All the nuggets of gold on one page!Sunday 04 October: Cobbold Gorge back to Undara
So we went for a walk early in the morning (best time to see the birds and the animals) and then came back in time for a swim before joining the 10.00am tour to Cobbold Gorge:
The tour takes about 3 hours in total, including a 1½ hour guided walking tour with an explanation of the geography and geology of the area plus details of the local fauna and flora. The walk was followed by a 40 minute boat trip up the unique gorge.
The first view of the gorge from above (during the walking tour):
I don't know if you can make it out in this picture but, once upon a time, this was the main road from Cairns to the interior. This was once quite a strategically placed cattle ranch. They still raise cattle here, which is amazing given the lack of vegetation. The little mounds you can see are termite mounds. These termites eat grass and are absolutely essential in breaking down the rock and turning it into earth in which the plants can grow. Without the termites there would be nothing.
And here it is, the entrance to the gorge:
The gorge is quite unique. It is about 10,000 years old (which is young in geological terms) and was caused when a river diverted down a crack in the sandstone table that covers this area. Over the years the water has worn away the sandstone creating the gorge. Sandstone is naturally pourous and the river is created by the rainwater leeching slowly through the sandstone. It is not really affected by short droughts since it takes about 50 years for the water topass through the rock, so there is always water here (though obviously it can turn into a torrent if there is heavy rain).
Our original plan for the afternoon was to drive back to the east stopping at Mount Garnet for the night. But in the end we stopped again at Undara since we liked it so much last time (and shortened today's drive from 4 hours to 3). And of course it gave us the chance to have another yummy meal! For me it was Corned Beef cooked in the tradiatinal way for 13 hours. Delicious.
