West into the G.A.F.A.

  Lawn Hill National Park, Australia
Saturday, September 6, 2008

Luckily this wasn't our tyre!

Road train

The acronyms abound:  we left FNQ (Far North Queensland) and drove west across the Savannah Way, into the GAFA (Great Australian F**** All, as it's charmingly described!), along with the nations 'Grey Nomads' (long-term caravanning retirees) who are off SKI-ing (Spending the Kids' Inheritance).  And one of the advantages of outback campsites is that they are beyond the reach of backpacker buses so the sites are full of entertaining Aussies instead of torturous gap year kids!

 

Our first major stop was Lawn Hill National Park, at which we arrived amid billows of dust

The road to Lawn Hill

from the bumpy dirt track.  Despite attempts to seal all the gaps with tape, the fine powder had found its way in and coated the car's contents, including ourselves - luckily I get a kick out of being grubby while camping!  It was a gorgeous campsite, set in a grove of trees beside the creek which flows through Lawn Hill Gorge, and the high temperatures allowed us to sleep with canvas open and just insect mesh closed, so that when the intensity of the dawn chorus roused me the following morning, I was treated to a fabulous view of the leafy 'roof' above as the morning light grew.


 

Creek canoeing

Paddling along the gorge creek

A three-night stay allowed ample time to walk the park's trails, though dusty rocks, parched earth, dry shrivelled grass and dying vegetation, all in sharp contrast to the golden spinifex and white-barked gum trees with crowns of bright green leaves, and occasional vivid yellow flowers, closer to the oasis of the creek.  But the best views were to be had from the water itself, as we canoed up the gorge.  Paddling through purple water lilies out into the 

Tree clinging to gorge wall

middle of the creek, the algae-rich deep green-hued waters were perfectly still, and we caught fabulous reflections of the red gorge walls as we slowly made our way up the tranquil stream.  After hauling the canoe out and lugging it round the Indarri Falls, we entered the Upper Gorge which began to narrow, till it felt like we were truly heading into a mysterious unknown, as the slightly sinister looking pandanus trees closed in on either side.  Higher up, the rocky walls supported incongruous-looking trees, their thin trunks growing up or sideways while a profusion of spindly roots clung to the rock face, becoming thread-like as they burrowed into the more moist crevices.



 
Although we failed to observe any of the allegedly abundant local freshwater crocodiles, other wildlife sightings have been pretty impressive.  Other than the roos bouncing before the car and the odd scrawny cow standing in the middle of our path, we have encountered: an incredibly long lizard sauntering across the road, oblivious to our approach, but as soon as I stepped out of the car with the camera, he raised his head, took a look sideways and fled for the cover of the grass; a mighty eagle amidst the mundane crows, picking over a decomposing carcass on

Cane toad at campsite

Wee lizard on a rock

the road; plenty of the ubiquitous and unfortunately poisonous cane toads; a couple of emus running along on their skinny long legs which appear too thin to support their body weight; and the bower bird, plain in itself, but with a stunning bower-like nest, to which it brings whatever goodies it can find including bones, broken glass and bits of plastic - fascinating!