Cania Gorge - Part 2

It transpired that our first day at Cania Gorge had been the best day for Mick to take the kayak out. Overnight we had a shower of rain, followed by a nice clear morning, so there wasn't any moody mist. 

The weather was forecast to be slightly cooler as well, which boded well for our plan to do a couple of short bush walks.

Firstly, we would do the Dripping rock and The Overhang track.  We left fairly early and had the track all to ourselves on the way out, which was nice.  The walk is on the shaded southern side of the gorge, so has a lush landscape.  This is the most westerly rainforest area in Queensland.

The best thing was that once you plunged into the rainforest area it was all nice and wet, following the previous night’s rain.

Such a lovely walk.

The path was well defined, but I was thankful that I took the walking pole, as some of the steps were rather high for my short legs.

There were some huge trees along the way.  This one towered over Mick.

This is Dripping Rock, and yes it was dripping.  The ferns were so delicate.  We spoke to a couple of locals later and apparently we were fortunate to see it actually dripping.

We continued on our way and came to some hand prints on the sandstone rocks.  Aboriginals are believed to have lived in this area for about 19,000 years and there are sacred sites throughout the gorge.  However, these are not sacred aboriginal prints, or they would be fenced off for protection.  These are actually graffiti, particularly when they have someone’s initials written above the hands.  Such a pity.

You can see the towering sandstone cliffs on the opposite side of the gorge.  The track to the furthest lookout runs along that ridge.  No, we didn’t go on the 22km return walk.

I loved the natural colours in the sandstone on this overhang.

Finally we reached The Overhang.  Such a beautiful spot.  When we arrived a family was enjoying their morning snack, and once they left we had it all to ourselves for just a little while. The perfect spot for us to have our morning snack.  

We realised how special it was to walk out in the peace and quiet, as we met quite a few groups of people chatting away on our return walk. We still marvelled at the beauty of the place.

Next, we did the Dragon Cave and Bloodwood Cave walks.  These were on the western side of the gorge, so a much drier landscape.

The dragon is seen in the black markings at the back of the cave.  I suppose I could sort of see it.

And looking out from the cave.

We continued on our way to the Bloodwood Cave.

The cave is so named as there is a Bloodwood tree growing next to the entrance.

The entrance is quite low, but opens up inside.

And looking out.

For context, these are Bloodwood trees, so named because of their red sap.

Mick being silly.

I loved the huge silver elk horns growing on the rock faces.

How interesting.

There were also some colourful lichens growing on the rocks.

You are always learning something.

Check out this tangled vine.

After our walks it was time to return to the caravan for some lunch and a lazy afternoon.

Chooky just happened to be having a Zoom session for the day, so I sat out in the sun, watching the tame kangaroos, with a rainbow lorikeet for company and stitched some more hexies, while chatting with the girls.  You couldn’t get a nicer way to spend the afternoon.

The day was completed by another evening sitting around the campfire with fellow travellers.  Can you see the wolf in the flames?

Thus, our time at Cania Gorge came to an end.  It really was a beautiful place to visit and we have come away with some lovely memories.  We were back on the road the next day, travelling further north.