North Queensland wildlife and the environment
Leaving Undara Lava Tubes we drove towards the Atherton Tablelands through flat, dry country generously sprinkled with volcanic cones (we counted nine from the car at one point). The change between Mount Garnet and Ravenshoe was dramatic: hills! and rain! and big trees!
Ravenshoe prides itself on being the highest town in Queensland and one of its pubs, naturally, claims the title of Queensland’s highest hotel.
Undara is very similar to Cobbold Gorge (last post but one) in that it is a privately-owned tourist operation showcasing a spectacular geological formation in the middle of what was once a cattle station in the Gulf country. We had two nights at each and would have been happy with longer.
Cobbold Gorge is young and very beautiful. It was born about 10,000 years ago when a creek in Western Queensland was blocked and needed to find another way down into the Robertson River.
This is sandstone country so erosion proceeds quickly and the gorge is now many metres deep – although still very narrow – and fantastically carved by floodwaters and the debris they carry. The creek water is some metres deep, we were told, and is darkened to a rich jade green by sediments it carries.
But let’s start a bit further back, for context, and zoom in from far above…
Einasleigh is an outback town by any definition of “outback” but with a population of just under one hundred, perhaps only Aussies would call it a “town”.
It’s in the Shire of Etheridge, which constitutes most of the middle of North Queensland, and it is typical of our small Western towns – Prairie, Pentland and Torrens Creek on the road from Charters Towers to Hughenden come to mind.
Einasleigh has a pub (of course) and a caravan park, and a loose scattering of fading houses. It has no servo, if the sign back at the Lynd Junction roadhouse is to be believed Continue reading “Einasleigh and Outback Queensland”
It’s over a week since the last post on Green Path and the reason this time is that we were celebrating the end of lockdown with a trip to Western Queensland and the Atherton Tablelands. Our route was Greenvale – The Lynd – Einasleigh – Forsayth – Cobbold Gorge – Georgetown – Undara Lava Tubes – Mount Garnet – Ravenshoe – Yungaburra – Millaa Millaa, and home via Innisfail after a total distance of about 1350 km over six days.
Many of these places deserve (and will get) posts to themselves, but that will take some time since there are so many photos to sort. In the meantime, here’s a taste Continue reading “Cobbold Gorge, Undara Lava Tubes and the Atherton Tablelands”