twisted into incredible shapes.
Massive sand dunes towered over us, framing a beautiful contrast with the blue water. Love these little packrafts to enable us to get out here on the water.
The afternoon saw us out on the bikes for a quick spin along some of the same trails as yesterday, and they were equally gorgeous.
We attempted to ride back along the beach but the incoming tide and soft sand defeated that plan. So it was a quick rest stop at the Wooli Hotel for cold one before retuning to the Zone, just 11km under our belts.
A happy hour was spent trying to get our plumbing sorted, with limited success, so we have a pretty measly dribble of water unfortunately. Hoping this will get sorted at Zone when we go for the service in a couple of weeks.
