Advertisement
Published: July 29th 2017
Edit Blog Post
DSC_0196
Isla Gorge National Park Hatton Vale (family) - Isla Gorge National Park - Jericho - Moorinya National Park - Porcupine National Park One of the reasons we decided to do this trip with a 4wd and off-road camper was so we could visit National Parks and travel on roads that we can't ride on the motorbikes. After a couple of days with family we headed north-west on our way (slowly) to Karumba. Our first night was at Isla Gorge National Park. It was only 1.3km off the main road and the dirt access road was rocky but good. The campground had only two other overnight campers and it was a very quiet. There was a walk from the lookout along the top of a ridge to a point - stunning views across the basin. Overnight was warmer than we've had over the last week - still not what I call warm, but getting better.
We were up earlier than normal - it's not as hard to get out of bed when it isn't so cold - and headed off by about 7:30am. We headed towards Emerald where I originally planned to spend the night. Wikicamps came in handy again as we looked for
DSC_0199
Isla Gorge National Park an alternative overnight stop - we made good time and I wanted to get closer to our next National Park. We decided to stay at Jericho - there is a nice Rest Area/park along the Jordan River. The campground was very busy, with a lot of motorhome and caravans also looking for free camps.
We met some travellers from New Zealand who also had a camper trailer and shared their campfire for a while swapping stories. They recommended Porcupine Gorge National Park and advised us to book all Qld National Parks online because all of the ones they had been too were e-permit only. So far we have been able to self-register but since we had Telstra network in Jericho I booked our next two camps online. Just as well too, because when we arrived at Moorrinya National Park the next day it was e-permit only (no self registration available).
The road west from Jericho to Barcaldine was main highway and we stopped for breakfast and a few supplies. From Barcaldine we turned north and the road narrowed. It narrowed even more from Amarac to the Moorrinya National Park turnoff, but it was bitumen (at least one lane)
DSC_0201
Isla Gorge National Park all the way. The access road from the main entrance of the National Park is about 16km of (good) sandy dirt road, with only one river crossing (but no water). The campground is at an old shearing shed and there was only one other camper (a creepy old guy in a whizz-bang). Being so far off the road there is no road noise at all - the only sound is the birds and wildlife... Perfect. We had stopped to pick up some firewood on the way in so had a nice little campfire to keep us warm when the sun went down.
The road from the park entrance heading north to Torrens Creek is mostly dirt, but it was wide and sandy with not too much corrugation. This is where we find out how dust proof everything is 😊 It was only a short day and we stopped at Hughenden for breakfast at the FJ Holden cafe, and at Bottle Tree lookout, and we arrived at the Porcupine National Park campground just before 1pm. After setting up camp we headed off for the gorge walk (Pyramid track). Going down into the gorge was great, but coming back up was
DSC_0204
Isla Gorge National Park hard work - it is 1.2km from the top of the hill to the gorge. The distance wasn't the problem - the incline was... . It was worth it though.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.102s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.045s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb