Dingo is at the intersection of the Fitzroy Development Rd and Capricorn Hwy and right beside the train lines that transport coal to Gladstone , quite a lot of coal . Each train consists of 3 electric engines , separated by 52 carriages each side of the middle engine . The trains run on average , every 15 mins from Blackwater and surrounds - that's a lot of trains & coal !! Fortunately for us , they were reasonably quiet during the night as we were only 200m from the tracks , the road trains going up the Fitzroy Development Rd helped fill in the gaps .
Blackdown Tableland NP is somewhere we have wanted to look at for a number of years , fortunately it's only a short drive away from us , so we headed up - I do mean up - 894m above sea level , it was a nice respite from the heat as well with the temperature at one stage getting down to 23 degrees .
First stop was Horseshoe Lookout with views toward the northwest . The escarpments are sandstone and vary in colour from cream to red .
As we drove further along the tableland we could see random outcrops , weathered and eroded into strange shapes .
Our main objective was to go to Rainbow Waters , it's the furthest from the entry to the park and has a waterfall and a plunge pool below it , there's a 2klm walk to get to it and 240 steps at the end to get to the pool . Along the walk through thick undergrowth we discovered lots of small flowers , butterflies and quite a few lizards , here's a selection of them .
We headed down the steps to a half way point , there is an overhanging rock with water coming out cracks and growing a nice little fern garden . In the drier section there are some hand prints - we were a bit dubious to their authenticity as there is a lot of other scrawled graffiti on the rocks , such a shame people feel the need to scratch their names etc . Down at the bottom there are several different steps & layers in the rocks and a large shallow pool .
You can see the waterfall in the middle at the back , we scrambled over a few rocks and found a nice sandy beach area , crystal clear water dropping down from above splashing onto rocks below , a spectacularly beautiful spot .
We had taken the liberty to change into our swimmers before starting the walk , and with a natural 20m round swimming hole in front of us , we took the plunge . The sun had been bearing down on this area all morning and it was getting hot , that was relieved by the cool clear water .
Then it was time to play with the camera a bit .
I had the drone in the backpack , so it was time for a fly . This is the pool .
This is the pool from above .
These are the lower pools and steps .
Time for some more insects - Damselflies to be precise .
Heading back up the steps gave us another view of the rocks & trees above us .
Here's the road through the park to Rainbow Waters .
We had lunch and checked out the camping area - tents or camper trailers - the road is too steep and narrow to be bringing caravans etc up here .
An unofficial lookout on the way back down looks out to the east to northeast .
Smoke on the left is a burn off near the Capricorn Hwy heading toward Bluff & Blackwater .
Back to the van after a great day out , we had a drink with a few of the others in the park and headed in for tea just before we had a storm come through .
Here's a map link - best viewed in satellite mode as you can see the size of Blackwater coal mine :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=13tOOYpxkXSzt7TLaMr2a-kW0etk&usp=sharing
To give you an idea of size , Blackwater has it's own shopping centre , schools , accommodation , light industry etc etc , the mine stretches more than 20 times the size of the town !!!! and it's only one of many around this area !
Cheers .
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