113 Last night was freezing once again, even colder than Injune in June. It was so cold that it actually affected our sleep. During diner yesterday we decided on our hike for today. The park's main trail is a 22km return hike to Big Bend with 4 stops along the way for a. We figured we come this far we should do the whole thing. We had a cup of coffee, a light breakfast and seen our first Joey. We hit the trail by 9:30. Crossed the creek and headed up to the first stop on the trail, The Moss Garden.
It was just over 3km into our hike when we got to the cutoff for it. To our surprise we had to cross back over the creek to get to it. It is awesome. The moss is just such a nice green. Basically the sandstone soaks up water and over 1000s of years the water seeps down through the stone to a layer called shale. It then moves sideways and trickles out the wall creating an oasis of moss and ferns and of course a small waterfall. We took a break here, had a snack and just enjoyed the sound of the trickling water. We backtracked to the main trail and were off to the next stop. It would have been an area called the Ampitheatre but it was closed as flooding last year made the pathway unsafe. This made our next stop Ward's Canyon. It was named after the Ward brothers who would make this home for possum hunting season back in the early 1900s. It is just amazing. After the 200 meter or so climb up to it, we were greeted by a foot or so wide creek. It has polished the rust red rocks to a beautiful shine. Then it is a super serene walk deep in between the massive rocks. This canyon houses the only inland colony of King Ferns. These ferns need a lot of water and the constant moisture lets them thrive. They along with Tree Ferns shadowed by the cliffs make this so calming. Ward's Canyon marked the halfway point of our hike.
The next point of interests were Cathedral Cave 4.5 km down stream and Big Bend another half a km past that. Over the next few hours we crossed back and forth over the creek 9 more times, each time it being more and more difficult as the stepping stones were not set up and you had to find your own path across. The hiked took us in the forest, along the dry rock scattered riverbed and through almost beach like sand. In the shade of the gorge it was cold but where the sun shone in it was really warm. The Cathedral Cave contained more Aboriginal art from 2 tribes, the Bidjara and Karinga. They would gather here from afar for important ceremonies. Unfortunately as soon as we got there before we could take just one picture the camera battery died and it would not turn on. It was time to turn around and head on back to the van. On our walk back we heard Laughing Kookaburras. Its a little eerie cause it sounds like laughing. Listen for yourselves here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ZbykXlg6Q&feature=related. We got back just after dark this time. With nothing but just the sky lighting up the night it was little difficult to see. We had a couple of eerie moments as we would get really close to a roo before it would look up from crazing and startle us! If we seen them at all they just look like big rocks in the dark. Truth be told the hike did a number on us. We were so tired that we didnt even eat diner.