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Published: August 28th 2011
Welcome back reader, and thanks for sticking around.
Our first instalment for this trip is being penned in the sunshine alongside Carnarvon Creek near the gorge of the same name. The birds are squawking, the kangaroos and the young cattle are eating contentedly and the threatening-looking clouds are staying away in the northwest for the time being. And the beer is cold. That’s enough gloating for now, though.
A week ago we drove to Armidale and had Sharon’s mum’s furniture put into storage until she finds somewhere close in town to buy and move into. Then we drove away from the house for the last time, a little sadly it must be said – the house and its setting are very picturesque, not to mention the multitude of memories it houses for all of us. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very conducive to a farewell picture, the icy wind, the rain and the mist making up a typical Armidale winter’s day.
We stayed a night at Inverell, having arrived via Tingha, the rugby league hatchery that produced Preston Campbell and Nathan Blacklock. Inverell had its share of nice buildings, but more importantly it had the Inverell Pioneer Village.
Despite the initial impression – a bunch of unwanted old buildings and knick knacks transported in from various outlying properties and towns, maintained by some enthusiastic but slow and tired volunteers – it was quite fantastic.
The Devine family, who have run Inverell’s photographic studio for several generations, sponsor a photography exhibition. Lots of local scenes, old and new, but more particularly hundreds of cameras, still and movie. Projectors, darkroom equipment, lights from all the ages of photography, all most interesting. And that’s only the start.
Those keen on stranger things would appreciate the iron lung, the antique anaesthesia machine and the collection of forceps and probes (and the chair to strap you into while they are in use) for all sorts of unmentionable procedures. Oh, and the dentist chair. And the collection of bedpans.
There’s a building full of printing presses and drawers and drawers of movable type. There are a number of old kitchens, a country pub, farm machinery galore and a military museum organized by the local RSL that includes a couple of torpedoes. Their particular usefulness in defending Inverell should not be underestimated.
St George, in a scenic location on the Balonne
River, was our next stop on the way through to Carnarvon Gorge. We passed through Surat on the way there – a Cobb and Co. store has been turned into a great museum. In its heyday Cobb and Co. would use 7,000 horses every day, now of course the business founded by Freeman Cobb and his American mates doesn’t even exist.
In fact, it’s not only the work of the horses that has gone – there are also the grooms (one every 25 kilometres or so) and the drivers. Then there are the more recent sacrifices to progress – the telephonists and the telegraph delivery boys. Each gets a last moment in the museum.
We are at the Takarakka Resort, about 4 kilometres from the Carnarvon Gorge Visitors Centre. Our “Takka Tent” has a bed, a tiny table and chairs on a verandah and a fridge. We have cooked with the other campers and enjoyed the bullshit around the campfire at night.
There are quite a few “locals” here over the weekend – local being a relative term as they are from Emerald, three hours up the road. We talked a lot to a Samoan couple who
were down for the weekend. Nice people, they drank a lot, ate a lot and he was slightly obsessed by the campfire. In fact, quite obsessed – once the regular firewood was finished he started to burn the huge logs that the park supplies as seats for the campers to sit around the fire on.
Even when evening rain drove the rest of us off to an early night our Samoan friend stayed with his fire, although he had turned in, fortunately, when the heavens opened and dumped 37 milimetres on us in the early hours of the morning. We were fortunate too; we are told that while 25 milimetres is generally enough to close the road the creeks have not risen much at all and we are ok to get out.
Carnarvon Gorge is quite a special place. The gorge itself, with high sandstone cliffs that positively radiate the light of the sun, and a meandering creek through the middle, is very nice but pales a bit next to the Blue Mountains. Unlike the Blue Mountains though the vegetation is extremely varied, and, being in a remote location, the bird and animal life is prolific. You get
Carnarvon Gorge
The Art Galleryused to walking along a quiet path, then all of a sudden realizing that you are being watched by half a dozen pairs of kangaroo eyes. The walking is pleasant and easy and there are some beautiful spots off to the side of the main track.
We walked up to the Art Gallery, a fascinating collection of aboriginal art featuring stencils of hands and axes, and drawings of shapes and grids and, most commonly, female genitalia.
Then we walked up Ward’s Canyon to a fern glen perched up between two rock walls. The drop in temperature as you entered the tiny canyon was like opening a fridge, the King Ferns and the tiny stream beautiful.
Beautiful too was the Moss Garden. Even fools who know nothing of geology (my hand is up) can see the layer where the water-absorbing sandstone ends and the water-repelling shale begins. The result of this, a spring that drips for twenty metres or so, watering all sorts of mosses and other plants, is just fantastic.
We have spent two full days relaxing and exploring this area, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We will now be heading into the Queensland outback –
Carnarvon Gorge
Our little home next stop Longreach.
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Jeanette & Chris
non-member comment
England calling Queensland
Great to be reading your logs and seeing the photos again. It has made us more determined to add that area to the bucket list for us and the van although your accommodation looks interesting. All is well here, we have had 3 days with Kerrie & Ric and dropped them in London yesterday ready for the England part of their tour. Happy travels, Love from Andrews