Camping and Hiking – Lorna On The Loose

Our breakfast waiter is from Turkmenistan so we brush up on some basic Russian. Nice to be able to say Good morning. More importantly, I want my coffe after I have finished eating. Serving tea or coffee immediately is the thing here so I learn the word for “Later” in Russian which is pretty much the lingua franca in this particular establishment, after Turkish.

Autumn leaves are falling where we have just been but here in Cirali the heat is still intense in the second half of September. We have well over two weeks now to take it easy exploring the Turquoise coast and parts of the Mediterranean.

It was hard to find too much detail on getting here from Pamukale but it all fell into place on the day. Our exceptionally helpful hotel guy in Pamukkale dropped us at the dolmus to get back into Denizli. The uphill walk would have been a killer with all our gear. From there, it was a regular bus to Antalya. Back through security at the Antalya bus station to find out how to get to Chirali. “Number 7, pay on the bus” we are told. This smaller bus operates like a local bus and heads south along the coast dropping us at the Cirali turnoff. The dolmus waiting at the junction is full once we get on so off we go on the winding narrow road down the mountain with everyone dropped off at our respective lodgings. A very civilised arrangement.

Cirali is a tiny place seemingly devoted entirely to tourists but in a pleasant, relaxed, non obnoxious atmosphere a la Bali perhaps in the 70’s. Not a high rise in sight and Pensions stretch for several kilometres along the beach with the biggest concentration of accommodation and restaurants at the Olympos end. We are about a km or so further on in a garden environment and with a quieter beach.

For three nights we glamp it in a tent. Being on a platform with a small balcony and air con makes it just that teeny bit more comfortable, though it is cool enough at night to not have the air con on.

The beach is just a few steps in front of us and the ocean is not only inviting, it is beautiful. Major downside for me are the pebbles. A strip of burning sand is negotiated first, uncomfortable but normal in my world. Much less comfortable is the stretch of annoying tiny burning pebbles followed by a stretch of larger burning pebbles before you reach the water. The drill is, make a beeline for water and then directly back, no relaxing beach strolls. Many people seem to find no problem however lying on their towels on the pebbles.

We are here to see the chimaera and the ruins of Olympos, each at opposite ends of Cirali. Apparently the number three thing to do according to the guy trying to sell us one was to go on a boat trip to explore the coast. I am sure it would be but we are looking forward to a week on a gulet coming up so will have a rest day instead.

It is an exceptionally hot walk to get to Olympos from Cirali though plenty of shade once there. A modest fee is payable to get onto the site. For those staying at Olympos rather than Cirali, a beach fee is payable with a much more substantial walk all the way through the ruins every day to get to and from the beach.

Much less excavation has gone on at Olympos than in Ephesus or Hierapolis but there were some interesting sections and I found the inscription on the sarcophagus of the sea Captain Eudemos to be quite moving.

After this exertion in the heat, we pay 10 Turkish Lira each to be driven to the Chimaera for the night experience. That is for the 3.5kms to the base of the mountain and back again after 2 hours to explore. From the dropoff point it is an arduous 20 minute plus climb up the mountain to the place of the flames. Even though we are climbing at 7pm, it is still hot. But worth it in the end to see this spectacle.

It is a popular activity in spite of the climb and quite a crowd gathers to see the flames that spontaneously and mysteriously are blazing out of openings in the rock like some long forgotten barbecue site with an endless gas supply.

Note, going down the mountain in the dark is just as difficult with yet again incredibly deep steps and a basic track to follow.

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For a very laid back beachy relax, good food and places of interest, Cirali has been a pleasant interlude.

Footnote on Getting out of Cirali: The dolmus winds back up the side of the mountain to the highway through pretty pine trees and craggy outcrops. The road is exceptionally steep, winding and narrow but in good condition and not at all a cliff hanger. The main road is maybe 750 metres above sea level. At the top, we join fellow travellers sitting on small stools under shade at a tea stand. Part of the deal includes the dolmus driver flagging down the Kas bus for us.

The bus sails past in spite of the drivers frenzied arm waving. He directs us back into the dolmus and we go about a km or so up the road where the bus has stopped. He gives the driver a serve (we assume), then for good measure passes on his advice to the driver going in the other direction back to Antalya.

We’re pretty grateful for the good service.

“Imagine you are here in a flash flood. Water swirls violently in the Amphitheatre like a washing machine pushing everything before it….” Just as I read these words on the explanatory sign, plump drops of rain strike me. Others impel like random bullets in to the thin layer of bulldust I am standing in. I look up at the series of vertical steel ladders with quite narrow steps that we will need to ascend to reach the Amphitheatre and more importantly, will later need to descend backwards. The image of the flash flood instantly becomes more vivid than the sign writer could ever have hoped for.

Common sense prevails. A flash flood in the next 20 minutes or so is not going to happen, but for one brief moment the visual was enhanced by the sudden rain into a moment of intensity.

Carnarvon Gorge in central western Queensland can claim to be one of the great National Parks of Australia. Even though it is practically in my backyard, this will be my first trip and another great expedition ticked off. A straight through drive from my house takes about the same time as a flight from Brisbane to Honolulu, or Sydney to Hong Kong. Almost anywhere you want to go from here is an expedition.

General store Injune — Everything you need in a country town

20171007_112749 — Coffee break at the truck stop

20171007_113137 — It really is a truck stop

20171007_111418 — Bushfires and flooding plains – something for everyone

20171007_142405 — The ants are big out here

Time is on our side this trip so we make it a leisurely drive, enjoying a few of the sights with an overnight stop at Springsure. We hit Rolleston, a small township of maybe 40 houses, which is where we turn off the highway. It’s Sunday afternoon and the place is deserted. Glad we fuelled up earlier as the 24 hour servo is locked up as well. Was there anything else we should have got before we entered the National Park? Too late now; I’m not driving back over 70kms to Springsure unlike the unfortunate people we met later who were counting on that place as a fuel stop.

The final drive in - Just need to dodge the cattle — The final drive in; just need to dodge the cattle

Home for 3 nights - En suite located conveniently in the adjacent corrugated iron tank — Glamping for 3 nights – En suite conveniently located in the corrugated iron tank conversion

Whether you are a pitch a tent type, or a full modern luxury style of traveller, Carnarvon Gorge seems to have something for everyone. We opt for a point in the middle which is a tent on a platform complete with fly sheet and best of all, en suite facilities. That rather small tin tank on the right of the platform houses a perfectly adequate shower, with plenty of hot water, and toilet.

The tent can sleep 5 people and apart from the beds, it holds a small fridge, a pedestal fan, a handy hat stand along with a broom and dustpan. All you need really! The fan was used on the rare occasions we were inside during the day.

Timing can be everything when you travel and sometimes you hit the sweet spot. The week before, some visitors chose to leave as the heat was unbearable at over 40 degrees Celsius. In the interim, there had been a couple of good storms and we arrived to hot days for sure, but everything was greened up, water was running and nights were comfortable with just a light bed cover and the windows and doors rolled up to let the cool air flow through the bug mesh.

20171008_155018 — You don’t have to move far to meet the first locals

Our main aim at Carnarvon was to explore by hiking around, but what was so good about this place was that there was plenty to see and do for less mobile visitors. Kangaroos and wallabies everywhere, betong at night, active platypus in the creek, plenty of bird life and a bat colony – not totally welcome having relocated their roosting place a little too close by.

We were told there was a colony of 100,000 bats resident nearby. I assumed this was a slight exaggeration but after watching (and hearing) them on the move, I don’t doubt the numbers. It was like watching a continuous wave flowing on and on through the trees.

Plenty to entertain even if you choose not to hike the trails

There are more than a dozen designated walks, some as short as under a kilometre and others around the 20 km mark return, though a lot longer if you walk in and out of each of the highlights along the way.

20171010_132053_1513990933825_resized — The trails are not difficult

20171010_133028_1513990931746_resized — Though some are less well-formed than others

20171009_085852_1513991087868_resized — The trick with the many rock hopping crossings is just to keep moving

New visitors rolled in every day to hear the valuable information sessions, mingle in the happy hour or enjoy the roast evening meal. Large camp kitchens with bbq facilities are located around the facility. The main danger of the camp kitchen area is the exceptionally gifted abilities of the kookaburras to steal food right off your fork. After surviving two evenings maintaining a watchful eye, I was caught out on the last night. I saw, heard or felt nothing apart from a slight brushing of wing feathers on my face as a vigilant kookaburra stole the last mouthful right off my poised fork. All we could do was watch as the bird “killed” the catch on the adjacent grass. That is one lethal beak.

Beautiful in the wild

But beware when eating a sausage!

The sound of someone walking behind the tent in the middle of the dark night. A growling sound, neither a dog nor a possum. Another growl and I am wide awake. We have no really dangerous wild animals in Australia, apart from the odd venomous snakes and spiders so this was a wild animal sound uncommonly heard.

But I had once heard similar growling walking around one of the lovely bush tracks of Mt Majura in Canberra. There was a lot more intense growling on that occasion as two full-grown kangaroos fought it out in the late afternoon. Here, after only two growls and lots of silence I finally heard the definite thump, thump of a roo bounding away. The disturbed ground outside the tent in the morning provided evidence of the altercation during the night.

Could this have been one of big fellas during the night?

Hidden in the rugged ranges of Queensland’s central highlands, Carnarvon Gorge features towering sandstone cliffs, vibrantly coloured side gorges, diverse flora and fauna and Aboriginal rock art. This promo somehow seems understated and lacking in the drama and exhiliration after the real experience. Absolutely worth the effort of getting there!