Awake before the birds again , still dark , but someones decided to pack up & get going early , banging and clattering and having no respect for anyone else !!
We too had to pack up and get moving . We decided yesterday to do one of the walks at Lawn Hill NP - Jindarri Falls and Duwadarri Lookout - they were both on a loop track , so that was it .
Packed up and out the gate at 9am ( something about packing up and leaving at 9 - we seem to do that a lot ) , and off to the NP . The parking area was already pretty full , but we got a spot and wandered off down the track . The track was 3.8klms , and would take us up onto the plateau above the gorge , with views of Indarri Falls & the upper gorge , then later , views over the camp area & workers cottages .
It was easy going to start with , only some slight uphills , on a gravelly dusty well marked track . Then there was a slight uphill section that took us to the top of the plateau , which opened up to a rocky , barren area , with stunted trees & tufts of grass , and the odd flowering bush .
We followed the signs , and reached Jindarri Falls lookout , would have been good to have the agility of a mountain goat to get through some parts of the track . Indarri Falls separates the lower and upper gorge sections , it is only about 1.5 m high and made of Tufa Limestone . We carried the kayak between the 2 areas yesterday . The views from 50m above were pretty good - with the colours assaulting your eyes - there was the green of the water , Cabbage & Pandanus Palms , the red of the rocks , the cream colour of the grass and the stunning blue sky !!!!
Continuing on , we climbed up & down several times . There were even a few lizards running around the place , birds were chirping happily and flitting between the trees & grass.
There are a few places up on the plateau that could bring you unstuck if you weren’t watching where you were going , with a lot of steep drops down into the gorge - up to about 60m .
The last uphill section started to take us up to the Duwadarri Lookout , as we approached the lower lookout , two people were coming down , so we stopped and waited . They saw Lyns hat and asked about it ( it was an old hang gliding cap ) , I explained , it turns out he comes from Victoria and is also a hang glider pilot - flew in the 70’s and then took it back up in 2008 , and knows John Greenwood ( who I used to fly with ) and a few other people I have flown with in the past . Small world !! After about half an hour we dragged ourselves away and up to the top lookout . It is about 70m above the camping area and staff cottages .
The mountain goat agility again would have been good for the descent from up here , with sloping rock steps , some of which weren’t as wide as your foot , and sloped downwards , which moved your centre of gravity forward making you feel like you are about to tumble forwards !! We made it without any injuries - happy about that !!! If you fell here the rocks would rip you apart rather quickly!!! On the walk we have seen several sections of sandstone that were obviously the bottom of a river or creek or beach at some stage of their history , with the ripples clearly visible and preserved for everyone to see .
Another place to put on the list to visit would be Riversleigh - 50klms down the road from here , where there are thousands of fossils of a lot of our fauna & flora that doesn’t exist anymore . We will be back here for sure !!
The sandstone up here on the plateau is very layered and has many fine lines showing each layer & the different patterns that it made - we aren’t geologists by any measure , but we have learnt heaps while being away !!
We reached the bottom & walked along the creek back to the carpark and had some lunch before jumping back in the ute and driving back to Burke & Wills Roadhouse to the RV - a round trip of 506 klms since leaving here on Wednesday . Good news , the fuel economy was much better for this side trip :- 13.5 litres per 100klms - yes we weren’t towing , but showed us it must have been a bad batch of diesel fuel from Normanton !!!
We got back about 3:30 PM and unpacked and tidied up before sitting & having a well earnt beer , cheese & bickies !!! Now to try & stay awake , as we relax in the recliners . The sun was setting as we had tea , with the sky golden yellow merging into the darker blue of night fall - a perfect way to end this short side trip !!!!
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