Brisbane, QLD


Sunday, June 19, 2016

COBBOLD GORGE (Savannah Way 2)

We left Cairns early by small coach and climbed up the ranges to the Atherton Tableland. See map

 From the bus window I could see the morning mist still trapped in the valleys of the Great Dividing Range.

 We stopped at the beautiful Millaa Millaa Falls for morning tea.

 Then we drove for miles into the Savannah Country and crossed many empty rivers because this is the dry season now.We stopped at the small town of Mt Surprise for a picnic lunch and then continued on through many huge cattle stations until we reached the 330,000 acre Robin Hood Station owned by the Terry family. Cob and Mary have been working the station with their seven children since 1964. It wasn't until 1994 when the youngest son Simon and a friend decided to take a boat down to the creek and went up stream did they discover the wondrous gorge on their property.

 Simon and his wife Gaye recognised the potential of developing a tourism venture. Starting with a small camp site it has now grown into a beautiful resort with cabins, bar, restaurant, gift shop and the most modern swimming pool.

 After we checked in it was time for a cruise along the gorge. We were driven in 4 wheel drive busses through the rough terrain for 4k then we transferred to silent electric boats only 2 metres wide and carrying 8 passengers.

 The gorge was formed through sedimentation of the Hamstead Sandstone 134 million years ago, followed by compression, faulting and erosion. It has created a very narrow gorge with 30ft high cliffs. Can you see the boat ahead squeezing between the cliffs?

 It was quiet and eerie; narrow and wondrous. 

 After a while the boats can go no further there is not enough room for them to turn around but there is a tiny motor at each end and the driver just swap ends to go back.

 I couldn't stop taking photos. We didn't see any crocodiles.


 Almost back to the jetty.

Next morning we had breakfast here overlooking the pool and the river. It was a little bit of paradise in the isolated outback. We were to stop at quite a few of these lovely spots during the course of our tour.

22 comments:

  1. Your pictures are truly majestic. Have fun!

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  2. Hello Diane, Wow the gorge is just beautiful. The boat ride looks like fun and the swimming pool is beautiful. What a lovely resort. My hubby would love this place! Thanks for sharing your trip! Have a happy day and new week ahead!

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  3. that gorge just might be the most amazing thing i have ever seen on your many travel posts. I LOVE it... really love it... wow... and so glad they opened it to the public and can make a living doing it.... the skies were stunning from your drive by and love the tree reflection photo to

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  4. The Savannah Country rather reminded me of Western Australia but the gorge is like nothing I've ever seen.

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  5. That gorgeous is amazing! I think Simon & Gaye could definitely open a tourist spot! If I ever get to that side of the world, I would definitely go...or recommend it to others! Beautiful photos. Looks like you had an amazing time. I'm not on the blogs as much these days till I get moved to Oregon. Forgive me for missing so many of your posts!

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  6. what great photos awesome. The rocks are masterpiece of nature

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  7. What an amazing scenery. Just top.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  8. What an impressive enterprise by the beef cattle raising family to offset any decline in beef prices.
    Isn't this somewhat similar to what Rory O'Brien's family have done on their cattle station??
    Fantastic photos Diane, well done in promoting outback tourism for Australia via your blog photos and details.
    Cheers
    Colin

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  9. Oh what a wonderful post with such wonderful photos, that have left me feeling good and happy when in fact I feel awful

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  10. While the subject matter helps, your photos are absolutely stunning.

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  11. What a beautiful place. Thank you so much for sharing the photos.

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  12. what a fabulous post. you must have had a wonderful time. thank you for sharing.

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  13. The gorge is absolutely fantastic. Of course, the waterfall is beautiful as well.

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  14. What a landscape !!! of outstanding beauty !! Must have been wonderful to make this trip !

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  15. Niesamowite miejsca.Piękny wąwóz. Cudowne zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam serdecznie.

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  16. What a wonderful place to stay! I love the walls of the canyon and I bet that pool is pretty nice!

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  17. What a wonderful lot of places you visited! I'd never heard of this station and gorge before so thank you for such an informative and interesting post Diane.

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  18. Such beautiful scenery! The gorge and falls are gorgeous

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  19. Wow, is that beautiful. And to think the family lived there all that time before they discovered it. Your photos are wonderful.

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  20. I think you took us to Cobbold Gorge before. It has been on my list ever since. I will get there one day, it looks so interesting.

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