HELL HOLE GORGE, QUEENSLAND
HELL HOLE GORGE MIGHT SOUND LIKE THE LAST PLACE YOU’D WANT TO VISIT BUT THIS OUTBACK QUEENSLAND PARK IS LIKE HEAVEN FOR THOSE AFTER SOME PEACE AND QUIET.
When the name Hell Hole Gorge popped up on my radar some time ago, it certainly sparked my interest. Only opened to the general public in 2015 it’s one of the most isolated national parks that you can imagine. Like many in outback Queensland, the park was a grazing property until the early 1990s before it was declared a National Park. Apparently, across its 12,000ha, there are plant species that are part of this area’s mulga bioregion that need to be preserved and are significant to the western region of Queensland.
Hell Hole Gorge has only one road in and one road out, via Adavale (1050km west of Brisbane) where you need to register at the local pub and then deregister on your way out, for emergency reasons and your own safety due to the park’s extreme remoteness. The publican can give you a rundown on the area while you have a coldie and a look around the quirky hotel.
Queensland Parks opened the park to campers in 2018 but you need to be totally self-sufficient with food, water, communications and a comprehensive first aid kit. The last stop for supplies before heading into the gorge is Quilpie, 120km away. The roads out here are generally a stunning red-dirt type with mulga, red gums and gidyea trees lining the road with low saltbush intermixing around their bases.
The history of the remote regions of Queensland is fascinating and Adavale is no different. Dating back to early the 1800s it’s hard to believe that Adavale was once a thriving town during the gold rush days, and it had an unbelievable eight pubs in the area, a police station, several doctors, a school and shops, and it was on the mail route out to Windorah. Originally the rail line was to come out to Adavale but a last-minute decision had the line sent out to Quilpie instead, and this hurt the town and it slowly died. But later on in 1963 huge floods swept through the area, and it was reported that the water was 10-miles wide (16km) at Adavale, cutting the town off for weeks and washing away buildings,
HELL HOLE GORGE HAS ONLY ONE ROAD IN AND ONE ROAD OUT, VIA ADAVALE WHERE YOU NEED TO REGISTER AT THE LOCAL PUB AND THEN DEREGISTER ON YOUR WAY OUT
and resulting in more locals leaving the area in despair.
There’s a history trail across the road from the pub where a mini-museum is packed to the roof with 100-year old relics, and there are signs in the nearby paddock where the old town buildings were, while a couple of old shacks give you a little indication on what was there.
Adavale was reportedly named after a bride when her veil flew off into a local creek and somebody yelled out, “There goes Ada’s veil!” These days there are about 20 permanent residents living in this remote town and it is a good little place to have a look around with its outdoor museum, the old police cell that’s been restored and jammed packed full of memorabilia, plus the local hall which has had a makeover and features stunning old photos around its verandah, along with several police reports, old cattle and mine leases, and other relics from the past. An added bonus is you can free-camp here beside the hall before heading into or out of the gorge area. Around town there’s good fishing for yellow belly in the Bulloo River, plus you can check out the causeways built by a couple of Polish workers back in 1950.
Heading north out of Adavale towards the park you’ll pass through working pastoral stations where cattle wander freely and have the right of way. With a 70km drive to the park don’t expect it to take any less than two hours due to the corrugations, thick bull dust and photo opportunities along the way. It’s a stunning drive with long stretches of sand, narrow single-lane tracks plus some sections where the road winds down and across huge ancient dry creek beds.
As you enter Hell Hole Gorge NP there’s an information board highlighting the area’s flora and fauna, its features
ADAVALE WAS REPORTEDLY NAMED AFTER A BRIDE WHEN HER VEIL FLEW OFF INTO A LOCAL CREEK AND SOMEBODY YELLED OUT, “THERE GOES ADA’S VEIL!”
and camping procedures. Don’t forget to self-register before heading to the park through Queensland Parks online – this needs to be done back at Adavale. The park has only been open to campers for a short time and after a long drive in you’ll find that the designated camping area is across the other side of the Powell River gorge.
Parks Queensland has placed blue markers along the old river bed that direct you to drive down onto the rocks, then upstream for a good 200m, then back the other way before popping out the other side. The route laid out by the markers seems a bit strange – there are plenty of beautiful camping spots before you head across to the gorge overlooking the creek and waterholes – as it seems to be creating extra wear and damage in the old creek bed which, by the way, has a couple of steep drop-offs, so if you’re towing a camper it needs to be a genuine off-road unit.
Once you find a site, and there are plenty of them tucked up behind rocky outcrops and the mulga trees, there’s nothing more to do. Hell Hole Gorge doesn’t have 4WD tracks, but it’s a quiet place where bird watchers, hikers and those seeking a little solitude can spend time doing what they love. Camping is only 200m from the waterholes where at any time of the day you’ll spot an array of different birds, fish, the rare Krefft’s river turtles and maybe spot the yellow-footed wallaby as we did near the 40m-high cliffs farther up the gorge. When the sun sets out here, there’s an eerie quietness across the area, but it’s a typical outback sunset where stunning colours light up the sky and at night the stars seem to be brighter than anywhere else.
Hell Hole Gorge itself is a large, permanent waterhole that’s been created over time where age-old river gums line the banks giving refuge to birds and other animals that want to escape the heat. The Gorge has been formed over millions of years with water running high and fast through Powell Creek and pumping down into Hell Hole, creating this large waterhole. Nearby in Spencers Creek, the erosion has created long and large pools where red cliff faces give a stark contrast to the upper landscape of the area. Spencers waterhole is a place to sit and watch the wildlife and enjoy the cool outback water.
Seasons are extreme out here with summer temperatures reaching the high 40˚Cs, so it would be excruciatingly hot with clusters of flies, yet the winter nights can get bitterly cold, with bearable days that are great for exploring, so be prepared for whatever season you choose.
There are no facilities out here and all rubbish needs to be carried out, toilet waste needs to be dug into the ground and paper needs to be burnt if it’s safe to do so at the time. There are no formal walking tracks in the park either, so take care when you venture, as it can be easy to become a little disorientated if you explore away from camp.
Hell Hole Gorge is only a small NP in comparison to others in western Queensland, but due to its isolation it needs to be respected – if anything goes wrong out here help will be a long time coming. For those after a remote outback adventure, a visit Hell Hole Gorge is worth the long drive in, and it would be a stunning area to explore after a good dumping of rain with the rivers flowing, the flowers in bloom and plenty of wildlife about.