Happy New Year everyone.... I know the posts have been popping up a bit spasmodically lately however there is a reason for that...yes, Sam and I are enjoying our first incident free (no Covid issues, no once in a hundred year fires or floods) for about the last three years! It's not all sweetness and light on this Feral getaway though, the inter-web is patchy at best so we've really been off the radar for the best part of the last two weeks. This little post is from back in April last year, the Indarri Falls Circuit in Boodjamulla National Park - you'd never of guessed however a few days after we left Boodjamulla they experienced an unusual once in a 100 years flood event!
Looking forward there is going to be some big changes on the blogging front during this year, which will allow me more time out and about walking and less time behind the keyboard. I'll go into a bit more detail on the changes I'm making over the next few months - in the meantime I'm publishing a lot of old stuff that I've got sitting around - I'm still doing some really nice walks, however I want to get through these older ones before swinging onto the new format.
Stay safe everyone and hopefully we can all enjoy some more quality timeout and about enjoying the bush.
i
The early start paid off again this morning.
You will have to humour me a bit on this post as it's going to be a bit of a photo dump.
Our mornings destination - Indarri Falls.
Sam wasn't overly happy to be up before the sun...
... and was even less happy when she realised that we were going up here!
We got a fair way up to Duwadarri Lookout before the sun hit us.
I figured that to make it into a loop we’d walk the gorge section first before returning along the easier inland track. What that meant in reality though was that we started off with a ball breaker of a climb up to Duwadarri Lookout. This climb is steep and airy in spots so I was pretty happy to make it to the top safely with Sam. Duwadarri Lookout is the go-to lookout at Lawn Hill Gorge, however I don’t even think that its the best lookout on this section of track, for me the views are far better a little further down when the track starts to drop a bit where the views back along the turquoise water of Lawn Hill Creek are complimented by the fiery red cliffs.
Early morning in Boodjamulla National Park.
The climb up to Duwadarri Lookout is steep and loose.
The views got better as we climbed higher.
Sam's clambering up the steepest section.
Climbing the last few metres up to Duwadarri Lookout.
Looking south from Duwadarri Lookout across the small plateau that Sam and I would soon be walking.
Lawn Hill Creek.
Early morning in Boodjamulla National Park. It sounds a bit wanky, however I almost try to soak these scenes into my soul to keep me satiated until I can visit this red dirt country again.
Leaving Duwadarri Lookout the track passes through a high rocky saddle.
Ghost Gums
The rocky saddle actually has better views than the nearby lookout I think.
The middle gorge on Lawn Hill Creek.
Down on the plateau and heading for a swim.
That's the little piece of paradise we were heading too.
After taking our time checking out all the formal and informal lookouts we dropped the last few metres down to arrive at the still deserted Indarri Falls - it was time for a swim. The water in Lawn Hill Creek is rich in calcium and for me it makes the water feel ‘soft’, it’s also is how the tufa dams are created that have create the waterfalls between the different gorges. This is the kind of spot that when I retire I could see myself coming to first thing in the morning and setting up to spend a whole day here swimming, reading, and watching the colours change as the sun moved it's way across the sky.
Boodjamulla National Park.
Indarri Falls.
We weren't alone in the water here, although I didn't spot any freshies.
Sam's chilling out taking in the view from water level.
Water level at Indarri Falls.
Exploring Indarri Falls.
I wasn't sure if this little bloke was stuck here - his (or her) little legs seemed to be swinging in mid air. After wrestling with my conscious I decided to get across to him and help him into the water - don't tell anybody as it may effect the hard man bushwalking image that I'm cultivating!😉
The swimming here is really good so I headed across to the far side of the gorge to see if I could spots a Freshwater Crocodile.
I was hoping that I'd spot a freshie warming up in the sunny side of the gorge.
There was no crocs but plenty of nice views of the red cliffs towering above me.
The water line view of Indarri Falls.
Time to get out I guess.
Not being retired…yet, we didn’t spend a full day here although it was after 10am when we did finally leave this little oasis. Our walk back headed over the middle gorge escarpment and then immediately dropped down to meet the inland upper gorge track (yesterday’s stroll). Once on the Lawn Hill Upper Gorge Track it was a pretty easy walk back to camp as there was virtually no climbing involved. Reaching the camp area I pointed out to Sam the bluff that we’d climbed first thing this morning, looking from this perspective it made our mornings walk seem even more impressive!
Before leaving I left Sam swimming while I went to check out the area above the falls.
The easiest way to access the water in the Upper Gorge through the wall of Pandanus was via the canoe portage ramp.
My own infinity pool. This is looking down the Upper Gorge over Indarri Falls.
After leaving Indarri Falls we had a short climb before we dropped down to meet the Upper Gorge Track.
It was only a short walk, however with the temperature now in the mid to high thirties it still required a bit of thought.
The Dirt.
According to my GPS we walked around 4.4 kilometres and climbed about 121 metres on this easy walk. Now, as I’ve eluded to the walk is short however there are some steep and rough sections so take that into account if visiting this magic spot and considering the walk. A couple of other things to think about are the heat, it’s not often cool up here, and lastly please consider the ecology of the place - if it’s hot and you are worried about sunburn wear a shirt in the water, sunscreen isn’t great in these pristine watercourses. I used an Alltrails Map that I created and my GPS topos on this stroll.
Relevant Posts.
Back on the Upper Gorge Track.
That big rock is the one we climbed first thing this morning on our way out to the falls.
Back at the camp...
... it was time for another swim I think!
Happy and Healthy New Year to you big fella and to Sam. Love your walks and blogs and especially the photos,,, Keep on walking and stay safe out their!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too:)
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