CG day 2 - Around the visitor centre and on to the Amphitheatre
Oyster Moon
Paul Foskett & Rhu Nash
Thu 6 Dec 2012 05:39
|
We’d been advised to get up early in the morning, when it was
much cooler, and do our walking then. No alarm clock was necessary as the
cockatoo’s make such a racket that difficult to sleep through. We got up at
0500, not often I see that hour. We had to drive about 2.5 km to get to the main
park entrance to gorge and were there and on the trail by 0630. The walking
track crossed across Carnarvon creek many times – and in our case a few more
times as we missed the footpath in one section. Anyway we took in the
Amphitheatre, the Art Gallery – lots more aboriginal art, Ward's Canyon and
Cathedral cave, on our first day, about 20 km. By the end of the day I knew why
my new walking boots were still so new. I have since gone out a bought a pair of
men’s boots that fit!
Paul and I at the start of the walk:
  The good thing about being out in the early morning is that
lots of animals are out and about as well. These are grey kangaroos, looks like
her big joey wants to hitch a ride.
 Not sure what type of kangaroo/wallaby this is – the black
eyed one?
 Just before we started the walk passed the tree - the
silver-leaved iron bark (Eucalyptus melanophloia) . Love the texture of
the bark, looks just like it has been charred in a fire.
 Our first crossing of the creek:
  It was such a beautiful day that we tried to get some good
gorge shots. Good job we did because the next few days it was misty. We found
out later that it wasn’t mist but smoke from numerous bush fires in the area.
You can see eucalypts and palms in this shot.
  Tried to get the moon in these shots.
  The only type of palm in the gorge is the Carnarvon fan palm.
This is one of the last place it grows in central Queensland.
 The other rare plant that grows here are the tree ferns (Cyathea australis) or cycads. These
are some of the oldest plants on the planet, and are the oldest plants in the
park.
  And across the creek to the
Amphitheatre.
 |