Carnarvon Gorge Walk
5-Day Carnarvon Gorge Walk – A Pack Free Guided Walking Tour by Life’s An Adventure
Life’s An Adventure invites you to explore the breathtaking beauty of Carnarvon Gorge on a 5-day Pack Free guided walking tour. Situated 750 km from Brisbane in the heart of Queensland, Carnarvon Gorge is one of the state’s most spectacular natural wonders, known for its deep water-carved gorges, towering sandstone cliffs, and rich cultural heritage. This special hike allows you to experience the stunning landscapes and ancient cultural sites while enjoying the peace and adventure that comes with being in a truly remote wilderness.
The tour takes you on a journey through Carnarvon Gorge’s diverse landscapes, including lush dry rainforest, spectacular sandstone escarpments, and secluded valleys. Walk among the towering fronds of the world’s largest ferns, listen to the chorus of hundreds of bird species, and explore the ancient Aboriginal art galleries that hold immense ceremonial and spiritual significance. The park’s cultural heritage is brought to life by the intricate rock art, which provides a glimpse into the traditions and stories of the First Nations peoples who have inhabited the area for thousands of years.
Each day offers a new walking experience, with trails that lead you deep into the gorge, up to stunning viewpoints, and alongside crystal-clear creeks. The varied terrain and natural beauty make every step a rewarding adventure, as you connect with the unique environment and enjoy the tranquillity of this remote haven in Queensland’s Outback.
Accommodation is at the Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge, nestled beside the gorge itself. Each night, relax in comfortable lodgings under the sparkling outback sky, where the absence of city lights allows for spectacular stargazing. The lodge’s setting provides a perfect retreat after a day of exploration, with amenities that offer a touch of luxury in the heart of the wilderness.
The Pack Free approach ensures a relaxed and enjoyable experience, allowing you to walk without the burden of carrying a heavy pack. With all the logistics taken care of, you can focus on finding your own inner peace and tranquillity in this magnificent natural setting.
The 5-day Carnarvon Gorge Walk by Life’s An Adventure is more than just a hike—it’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in one of Australia’s most captivating natural landscapes, where the adventure of exploring deep gorges and ancient art is complemented by the serenity of the Queensland Outback. Join us for a Pack Free adventure that captures the essence of Carnarvon Gorge, offering a truly unforgettable journey into one of Australia’s most iconic wilderness areas.
Additionally, you have the option to extend your tour by a few days and join our 7-day Carnarvon Gorge & Bunya Mountains walk, which allows you to explore Bunya Mountains and includes return transfers from Brisbane. To view this tour – CLICK HERE
Pack-Free Walking Experience
Carry only your water and lunch
Our Carnarvon Gorge 5-Day Pack-Free walking experience has been custom-made for you to see the best Carnarvon Gorge has to offer, without you having to lug a heavy backpack around with you day-in, day-out. Designed with the adventurer in mind who wants to carry no more than their day pack
Best Western Bungil Creek Motel
in outback Roma
Spend 1 night in the Best Western in Roma. This property is modern and sleek, featuring an outdoor pool & cocktail lounge.
Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge
Nestled within Carnarvon National Park and right beside Carnarvon Gorge.
Stay in one of the best accommodation available in Carnarvon National Park. Enjoying the serenity and watching all the local wildlife that frequents the water’s edge. With air conditioning, and ensuite bathroom inside, you will have all you need and everything you want to make yourself at home for the coming days.
Local produce
served with Queensland wines
Mealtime is a special time on tour. Not only does it provide the opportunity to get to know your fellow travellers in a relaxed environment, but it also allows you to sample regional specialities. In Roma we dine at the BC,s Restaurant. Whilst at Carnarvon Gorge enjoy hearty meals featuring fresh local flavours. All evening meals are served with Queensland wines.
Our CEO Guides
Chief Experience Officers
Our guides are truly exceptional at what they do. We call them our CEOs – Chief Experience Officers and it’s their job to ensure your tour exceeds your expectations. Our guide’s caring attitude and wonderful outgoing nature ensure your tour is relaxing, fun and informative. They will take into account the weather each day and plan the day’s adventure to suit you and the conditions.
Personalised Tours
Small and intimate groups
Our group sizes are small and intimate with a maximum of 12 people, we find this delivers more personalised service, a great social environment and has less impact on the environment.
Genuinely all-inclusive
No more to pay
Our tours are genuinely all-inclusive. From cruises to wine with dinner there are no hidden extras. You won’t even pay for credit card fees.
To find out more click on any of the below links:
What Life’s An Adventure is renowned for?
Tour Itinerary
This is an all-inclusive tour with no hidden extras:
- Pack-Free Walk – allowing you to only carry your water, lunch, and camera
- 1 night in Best Western Bungil Creek Motel, Roma
- 3 nights in Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge
- 4 x breakfasts
- 5 x lunches
- 4 x dinners featuring beautiful local produce
- Local wines with evening meals
- Return transfers from Roma to Carnarvon Gorge
- Professionally guided – Our CEO’s (Chief Experience Officers are passionate) are well trained and enthusiastic with the ability to bring to life a depth of information
Today make your way to Roma to start your experience. Roma can be reached by air (Qantas 1 hour & 15 mins), bus or train. Today is at leisure to relax and enjoy this outback Queensland town. Check in to your accommodation at the Best Western Bungil Creek Motel, a modern and sleek property featuring an outdoor pool & cocktail lounge. Just down the road are quintessential and proud outback museums, dedicated to petroleum mining and the beat-up old cars that are synonymous with outback roads. A 20-minute walk will also bring you to the biggest bottle tree around. Roma is a roughly 70-minute flight from Brisbane and, though small, has a very colourful history for those keen to explore the town. Tonight, meet your guides at BC’s restaurant at 6pm for a delicious dinner.
TRANSFERS: Morning: 3 hour transfer from Roma to Carnarvon Gorge.
TRAIL NOTES: 4km of walking, 1.5 hours.
TERRAIN: Flat walking. Excellent dirt track but some sections of uneven, rocky or unmodified terrain.
WALK ITINERARY: After a good outback brekkie, we drive through the rugged backcountry to Carnarvon Gorge. Our walking experience today takes us to the Nature Trail, a quiet and beautiful walk where you can notice the small things and let the sounds of nature trickle over you. We’ll keep an open mind and an open eye out too for any wildlife, especially any sleek platypus returning to their water’s-edge burrows after a night of feeding. After this, we’ll stroll to the Rock Pools, the only area where swimming is permissible in the gorge and we will take to the water, paddling around pondering turtles and darting fish.
Once we’ve finished our hike, we make our way to our accommodation for the next three nights. Here, we can unpack, unwind, and enjoy the facilities at Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge. Tonight, we enjoy a dinner paired with Australian wines.
TRAIL NOTES: Approximately 11km of walking.
TERRAIN: Overall this is a clear and well defined trail, with only a few sections of uneven, rocky or unmodified terrain. There is a steep climb but with well-formed stone steps and short ladders and its only about 300m long with about 200m in elevation gain from the gorge floor. Otherwise, the terrain is just lightly undulating.
WALKING ITINERARY: With a healthy and hearty breakfast finished and fuelling us for the day, we will set off up the gorge’s main trail, before veering right up the sandstone walls to Boolimba Bluff. A 200 metre climb will bring us to the top of the escarpment and from here we get amazing views out over the landscape. As the sun rises and the heat with it, we will descend back down into Carnarvon Gorge and continue on our trek to the amazingly cool and secluded Moss Garden. This green treasure, refreshed by waters that have taken thousands of years to percolate through the sandstone strata, is one of the most peaceful and serene grottos you are likely to see across all of outback Australia. Heading back to your creek-side accommodation, you will be able to relax in the late afternoon warmth before we regroup for dinner served with wine and a visual guided tour of the stars which shine ever so brightly in the Aussie Outback.
TRAIL NOTES: Approximately 20km of walking. Easier 10km walking option available.
TERRAIN: Flat walking with some small inclines. Excellent dirt track but some sections of uneven, rocky or unmodified terrain and many creek crossings using stepping stones and boulders.
WALK ITINERARY: Today enjoy breakfast before setting out and getting a taste of what is known as the Carnarvon Great Walk, a 90 kilometre circuit of the rugged area completed by only the hardiest of hikers. While we are not doing the full loop we will still be seeing the best that huge walk has to offer on our way to Big Bend, a large elbow carved out by millions of years of flowing water. Heading directly up the gorge, we are flanked on either side by its towering walls and will get many chances to rock hop, skip, jump, or wade over the many semi-permanent waterways that are home to and creator of the gorge. On our way up the gorge we will veer off on many gorgeous side trips, from refuges for ancient king fern gardens to daunting acoustic amphitheatres but, most importantly, a singular Aboriginal art gallery dating back almost 4000 years, a visual testament to the (at least) 20 000 years of human occupation in this area. Something not to be missed and treasured in memory. While it is a long walk, the main gorge has it all, and is the highlight of any visit to Carnarvon Gorge. Something to reflect on this night, over a delicious dinner served with Australia wines.
*Please note, easier options for walking are available on this day.
TRANSFERS: Afternoon: 3 hour transfer to Roma
TRAIL NOTES: 5km of walking, 3 hours.
TERRAIN: Lightly undulating with sections of uneven, rocky, or unmodified terrain.
WALK ITINERARY: After the exertions of yesterday, this morning you’ve earned a little sleep-in. Once you are rested, our walking experience today will lead us to Mickeys Creek and Warrumbah Gorge, two amazing walks right near the main gorge mouth. Mickeys Creek is a cool, pristine pocket of serenity, providing refuge for ferns and mosses that evolved long before the scorching heat of the outback descended on Australia. Warrumbah Gorge, whilst likewise a refuge, is awe-inspiring to boot. It is a narrow cleft, dominated on either side by soaring walls, making it the quintessential slot canyon. Alacritous hikers can continue to explore up into the gorge, where the path ends and true off-trail clambering begins.
Afterwards, we head south, making our way back to the town of Roma to end our walking adventure.
OPTIONAL: You have the option to extend your tour by a few days and join our 7-day Carnarvon Gorge & Bunya Mountains walk, which allows you to explore Bunya Mountains and includes return transfers from Brisbane. To view this tour – CLICK HERE
Tour Availability
& On Sale Prices
- Super Earlybird Savings
Book for 2027 departures and Super Earlybirds SAVE $500 per person for guests who have travelled with us before and SAVE $400 per person for new guests. See pricing below.
NOTE: Prices displayed in the table are for first-time travellers, guests who have travelled with us before receive an additional $100 discount per person which will be applied once your email is entered in the booking.
Prices in Australian Dollars (AUD).
PRIVATE GROUPS:
Departure date of your choice is subjective to availability. A minimum group size of 10 required. Prices are equal to Past Travellers’ discounted rates. Based on twin share – see details about Single Supplement and upgrade extras.
Please contact us for more details on (02) 9975 4553 or email: walks@lifesanadventure.com.au
________________________________________
SOLO TRAVELLERS & EXTRAS:
SOLO TRAVELLERS WILLING TO SHARE
If you are a solo traveller willing to share a room, we will attempt to match you with another solo traveller of the same gender. If we can’t find you a match of the same gender by around 8 weeks prior to the tour, you will be charged the single supplement cost. Subject to availability at time of booking.
SOLO TRAVELLERS
WANTING THEIR OWN ROOM
For those wanting to guarantee their own room, a single supplement cost will be charged at the time of booking. Subject to availability.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $280
________________________________________
BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Before you book please read our Booking Terms and Conditions. Click here.
SALE TICKET CONDITIONS:
* Super Earlybird, Earlybird and Spot Special Sale Tickets: Must be paid in full at time of booking. Refunds or cancellations are not permitted for Sale Tickets however, transfers to another date are permitted 8 weeks or more prior to departure however incurs a $200 change fee. We advise taking out travel insurance in case unexpected circumstances prior to the trip, prevent you from joining this tour. Early bird or Spot Special discounts cannot be used in conjunction with another offer. We have partnered with Cover-More to provide travel insurance to our guests. To get a quote or purchase travel insurance directly with them Click here. To receive these special discounts, full payment must be made at the time of initial booking. Flexiwalk Add-On option not available on these tickets.
* Those who have travelled with Life’s An Adventure previously, receive a past passenger discount of $100. This discount will automatically be deducted from future bookings when you book online using the same email address used for past bookings.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
* Prices are per person in Australian dollars and include GST.
* A deposit of $300 per person is required to secure your booking. (unless taking advantage of Earlybird or Spot Specials in which full payment is required at time of booking).
* Note: If you are booking within 90 days of your departure date – we will require full payment at the time of booking
* Prices are based on twin share of rooms. If you are travelling solo you may be required to share with someone of the same gender. If this is not suitable you can request to pay a single supplement, however, limited single rooms are available per trip so are on a request basis.
* Credit Card fees apply or contact us for bank transfer payment options. The following fees apply. Australian Credit Cards including Visa and Mastercard 1% +$0.20 per transaction, International Credit Cards including Visa and Mastercard 3.4% + $0.30 per transaction (payments in AUD). For international guests we also offer bank transfers in your own currency to avoid transaction fees.
* Payments must be made online via our NAB (National Australia Bank) secure payment page via credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or over the phone.
* We advise taking our Travel Insurance to cover items such as cancellation of tour due to minimum numbers not met, or adverse weather conditions, injury, evacuation, delayed flights, illness, etc. Click here
* Credit for cancelled activities. If a tour activity has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances a credit for this missed activity can be applied to any future tour with us. Click here.
