Carnarvon Gorge — Big & Little Adventures

On our bucket list for a while, Carnarvon Gorge was everything we hoped for and more.

Our long awaited visit to Carnarvon Gorge had finally arrived and we’d planned to leave Brisbane at 4am on our day of check-in. An estimated 8.5 hour drive (at least 10 hours with breaks) would have us arriving into Carnarvon Gorge National Park at approximately 2pm. However, we decided spur of the moment to leave the night before as we (Ben 😂) couldn’t wait to get going. After a mad scramble, we left early evening & drove as far as Chinchilla, stopping at a site we found on WikiCamps called Round Hole at approx 11pm.

Leaving the night before turned out to be a good decision as we didn’t have such an early start the next morning & arrived into Takarakka Bush Resort around lunchtime.

We chose to spend 5 nights all up, as we felt that would give us enough time to do all the walks we wanted to do at Carnarvon Gorge, while still giving us all some down time back at camp (more to come on the walks later in this post).

Takarakka is a fantastic campground with lots of palm trees & lush greenery creating a tropical bush camping feel. There are shady spots for tents, lots of space for caravans & air conditioned cabin & glamping options for those not into camping.

There is the ‘Beach’ swimming hole for cooling off (especially good after returning from a hike), ’Platypus Pool’ where you’ll see a Platypus or two at dawn or dusk (we found dawn most successful) & there is also a lookout just a short uphill walk from camp for viewing the sunrise or sunset.

‘Beach’ Swimming hole. The perfect place to cool off on a hot day, especially after tackling the tracks of Carnarvon Gorge.

Sunset from The Lookout

We found dawn was the best time to see the Platypus in action.

There are communal cooking areas if you don’t have your own facilities as well as shared fire pits (though total fire ban in place at time of our visit). The bathrooms are kept clean & tidy & there are bins provided for rubbish & recycling.

The grounds are really well kept and there are communal fire places and cooking areas.

Friendly Wildlife

The staff on reception were friendly, helpful, fun to chat to & really complemented our stay.

The shop is well stocked with items you may have left behind, ice creams, cold drinks, alcoholic beverages & a great selection of souvenirs.

We must also take a moment to talk about their homemade pies. The best pies we have EVER had. Be quick though, they sell out early for obvious reasons.

Happy Hour is every day from 4pm-5pm & is timed with outdoor kids activities during peak periods, so adults can have a relax & a drink while the kids play within sight. At night, our kids & their friends would rustle up other kids from neighbouring sites for a game of spotlight. So fun! We felt safe for them to wander around camp without us which made for a relaxing time for all of us!

On our last night we booked in for the roast night. Oh my goodness, they piled our plates high with food & it was delicious. Also saved us having to cook on our last night. Make sure you pre-book before you arrive as it does book out during peak periods.

We love this place & really recommend it. It’s only a short drive from the walks of Carnarvon Gorge and was a great place to return to each day after our hiking in the gorge.

The map of the property. We stayed in Echidna Circle in sites 3 and 4 (powered sites). This was perfect as our two vans could drive in from both sites which enabled us to face each other.

Now, onto the walks! -

After consulting the Carnarvon Gorge Walk Planner, we decided to do the 14km return walk that would take us far as ‘Art Gallery’ as we thought this length would be manageable for the kids. However, we ended up deviating from our plan a little... ok a lot! 😂

DAY 1:

We left camp at 7:15am & drove the 5km to the Carnarvon Gorge Visitor Centre which is at the entrance to the main trail.

TIP: It is recommended to go to your furtherest destination first & work your way back. That way, it’s not as far to go if you need to come back to finish the rest of the track on a different day.

We headed off towards our first destination - The Art Gallery. However, once we reached this point (approx 5km from the start), we all still felt really good & decided to go on to Cathedral Cave which was only a further 4km. Easy (or so we thought...). When we arrived at Cathedral Cave, we stopped for a morning tea break and got chatting to some others who told us they were going on to Big Bend which was at the end of the main track & only a further 500m. How could we not??

Cathedral Cave

We all thought Big Bend was beautiful & we spent about 45mins playing & relaxing. There is an enticing looking waterhole but swimming is not permitted as it is a sacred site.

*Big Bend is beautiful. We could have spent all day here!*

Moving on, we headed back past Cathedral Cave & on to the other sights we were yet to see! There are approx 17 river crossings on the main track & parts of the gorge look like a prehistoric paradise with towering palm trees & giant cycads amongst the typical Australian bush landscape.

There are 17 river crossings. Make sure you’ve got walking shoes with a good grip. The kids loved the creek crossings as they were a welcome relief from the heat. One kid was even heard to say “I’m just here for the stepping stones!”.

Our next destination was the Art Gallery where we had another bite to eat & stopped to admire the ancient, sacred rock art from so long ago.

The Art Gallery

Moving on, we were starting to hurt a little after completing approx 14kms at this point.

We summoned up the stamina & kept on going, still loving it all & knowing each step was another step closer to the car park!

Wards Canyon was next & wasn’t that a little diamond in the the rough! We climbed up some steps to a small waterfall & thought we should make the effort to go just a little bit higher & that’s when we were greeted by this gorgeous hidden gem - an oasis with giant ferns, caves, massive boulders & a little creek running through it. It is just beautiful & one of our favourite parts of the Gorge .

Stunning Wards Canyon.

We were on the home stretch now & decided we’d leave the other sites for another day as we had no energy left & just focused on getting our spent bodies back to the car!

We worked out we had walked about 23km!

We were so proud of the kids. They hardly complained at all & (somehow) still seemed to have plenty of energy to go swimming when we arrived back at Takarakka, while us adults stumbled around moaning & groaning from sore muscles & exhaustion! 😂

DAY 2:

We had a sleep in & leisurely breakfast & thought we should do a lighter walk today so we wouldn’t be too stiff the following day.

We drove to the entrance of the track to Mickey Creek Gorge which is about 4km from Takarakka Bush Resort and separate from the main Carnarvon Gorge walking track.

We had a great time exploring the slot canyons of Mickey Creek & Warrumbah Gorge. They were a lot of fun & felt like we were in an Indiana Jones film at times. Definitely a highlight of the trip.

Exploring Mickey Creek and Warrumbah Gorge

TIP: When visiting Carnarvon Gorge, be sure to continue past the signs that read ‘End of Formed Track’ as you will find some pretty cool places beyond. Contrary to what the signs say, there is still a pretty good visible track.

The two gorges are approximately 5km return from the car park.

Next up we went for a swim at Rock Pool. A great way to cool off after all that walking!

However, it should be noted that Spring is Catfish breeding season & Catfish might attack if they feel their nest is being threatened (if anyone swims too close to them guarding their small circular nest in the bottom of the creek) Two of the kids found this out the hard way & were sporting lots of little cut-like bites around their ankles & legs which had drawn blood!

*The Rock Pool was lots of fun but beware of Catfish during nesting season (Spring).*

DAY 3:

A rest day, just mucking around and swimming at Takarakka Bush Resort. In the evening we did a night safari with Australian Nature Guides It was really good and we were fortunate to see a Greater Glider fly from tree to tree twice as well as some other nocturnal creatures. It was pretty fascinating to discover that scorpions fluoresce under blue light!

DAY 4:

Time to tackle the rest of the main walking track of Carnarvon Gorge. We walked to our furtherest point - The Amphitheatre.

Oh it was amazing & you could feel a sort of magic in the air - fitting as it is an important sacred site for the Traditional Custodians of the Land.

The Amphitheatre. A very sacred site at Carnarvon Gorge. It was lovely and cool in here too!

Next up was Moss Garden which was so lush & green (despite the lack of rain) so we can only imagine how spectacular it would be after a decent amount of rainfall.

Moss Garden

A beautiful little secret pool we found behind some boulders just off the track on the way to the Moss Garden.

We headed back to the Visitor Centre after the Moss Garden, having walked approx 10km. A total of approximately 38km over 3 days.

The Carnarvon Gorge Visitor Centre is worth a look before you leave. You’ll learn a lot about the flora & fauna of the gorge as well as more about the sacred sites, rock paintings & totems of the Aboriginal people.

The Carnarvon Gorge Visitor Centre is an interactive experience.

INTERESTING FACT: While people visiting Carnarvon Gorge tend to link Aboriginal history with just rock art sites, it is actually connected to the entire landscape. Aboriginal Dreamtime says that ‘Mundagurra’ the Rainbow Serpent, created Carnarvon Gorge as he travelled in and out through the creeks, carving out the Gorge in the sandstone as he travelled.

TIP: Take at least 1-2 litres of water per person as there is no water available on the track (unless you choose to drink from the creeks which is not always advisable).

We don’t recommend visiting Carnarvon Gorge in the Summer months as it is just too hot. We were there over the September school holidays - temps were already 28-34 degrees on the days we did the walks.

The main track is fairly flat but there are quite a few steps up into sites off the track. They will get your heart rate going but are not too taxing for your average, reasonably fit person. Older people and young children may struggle a little, so please take the time to rest and drink plenty of water.

Our kids were 8, 9 and 12 at the time of this trip. Their little bodies handled all the walking better than we did and we’re pretty fit. However, I do think it helped that we were travelling with another family - the kids helped to keep each other occupied. It definitely helped that we split the main track up over two days. I’m not sure that any of us would have been able to manage the whole lot in one day and be able to get the most out of it.

If travelling with younger children who are walking, we would recommend going no further than the Art Gallery. It is still a huge day!

Takarakka Bush Resort is just one option for places to stay at Carnarvon Gorge National Park. We chose this place as it ticked all the boxes for us. There is also the National Park campground right at the entrance to the main walking track, however caravans are not permitted. There are hot showers and toilet facilities and it’s open school holidays except December-January. Sandstone Park is another option and it is open from Easter holidays to September-October School Holidays. It has great views but little shelter from the elements.

For the super adventurous, you can camp inside the gorge but you’d have to walk 10km in!

Carnarvon Gorge Lodge Wilderness Lodge is currently out of operation due to fire damage in 2018.

We absolutely loved our visit to Carnarvon Gorge & highly recommend you add it to your bucket list!

Happy Travels!