Hughenden

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Hughenden was once dubbed the “Capital of the Inland” and is now the administrative centre of the Flinders Shire which covers 41,200 km2 and was gazetted a local government entity in 1882. It is roughly 383km west of Townsville.



It was going to be a hot day on Tuesday – of course it was, because that was when we planned a trip out to Porcupine Gorge. Loaded up with water, sunhats, sunscreen, hiking boots, a picnic lunch and a trip/drive sheet from the T.I. Centre we drove 62km north via the Kennedy Developmental Road, stopping at a couple of points of interest along the way.



At Eaglehawk Gorge Lookout/Devil’s Elbow we were amazed at the abundant black basalt rocks remnant of nearby Mt Desolation, an extinct volcano. The view, however, was nothing compared to Porcupine Gorge itself. Running for 27km through vast savanna lands of the National Park the Gorge has a cliff drop of 120m. There is a camping ground as well as two walks open to day tourists. Running through the Gorge is Porcupine Creek which is a tributary of the Flinders River (the longest river in Qld extending 1004km and flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria). Here in Hughenden theFlinders River may be dry at the moment, but Porcupine Creek is the life of the Gorge providing a permanent waterhole for wildlife.



It was far too hot to be thinking about the Gorge Walk – a 2.4km return walk – as it was quite steep down to the bottom (which would mean an even steeper return, especially for little legs) but we were able to take in the view of the canyon floor and nearby Pyramid Rock from a well placed viewing platform. Instead we opted for the Rim Walk – slightly longer at 2.6km but an easier one. We had visions of it being similar to the rim walk at Kings Canyon in N.T. but rather than following the edge of the gorge it took us on a meandering 25mins through spear grass and low trees. The path was well trodden, dusty and quite rocky in places ending abruptly with no fencing at the edge. The vista in front of us was both astounding and outstanding and we could see up and down the Gorge. The colours of the sandstone and basalt rock were absolutely breathtaking.

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