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Explore Carnarvon Gorge
Spotlight on Camping at Takarakka Bush Resort to Explore Carnarvon Gorge
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My son yelled excitedly, “Look Mum. That ones got a baby in its belly!” I had given the kids the important job of spotting wildlife and so far, we had only walked about 50 metres from the car park.
“How do you know it’s not just fat?”, I heard their dad ask from behind me. “Cause I can see it’s head!” came the quick reply.
We all turned and looked as the beautiful mum looked back at us curiously. I got the feeling if I took another step closer she would turn and bound away, so I quickly snapped a few photos.
As well as being full of cute wildlife, Carnarvon National Park is incredibly picturesque. Carnarvon Gorge deserves to be listed alongside Australia’s other great icons such as Uluru and Kings Canyon. Yes, it’s that unique and awesome!
Kangaroo and Joey
Photo: Jessica Palmer
And much like Australia’s other beloved icons, it’s also located smack in the middle of no-where, in this case, Outback Queensland!
Carnarvon Gorge is best explored on foot and fortunately, all of the tracks are signposted, making it hard for even someone like me who gets lost regularly, to lose their way.
Walks range from short and sweet to long and aweinspiring and everything in between. Although the longer walks will be more suited to those families with older children, there are plenty of fantastic tracks suitable for younger kids or adults that just don’t feel up to it.
Top Walks at Carnarvon Gorge Under 7km
The Nature Trail 1.5km return from the visitor area
Taking around an hour at an easy pace, this walk is ideal for younger kids and a great introduction to hiking. There are shallow creek crossings that involve picking your way across using small boulders and plenty of wildlife spotting to keep the kids occupied.
Mickey Creek Gorge 3km return from the Mickey Creek car park
Partway along this trail the path splits in two. If you take the path to the right, you will find yourself in an off-track adventure with some easily managed rock hopping and narrow gorge walls that you can touch with a hand on each side. If you take the path moving forward, the track stops at a picturesque spot on the creek with plenty of boulders to chill out on.
The Carnarvon Gorge Landscape
Photo: Tourism & Events Queensland
The Rock Pool 600m return from the Rock Pool car park
The Rock Pool is a peaceful retreat with turtles basking in the sun and shy platypus that you may catch a glimpse of around sunset. Surrounded by fig and casuarina trees, this is one of only two places you can go swimming.
The Moss Garden 7km return from the visitor area
The moss garden walk is simply just stunning. Rock hopping over shallow creeks and wildlife go a long way towards keeping the kids from asking, ‘‘Are we there yet?’’
When you reach the actual Moss Garden, you will find a seating area that looks toward a small waterfall tumbling over a rock ledge, surrounded by ferns, liverworts and lush carpets of moss. The moss garden is the perfect example of nature at its prettiest.
More Walks!
Don’t discount the longer walks as they are particularly fascinating. Other walks include the Amphitheatre (8.6km return), Wards Canyon (9.2km return), Art Gallery (10.8km return), Cathedral Cave (18.2km return) and more.
Top Tip for Families
Have a plan in place for carrying younger children when they are tired. I love the ErgoBaby carrier for babies, the Kathmandu Hiking Carrier for older babies and the Piggy Back Rider (featured on page 12) for independent little ones.
Creek Crossing at the beginning of the Moss Walk
Photo: Jessica Palmer
Stay at Takarakka Bush Resort!
Takarakka Bush Resort is incredibly family-friendly, open all year round and located less than 4km from the mouth of Carnarvon Gorge. The location features natural surrounds, plenty of wildlife and a beautiful creek with platypus.
The reason we love Takarakka Bush Resort for families is because they go above and beyond when it comes to offering that little ‘’extra’’ for those travelling with kids.
During school holidays, there is free entertainment such as crafts, activities, pop-corn and movies. The entertainment centres around the bush-bar, where visitors gather at 4pm for a spot of socialising.
Takarakka Bush Resort is set on 100 acres surrounded by Carnarvon Creek and is also home to one of only two places you can swim in all of Carnarvon Gorge. There are powered and un-powered sights for tents and caravans or if you’re not set up yet, choose from self-contained accommodation or a glamping Taka Safari Tent.
Kids have space to ride their bikes and there is even a well-stocked general store with souvenirs, beer and wine. The two-course roast dinner on offer a few nights a week is a real highlight.
The Moss Garden
Photo: Jessica Palmer
Facts
Getting to Takarakka Bush Resort:
Takarakka is halfway between Roma and Emerald, just off the A7 Carnarvon Highway. It’s 700km northwest of Brisbane and 400km southwest of Rockhampton. The small towns of Rolleston and Injune are the nearest places to get fuel.
