Getting there

From Hydeaway Bay we travelled 598km to Hughenden, a much longer days drive than we normally do. Getting in late to the free RV camp, next to the Hughenden Show Grounds, we struggled to find a spot for the night as the place was packed. There was a dump point, a tap to fill our van, toilets and BBQ area. The next morning we headed to Porcupine Gorge.

Porcupine Gorge

“Covering an area of 5410ha, Porcupine Gorge National Park extends for more than 25km along Porcupine Creek, and includes surrounding open woodland and grassland. The creek has carved an impressive canyon, which reveals strata of sedimentary rocks spanning hundreds of millions of years.”

The track into the gorge is 1.2km straight down. Very steep and rocky. And coming back up is very challenging.

Once at the bottom, it is a flat, lunar looking landscape. On one side, the narrow Porcupine Creek flows through the gorge. Dotted all over the rocky landscape are holes, some quite large, others narrow, most full of stagnant water. Some were empty with no apparent bottom; our voices echoed back when we talked over them. We had to be careful where we walked as a lot of the holes were difficult to see until we were almost on top of them. Certainly not a place for small children to roam alone.

At the far end of the gorge where the Porcupine Creek flows into a wider section, there are two places people were swimming. Looked so inviting, we wish we had known to take our bathers.

We didn’t stay overnight there, but headed to “The Lynd”.

The Lynd Junction / Oasis Road house.

The Lynd Junction is at the intersection of two “development roads” so its Oasis Roadhouse is a popular stopover but is otherwise in the middle of nowhere.

cheers til next time, Helen & Tim