On leaving the Art Gallery, I started back towards the Visitor Area, encountering fellow walkers as they made their way deeper into the gorge.
Top tip A piece of advice that I was given before heading off on my walk, was to head to the furthest place you wanted to walk to, then do the much shorter sidewalks on your way back. This was very good advice that should be taken by all new visitors to the gorge.
First port of call on the return leg was Ward’s Canyon. Entering Ward’s Canyon is like stepping back in time, and is home to the world’s largest fern, the king fern and is the only place in Central Queensland where these plants survive.
Next up is the Amphitheatre. Prepare to be blown away after you climb the metal stairs and pass through the small opening before emerging into a 60m deep chamber, cut into the sandstone by running water over millennia. If you’ve got a voice better than me (did someone say fingernails down a blackboard??) apparently the acoustics of the Amphitheatre rival that fancy white-sailed building in Sydney! Or so they say…
If the Amphitheatre blew me away with its size, the Moss Garden took my breath away with its serenity. Every shade of green imaginable can be found at the Moss Garden, where water constantly drips from the sandstone above. Timber bench seating is provided, enabling me to sit back and relax, taking in this lush environment of mosses and ferns.
After the Moss Garden, I walked 3.5km back to the visitor area, and then a short drive back to Breeze Holiday Park for a well-deserved beverage.
