Carnarvon Gorge Trip
I had visited Carnarvon Gorge about 4 years ago and was blown away by its natural beauty and its ties to our country’s ancient history. I only spent a couple of days in the Gorge back then and found I was rushing to try and see it all in the short period of time I was there so it was always on my list of places to go back and see and spend a bit longer there to take in the sights and surroundings so I decided to book another trip to go back to the Gorge between Xmas and New Years 2025.
The first day’s travel was a late start as I was only heading a few hours up the road from the Lockyer Valley to Chinchilla Weir Camp Ground to break up the 7.5 hour drive. There is a great little free camp on the banks of the weir with a 2 night maximum stay. The weir is home to the Chinchilla Ski Club and is a great stop over for travellers heading through the region.
The morning, before I left, was an anxious wait for me as I have spent the best part of 2025 struggling with my mental health, with constant anxiety and very frequent panic attacks. It has definitely been an up and down year with some soul searching and breakthroughs but also a lot of breakdowns as well.
The first time I visited the Gorge I was camping off the back of my motorbike but as the body has aged somewhat I have spent the year fitting out my vehicle with a canopy and roof top tent to allow a few more creature comforts and to ease the strain on the body when out camping.
I was up fairly early the next morning to pack up and head off from the Weir to make my way to the Big 4 Campgrounds and Carnarvon Gorge. For the best part of the day my anxiety again was high and only really started to ease as I turned off the A7 to make the 20 odd km drive into the Carnarvon Gorge area and to my campsite. The campgrounds are quite large and accommodating for all types of campers and also includes many cabins as well for holiday makers to stay in. After spending 10 minutes setting up camp I settled in for the evening so I could be up early in the morning to tackle the Gorge in the morning. The one thing I am really enjoying with the roof top tent is the ease at which it sets up and packs down which I have found to be a welcome change to my motorbike camping.
Day 3 saw another early start to the day as my plan was to hike the Boolimba Bluff Sumit, otherwise known as, The Roof of Queensland, and also go to the Moss Garden as these were two areas of the gorge that I bypassed last time I was here. I found on my previous trip to the Gorge that I wanted to see it all and I was rushing to hike the trail in order to get to all of the sights, but in doing so I found I was only spending a short period of time at each site. This time around my plan was to do the hard day first and then for the remaining days just take it easy on the trail.
I was on the trail by 7:30 after a short bike ride from the camp grounds to the start of the gorge track, which is approximately 5km (I brought an electric mountain bike on the trip to allow me to get from the campground to the Gorge with minimal fuss, and I have to say it worked brilliantly).
When I arrived at the Gorge, it was alive with the sounds of the Australian summer, that’s right, cicadas and what sounded like thousands of them piercing the air with their relentless buzzing which was mixed with the laughter of kookaburras bellowing throughout the gorge.
By the time I started the hike it was already quite hot and very humid. After a very strenuous climb, for me at least, with multiple rest stops on the way up, I managed to summit Boolimba Bluff. The views were simply stunning and expanding for many km’s. There are two lookout sights at the summit both thankfully with seats to rest the body after the climb but to also just sit there and take in the magnificent views across the Gorge and beyond. I have been working hard this year on trying to just slow down and take everything in and not just rush through to get it done, essentially stopping to smell the roses more. Quality not quantity. At the summit I sat for at least half an hour just taking in all the amazing sights from the summit and also chatted to some fellow hikers who had also summited the Bluff.
By the time I had descended back down the heat was really starting to take its toll so I tried to slow down even more and dunk my head in some of the numerous streams along the track as I made my way through the gorge to the Moss Garden. The first time I came here I bypassed the Moss Garden as the creeks were quite high and flowing quite fast which made the walk to the Moss Garden a bit tricky. Thankfully, this time the creeks weren't nearly as high and I could make my way to the garden. On the walk in it stared to shower which made for some welcome relief to the scorching sun so I took some shelter, so as to not get my camera drenched, under the many canopies of large trees, palm and ferns, driving up out of the gorge in search for the sun. After approximately 20 minutes the showers eased, and I made my way to the Moss Garden and it didn't disappoint. Upon reaching the garden there is a short boardwalk to a stunning waterfall and yes you guessed it moss covered sandstone walls all around with the waterfall acting as the centre piece to a beautiful little area. Again, I sat here for a good 30min just taking it all in, something that in the past I would have looked at, taken a few photos and moved on but this time I wanted to immerse myself in the surroundings. After enjoying the garden for a while I decided to seek some relief from the relentless heat and sit by the creek flowing out from the Moss Garden. This was exactly what I needed as I dipped my legs in the cool, crisp and extremely clear waters. Again I just sat there taking in all of my surroundings for a good 45min, watching the beautifully vibrant blue dragon fly’s darting through the air and dancing back and forth across the flowing creeks, boulders and rich green vegetation of the many ferns, palms and other plants. The bright blues of the dragon flies contrasted beautify to the green foliage behind them. I guess blue and green can be seen without a colour in between together after all.
After a recharge I headed back on the track to start my walk out of the gorge but about 500m down the trail I found another little creek bed with a nice big flat rock covered in shade that had my name all over it so I decided to stop again and take in my surroundings, even laying down for 20 min to just listen to the creek flow and enjoy the shade and rest.
The trek back out of the gorge was stinking hot and very humid and by the time I got back to the start of the trail I was exhausted, physically and mentally and I still had a 5km bike ride back to my camp site. I sat and recovered for a while before riding back.
By the time I got back to camp my body and mind was telling me I had pushed it way too far today and my mental demons hit hard that afternoon. I had a bit of a meltdown when I got back to camp and was ready to pack up and just head for home. After a check in with my wife back home to vent my mental struggles and exhaustion of the day I retreated to my tent for the night, put on a few videos and tried to just calm down and see what tomorrow had in store. Again the ups and downs were very present today from the highs of the sights along the trail to the extreme lows of the mental demons that crept in upon my return to camp.
The following day I was up early, to the sounds of rain softly falling on top of my roof top tent, these soft raindrops slowly turned heavy resulting in a decent shower that looked set it. Again, my doubts crept back in about the trip and thoughts of packing up and heading home certainly crossed my mind. Thankfully I decided to just ride it out and lay in bed waiting for the showers to ease which they did by mid-morning. I had an early lunch and headed out to Mickey Creek and Warrumbah Creek gorges. Both of which aren't that far from the campgrounds. As it would turn out today would be the day that I was hoping for when I decided to go away on this trip. With the years’ worth of turmoil and mental health struggles I would find myself in a state of ease and a deep sense of calm by the afternoon that I hadn't felt at all during 2025. My plan for the day when I headed out was just take it really easy and to just slow right down and fully immerse myself in the experience. I walked to Mickey's Creek Gorge first and then headed to Warrumbah Creek Gorge on my way back. The real payoff came at the end of the Warrumbah Creek Gorge track when I pushed on beyond the end of the dedicated track to find a stunning narrow gorge flanked by high walls of sandstone rock. The colours, rich greens, vibrant oranges, deep reds combined with the vast array of textures, grooves, peaks and troughs. it was a smorgasbord for the eyes, where every direction you looked you would find natures absolute beauty and uniqueness. This is where I decided to really just take it all in and I spent a good hour just sitting, observing, photographing and even laying down multiple times in the gorge. It was during this experience that a real sense of calm would come over me and when I felt like heading back to camp I decided to just stay longer, and as I explored the gorge, if I felt like sitting and taking it in then that’s what I did. If I felt like laying down, then that's what I did. I just followed my heart and my soul, and it was telling me to stay a little longer each time. The longer I sat the more I noticed, the more I saw and the calmer I became. The day-to-day anxieties I had been experiencing just seemed to wash away for that period I spent in the Warrumbah Creek gorge. I actually became quite emotional at one stage as the sense of peace that had overcome me was just a beautiful feeling and one I hadn't felt for a very long time. One thing I started to observe was that nothing in nature is perfect. The perfection comes from its imperfections. No rocks were the same shape, size, colour or texture. The trees grew how they saw fit, not perturbed by the thoughts or looks from the other trees. They were just all unique in their own beautiful way. It made me realise we are no different. We are all unique, different shapes sizes and colours and backgrounds and we just need to embrace our imperfections and uniqueness because that’s where the true beauty lies. I walked out of that gorge with a real sense of gratitude.
The next morning, I woke early again and there were no signs of any showers in the air and it looked like being another hot day. I noticed I was trying to rush around camp so I could get out into the gorge before the hot sun really belted down. Again, I had to tell myself to just slow down and relax. I wanted to visit just two sites in the gorge today which was the Amphitheatre and the Art Gallery. Both these sights had been a wonderful experience on my previous trip here, so I wanted to just immerse myself in these two sites today.
As I hit the trail it was no further than 500m in and my whole trip was nearly over (at least that is what I thought at the time). One thing I had noticed walking the trails was that some sections were fairly narrow with tall grass either side. It was in the back of my mind that snakes could be around any corner and that is exactly what I faced this morning. Their ability to blend into their surroundings is phenomenal and I came within inches of stepping on one. I don’t know a lot about snakes and their identification, but my first reaction was that it was a brown snake and definitely not one I would like to get bit by. As it reared up at me and struck out, my heart jumped out of my mouth and hightailed it back about 10m to a safe distance with my body following shortly after. After a healthy level of respect had been established on both sides a stomp on the ground with my foot saw it slither off into the scrub to continue on its journey. I since have come to find out it was a harmless, non-venomous, Kettleback snake which is a freshwater snake and mostly feeds on frogs, tadpoles and fish.
This encounter definitely kept me on my toes for the remainder of the day however I pushed on to the Amphitheatre which is a short climb up a ladder and into the narrow entrance which then opens out to a stunning all round sandstone wall/amphitheatre creating some amazing acoustics and an almost eerie silence. I sat for about half an hour taking it all in, watching the leaves from the trees high up on the top of the sandstone walls slowly tumble their way to a soft landing on the ferns at the floor of the Amphitheatre. A journey which took them a good 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the breeze, to reach the floor, highlighting just how high up the surrounding walls were. After sitting for a while two other hikers entered the Amphitheatre and sat as well. Before long I decided to head out back on the track to the Art Gallery but as I was making my exit from the Amphitheatre one of the fellow hikers broke out into a baritone tune which filled the Amphitheatre in such a beautiful way that I could have listened to for ages. It was one of the highlights of my day for sure. So, to that hiker, whoever you may be, thank you.
After leaving the Amphitheatre I made my way along the track to the Art Gallery to observe the Aboriginal paintings that were stencilled and etched into the sandstone many years ago. This was such a special site where you are able to observe the storyboard of our history ranging from hand paintings to nets, tools, animals, eggs, and even stories of the woman’s fertility. As detailed at the site, Important ceremonies and rituals associated with the engravings were performed by the woman of the Carnarvons. All the images upon the walls had a specific purpose including important events, mythology beliefs, ritual and totemic associations.
I sat there for some time and had my lunch there. All the while thinking back to how many meals must have been shared there, how many stories must have been shared there, how many generations shared the site. The highs and the lows that were experienced there. It was a truly magical site. All the while the echoes of Pale Headed Rosellas chirping throughout the Gorge behind me rang out while I was enjoying the site. It was fitting as these are one of my favourite birds and ones we frequently get back home in the Lockyer Valley. In a small way it seemed to connect my home to the home of our Indigenous history.
One thing I had noticed during the day was that I was dunking my head in the water at each creek crossing. It felt as though I was cleansing my demons from 2025 but was also a very welcome relief from the hot sun. On my hike back out of the gorge I decided to drop back into the start of the Moss Garden as I had found a nice little spot by the water on the first day. I spent about an hour and a half there dunking myself in the creek multiple times which I can honestly say was the best swim I had ever had. It was extremely refreshing from the previous few days, but I also felt a deep sense of cleansing, be it literally and metaphorically.
Another observation from the day is that in nature water always finds a way. No matter what it’s faced with or what obstacles are in its path it will always find a way to move forward. Over time water can wear down mountains with no more than a trickling flow.
The last day at the gorge I was trying to figure out whether to leave a day early for home so I could break up the drive home but after feeling really good the last 2 days I decided to stay on and just head back into the gorge again on the Mickey Creek Gorge track with my camera to spend some time capturing the blue dragon fly’s that I had been seeing a lot of over the previous few days and whatever else I came across on the track. I had a fairly lazy morning around camp before heading back out on the trail around 10am. I spent around an hour and a half just in one little creek bed getting some nice shots before I headed over to the narrow gorge on the Warrumbah Creek trail, again I just sat here for about an hour and even managed to briefly spot a kingfisher. It was a nice easy morning but around mid afternoon the demons started creeping back in again and I felt real sense of unease wash over me so, I decided to leave the gorge and just head back to camp to try and relax for the afternoon and pack some gear ready for the drive home the next day. The hot sun had also really drained me again, so I called an early night, yes on new years eve. I definitely didn't see the new year in as I was looking to get up early for what would be a long drive home the next day.
The drive out of the Gorge the following morning on my way home was a very slow drive as I found myself constantly stopping to take in and photograph the wildlife in the area from the many Kangaroo’s, Pink Galah’s, White Cockatoo’s, Pheasant Coucal’s and I was even blessed with spotting two Brolga’s which I have never seen in the wild and with some careful placement behind a large tree I was able to get within a safe distance to get a nice photograph of one of them. It was a great drive out of the gorge before reaching the main highway for my long drive home.
For me, this trip has been very up and down which was no different to the year I've had. There were some break throughs I have experienced mentally in 2025 but also some extreme lows and frequent lows at that. It's really been a journey of self-reflection both good and bad which pretty much mirrored this trip to Carnarvon Gorge.
So now it’s on to 2026 and to continue on my journey of exploration, healing, peace, learning about myself and calmness for my soul. It will likely not be easy but it’s a journey I'll keep pursuing.
