As we continued our adventures in Queensland we moved deeper into the bush to Canarvon Gorge National Park. We were truly disconnected with no cell service or internet (not that we were used to having that kind of connection on a regular basis). Canarvon was much dryer and not nearly as cold as Lamington, a change we all welcomed.
Here we got to study fire regimes and learn about how Australians use controlled burns to protect human infrastructure and lives. Along with studying plants we also studied social behavior or some animal species in the area. I got to spend an entire afternoon observing the social behavior of a mob of grey kangaroos. While out at the trail head to the gorge I also got to follow around an echidna.
Besides all this studying we also hiked a lot in the National Park. In the 3 days we hiked I believe I traveled something like 43 km. It was great to be out in nature hiking and seeing a part of Australia that looks nothing like stereotypical Australia.
One of my favorite parts of this area was the amount of Aboriginal culture that was so visible everywhere. We got to see 2 famous sites with aboriginal "art." The rock walls were covered in hand stencils, boomerang paintings, and emu track paintings. It was truly amazing to see hand stencils from maybe over 1,000 years ago. Seeing the hand prints of people from that long ago is hard to wrap your head around.
