Carnarvon Gorge (Queensland, Australia) 5

The great thing about Carnarvon Gorge is its diversity; within ten kilometres of the Park Information Centre, there are internationally significant Aboriginal rock art sites, in your face examples of a huge swathe of Queensland's geological history, hidden springs supporting remnant vegetation, and an abundance of wildlife to keep walkers entertained.

Our visit to the Gorge was during May. Simon, from Australian Nature Guides, told us we had planned well as it is his favourite month in the Gorge. The weather is not too hot for walking, there is generally little rainfall, and the nighttime temperatures lack the sting to come in mid-winter. We certainly enjoyed the conditions, which were very mild. We bumped into Simon at the EcoStop, a small independent information centre just outside the National Park. His knowledge of, and obvious passion for, the Gorge helped us to plan our stay and also to decide to take a tour up the track with him.

On the day after our arrival, we set off up the track with Simon to visit the Art Gallery, Wards Canyon, the Amphitheatre and the Moss Garden. Along the track in the morning we saw plenty of wildlife, mostly birds with the odd kangaroo and an Echidna. Simon's knowledge of the plants and animals was truly encyclopedic. Once at the Art Gallery, Simon's knowledge made an enormous difference to our experience there. It is a truly enigmatic place without someone to explain it and put it into context. Up on the wall, in stencils and engravings, were some of the great human themes: birth, death, grief, conflict, god and the afterlife. Absolutely fascinating. We've never had indigenous culture explained so well.

For the rest of the day we visited all the sites on the track as we walked home, looking at the human, geological, and natural history of each site in turn. The pace was really relaxed. Simon forced us to slow down and take it all in simply because he was always finding things of interest to stop and observe or discuss. Everybody else on the track passed us by at some pace, which is not the way to notice the little things.

On our subsequent days in the Gorge, Simon's information came in very handy. We climbed up to Boolimba Bluff for a magnificent overview of the Gorge with all its geological history laid out before us like pages in an ancient book. Along the way we found numerous wildflowers that Simon told us to watch out for. The next day we ventured up to Cathedral Cave and could apply our newfound knowledge on local Aboriginal culture to check out the rock art there. Simon also told us of a few 'secret' spots to visit off the track, which were not that easy to get to but incredibly worthwhile as you got the feeling of having been where few others have trodden.

Overall, our stay at the Gorge was an incredible experience, enriched by the local knowledge of Simon and also the Rangers. We would heartily recommend a visit to the Gorge to any in its vicinity and three days should be thought of as a minimum visit to see all the sites at a relaxed, enjoyable pace.