Carnarvon Great Walk

[angophora]

I am trying to get some detail on the Carnarvon Great Walk track conditions. Myself and two friends are booked to do this walk in late June and although we have purchased topo map from QPWS, it's a bit short on details regarding the track itself. We are Victorians so please forgive our ignorance of conditions etc on the Queensland Central Plateau. Any information at all regarding this walk would be helpful, in particular water availability between camp sites and general walking conditions.

[stgill]

Don't know that I can be too helpful, but I am also doing the walk toward the end of June. Any information I have is based on some friends who did the walk in June last year. While there should be plenty of water in the underground tanks at the camp sites, you won't find much (if any) in between. I'll be carrying a day's water. Walking conditions should be ideal - days in the low 20s, but quite cold nights. It can drop to 0 or below in winter I've been told. I'll be talking to these people again soon, so anything specific I find out I'll post here.

[dannnnn]

have you tried calling the ranger?? in my experience they are usually pretty friendly and happy to have a chat with you.

[angophora]

Don't know that I can be too helpful, but I am also doing the walk toward the end of June. Any information I have is based on some friends who did the walk in June last year. While there should be plenty of water in the underground tanks at the camp sites, you won't find much (if any) in between. I'll be carrying a day's water. Walking conditions should be ideal - days in the low 20s, but quite cold nights. It can drop to 0 or below in winter I've been told. I'll be talking to these people again soon, so anything specific I find out I'll post here.

Thanks stgill. I would appreciate any info available through your friends. We are trying to find that balance between packing light and safety margins, always a tricky call if you are not familiar with the area.

[angophora]

have you tried calling the ranger?? in my experience they are usually pretty friendly and happy to have a chat with you.

Thanks for your suggestion dannnn, I have tried contacting the information number advertised, they are very polite and just repeat the information available on the website. Direct access to the ranger so far has been unsuccessful, all enquiries seem to go through a central number and I just keep going around in circles.

[Whitwillow]

The ranger on site is very helpful. I will be camping at Big Bend in a couple of weeks to check out the track. I will try to get a direct phone number.
This is my account of the first bit of the gorge.
http://www.squidoo.com/carnarvongorge

[angophora]

Thanks Whitwillow, we will be heading up there in four weeks, so if you can find a direct number, I'm sure a chat with the ranger will be very helpful. We will be spending one night in the campground before heading into the gorge, 2 nights at big bend to allow some time to explore the gorge before venturing up battleship spur and onto the plateau.

[bauplenut]

I did the walk in August 2010. Since then there have been floods etc, track was closed for a while, so what I know may not be current. It does get cold at the highest points on the plateau, around day 4/5. IIRC we had temps down to 1 degree C at night day 5. Day one is easy, you do the tourist track in the gorge itself. Day two is the hardest, up to Battleship Spur. Finding the track up out of Boowinda Gorge is tricky, look carefully for markers. I know people who have missed them in Boowinda. The climb out of Boowinda Gorge is steep, loose underfoot shale, need to be careful. Then into open woodland for a while on track, then steeper up the ridgeline to the spur. Probably the best part of the walk (out of the gorge itself), that and the last day. After the spur it is a uninteresting walk mainly, open woodland and on well marked tracks and not much great views. You never see Carnarvon Gorge again after the Spur lookout. If it rains, then at the water tanks, the tank sites are clay and it is sticky (unless grass has grown there since). We camped in the grass nearby the tanks, but getting water from the tanks meant a cluggy mass of clay on boots (we had 24 hrs of rain and fog day three). There is a trick to getting water at the tanks, the rangers tell you how - if you just pump away, no water, so need to put finger under tap to block tap, pump (creates vaccum, like siphon), take finger away and water flows as you pump. Has caught walkers out apparently. Day six is a good walk, great views. All told, it is an nice walk, but don't expect to see Carnarvon Gorge or great views all the way, only day one and two and late on day six. Even the western parts of the park you don't get to the good bits there. A lot of our group felt disappointed in the walk due to this, expectations were higher. Easy walk.

[angophora]

Thanks for the tip regarding the water pump and tank access, also finding the track out of Boowinda Gorge. Your description of the walk sounds more or less as we expected. Are there any ladders on sections of the track ? I recall reading an article a while back describing this, but I can find no reference to this on the map from QPWS.

[stgill]

Have a look at http://members.iinet.net.au/~gagel/?Camping:The_Carnarvon_6_day_Great_Walk - this is a blog kept by a family who walked Carnarvon Gorge. They've included plenty of photos, including the ladders that you've heard about. I've spoken to my friends who did the walk last year and can't add anything to what bauplenut has written. I've been keeping tabs on the localweather through Takarakka Bush Resort's website. They give today's weather plus a 3 day forecast.

[bauplenut]

Ladder(s) are on day two going up ridge to Battleship Spur. At least one, maybe two. Ladder / stairs on day six coming down Boolimba Bluff to the gorge itself at end of walk.

Also, in 2009 the map was not accurate for profile for day six - the rangers told us that whilst the map had flat profile for that day, there was a 200 mr descent then climb on one gully at least about half way durign the day. Some other gullies too, but nothing major. But the maps had been printed, so that was all they had. Maybe they have new accurate maps now.

[shanall]

I walk Canarvon on the 1st of August 2012. To help you with some of your enquiries the number for the ranger is 07 49844505, a good information site for some info on the walk and the campsites can be found by typing in Great Walks Queensland this will take you to a web page click on the one at the top it is for all great walks in queensland, Canarvon is at the top on the left handside of the page then follow the links to the site once there, there is also a track warning report for all the walks in Qld on the right handside at the top and on the other side the link to the campsites. Also there is a site called The Weather Channel that will give you a 9 or 10 day forecast for Injune which is one and half hours from Canarvon, i found this very close to the exact temperature, just type in Injune QLD 4454 in the search box. Now the ladders there are indeed 2 of them one goes up to a small steel landing and the other sits on top the landing enjoy the view, there is water at all campsites, as previously stated by someone, the first one has a tap on the tank behind the toilets at Big Bend at Gadds Consuello and Cabbage Tree there are 2 hand pumps about .6 of a meter above the ground under the shelters {the tanks are under ground beneath the shelters}, put your finger over the nossle/spout and pump the handle this will prime the pump and also clear out any thing that is in there, AT the third campsite which is Westbranch, you can't mistake it because you go across a suspention bridge, there is a tap about 20 metres from the bridge the toilets are about 50 meters along a then mowed strip on your left handside, the rangers are very helpful and they will be able to tell you about the water levels in the tanks as for water between the campsites in the gorge itself there shouldn't be any problem, once you climb up out of the gorge i found two places on the way to Gadds for water out of a creek but after that there was probably 1 or 2 not very good places until you get to Westbranch and then none until after Cabbage Tree campsite. I hope this info helps you with you preparations, when i was there the days were great for walking the nights were cold but a good bag and thermals will keep you warm, i word of warning when i was there the rangers god bless them had cut the grass along the track but be careful because some times the dead grass covers these little rocks that you can trip you or twist your ankle, when you get to the crossroads for Boolimba Bluff and the track back down to the gorge the start of the descent is by a short ladder but the descent is steep going down quite alot of stone steps, a bit tricky so be careful, have a great walk i'm sure you enjoy it, it's mother nature at its best.

Shane.

[shanall]

The date was the 1st of August 2011 sorry about that and the ladders are not very long.

[angophora]

Shane thank you for your information, it helps a lot in our preparation and to get a feel for what's ahead. We set off for Qld at the end of next week, the weather as always is in the lap of the gods. Thank you for the contact number for the local ranger.

[ULWalkingPhil]

At the moment, the weather is pretty good up here. Have a great walk.

[Pteropus]

At the moment, the weather is pretty good up here. Have a great walk.

Yes! But don't underestimate how cold overnight temps get in western Qld! Minimum temps at this time of year can be below freezing. But days should be warm and sunny though!

[Don R]

I did the Great Walk two years ago. The weather, on the roof of Qld as the locale is called, can change quickly. During June you will experience mild days (albeit with high UV) and freezing nights. Water is only reliable in the gorge and at a dam and creek near Demon Ridge. I presume you will go up the Gorge to Big Bend (nice spot to camp) and do the walk in that direction. It is worth checking out the sights on the way such as Moss Garen, the Amphitheatre, and Ward's Canyon. Boowinda Creek is almost always dry.You will need to carry water from Big Bend to the next camp at Gadd's. All prescribed campsites have reliable water. Between Battleship Spur and Gadd's there is only one manky stream which didn't look potable. From Gadd's onwards to West Branch there is a chance of picking up some water in the creek beds near the Maranoa but that is unreliable as well.By the way the Maranoa, when I was there, was dry so if you want to be safe carry water from campsite to campsite. West branch has a tap ! From West Branch to the Consuelo In the right conditions there are some small streams which may have water. After rain the Consuelo tableland can have some small streams. Once at Cabbage Tree campsite there is one watercourse and a small pond / dam before reaching the lookouts above the gorge.

If you want to camp just outside the park in a nice spot with good facilities try this resort http://www.takaru.com.au/takaru/splashpage.cfm .

Enjoy the trip

[RPS1936]

Everyone who undertakes the Carnarvon Great Walk should do so to develop an appreciation of how the geology defines the landscape. On the first day in the Carnarvon Gorge you walk below the Precipice Sandstone cliffs. The spring water that feeds the Carnarvon Creek filters through the sandstone and oozes out at the base of the cliffs when it reaches the impervious Mooliember Formation. The climb out of Boowinda Gorge on the second day takes you above the Precipice Sandstone and two other sedimentary formations until you reach the basalt cap. The basalt originates from the Buckland volcanic eruptions that occurred some 20 million year ago. It caps the Great Dividing Range above the gorge and also the Consuelo Tableland traversed on day 4 and 5 of the walk.

Each of the geological formations has its own fascinating mix of flora, so one of the great interest of the walk is in observing these changes. When I did the walk in August this year the wildflowers were magnificent, at least five varieties of wattle, five or so of bush peas, plus hovea, hardinbergia, native voilets, and flax lily. The pleasure for the walker is not only to do with views. There is also the aboriginal art, the story of aboriginal disposession and the history of the pastoral industry revealed in artifacts in the landscape.

I have visited the Carvarvon Ranges some 15 times since my first trip taking school students there in 1966. Every trip has been full of interest as I discovered more about this wonderful part of Queensland. If you visit my blog, robinsimson.wordpress.com you can read about my novel, Cave Hill, a fictional story about an expedition through the ranges. Reading it will give you a much greater understanding of the landscape that is beloved by many people. You might also look out for beautiful books about the Carnarvon landscape by Grahame Walsh.

[brennan]

I have a blog on this hike under www.wildwomenhikes.com