Upper Gorge Circuit, Boodjamulla National Park - April 2022

Lawn Hill Gorge at first light this morning. 

By the time I'd made it to the Upper Gorge Lookout the sun was well and truly up.

It's been more than 20 years since Sam and I last visited Boodjamulla National Park although back in those days it was known as Lawn Hill National Park. The park has stayed in our memories as one of our favourite spots, so with a road trip up north planned I thought it would be rude not to head back and check things out again. Last time we'd been here we'd spent most of our time either swimming or canoeing on the creek, so on this visit I wanted to check out all the walks - especially as there ones that I either hadn't done or weren't established back on our last visit. Anyway, that's the reason why I left Sam sleeping in the tent this morning and headed off in the dawn light to walk the Upper Gorge Circuit.

It was still pretty dark the I set off this morning. The walking track network at Boodjamulla radiates out from behind the ranger station / visitor centre.

The walk headed upstream between the camp and the creek along a sealed path.

The walking infrastructure in this park is mostly top class (with a couple of exceptions, that I'll talk about in posts on some of the other walks that I did here).

There are plenty of spots to access the creek along the initial section nearer camp.

I decided to head up to the Upper Gorge via the inland tracks this morning and then return via the creek side tracks on the way back, my theory being that by the time I returned the day would be heating up and a swim would be a good option. After following the creek past the camping area I moved away from the water and headed into the spinifex lined valleys. The sun was now kissing the higher hills around me and with 38˚ forecast I was keen to get as close to the Upper Gorge as I could before it hit me. My route headed southwards through a series of shallow valleys, initially I was following an ATV track before branching off left onto a (well signposted) walking track.

I was heading inland away from the water now - initially skirting around Duwadarri Lookout.

The inland tracks were all well constructed and pretty clear - although things did get progressively rougher the closer I got to the Upper Gorge Lookout.

The first of the suns rays were still to hit me, although the scenery was still pretty sweet.

The signposting on the southern walks is top notch.

Hmm, looks like the sun is about to hit me.

April in the desert - you certainly know when the sun hits you!

The inland section was fairly flat - until I arrived at the final climb up to the lookout.

The Spinifex was looking good in the early morning light.

After less than an hour the track climbed onto a low hill before swinging west, where I then followed a ridge out to the Upper Gorge Lookout. The lookout at the Upper Gorge is a stunner and the early mornings sun was now lighting up surrounding ranges in a beautiful light. This is as far south that the track system goes although I think off track walking would be possible (the spinifex would sort most people out though) however I'm not sure about the parks policy on off piste rambling? After enjoying the view and trying to do it justice with the camera I retraced my steps back along the ridge for a couple of minutes before dropping down a steep track into a gully and heading back towards the water of Lawn Hill Creek.

The last section to the lookout featured a climb through a broad saddle and then a walk out along a rocky spur to the lookout.

Looking downstream from the Upper Gorge Lookout.

Upper Gorge Lookout.

It's not all sandstone here - that's Cambrian Limestone in the distance. 

Leaving the lookout I dropped down this rough and rocky descent into this side gully which I followed  down to the Upper Gorge.

It was still fairly early in the morning. 

I'd originally thought that I might go for a swim in the Upper Gorge however after checking out the entry and exit I decided to give it a miss, the banks were near vertical and I wasn't keen to get in and not be able to get out again. So after not getting to go for a swim I started my journey back down stream. The track between the Upper Gorge and Indarri Falls stays at water level for the whole distance although for the most part I could only get glimpses of the water as the creek is lined with the dense and sharp foliage of the Pandanus Trees. For a lot of the distance the surprisingly rough track crossed the black soil of the creek banks between the Pandanus and the red bluffs, this area is obviously in the wet season flood zone and there was ample evidence of flood debris in the trees above me.

Down at water level in the Upper Gorge.

Upper Gorge, Boodjamulla National Park.

The track from the Upper Gorge Lookout along the creek down to Indarri Falls was surprisingly rough in spots.

I was now mostly walking a narrow strip of dry land between the towering cliffs and the Pandanus lined waterline.

I'm thinking that sections of this track would be under water in the wet season - although it's pretty well impossible to access this park in the depths of the wet season anyway so I guess that a bit of flooding wouldn't be an issue.

There is plenty of evidence of aboriginal occupation here. 

Arriving at the deserted Indarri Falls it was time for a swim. Stripping off I eased myself down the ladder into the turquoise water and swum over to check out these Tufa falls. The waterfalls here are spread across the creek and some of them are hidden by Pandanus so it's worth exploring a bit to check them all out. The first big waterfall is probably the most popular spot as you can actually get behind the curtain of water and the spa bath sized pool that it falls into makes for a great spot to soak for awhile. I probably spent around an hour swimming and soaking at Indarri Falls this morning and by the time I finally emerged from the water the sun had almost reached the small landing beside the creek.

Indarri Falls - time for a swim!

There is even a deck and a ladder out here - it's all very civilised!

Indarri Falls

Sitting behind one of the curtains of water.

Indarri Falls - its not just one waterfall here but a series of waterfalls that cascade over the edge of a tufa dam that separates the upper gorge from the middle gorge.

Indarri Falls

Time to pull on some clothes and head back to camp I guess. 

After drying off I pulled my boots back on I set off on the last leg of the walk back to the camp. My route now climbed fairly solidly up onto a plateau (we'll climbed solidly for about 5 minutes;) to reach a side track out to a lookout on the bluff above Indarri Falls. The track to the lookout is a little rough however its well worth the effort for the view down to the falls. Returning to the track I set off across the Spinifex covered plateau towards Duwadarri Lookout, the Spinifex looking like fields of wheat glistening in the still early morning light.

Climbing away from Indarri Falls...

... I soon arrived at the Indarri Falls Lookout. 

After leaving Indarri Lookout I crossed a small plateau over to Duwadarri Lookout.

Before arriving at Duwadarri Lookout the track dropped through a very rocky high saddle and the views from here down to the Middle Gorge are spectacular, particularly the view of Lawn Hill Creek flowing past the camping area. Climbing the last steep section I arrived at Duwadarri Lookout, the views from here giving a good look down over the whole Lawn Hill camp precinct, although really the gorge and creek  views were definitely better a few minutes back down the track towards Indarri Falls.

Approaching the Duwadarri Lookout I started to get views down into the middle gorge again.

Lawn Hill Middle Gorge.

Lawn Hill Middle Gorge.

Leaving the lookout the track dropped very steeply (and a little airily) as I followed it down to meet my outward route. Once back on familiar territory I swung left and headed back to the path running alongside the creek past the camp. There are numerous opportunities along here to access the water and it's worth dropping down to water level to check out the different views. Arriving back at camp it was time to wash the sweat off with another swim before enjoying breakfast with Sam - and planning the days next adventure.

Looking back down towards the Lawn Hill Camp from Duwadarri Lookout. That's the Island Stack at the head of the creek and the Constance Range on the right - sometime in the distant future I'll post walks about those areas.

Back down at creek level and heading for camp.

The Dirt.

According to my Alltrails App (my GPS dropped a cog again) I walked around 8.6 kilometres and climbed about 193 metres on this easy - medium grade stroll. With no GPX file I won't be able to post an interactive map of this stroll so I'll have to settle for just the Alltrails screenshot. The tracks that I followed today were all well marked and clearly signposted and mostly pretty clear - the closer I got to the Upper Gorge the rougher the tracks got however they were still pretty good. Swimming is best on this walk at Indarri Falls - there is a ladder and decking - critically assess your swimming abilities before jumping in as the water is deep, there is a current and you are a long way from the nearest lifesaver! There are Freshwater Crocodiles in Lawn Hill Creek, if you are lucky enough to see one then leave it alone and they'll leave you alone. I used my Alltrails App and my GPS topos on this stroll.

Relevant Posts.

Cairns to Lawn Hill National Park Roadtrip, 1997.

With Sam and I only planning on camping for three nights on our six week trip we took a fairly minimalist camping set up on our road trip.

My GPS dropped a cog this morning so I don't have a GPX file to upload onto an interactive map - so this Alltrails screenshot will have to suffice.