Apologies for the lateness in this post - things have been extremely hectic around here for the past few months, and unfortunately blog posting is something that has been squeezed out. This will just be a quick one, but hopefully it will be worth sharing!
In July, we headed out to Cobbold Gorge for a long weekend. This wasn't really the smartest idea we've ever made. You see, the first step is to drive half-way across the gulf till you hit Georgetown. then you turn south, and keep driving... I think it took us ~7hrs to get there. Not great when you've only got 3 days break, and you've just committed 2 of them to driving... Oh well!
So we got there late, and the campsite was crowded...
...which annoyed me. We were able to snag what was basically the last site. it wasn't great, but it was do-able. People continued to stream in after we had set up though, with one thoughtful mob setting up their camp encircling an abandoned tent. When the occupants of the tent returned from their bushwalk, they had no choice but to pick up their tent and walk it somewhere else. I think one of the other mobs took pity on them, and made some room. Why they pack you in this tight (or overbook so much) when they boast of having a 10,000 sq km property, I'll never know!
It's sounding like it was all bad, but in reality, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Once we were settled in with a good fire and some dinner on, things got a lot better. No one in the camp ground was rowdy, and everyone was just content to enjoy the evening.
The next day we made the financially painful decision to go on the gorge tour. It was expensive, but why go all that way if you don't see the gorge itself? And this was when it all started to make sense.
The 4WD buses took us on a tour of the property, and told us the story of the history of the area and the early settlers.
We then split into two groups, with one group heading directly for the gorge, whilst our group climbed up the escarpment to the top of the range. On the way we stopped to look at an early settler "shelter" made in a rock cave, as well as the home of a colony of butterflies.
Who knew butterflies lived in large colonies, and called one particular spot home? There were thousands of them there. These butterflies eat the leaves of some plant that is apparently highly toxic to humans, and most other animals as well. If you or your cat was to eat a butterfly, you wouldn't have long to live, due to the high concentration of the toxin in their body. No one quite knows why they like to eat it, or why it doesn't harm them.
After a brief rest at the top of the escarpment just watching the view, we headed back down to the start of the gorge, ready for the river tour. The river tour is run on a pair of aluminium launches, powered by an electric motor at each end, and charged up via solar panels up on the top of the escarpment. The width of the launches was dictated by the narrowest gap in the gorge, and they are custom built to these specifications! They have an electric motor at both ends because the gorge itself it too narrow to turn around in. When you get to the end, the driver simply swaps ends, and drives home backwards!
Wow. What a place.
After the tour, we headed back to camp for dinner. We packed up and pulled out for home the next morning.
J was on driving duties, since I burnt my hand pretty badly whilst putting the camp fire out. Should have known better - I poured a jerry of water over the coals to make sure they were out. Obviously, as soon as the water hit the coals it turned to steam, which came straight back up towards my unprotected hand. Trust me, I won't be doing that again.
Unfortunately there was nothing for it than to head home - it's not as if there was a hospital within a couple of hour's drive (or flight) anyway. We jury-rigged a make-shift cooler using the green towel, a bucket of water and the AC vents on the car. It actually worked very well - a little too well even, as I had to regularly remove my hand from the cold, as it was turning blue. It certainly worked better than the instant-cold icepack we had in the First Aid kit, which turned out to be complete rubbish. Thankfully I got out of the situation with no lasting damage, other than a very sore hand for a couple of weeks. Very lucky indeed.
I probably wouldn't recommend a trip all the way out to Cobbold Gorge from Cairns, especially not just for a couple of days. But if you were heading past, you'd be silly not to stop over for two or three nights - it really is a very special place.
