Porcupine Gorge National Park

Porcupine Gorge has been formed by Porcupine Creek carving this impressive canyon over hundreds of millions of years. It is easy to see the layers of Basalt, Mudstone, Conglomerate, Dark Sanstone and at the base of the gorge the White Sandstone. From the lookout you get a great view and a feel of just how deep the gorge is, which is approx. 120 metres.

Porcupine Gorge

In the widest section of the gorge, the eroding action of the creek has created the Pyramid, an isolated monolith of multicoloured sandstone rising from the floor of the gorge. 

There was also a 2.4km walk from the rim to the sandstone bottom and silly me decided to do the walk. The information brochure said " Grade: Medium". Ha what a laugh! Walking down wasn't to bad but it was probably 90% rock steps. The Porcupine Creek was still flowing, only with a small amount of water. It was quite pretty with the different colours of the rocks and the waterholes that still remained as the water level dropped. But I knew I was going have to tackle all those steps going back up the hill. I took my shoes off and cooled down my feet in the flowing creek, then several times I scooped up water in my hat and tipped it over my head in preparation for my climb. Oh my it was very difficult, I had to really motivate myself all the way up. But I know one thing for sure - I DON'T ever want to do that climb ever again, ever. I am very proud of myself for doing it, but I still don't want to do it EVER again!!! 

The Pyramid

The last few steps 

Beautiful cool water

Along the drive to the National Park there were a couple of interesting things to look at. Close to the road edge was what has been named "Ebony and Ivory" - two entwined trees, one black, one white.

Ebony and Ivory

Mailmans Grave - it is believed that in the early months of 1886, the
 packhorse mailman was speared by a group of hostile Aborigines 
from the top of the hill. He was buried where he was found. 

Unmarked Grave - there are two stories being told about this tiny grave. One is that the grave is that of an old Chinese man found dead along this road and the second is that the grave is that of an Aboriginal girl named Minnie Waite who perished either by foul means or of exposure when trying to walk to Hughenden some 52 kms away.

Wilsons Promontory Weekend

This weekend I am having a relaxed camping weekend with a girlfriend (Robyn) at Wilsons Promontory National Park. Based on archaeological records this area was occupied by Indigenous Australians at least 6,500 years ago. The first Europeans to sight the area is believed to be George Bass and William Flinders back in 1798. Lobbying by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria and the Royal Society of Victoria let to the area becoming a permanent National Park in 1908. The Wilsons Promontory was used as commando training area during World War 11. A memorial to commandos who lost their lives in World War II is located at Tidal River. During the Black Saturday Fires of February 2009 throughout Victoria, trees in the Wilsons Promontory were struck by lightning, which then led to the loss of up to 50% of the national park through extensive fire damage. But the area has come back with as much beauty as you could ever imagine. Today we went for a 5km return to one of the parks iconic locations Squeaky Beach. The beach gets its name from the rounded Quartz sand that "squeaks" when you walk on it. There are some amazing rock formations at the northern end of the beach that create a maze of passages you can explore.