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THE LOST CITY
Caranbirini Conservation Reserve is 46km south of Borroloola
at the western extremity of the Bukalara Range and protects
a sandstone escarpment, a semi-permanent waterhole and the
eerie sandstone spires known as the Lost City. The Gadanji
people used the waterfall as a source of food — turtles,
mussels and water lilies.
Lost City Tours from Heartbreak
Hotel - Photo Courtesy of NT Tourism
There are no facilities and camping is not permitted, but
there is a 1.5km trail which takes in the 25m high Lost
City. Early morning and evening are particularly good times
to be there and many birds gather at the waterhole in the
dry months. To the east is the home of the rare Carpentarian
grasswren. If you fancy looking for them, take lots of water
and a compass as you will be going through rocky spinifex
country.
The Lost City is on a plateau amongst surprisingly hilly
country. It is spread over about 10 square kilometres and is
estimated to be 1.4 billion years old. At 600-700 million
years old, Uluru is a relative newcomer!
The whole area was once an inland sea. Water penetrated the
rock and eroded it in a process called "pseudokarstic
weathering", breaking it into columns up to 25m tall. They
resemble skyscrapers which is the reason Lost City was given
its name.
As the columns are 97 percent silica with just an outer
crust holding them together, it is fortunate that the only
way into the area is by helicopter. No doubt the condition
of the columns would be in a deteriorated state should a
road make them more accessible.
Cape Crawford is at the junction of the Carpentaria and
Tablelands Highways, a long way from water despite its name,
and has just a roadhouse called the Heartbreak Hotel.
Cape Crawford Tourism has
helicopter flights to the Lost City, and it takes around 10
minutes to reach the columns, flying over the Abner Ranges
on the way.
The landing point is quite spectacular. It is in the centre
of Classroom Rock, a natural amphitheatre, and you then walk
around the more eroded part of the city. You enter a cave
which goes right through the rock, and when you emerge, you
are on higher ground giving excellent views. |
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to ATTRACTIONS
The Lost City - Photo Courtesy of NT Tourism
You will walk through an area which is a swamp during the
wet season, but which was burnt during summer. It is
starting to regenerate with grevilleas making a great
comeback.
There are two Aboriginal art sites at Lost City and you will
see how local tribes used their art to leave messages for
each other. Sadly, it is beginning to flake away, and cannot
be replaced or touched-up, so it has a limited life.
Your guide has a store of information about the area's
history including its botany, mining and Aboriginal history.
It seems the Aboriginal people had their own apothecary and
two trees are evident. The green plum is an anaesthetic
tree, used for everything from toothache to stomach ulcers,
and the snotty gobble, also an anaesthetic tree, grows near
the green plum and they formed a most useful combination for
curing ailments.
Extract from Getaway
http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/
Lost City Helicopter Tour - Photo Courtesy of NT Tourism |
