Day 112 Results of last night. First and foremost, IT WAS COLD!!! We brought 3 blankets knowing it would be but, dang it was COLD!!! Other than that the van's got plenty of room to stretch out and everything we built is functioning like planned. The mattress is not the best, lets just say its "springy" in a bad way. We got up the next morning a few times cause we were COLD, lol! When we did get out of bed we went back to the Roadhouse got gas and a breakfast sandwich and hit the road. There was 150km left of our drive. The first 110 or so were on the Carnarvon Highway, so the excitement didn't really start till we took the cutoff. We hit the first of 14 cattle grids we were gonna cross. There are cattle grids on a fair number of roads around here but never cross this many in this short distance (there are only 2 in the 90kms separating Chinchilla and Dalby). Not soon after this the pavement ended, the dirt road, and the "unfenced farm, watch for livestock" signs started. We dropped our speed to 50km/h-ish for many reasons. Multiple times cattle were on the road or within a meter of it. We came across the first of the 3 creek crossings. Neither the info guy nor the ranger mentioned that there WOULD be water on the road (just not enough to close it), so we were surprised and sceptical. I got out to check out the water level situation. As I was standing there a sedan came from the other side and got through no problem. I went back to the van and we gave 'er and made it no problem. The third one was the deepest but we cruised through that one also. After what seemed like forever driving on the rocky, uneven, often cow dung riddled road we got to the "entrance" of the gorge. It was just a sign stating pretty much that the road is gonna be worse oh, and welcome to Carnarvon Gorge.
They weren't lying about the roads, We drove the next 10 or so kms on what seemed like a never ending rumble strip, with potholes. Nevertheless we made it to the first parking area and got out for a well needed stretch. Conveniently there was a trail right by the van. It was just a short 500m one leading to Balloon Cave. Perfect way to ease our way into hiking. The Balloon Cave was actually a rock wall filled with Aboriginal art and sign language. It was pretty cool, all different shades of red and orange. They made the paint from different coloured rocks in the gorge. Our next stop was the ranger station / information area. We walked over to the info building and had a quick lesson on the area as we read the walls and took in the maps. We wasted no time starting our second hike. First thing we eyed was the Boolimba Bluff. It is supposed to be one of the best places to see a sunrise. Being the realists that we are, we looked at each other and knew neither of us was gonna get up at 5:30am and hike the 3.2km up to the bluff. So now was the time. The creek we crossed with the van was now running along the info area and had to be crossed on foot to get to the hike path. Crossing was no problem as they had stepping stones set up. The temperature dropped as soon as we hit the lush forest in between the massive canyon walls. The trail slithered through the trees and fallen rocks. I remember looking up and thinking "wow, how are we gonna end up there?". Not a few hundred meters later reality dawned as we hit a sign "Caution - the next 300m is very steep and rugged. Recommended only for the physically fit!" We headed up the climb. Again they weren't kidding. It was so steep at some points they had installed ladders. Our eyes liked what was going on as the scenery was great, our legs on the other hand weren't too impressed. About halfway up the climb there was this white cavern. It looked like someone crushed up a ton of white chalk and threw it all in there. It really stood out amongst all the greenery and the reddish rocks. At the top we were greeted by a nice flat walk to the edge of the cliff. Hopefully the pictures do it justice because I don't think I can using words. It was worth the climb that is for sure!! By the time we got back from the bluff it was dusk and kangaroos were out in full force. Because of the nature of the environment they let you get within a meter or so. Up that close some of them are pretty big and when they look up from grazing they are eye level. Back at the van we made diner and tried out our new pull out table. It works pretty good!