Big Bend

A natural pool in Carnarvon Creek lies in an elbow of the gorge beneath looming sandstone walls. Rest here in the shade of large spotted gums and watch catfish and turtles swim in the tranquil waters of the upper reaches of Carnarvon Creek. A composting toilet and picnic table is located here. If you are planning to stay overnight at Big Bend, visit the park's visitor centre before you start, to record your trip details in the registration book, and log out of the book when you have completed your walk.

Swimming

Picnic Facilities

Toilets

Rainforest

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Comments

Timelapse of the hike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fup_64JFnAA

Did the hike to Big Bend and back with almost all the stops on the way (except Boolimba Bluff and Boowinda Gorge). I'm relatively fit but it was a very long walk to do with almost all the stops on the way. Would recommend splitting the full hike into a couple days to make it more enjoyable instead of a race against time. Overall very beautiful, and looking forward to go back to see the stops we missed.
Rob on 2 Mar, 2021

Did this as an overnight hike, camping at big bend. My friend convinced me we should start at 3am so we could catch the sunrise from Boolimba Bluff. Definitely worth the effort and had the added benefit of finishing our hike before the heat of the day even with doing all the side trails. Easy enough hike to do in one day but we felt sorry for the hot and bothered hikers heading back in the afternoon.
Kate on 23 Nov, 2019

Great walk. Left 7am and walked straight to Big bend. Path very well marked and reasonably easy if fit. 17 well marked river crossings from the visitor centre. Awesome track for trail runners and there was a few about. I took the time to go see all the sites off the main path on the way back. Just over 8 hours in total.
Nathan Boyce on 1 Oct, 2019

A moderate walk - nothing strenuous. About 20 river crossings so make sure you’re wearing waterproof shoes. We camped at Big Bend for a night and were lucky enough for a storm to pass over with lightening lighting up the gorge. A wonderful spot for a hike and camp. We had our GPS tell us it was 21km return trip to the visitor centre (without side trips). Lots of fresh running water but we still filtered it and treated with micropur tablets.
S K on 26 Sep, 2019

Camped at Big Bend for one night - lovely and peaceful. My watch recorded the round trip at 21km without doing any side tracks. The water was clear and cool and looked fantastic. Many river crossings so wear your waterproof boots. I would call this walk moderate...obviously harder with a pack for overnight camping.
Anoogle on 26 Sep, 2019

Spend couple days at Carnarvon with leaving hike to Big Bend as final. A good 4.30hrs there and back, decent hike in nice cooler conditions. Amazing place all round and so worth it to go all the way to the end bit.
J on 14 Jun, 2019

Wow,wow, so worth it! Easy to follow path and about 10 water crossings where you need to rock hop. The beautiful colours of the sandstone are absolutely mind blowing. We've made our way all the way to the Big Bend first and on our way we took all the sidetracks to Boowinda gorge. Exploring our way further and further in through the gorgeous gorge! The amphitheatre and moss garden are the highlights of it all in our opinion. Very beautiful overall and spotted a bit of wild life as well: bush kangaroos, enchidna, lizards, pale faced parrots and sparrows.
Ronald and Ramona Jonkergouw on 11 Apr, 2019

Worth the walk, but Big Bend itself was a bit of a letdown after the highlights along the rest of the walk.
kodama on 30 Dec, 2018

A bit cooler after the heatwave but still set off early with the aim of having a look at the first leg of the Great Walk and visiting Cathedral Cave and Boowinda Gorge on the way up.

Big Bend is a well-shaded spot for a break but beware the resident pied currawongs who will immediately look for a handout.
GMess on 9 Nov, 2018

Camped over night before heading to Battleship Spur. Great spot. Look out for the Currawongs. They are particularly aggressive.
Mackamcb on 20 Sep, 2018

Loved the grandeur and solitude of this magical, spiritual place.
Susan cramb on 23 Apr, 2018

Wonderful spot, a challenging walk but worth the effort.
Cheryl on 29 Aug, 2017

Walked here with our kids just on a day hike. There's a lovely little campground with a toilet and it's next to a nice rock pool for swimming or for topping up your drinking water. Great day hike for those over about 10 years old, younger if they're used to hiking.
Take a Hike on Jun, 2017