The calm before the storm
Barron Gorge, late October 2023.
Since the end of October we have had very little rain and it has been quite hot. The water level in Barron Gorge above the bridge has been low and on many of those hot days there has been little wind which created some lovely reflections on the river.
Barron Gorge, late October 2023.
The lower water level reveals rocks not normally seen. The sediment on them highlighting the receding water level.
Barron Gorge, late October 2023.
Changing the viewing angle of that rock allows me to see the submerged section and the somewhat stagnant nature of the water surrounding it. Much of the water above the hydro power station bridge looks like this at the moment.
Barron Gorge, late November 2023.
Below the bridge towards Lake Placid a little water runs down the river during the day. Then late afternoon the power station releases a surge of water down the river from under the bridge and the rafters and kayakers hop on it for the ride down to the lake.
Barron Gorge, mid November 2023.
The water released usually contains top soil from the Atherton Tablelands. When the heavy rain comes the whole water body is full of sediment but during the drier months you can see the soil floating on the surface amongst the bubbles.
Barron Gorge, late November 2023.
This driftwood was deposited on the rocks in the early months of 2023. At the time the water level would have been 10 to 20 feet higher than on the day I took this photo.
Barron Gorge, late November 2023.
Huge piles of driftwood accumulate at points along the river where the water funnels. There are some large and extremely heavy chunks of wood in there.
Barron Gorge, late November 2023.
I had planned to spend most of my free time at the end of 2023 in the Chillagoe area exploring but work has forced me to stay closer to home for the last couple of weeks. To get a break I have been venturing into a very hot and dry Barron Gorge.
Barron Gorge, mid November 2023.
Just as I do anywhere I go when there is not much happening, I sit in the grass and try to be observant. I wonder if that is fabric left by someone else who was doing the same?
Barron Gorge, mid November 2023.
During the heat the native plants do their best to provide some colour to the brown rocky landscape and I never tire of a bottle brush, it just seems so very Australian.
Barron Gorge, early December 2023.
Soon water will once again flow up to and probably beyond the high level mark on those rocks at the back. The river bottom will no longer be visible and the water top anything but calm. Cyclone Jasper will arrive in a few days depositing up to 300mm of rain in some parts of Far North Queensland.
Much of that water will find its way into the Barron River system and later down Barron Gorge. That shallow pool will be many feet under water coloured orange by the rich soil of the Tablelands it contains.
The river will rage and there will be many sections of Barron Gorge that it will not be safe for me to access. Where that fish will go to avoid being washed out to sea I can only imagine.
A rock slide from last years big wet.
As I have roamed Barron Gorge this year I have noticed the biggest changes ever to the hillside. More large trees down, huge boulders moving and rock slides. I have been very careful in the Gorge this past year as I have climbed over some of the steeper hillside sections. I never stop being amazed by the power of flowing water to transform/destabilise a landscape.
Barron Gorge, early December 2023.
My recent Saturday and Sunday afternoons spent sitting under a hillside waterfall to cool off from the heat are coming to an end, at least for a while.
The blue sky sunshine of early December will be replaced this Wednesday by torrential rain and Barron Gorge will once again be transformed in the aftermath. I hope we all come out the other side of Jasper safe but I am looking forward to the rain…..I love the big wet!