Carnarvon National Park is located in the rugged, scrub-covered ranges of the massive Consuelo Tableland in central Queensland north of Roma. The road from Roma to Rolleston is reasonable bitumen, but the 45km access road to the park has stretches of gravel that can, at times, be badly corrugated. After heavy rain this road is impassable to conventional vehicles, sometimes resulting in visitors having a longer stay in the park than planned.

Carnarvon Gorge is the most accessible part of the 223,000 hectare Carnarvon National Park and has a campground at the mouth of the Main Gorge. Campers MUST BOOK but, as a last resort, a phone call from Roma or Rolleston could secure a campsite if there are vacancies, but this is unlikely in school holidays. The phone number is 4984 4505 and the address is Carnarvon Nat. Park via Rolleston 4702. The best time to visit is winter or spring and the absolute minimum time needed to see the Gorge is two full days, but three or four days would be preferable. Winter is a perfect time for walking as the days are not too hot but the nights are very cool. A regular feature in the campground is groups of campers gathered around campfires but all wood has to be brought in as it cannot be collected in the park.

The Main Gorge was formed as a result of Carnarvon Creek running over and cutting through the sandstone of the Consuelo Tableland over a great period of time. The walking path follows Carnarvon Creek and crosses it twenty times between the camp and the end of the constructed path at Cathedral Cave. The creek crossings consist of large solid stepping stones which are above the level of the water except after very wet weather and these crossings are numbered to help with directions.

To see the most beautiful features of the Park the visitor must take the paths to the side gorges and these tracks include steps. It is estimated that to visit each feature will require an hour from leaving the main track. The highlights of Carnarvon are Violet Gorge/Moss Garden, the Amphitheatre, Wards’ Canyon and the aboriginal art at the Art Gallery and Cathedral Cave. The wildlife around the campground adds to the charm of the National Park.

The first canyon branching off the Main Canyon leads to Violet Gorge which is considered one of the most captivating of all the side gorges. Hidden deep within the near vertical walls of this canyon lies the Moss Garden, a carpet of liverworts and mosses clinging to a large rock overhang.

Adjoining the Moss Garden a waterfall, topped with a forest of tree ferns, cascades into a clear rock pool. The path to the Moss Garden is between the 7th and 8th crossings, 35 mins from camp.

The narrow main arm of this side canyon, Hellhole Gorge has sheer 100 metre walls shading the floor, elkhorns and staghorns clinging to the branches of giant eucalypts while ferns and palms grow in profusion amongst fallen moss-covered logs. It would take a couple of hours to explore this canyon and I would suggest only including it on an extended visit to Carnarvon.

The next feature, the Amphitheatre, is reached via a safe steel ladder up a rock face then through a narrow 40 metre long cleft to a roughly circular "bowl" with only one entrance. The visitor stands in awe looking at the towering 50m high sheer rock walls and soaking in the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. To appreciate the mystical feeling of this place visit it alone or just with your partner. The path is between the 9th and 10th crossings, 50 minutes walk from camp. Allow 1 hour.

The next side canyon, Wards’ Canyon is a pleasant cool retreat filled with rare King Ferns as well as more common tree ferns. By following the stream to the end of the gorge the visitor reaches the source of the water, a large pool constantly replenished by a waterfall. The pool is nearly always shaded by rock walls almost meeting overhead, except for the short time every day when the sun shines directly on the waterfall. The effect is stunning when the dark canyon is illuminated with a river of shimmering light on the water leading to the Aljon Falls shining in the distance as it cascades into the pool.

Wards’ Canyon is a cool place to sit and have lunch while waiting for the magical moment when the sun is shining directly down on the water, around 12.25 pm. The path is between the 9th and 10 crossings, 60 minutes from camp. Allow an hour plus time for a rest stop.

Back on the main track, the next side path leads to the Art Gallery which has some well-preserved Aboriginal art comprising stencils, freehand and engraved motifs. The explanation boards help to decipher the drawings which date from the time of last aboriginal occupation prior to the 1870s. The path to the Art Gallery is between the 10th and 11th crossings, 1¼ hour from camp, about half way to Cathedral Cave.

We walked to Cathedral Cave at the end of the Main Gorge, but the highlights of Carnarvon are the ones I have described above, luckily at the end closest to the camp. There is not much point in continuing past the Art Gallery, unless you are very keen on hiking. The second half of the gorge is less scenic and there are no features until reaching Cathedral Cave after the 20th crossing which takes 2½-3 hours walking from camp without detours or stops. I felt the reality of Cathedral Cave, actually an enormous overhanging rock face, did not live up to what I had imagined, particularly after walking so far. The Aboriginal art is similar to the Art Gallery. Near Cathedral Cave we also explored Boowinda Gorge, a dry narrow gorge with mosses and ferns, but very difficult walking because the floor is totally covered in mid-size rocks which tend to move when you stand on them.

When visiting Carnarvon the first decision a visitor must make is how far to walk and plan accordingly to avoid covering the same territory twice. An easy day’s walk would be to start by 8.30am along the Main Canyon, take the side path to the Amphitheatre, then continue to the Art Gallery. The return along the Main Canyon would be via Wards’ Canyon in time to see the sunlight on the waterfall and have a well-earned rest (approx. 3½ hours from the start of the walk). Violet Gorge and Moss Gardens can be visited on the return walk, or left until the next day as it is the closest side gorge to the camp.

There is a steep path to the lookout on Boolimba Bluff which gives views towards the east. Time required for the return trip would be 2 hours plus and requires a reasonable degree of fitness because of a lot of steps. Some visitors walk up here for sunrise but they talk about a scary walk using torches.

One of the attractions of the park for me are the platypus in Carnarvon Creek near the campground. There is a path leading to a creek crossing at each end of the campground and there are viewing spots along the creek between these two crossings. The best time to catch sight of these elusive creatures is in winter when the females spend a lot of time eating, building up their fat stores in preparation for feeding young. Around 7am or 5pm are ideal times to see platypus but you could be lucky any time of the day. Look for the tell-tale line of bubbles in the water.

The campground has a permanent population of wallabies, possums, kookaburras and currawongs. According to the National Parks officers, the cheeky currawongs can open tent or annex zips and also backpacks to access food.

A cool place for a swim in summer is the rock pool in Carnarvon Creek down stream from the camp. There are also some additional features in the Park with walking tracks leading off the Park entrance road. Mickey’s Creek and its tributary Warrumbah Creek are an ideal short walk. Narrow Warrumbah Gorge is particularly lovely with ferns growing among the moss-covered rocks and fallen trees. There is a little bit of rock clambering required to reach the Gorge but it is worth it. There is an easy 500m walk to Baloon Cave that includes signboards explaining the Aboriginal use of native plants. Visitors can drive to the carparks servicing these features and return to the campground for the night or visit all of them in a couple of hours when leaving the park and continue on to Roma (4 hours drive).

We have enjoyed each of our visits to Carnarvon National Park and hope that other visitors find it to be the special place that we did.

Since I wrote this article I have written two books to help travellers in Australia, more details can be found at http://evons-books.blogspot.com/, I also post new articles to associated blogs linked off that site.