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So after leaving Fraser Island, we went and stayed in Tewantin for a week with Maggie and Martin whilst we waited for the boys to get back from Canberra again!!!!
Darrens mum and dad then left for their slow journey back to Melbourne whilst we headed for the Carnarvon National Park which is where we visited Carnarvon Gorge, what a beautiful place to stay and visit, we stayed here for a few nights in the Takarakka Bush Resort, beautiful natural surrounding, lots of wildlife, and stunning walks.
Carnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in
Central Queensland(
Australia), 593 km northwest of
Brisbane. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, located in
Carnarvon National Park, and six hundred metres deep at the mouth. It is the most visited feature within
Carnarvon National Park due to the diversity of experiences it contains and the ease with which it can be accessed. The closest towns are
Injuneand
Rolleston.
Some researchers have suggested that
Aboriginal people did not live in the gorge permanently, due to defensive concerns and lack of food resources, whilst others suggest that permanent occupation was not allowed due to the gorge being considered sacred.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"
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The
dreamtime stories tell a tale of the
Rainbow Serpent which made the gorges, and resides in their permanent waterholes to this day.
Ludwig Leichhardt was the first European explorer to pass nearby and make note of the ranges, during his expedition to Port Essington in 1844. Two years later, Thomas Mitchell passed to the west of Carnarvon Gorge. It was Mitchell who named the
Carnarvon Range after Caernarfon in Wales. The reports of pastureland and good water carried back to the colonies brought settlers to the area, and began a period of bloody conflict between settlers and
Aboriginals.
By the late 1870s the newcomers had prevailed. Local
Aboriginals sought refuge on properties run by those sympathetic to their plight. Subsequent years would see many forcibly removed from their homelands and transferred to government and church run reserves and missions. The latter process of removal is considered by some to have been, culturally, more destructive than the direct conflict that preceded it.
The farming of cattle and growing of crops remains a vibrant industry around Carnarvon Gorge but, since 1932 when it was gazetted as a National Park,<sup id="cite_ref-Duffy_2-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1;
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such activities have no longer been allowed in the gorge itself. In 1974, the Ka Ka Mundi area which had been heavily grazed for about a century, also became part of the park.
In place of the grazing of cattle, a tourism industry has grown. Over 65,000 visitors per annum make the trek to Carnarvon Gorge, in a pattern of visitation that echoes that of the original Aboriginal groups - no permanent occupation, but regular pilgrimage to a widely recognised place of significance.
We all sone a few short walks to Mickey's creek gorge, Warrumbah creek gorge, and Baloon Cave. The boys then went on to do a 25k walk deeper into the gorge which took them all day. We enjoyed our stay here very much and was sad in a way to leave, this spot should deffinately be on your to do list!
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