29 June Joffre and Knox Gorges

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29 June

A cold cloudless night gives way to a fresh crisp morning of around 6 degrees according to the thermometer in the car. A cold shower over at the ablution block because they only have solar hot water, then back to the tent for breakfast. After breakfast it's off on our first walk....Joffre Gorge lookout, a 25 minute round trip from our camp site. Debbie decides to join Sandy and I as the others stay back at camp to join us later. Our first glimpse of the gorge and you soon realize what this place has to offer. Deep red gorges with crisp clear water running through them, the contrast of the red rock against the blue sky and the occasional tree or shrub protruding through a crack in the rocks provides a contrast in the 3 primary colous.

On our way back we bump into the others who have also decided to go for a walk to the gorge. We head back for a quick "pitstop" before heading out for the longer walk down into the gorge to see the waterfall. In some places the path ends up no more than a mountain goat track befor reaching the bottom. To get to the area to view the waterfall requires a quick shimmy along the rock ledges or a walk through knee deep water. As the water was cold I decided the shimmy along the rock ledge was the better option. It was well worth the effort.

Whilst Sandy and I are still exploring the bottom of the gorge (read as Sandy is waiting for me to stop taking photos) the others have headed off to the lookout on the other side of the gorge. Just before heading out a young Swiss lady is starting to get anxious for her 2 friends who decided to head further down the gorge by swimming through the deeper parts. They had been gone for over 30 minutes. Whilst I was taking photos of the part of the gorge that they had gone down I could not see any sign of them. Calling out to Debbie & co they were able to spot them making their way slowly back up the gorge. A very relieved young lady was thankful that her friends were ok so that she could "kill" them when they returned.

Back at camp we sit down to our lunch. I have no takers for heading out on the afternoon aside from Sandy. We head off for the short drive to Knox Gorge. We head to the lookout as our first stop. Knox Gorge is more spectacular and rugged than Joffre Gorge! Several photos whilst on the lookout then it was back to the car. Sandy decides to stay at the car and read a book in the sun whilst I venture into the gorge. I pack the 2 way radio into the camera bag (just in case) and head off on the walk that has a published time of 3 hours, it's 2pm so I will be back well before dark. The track is much more demanding than Joffre Gorge but the decent is worth it. A different appearance to Joffre and the possibility to walk, clamber and shimmy much further down the gorge until it becomes impassable unless you have abseiling certification. It is at this point that the gorge becomes a narrow slit for a waterfall to cascade through. The view through the gap is like looking through the window to another world. Through the shadows of where I am standing there is what appears to be a bright red glow. What I am seeing is a gorge wall reflecting the afternoon sun. Such a stark contrast from inside the shadows of the gorge where I am standing. As I cannot proceed any further down the gorge I start heading back towards the car and up the track that I had come down earlier. A few more photos along the way then it's time to start climbing out. A steep climb that gets the heart rate going. Back to the car for 3pm, the trek has only taken 1 hour. Then it's back to the camp for a well deserved shower. Everyone else on the park must have had the same idea as once again the water is cool. Thankfully a bit warmer than the shower earlier in the morning.

It's our turn for dinner tonight so we cook up some burritos. As the temperature starts to drop we call it an early night, Sandy has her hot water bottle with her so before leaving Debbie's caravan, with the generator still running the hot water bottle is heated up before heading back to the tent and climbing under the doona for a well earned rest.

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Photos

Knox Gorge
This is as far as you can go without abseiling