You’re ready to take the leap into multi-day hikes?
Perhaps you just want day trips that are suitable for all ages?
We have completed the Carnarvon Gorge Great Walk in April this year, and also went back for an overnight trip in July. It never gets old – and every time you visit, you’ll see something new or experience a different aspect of what the National Park has to offer.
Carnarvon Gorge attracts over 60,000 visitors per year!
So let’s get into it!
PS. I have written an article about my hike at Carnarvon Gorge as part of a series. You can read it here.
How to Get There
Carnarvon Gorge is approximately an 8.5 hour drive north-west from Brisbane, 4.5 hours south-west from Rockhampton or 13.5 hours south of Cairns. As you head on the Carnarvon Highway, look for your turn off at Wyseby Road, then follow for roughly 30 minutes, which at some point the road will turn into Obriens Road.
Along this way, you’ll find cattle roaming openly along the road and multiple cattle grids – but rest easy – the road is sealed almost all the way, and even when it turns to gravel, any 2WD would have no difficulty. You’ll pass multiple caravan parks and eventually reach the end of Carnarvon Gorge Road. Visit the Visitor Centre while you’re there for any relevant info and check out the displays.
Where to Stay
This can be a bit of a tricky one for those tackling the multi-day hike. Where do you leave your car?
The National Park only offers camping during the school holidays at the site entrance. But – there are plenty of visitor parking bays in which you can leave your vehicle. Have a chat with the ranger or visit the information centre to let them know your situation. Don’t try to sleep in your vehicle at the National Park entrance, rangers and tour staff check vehicles regularly!
Sandstone Park Caravan Park – here you’ll find 360 views of the surrounding areas and only a short drive to the gorge.
Takarakka Bush Resort and Caravan Park – here you’ll find a little general store, a chance to see a platypus and an even closer drive to the gorge. Though expect to pay a bit more.
Lake Nuga Nuga – if you don’t mind staying a bit out of the way, there is cheap National Park camping here. Not too bad if you want to escape the crowds and don’t mind driving in for day trips.
Great Walk Campsites – book ahead of time to ensure you don’t miss out. You’ll find approximately nine campsites throughout the region of the great walk. One that not many know about is West Branch, Mount Moffatt – it’s actually accessible by vehicle too! Head west from Injune instead of north.
Weather - When to Go
Ultimately, there’s never a bad time to be at such an amazing piece of natural beauty.
But… Did you know that Carnarvon Gorge’s lowest recorded temperature is -2 degrees?
Did you know that Carnarvon Gorge’s highest recorded temperature is 45 degrees?
Towards the summer months you’ll experience some pretty hot temperatures, and be faced with the higher possibility of storms and flooding. This will mean less people, but this is generally for a reason. Have plenty of water, and rest when needed.
Being the dry season, winter is probably your best window if you’re doing longer sections of the National Park. The downside is, it can get crazy cold! So pack warm gear. September is also another nice time of the year if you don’t mind the weather being a little warmer.
School holidays are usually busy, busy and busy! If you want to camp in the caravan parks or National Park, ensure you’ve booked well in advance.
Carnarvon Gorge Day Trips
If you’re looking for the Carnarvon Gorge experience, but don’t want to commit to five or six days walking through the National Park, there is a perfect alternative! In a nutshell, it’s the hike to Big Bend and back via multiple side trips.
The key is to start early! If you don’t mind a bit of a climb, head up to Boolimba Bluff for sunrise, it’s absolutely stunning. When you’re done, head back down and continue heading into the gorge. If you’re doing all the side trips on the way to Big Bend and back, expect a big day – 25kms or so!
Alternatively, save the sunrise for a seperate day then do Big Bend and back with side trips another day.
For some reason, if your’re feeling crazy – rush to Big Bend from the Visitors Centre, then climb to Battleships Spur for a view over the entire gorge. But beware, it’s tough going heading up to the lookout.
Remember, even though the trip to Big Bend and back is fairly flat, most side trips will come with stairs and ladders. You’ll also need to navigate around 16 creek crossings on the day trip.
If you want a chance to see a platypus and take an easier stroll, the Nature Walk is perfect! Expect around 2km of easy walking along both sides of the river near the Visitor Centre. It only requires crossing the river twice (rock hopping).
Another great trip is heading to Mickey Creek Gorge Walk. The Mickey Creek Gorge walk starts from the Mickey Creek car park, 4km from the park entrance along the unsealed access road. There’s roughly 3km of walking to be done and some nice places to stop and enjoy yourself.
Carnarvon Gorge Overnight Trip
So you’re feeling a little more adventurous and don’t want to rush the trip up and down the gorge. This is an awesome alternative – one that we did the second time we were there. But – you’ll be carrying everything in with you to the Big Bend campsite. Pack wisely! Create a checklist.
Start early and make your way to Boolimba Bluff for a breathtaking sunrise (maybe with a cheeky glass of wine if you’re like us). This isn’t dramatically far, but expect a tough section of a few hundred metres that is uphil – including ladders and rock steps. Give yourself an hour or more to get there. If sunset is 6:30am – don’t leave any later than 5:30am. So yes, you’ll need a head torch initially.
Once you’ve enjoyed the sunrise, and feel light headed from indulging in some wine, head back down to the main track and continue up towards Big Bend. We chose to see the Moss Garden (a toilet at the entrance to this side trip), the Amphitheatre, Art Gallery on our way in.
Keep heading upstream and you’ll reach the Big Bend campsite (ensure you have pre-booked well in advance). Here you’ll find a place to source water (it will need to be purified) and also a basic toilet. Set up camp and enjoy the surrounding beauty. Beware! Mice have become quite a problem in recent months – store your food well!
As you rest your body for the night, you’ll experience peace and serenity. Of course, you’re out in the wild – expect animal noises and creatures around you.
Another early morning is on the cards, as you wake up eat breakfast and pack your bags for another day of hiking. If you’re keen and want a spectacular view, head up to Battleships Spur for a view of the entire gorge – you will not be disaapointed. Only do this if you have a good level of fitness because it will be tough going UP and then DOWN – doing this will add roughly 8km to your trip.
Once back down in the main gorge, work your day downstream, managing the creek crossings and visiting any of the side trips you may have missed – for us it was Ward’s Canyon. Remember to take a map with you if unsure of the hiking trails.
It’s a great sensation camping in such an amazing place. If you have the capability to do so, we would highly recommend it. We’ve even seen families with small children do the overnight trip into the gorge.
Carnarvon Gorge Multiday Trip
This hike will rock your world! It will always be one of my favourite for many reasons! This was the first multiday hike I had done, and it was full of challenges and obstacles that helped me develop perseverance.
We highly recommend having a digital and hard copy map for this. Although most of the track is well worn, you don’t want to take any unplanned side trips. We used AllTrails and it was definitely sufficient, and whenever our phone battery got low, we simply charged it with a powerbank.
The basic breakdown of the Carnarvon Gorge Great Walk is as follows (typically done clockwise, but we preferred anti-clockwise to save the best for last):
Day 1: Visitor Centre to Big Bend
Distance is roughly 11.4km and an elevation gain of 461m. This includes the side trips throughout the gorge.
This day is relatively flat (except for the few side trips you can do), and generally follows the river as it winds through the gorge. There is one toilet along the way, near one of the side trips, but other than that, nothing until you reach Big Bend. There are 16 river crossings to navigate, but luckily for us hikers, someone has placed convenient rocks to step on. Though be careful – in the two times we’ve done the hike, we’ve seen half a dozen people slip and fall in with their gear. If you have hiking poles, use them if you need to. The Big Bend campground is next to the creek and the large walls of the gorge. It’s a magical place to camp – just keep your food shut away tightly.
Day 2: Big Bend to Gadd’s
Distance is roughly 14.6km and an elevation gain of 750m. The hike up to Battleships Spur can be tough. Prepare youself. As you leave Big Bend, backtracking along the creek a bit, you’ll see a gorge heading off to you right – this is Boowinda Gorge. Follow this (its rock all the way, so watch you ankles) for 1km roughly and be blown away by the large rock walls either side of you. It is a spectacular sight. As you turn right and head up toward Battleships Spur, get ready for leg burn. It’s up and up – and toward to top, the path is pretty narrow – don’t rush, and watch where you step.
Battleships Spur is a little side trip to the right as you reach the top, so it is a good opportunity to drop the pack and enjoy the views!
As you head to Gadd’s, you’ll be constantly impressed with the landscape. It seems like this is a pretty common area to spot an emu or two as well.
Day 3: Gadd’s to West Branch
Distance is roughly 15.6km and an elevation gain of 471m. The campsite is large and has a basic toilet. There’s a chance you could be sharing this with drive-in campers. There’s a fun bridge at the entrance you’ll need to cross. This section of the hike truly is stunning, you’ll be passing through some landscapes that will make you feel like you’re in a different country all together.
Although there is toilets here at West Branch, there isn’t a shelter or anything.
Day 4: West Branch to Consuelo
Distance is roughly 16.7km with an elevation gain of 640m.
This day seemed to go on forever for me. This was also the section that we were most worried about snakes – but we never seen one on this day. Again you’ll be faced with some elevation gain/loss, but there is so many beautiful places to drop the pack and recover for a few minutes.
Day 5: Consuelo to Cabbage Tree
Distance is roughly 13.5km with an elevation gain of 200m. This will be one of the easier days thankfully!
You won’t find anything too spectacular on this day, it is a shorter day and the elevation gain is quite minimal. Having a day like this one is a perfect way to split up the harder days on either side of it.
Day 6: Cabbage Tree to Visitors Centre
Distance is roughly 16.3km with an elevation gain of 348m. Don’t forget Boolimba Bluff (if you’re doing this anticlockwise, you can be here for the sunrise).
The most exciting day – because it is the last haha. Regardless, you be heading downhill for a while, but then be prepared for some uphill work that will burn the legs. Heading up the ridge is pretty tough going with a pack on. Along the way as you gain elevation, there is some good spots off to your left with some amazing views.
After you’ve reached Boolimba Bluff, you’ll back track, then keep heading past where you exited the Great Walk track, and then begin a descent down to the main track. There will be a few ladders on the way down – take your time.
Each of the campsites will have a water source that you can collect and purify. Also, a few of the campsites will have a basic timber structure with a roof in case you want to store equipemt from the rafters or escape inclimate weather.
We combined two days into one day as it was definitely achievable… but I was stuffed! We left Gadd’s, visited the Battleships Spur, descended to Big Bend then completed the hike back to the Visitors Centre and did all the side trips. It makes for a 30km+ day. Not only that, we arrived to the Visitors Centre, jumped in the car and drove all the way back to Brisbane. What a day!
Do yourself a favour, and add this to your Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist. You will not be disappointed and it’s a journey you’ll never forget. It’s best shared with friends or family, but if you’re after a soul-cleansing experience, then try this one on your own – with safety in mind.
Always let people know where you are going and a basic itinerary. Phone signal is very sketchy along the hike. But chances are, you’ll be sharing the track with others, so help should be closer than you think.
If you’ve done this, or have anything to add, let us know!
What an amazing place Carnarvon Gorge is! I can see why you’d never get bored returning here, epic!
100% – some people we spoke to had been there over half a dozen times.