Blackdown Tablelands N.P.

Andrew had the day off to go diving with me, but 0.5m visibility and 1.5m swell meant that we changed our minds pretty quick and went for a drive instead.

I hadn't been to the Blackdown Tablelands since I was a kid, so we headed out west of Rockhampton to the 700 metre-above-sea-level escarpment. Its about a 2 hour drive from Rockhampton, and then a rapid climb up onto the plateau on very slippery pea-gravel roads.

The tablelands flora changes very rapidly as you climb, from the grasslands and sparse trees on the plain below to tree-ferns, and lush green forest at the top.

The park is littered with oddly erroded sandstone boulders and vast golden orb-weaver dens. One group of rocks looks like something a party of travelling hobbets might find a particularly pleasing spot to spend the night, boulders strewn around in a great circle with ferns and grass at their feet.

Majestic views of the Fitzroy River basin are on the winding 4WD track through the forest, and at the end a 2km walk to the Rainbow Falls, stepping down through lush rainforest, the path all but overgrown with tree ferns at some spots. Unfortunatly the falls were but a mere trickle.

Fri 22 Apr 2005 | /Trips/Australia/Queensland/National_Parks | permalink

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