We were
booked in for the tour of Cobbold Gorge today and were really looking forward
to it. Our guide told us a little of the history of the area as we rode in the
4 wheel drive bus out to the gorge area. The gorge is situated in the middle of
a 1283 square kilometres working cattle station. The current family owners
bought the station back in 1964 but didn’t realise they had such a beautiful
gorge on their property until the early 1990’s. Although the land appears to be
dry, water is plentiful and not in drought. This area has had several good wet seasons
in a row and there is plenty of water just below the surface of the dry river
bed. Also there are spring fed waterways like the gorge which turn into raging
torrents during the wet. Once the owners discovered the beauty of the gorge
they started showing people through and from there the business grew, with
camping, accommodation, bistro, bar and infinity pools being added each year.
Although the area is not classed as a National Park, the land leading to the
gorge and including the gorge is classed as a “Nature Refuge” which means
things have to be checked by the National Parks people every so often and
nothing can be done to the area without their approval. Once we arrived at the
gorge area our guide took us for a very informative bush-tucker walk and a look
at the gorge from above. Returning to the boats, we boarded and had a
magnificent and relaxing trip up and down the gorge. We saw quite a few fresh
water crocodiles, many fish, ferns and a few birds but the star of the trip was
the amazing 30 foot sandstone sides of the gorge. A new walk-way that includes
a glass bridge is in the process of being built and the bridge was already in
place. It will be opened next year at the start of the tourist season. (There
are no tours or accommodation during the wet season. Nov.-Mar.) Our 3 hour trip
returned back to the village at 1pm and after having lunch we went for a very
refreshing swim in the pool as it is quite warm. We have booked into the bistro
for dinner tonight and are really looking forward to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment