Carnarvon Gorge & Battleship Spur Walk, Carnarvon Gorge National Park - December 2006

The indigenous art on this walk is amazing.

Sam and I had visited Carnarvon Gorge way back in the 1990’s on a trip up to Cape York in our Toyota troopie. On that visit we’d walked up to Cathedral Cave from our camp at the visitor area (yes, back in those days there was a large campground there) on an over night walk. Carnarvon Gorge obviously left an impression on me because when we’d got back home after that particular northern Australia epic I started to do a bit more research about this beautiful gorge. With no internet back in those days I was relying on articles in Wild and snippets in bushwalking books to flesh out my knowledge of the park, Mr Rankin’s books probably being my most valuable source of information.

The Moss Garden.

What I did manage to find out was that there was some interesting country beyond the gorge, Battleship Spur was the route that kept cropping up. It was almost ten years after our first visit before Sam and I managed to find the time for the big road trip up to central Queensland again. Our plan on this visit was to walk out to the Big Bend bush camp and set up camp for a couple of nights. I would then head up Battleship Spur for the day while Sam would chill out by the waterhole near camp for the day. Chill out is maybe a slightly misleading term for our time at Carnarvon Gorge on this visit really, we were going to be spending our Christmas Day at Big Bend, so the weather was pretty well stinking hot for the whole time we were out on the walk.

Day 1 Carnarvon Gorge Visitor Centre to Big Bend Walkers Camp, 11 kilometres.
The visitor centre campground had closed down by the time we visited this time so Sam and I spent the night before the walk at the cheap and cheerful Takarakka Bush Resort in an onsite permanent tent. Takarakka was a nice spot to recover for a night after our long drive up from Melbourne. After driving the last couple of kilometres into the park the next morning Sam and I were on our way fairly early, keen to make as many kilometres before the day heated up too much.

Sam heading into the gorge.

The Moss Garden is a short side trip off the main track.

The Moss Garden

The Moss Garden.

The Moss Garden.

My best angle!

We got our drinking water straight from the creek, although I'd treat it now days I think.

The walk through Carnarvon Gorge is one of the best walks in Australia IMHO, the scenery and indigenous history is both plentiful and jaw dropping. To make things even better the walking is also very easy, almost as easy as a bush walk can get really. It’s only really on the side trips off the main track that things can get a little rough, although it didn’t really worry us today as Sam and I explored the Moss Garden, Wards Canyon, the Art Gallery and Cathedral Cave. We didn’t get up into the Amphitheatre on this visit as it was closed due to flood damage. It was mid afternoon by the time we arrived at the deserted Big Bend Walkers Camp and it wasn’t very long before the tent was up and we able to retired to the waterhole for the rest of the afternoon.

Climbing up to Wards Canyon - another short side trip.

Wards Canyon

Wards Canyon

Wards Canyon

Dropping out of Wards Canyon back down to the main track.

Towering cliffs are a feature of this walk.

The Art Gallery.

The Art Gallery.

The Art Gallery.

Dropping back to the main track from the Art Gallery.

Our Big Bend Camp.

Day 2, Big Bend Walkers Camp to Battleship Spur and return, 8 kilometre 19 kilometres total.
While Sam spent a relaxing Christmas Day back at camp reading and swimming I grabbed my pack and set off to climb Battleship Spur. With the weather being a bit on the stinking hot side I was up and away fairly early this morning as I wanted to get as far as could before the player comfort level went off the dial. Anyone who has walked up here since the inception of the Carnarvon Great Walk  will be familiar with the route to the top of Battleship Spur, things were similar back in the day except for the fact that the actual track was years away and there was little in the way of actual walking infrastructure.

To get to Battleship Spur first I had to pass through Boowinda Gorge.

Boowinda Gorge

Boowinda Gorge

Boowinda Gorge

This was the spot that I had to leave Boowinda Gorge...there was plenty of flagging tape !

I had a steep, loose and scrubby scramble up this gully.

There were a few hints around that I was heading the right way though, some flagging tape here and there, the occasional cairn, and some old painted tin lids nailed to the occasional tree all had me mildly confident that I was heading the right way. The were a couple of spots that required concentration today, the first was picking the spot to climb steeply up a loose gully out of Boowinda Gorge - although it was marked by rolls of flagging tape so there was no real issue there. The second spot that required concentration was the spot on Battleship Spur where my route scaled a rocky bluff, now days this 4 or 5 metre climb has steps and a ladder but back in the day it was a reasonable rock scramble, made a little easier by some old tree roots.

Once on Battleship spur the views started to open up a bit.

Battleship Spur.

I was heading for that knob...although first I had some scree to climb...

....and a bit of a bluff to climb.

I was going for the 'boot in photo to put everything into perspective' shot....hmm, maybe it didn't work so well!

Once safely up the rock scramble it was really just a solid grunt the rest of the way to the top. Things up the top haven’t changed too much from what I remember (although I haven’t been there for a few years), there is a small cairn and some open ground on the top of the spur with some absolutely stunning views back down to Carnarvon Gorge snaking it’s way to the east. I was on top by mid morning today so there was no real hurry to leave (actually when I visited this spot again many years later I wasn’t in a hurry to leave either, it’s that kind of spot!). After doing my best to sear the view into my mind I eventually, and somewhat reluctantly, grabbed my pack and set off to retrace my outward route back down to Big Bend Camp. Reuniting with Sam in the early afternoon I waded straight into the swimming hole and that’s pretty much where I stayed until the sting went out of the heat of the day, many relaxing hours later.

Getting closer to the top I started to get some views back down towards Carnarvon Gorge.

Battleship Spur Lookout.

Battleship Spur Lookout....I think this cairn is still there.

Looking down towards Carnarvon Gorge from Battleship Spur Lookout.

My dodgy old photo doesn't do this scene justice unfortunately.

Carnarvon Gorge continues to the west...one day I'll return and explore a bit more.

Heading back down through Boowinda Gorge.

Boowinda Gorge.

Boowinda Gorge.

Day 3 Big Bend Walkers Camp to Carnarvon Gorge Visitor Centre, 9 kilometres, 28 kilometres total.
Our last day was really just an uneventful retrace back out to the visitor centre, although that really undersells things a bit I’m thinking. Even staying on the main track through the gorge and not taking any of the side tracks it is still a stunningly beautiful walk, I think. We’d set off pretty early again this morning and the early morning light illuminating the white sandstone sides of the gorge was particularly beautiful. Arriving back at the Carnarvon Gorge Visitor Centre we had a quick shower and were motoring off towards our next adventure in the troopie by the time the first balls was bowled in the Boxing Day Test….sweet!

Heading home we checked out the extensive Cathedral Cave near camp.

Swallows (??) nesting in the over hang above Big Bend.

The Dirt.
Now remember this walk was done pre GPS so I’m getting my stats off maps. My best estimates had Sam and I walking 28 kilometres over the 3 days, I’d estimate that I climbed around 800 metres over the 3 days with the over whelming majority of the climbing on my climb of Battleship Spur. Back in the day this walk was areal mixed bag when I comes to walking conditions, the walk in and out through the gorge is dead easy, the side trips within the gorge were also pretty easy however the climb of Battleship Spur was a medium-hard grade’s walk I think. Keep in mind Sam and I did this walk at a very hot time of the year, walking up here in December shouldn’t be taken lightly as the temperatures can easily get into the 40˚s, most walkers would enjoy this walk more in the cooler Winter months.

Relevant Posts.
Carnarvon Great Walk Blog, 2014.
Carnarvon Great Walk Journal, 2014.

We were lucky to have 3 days on this walk where we didn't see another person.

The waterhole at Big Bend attracts a bit of wildlife.

...like I said 'a bit of wildlife'!