Awesome Aussie Life: Lawn Hill here we come

Day 8 (Friday, 10th April 2015)

We packed up early as we had fully drained the battery powering our fridges overnight and needed to recharge them on the go. Heading south now, we made our way toward Lawn Hill National Park. Only about 152km in distance but it was slow going due to rough road and many gates to open and close (about 9 or 10) - we were crossing through several cattle properties. We arrived at Adels Grove first because we wanted some supplies, then headed out to the national park where we were staying.

We set up camp and then explored around a bit. There were several other campers beside us on the first night, but by the second night there were only about 3 or 4 other campers in the entire park. There were steps leading down to the gorge where we swam for a while. It wasn't the nicest swim because you literally jump into deep water and have to either swim or tread water - there is no where to just relax in the water. There are plants in the water all around you which gives it a slightly slimy feel. It was still refreshing on what was a very hot day.

Later in the afternoon we followed one of the walking tracks up to Duwadarri lookout. A short but steep climb up a rocky outcrop where, at the top, you can look down along the gorge. My clumbsiness struck again and I slipped on a bit of loose gravel and fell, bruising my tailbone. It was an early night again for us - it's amazing how tiring travelling can be.

On route to Lawn Hill. Brodie thought he could walk faster than we were driving (it was very rough)...so we told him to get out and give it a try!

Our campsite at Lawn Hill NP

The canoe station at Lawn Hill

Steps down to the gorge near our campsite

The view from Duwadarri lookout

At the top of Duwadarri lookout

A view of the gorge from Duwadarri lookout


a steep section of the walking track to Duwadarri lookout

the sun setting on the hill behind our campsite

Day 9 (Saturday, 11th April 2015)

Our perspective of Lawn Hill improved dramatically today. We started out by doing an early morning walk to Upper Gorge lookout, about a 3 hour round trip. The walk to Upper Gorge was spectacular, some of the best scenery I've seen in a while, but it was very hot by mid morning. On the walk, we had discovered that further up the gorge are the Indarri Falls. A beautiful spot where you can swim, sit under the falls and relax in the water. Brett and the kids had a quick dip but we wanted to complete the walk before it got too hot, although we were keen to go back to the falls in the afternoon. We sat in the shade of the camp area much of the day before venturing out again. Lots of birdlife around - there are white-faced honeyeaters and other birds that come right up to the chairs and hop around us.

My clumsiness struck yet again when I walked into the timber rail that divides the campsites - ideally placed at shin height. Seriously - I'm not usually clumsy at all but this trip has just been a comedy of errors for me. I think Brett was really starting to worry about me.

A gorgeous gorge shot

There are canoes at the gorge. They stay at the gorge and the idea is that you hire the oars from Adels Grove. Without setting up the legs on the camper or packing up, we couldn't just drive to Adels Grove to get the oars so we rang them and they agreed to bring some out to the National Park for us. About 3pm, Brett got tired of waiting and set off for the falls for a swim. The kids and I decided to stay at camp and wait a bit longer, and sure enough about 5 minutes later along can a man with the oars for us. With Brodie & Annieka in one and me in another, we took two canoes out and paddled up the gorge arriving at the falls not that long after Brett. We swam for a while before hauling the canoes up to the upper gorge level and paddling up as far as we could go. I had brought a dry-sack specifically for this purpose so I could take my camera in the canoe. There were some spectacular photo opportunities from this angle. We got back to camp just as the sun was starting to set and had another early night.