Georgetown 14 August 2015

The next day Peter went back into the park to walk around a dormant volcanic rim. From the top you could see a variety of volcanic cones and the dark streaks of the collapsed tubes. We then headed west towards Georgetown. This was just a typical small village with a few rundown and tired shops and garages – we could never imagine ourselves surviving the isolation of these little towns that are scattered across the gulf country.

Due to the rough road going out to Cobbold Gorge, we decided to stay in Georgetown and drive the Suzuki out in the morning. As there was no free camping, we had a choice of 2 run down caravan parks and chose the one further away from the main road. Unfortunately it didn’t mean we had a peaceful night, as a noisy group of French backpackers camped nearby and kept us awake.

The Cobbold Gorge tour starts in the campground not far from the Gorge and the owners have gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that everybody is comfortable. After a short bus trip, we stopped and went for a long walk through the bush, while our guide showed us the local flora and fauna. We also saw a solitary grave of a man who was meant to have been speared by hostile Aboriginals. Interestingly Peter’s great uncle was a stage coach driver in the area and he was also killed by the Aboriginals.

We then hopped into a small electric punt and putted up the Cobbold Gorge. This was the highlight of the day. The gorge is only about 600m long but very narrow – at some stages the boat touched each side of the rocks. As it is only a small gorge, with a massive amount of water flowing through it in the wet, it has smoothed out the sides, so they look like they have been sculptured. Unfortunately the guide couldn’t explain the formation and geology of the gorges, which would have been helpful to appreciating the vistas - oh well, a Google search when we get home! Was it worth it – Heather loved the tour and was mesmerised by the romance of the setting, while Peter thought it was probably a spot he could have missed.