The unveiling of the refurbished Tom Petrie memorial was an amazing experience for many reasons.
I’ve written severalarticles here previously about Tom Petrie. The man was remarkable for the way he learned the ways and language of the local Turrbal Aboriginal people, and showed them a respect and honor that was more than a century ahead of his time. It was fitting to remember him on the 100th anniversary of his death.
I also had the chance to meet Maroochy Barambah, an elder, Songwoman and Law-Woman of the Turrbal Aboriginal people. This talented and dignified woman is the great grand-daughter of Kulkarawa, a young Aboriginal girl who ran off with a Sri Lankan man named Shake Brown in the 1840’s. Brown was killed in the 1840’s on the banks of what is now called Browns Creek. By some strange co-incidence I actually took some photos of this area and wrote an article about it a few months ago. So I was overwhelmed to meet someone who was actually related to Kulkarawa (Granny Kitty) and Shake Brown (Grandfather Brown).
This event was the first formal occasion that descendants of Tom Petrie and the Turrbal people had met face to face since Petrie’s death. It gives me hope that things like this happen. The mutual history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia is something that can unite us, and strengthen our souls. It reminds us how precious is the place in which we live. It gives us continuity and reminds us that each of us is here for such a brief time, while the land is always here.
I plan to ride a mountain bike through the Blue Tiers in Tasmania this Sunday. It’s a picturesque, remote alpine area of north-eastern Tasmania that is supposed to be well worth the effort.
The only problem is that I’ll probably be riding it alone, and I’ve never been there before.
So to be on the safe side, I’m publishing my proposed route here, with some checkpoints along the way, and I’ll update my twitter feed with a photo from those checkpoints so that (if you’re interested) you can keep an eye on where I’m up to. If I fall off the bike, or get abducted by aliens, at least you’ll know how far I got and where I plan to go.
I’ll be leaving the Weldborough Hotel at about 10.30am and aim to be back by about 3pm.
I love the colours that seep out after sunset at the beach. This afternoon we walked along Coolum Beach as the sun was going down. Even though it’s winter, the water is still quite warm, and there’s always something interesting to discover on the beach!
I had been searching google maps for days trying to work out a good route west of Coolum to explore on the bike. The idea was to ride along some old tracks by a creek, then onto a quiet gravel road, and eventually across the Maroochy River via an old cane “lift bridge” and on to Bli Bli.
That was the plan….
The first track by a cane field looked perfect. I rode down it for a few km until it got muddier, the grass got higher, and ….
I ended up in a pretty thick Tea Tree (or Ti Tree) swamp. Tea Trees are amazing in that they can live happily in swampy ground with their roots submerged most of the time. They have beautiful papery bark, and can grow in a thick inpenetrable scrub, which is impossible to ride through on a bike.
So I backtracked….
I eventually came out on an old gravel road with some rickety old bridges. When I saw the bridge I realized I’d found the right track after going down a few wrong ones….
I came across what I was looking for. The local council described it as a sugar cane “lift bridge”. I figured I could squeeze myself and the bike through the gap in the bars and cross the river…
Crossing an old railway bridge while pushing a bike (I wasn’t crazy enough to RIDE across!) required a bit of care, but the bridge was solid, and I wasn’t in any danger…..
Arrrgggg! So THIS is what a “lift bridge” is! A section of the bridge lifts up to allow boats to pass under. Unfortunately the last “lift” happened years ago. There was no way I was going to cross that bridge!
So I turned around and rode home.
But it highlights what is an underlying theme for me when riding a mountain bike. The destination isn’t really the point. Yes, it’s nice to arrive, or achieve an objective, but when you really think about it, it’s all about the journey.
Today I took Liz and the kids up there so they could enjoy the views too.
Someone who visited prior to us left this impressive rock sculpture looking out over the farmlands below.
Liz captured this fascinating perspective looking down on a farm, which illustrates how high up we were.
It was really sweet to watch Harrison help Lilly get back down the steep track. Liz took this picture and suggested they looked like Hansel and Gretel in the woods.
There are some beautiful fern meadows at the top of Ninderry. As Liz and the kids walked back down the hil, they seemed to disappear in a sea of ferns.
I’m amazed at what you can find when you explore some of the quiet tracks and dirt roads out the back of Coolum.
Today I headed out the back of an industrial estate of all places (who spends time in an industrial estate when you’re holidaying at the beach????) and discovered some quite fire roads meandering through the open forest. If you would have been a bystander hiding behind a bush as I whizzed by on my 29er, you would have heard a crazy guy yelling out “Awesome!” repeatedly.
When it comes to having fun (which is a major priority in my life) I think the major thing is to experience pleasant surprises.
I was very surprised today.
Some of the beautiful open tea-tree and eucalypt forest that the trails wind through
I just stumbled upon this old shed and hliarious sign by accident – by turning left instead of right. Although it’s superflous for obvious reasons, the sign says it all.
Stumer Creek peacefully meanders through the bush behind Coolum.
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges span the mouth of the Brisbane River.
Climbing to almost 80 metres above the water, they allow huge volumes of traffic to flow from one side of the river to ther other.
A bike path on this new bridge was officially opened today, which for the first time, allows pedestrians and cyclists to stand at the top of this magnificent gateway to the city and enjoy some breathtaking views out to the bay and back to the city – views you can’t really get in a car as you’re not allowed to stop at the top.
There are only two flies in the ointment which I’m sure will be fixed soon. The first is a 10km/h speed limit on cyclists using the bike way. The problem is that many cyclists have difficulty keeping a bicycle stable at speeds under 10 km/h, so in some ways it’s dangerous having this limit so low.
The second problem is connectivity. There don’t appear to be any connecting cycle paths at either end of the bridge so you need to bravely battle five to ten km of busy roads to get from one cycleway to the bridge.
But riding to the top of this bridge (twice) was a lot of fun for me. And I was impressed to see the importance that the state government has placed on putting infrastructure like this in place for cyclists.
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