We departed Sapphire bright and early with the hope we would find somewhere cooler to stay the next night. We thought that Fairbairn Dam near Emerald would be the perfect place to cool off and spend a night or two.
After a quick shop at Emerald, we made our way to the dam. We found the camping area - and decided to have a bit of morning tea before we checked in. As we sat sweltering in the shade, we realised that this was not the place we were looking for. The water was well down, meaning any swimming or fishing would be without shade, and the caravan park was exactly that, a regular caravan park, set well back from the waters edge. It was decision time.
Rocky at Fairbairn Dam
A family conference was held and based on all the information we had at hand, the unanimous call was to head somewhere cooler - and that meant the coast (or so we thought). We wrapped up our morning tea smartly, and jumped back in the car ready for another 350 kilometres on the road.
We decided to pop into Emerald Visitor Centre to try to get some infomation on Carnarvon Gorge - one of the places we want to visit. We pulled up out the front as the doors opened at 10am.
We had a lovely chat with the lady working there, and she recommended to us that if we wanted somewhere cooler, we should check out Blackdown Tableland near Blackwater. Not knowing what to expect, we soon found oursleves climbing a steep winding road into a relative oasis.
The Lookout at the Park Entry
The Blackdown Tableland rises nearly 900 metres above sea level, making it much cooler than the surrounding plains. It is made of 250 million year old sandstone, and in many ways feels a lot like the Blue Mountains near Sydney, with massive sandstone escarpments and cliffs to mark the edge of the tableland. The best bit was it was indeed cool, and we decided that we were much better off staying here than continuing to the coast.
The walking was pleasant and mostly shaded
The tableland has been effectively cut off from the surrounding plains, meaning that some of its inhabitants are found no where else. It has plenty of Livistona Palms as well as beautiful Grass Trees. There is also a peculiar type of Stringy Bark gum tree unique to this area as well as some insects found no where else.
We booked in for a couple of nights and found ourselves settling into the wonderful ambience of the campground. The Aboriginal people knew this area as a good hunting ground, and reliable water source - and a short walk took us to an ancient art gallery.
Some hand stensils from the original inhabitants.
There is also evidence of the original cattle run in the area. Cattle were first grazed here in 1878 and some old cattle yards and fencing is still visible today. The only way up to the tableland was by foot or on horseback - so the yards were originally made with post and rail construction - no wire at all.
Remainds of the old cattle yards
The lack of phosphorous in the soil ultimately led to the cattle bones turning chalky. But as the grazing lease expired - another resource was harvested here - timber. In 1971 the road was constructed allowing vehicles their first access to the tableland. Stumps of simply massive Blackdown Tableland Stringy Bark trees show how massive these trees can grow. Thankfully it seems only the tallest and straightest trees were harvested, leaving plenty of young trees to fill their place.
We took the 4WD only loop road to Charlevue Lookout. The road was mostly easy, but a short scrabble up to the lookout was followed a short distance later by an alarmingly steep, rocky and slippery slope down. It required walking - to get a line abosultely right - but looks no where near as impressive in the photos! The view from the lookout though was simply stunning, and felt like we were looking down on the ocean itself. The plains of the Bowen Basin were spread before us such that you could see the curvature of the earth.
Charlievue Lookout
We had planned on getting on the road the following morning, but after talking with some other campers we decided to take their advice and check out Rainbow Falls. And we are so glad we did. The falls are beautiful, but the water was chilly and we didn't spent too long in the water, as delightful as it was.
Acting on a hot tip, we heard there were spectacular rock pools about 100metres upstream from the falls themselves. And boy oh boy, where there what.
We found ourselves in a little cascade of crystal clear water, deep circular rock pools carved in the sandstone. The opportunity was simply too good to miss, so we all enjoyed another swim.
The pools were just awesome and rivaled anything we had seen in the Kimberely or Karajini. Because they were also in a secret location, we simply had them to ourselves for several hours.
To be fair, if there was much more water flowing over them, they would be treacherous, but with a steady trickle keeping them flushed, we could not of wanted a better swimming hole. The Blackdown Tablelands just got better and better the longer we stayed.
Anything brother can do, I can too!
It was in short a wonderful way to spend the best part of a day. There is simply no better feeling than having a swim in a river like this on a warm day - especially on a Monday!
Like all good things though, it had to end, and we eventually dragged ourselves back to camp, where we soon had a campfire going and dinner on. The following morning we were back on the road.
The hard part is working out what we are going to do next.
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