Sibling invasion

The other day Rod woke up in one of his cranky moods, you know the one when you do not get the cuddles in bed. I was just trying to remember if he taken his tablets. MMmmmmm well he is missing a thyroid so I have to give him his cranky day every so often. It must be hard for him we are never more than 2 meters from each other at any given time and I am sure I am not that easy to live with under normal circumstances - like going to work an 8 hour day and not seeing your wife during that time. I even kiss him goodbye when I go and shower as we will be separated for at least 30-40 mins. Anyway we did a Dr's check-up and apparently the boob ache is nothing to worry about and Rod's heart skipping a beat when he is relaxed in bed is also no problem. He said we will live long and healthy lives.....

Anyway this was the week that the daughter and future son-in-law joined us so we were in disarray and excited to show them some of Central Qld. We decided to join the grey nomads (65 years and over in caravans) in the more obvious sights Carnarvon Gorge. We were packed in like sardines like a Coles car park, with one designated area for fires, unlike the usual bush camping with great big bon fires we do as Rod has the chain saw and puts it to good use with a surplus of wood always on the roof.

I chased everyone out of bed early as there are some big walks to be done, I made this usual 7am coffee, they just had to get out of bed to drink it. Surprisingly we still only got started at 10am. After making packed lunches and doing the breakfast thing we finally left the camp with a map of the area and decided that we would do the 21km walk viewing the alternative sights on the way back as Cathedral cave with the aboriginal paintings was supposed to be magnificent. After walking for 4 hours Rod checked his GPS and gave us the good news, "We are in unchartered Territory" the bad news is we have walked up the wrong gorge and need to turn back.

The point we realised we were lost...

The wrong turn mmmmmm I wonder whose fault that was...

We were never going to reach Cathedral Cave the way we were going, so a U-turn was made and we eventually started seeing the red arrows that we were supposed to be looking for - before the detour. We were not sure how the grey nomads navigated the 20km track with hearing aids and walking sticks and no GPS but we obviously needed more assistance then they did.

We eventually made it to the cave which was everything they said it would be and more, we viewed some of the other magnificent sights on the way back, Moss Gardens, Wards Canyon where 5 meter ferns are held up straight with water flow and not much else. We also viewed the amphitheatre which was very spiritual for the old black fellows it was a place of mens business and even the aboriginal warden had only peeked there once as he did not have the status to enter the Amphitheatre. I however decided to do the plank and Rod of course did the usual. All and all Carnarvon Gorge was amazing to see and we walked 40km in 2 days, 27 the first (including getting lost) and 13 the second.

On the way to Cathedral Cave

Finally we got there..

Admiring the art work expected to be 3500 years old (Rod did not believe it)

Moss Gardens

Wards Canyon with 5m ferns

Amphitheatre closed in cave with a hole in the roof

Leshe is there somewhere - it was massive

It was truly amazing...

We decided to go off the beaten track and re-enter the same National Park from the other side "Salvatore Rosa" 220km drive but 50km as the crow flies. A few less grey nomads and 4WD vehicles only. A lot less to see except spy glass peak which we decided to climb to with full safety gear e.g. 2 x crocs and 2 x bare foot. Half way up Terry started saying with urgency "Leshe come here" "Leshe come here" "There is a snake." Well Rod walking behind me in a less then manly dignified manor screamed and nearly jumped on my back, Leshe leapt into Terry's arms and I turned around to see a magnificent 2 meter snake with a 10cm thickness. At least Rod did not scream "MOMMY" like our friend Patrick Little. We had no idea what kind of snake it was but it demanded respect. I was wondering how I would get to the satellite phone and if a helicopter could land here should there be a need. We decided that maybe we should be more sensible and if we were going to attempt a No. 18 climb (Difficult climbing wall ratings) we should at least be a bit more prepared, e.g. climbing harness and a snake bite kit.

Half way up...

Can you see us

The monster snake

All and all we had a wonderful time with the kids a lot of laughter and a lot more chocolate but good times had by all. By the way the snake was a black headed python...... truly remarkable.

But most of all we still miss our friends....