2012 – Page 2 – Musings

Aboriginal Australia, Family, Queensland, Travel

Daintree National Park

by NeilEnnis 21 November 2012 No Comments Shortlink

Daintree National Park is a special place. I could tell you lots of facts about it, and show you lots of pictures, but none of that would convey the wonder of the place and its stunning beauty.

I have no doubt why this place is sacred to the Kuku Yulanji Aboriginal People. Their traditional country stretches from Mossman in the south almost as far as Cooktown in the north and as far west as Chillagoe on the other side of the Great Dividing Range on Cape York.

The rainforest in this part of the world is over 100 million years old, making it the oldest rainforest on our planet. It survived this long because while other continents were slowly drifting around the planet from hotter to cooler climates (or vice versa), the wet tropics of North Queensland stayed reasonably close to the same latitude for most of that time, with a fairly consistent climate. This meant that species of plants and animals that died out in other parts of the world, stayed alive here. This extensive biodiversity is what sets the Daintree Rainforest apart from almost any other place on earth.

It’s difficult to get to the Daintree. For starters, it’s over 1,500 km North-West of Brisbane. And you can’t easily drive there because there’s no bridge over the crocodile infested Daintree River. You have to catch a ferry. Thankfully, the ferry leaves every 10 to 15 minutes. But the roads are steep and twisty, so it’s a slow drive. You’ll have to take your time.

Our first stop after climbing the range was Alexandra Lookout. This gives great views to the east over the forest allowing you to see where the Daintree River meets the sea. It’s also a good place to get photos of butterflies trying to get their face on a photo 🙂

From there we drove north, past a tea plantation and over numerous speed bumps (to stop you hitting cassowaries) to Noah Creek. The bridge is narrow, so there’s no room for pedestrians. To get a picture of the babbling creek we had to park the car, run quickly onto the bridge, take the photo, then get back off the bridge before the next car came round the corner. I think we managed it with a few seconds to spare.

Cape Tribulation was the furthest north we could go in the hire car. After this, the bitumen stops, and the road turns into a 4wd track. At Cape Trib the rainforest reaches down from the mountains right to the edge of the beach. What a beautiful place!

We decided to go for a wander up the beach to see what we could find. I don’t think we were looking for anything in particular. We just wanted to soak it all up.

This mountain biker had the right idea. A simple single-speed rig with no suspension, nice fat tyres and “low tech” rubber footwear. Just the trick for riding on the beach.

Dubuji is a Boardwalk through the forest that gives you an idea of the biodiversity of the area. I was amazed to look down from the walk into shallow creeks and see numerous fish over 30cm (1 foot) long, just quietly sitting the shallows.

The colors and variety of the wildlife were stunning…

It didn’t matter where we looked – the place was teeming with life…

The rainforest here grows on the sand, which is extremely rare. The Kuku Yalanji people named this place “Dubuji” which means “Place of spirits”. They have stories about many specific places only several metres from the boardwalk.

As we slowly made our way back south towards our starting point we stopped at a few different places along the way to have a look around.

It looked to me like the crabs were making Aboriginal “Dot Art”.

I’m so glad we were able to experience this stunning place. I’d love to go back sometime. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll bring a bike next time 🙂

BNT, Cycling, Queensland, Wildlife, xc

The Bump Track

by NeilEnnis 18 November 2012 2 Comments Shortlink

We were staying at Palm Cove between Cairns and Port Douglas to watch the Total Solar Eclipse, which provided an ideal opportunity to explore the spectacular rainforest inland from the coast.

Being an adventurous soul, I thought I’d just hop on the bike and follow my GPS, but I’ve learned to listen to the wisdom of my wonderful wife who insisted I ride with someone who actually knew the area. That was how I met Dan Foley from Dans Mountain Biking. Dan has been mountain biking in Far North Queensland for over twenty years and knows the trails intimately. He operates guided tours by mountain bike through places like Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, Bloomfield Track, Atherton Tablelands and Mulgrave Valley. Today he took me through Mulgrave National Park and “The Bump Track”. The rainforest is full of things that eat, sting, bite, slice, and/or kill you, so I’m really glad Dan was there to keep me out of harms way.

Funnily enough, while thinking of all the things that could chew me up, we started our ride from the car park at Hartleys Crocodile Farm at Wangetti.

The first part of the ride was up Quaid Road – a disused development road which, over the space of 5km, climbs 500m up from Wangetti on the coast into the rainforest. It was built by property developer George Quaid in the 1980’s just before the area was declared a wet tropics world heritage area. So (thankfully) George didn’t get to carve up the rainforest. The road is gated off – so motor vehicles can’t use it. But it’s a really easy way to get from the coast into the mountains by mountain bike.

Once we got into the rainforest (emphasis on “rain”) it started raining. Dan took me along the “twin bridges” track – one of the many management trails in the area.

Not far in, we encountered what I thought was a dead snake. “How sad” I thought as I sidled up close to it to take a picture. Dan suggested we give it a wide berth in case it was still alive. I listed to him, and once past it, we poked it gently with a stick. To my great delight the Red Bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) reared up at us. It was a alive! And so was I for listening to Dan. Those snakes are venomous and can give you a nasty bite.

A little further along the track, and Dan stopped me again. This time it was for a Wait-A-While or Lawyer Cane (Calamus australis). This is a species of climbing Palm Tree. It drops long thin spike-covered tendrils down to the forest floor below. They’re tough and sharp. If you ran into one (or tried to ride past one on a bike), the sharp tendrils could inflict horrible damage. Dan told me stories of motor cyclists losing limbs to the plant while speeding through the forest on a trail bike. The dangerous thing is that the tendrils are so thin that they’re nearly impossible to see. And with the rain pouring down, and glasses fogged up, it would have been really easy for me to get snagged on one (or two, or three). Thankfully (for me), Dan rode in front. He hit the vines first. I just made sure I took notice when he pointed them out to me.

Aborigines used the mature cane from the vine as struts to build shelters. They wove the spiky tendrils into snares and fish traps. And by cutting the thick canes they were able to collect drinking water when needed. A one meter long section of the vine, when cut, could supply over a cup of drinkable water.

Another nasty surprise in this part of the world is the Gympie Gympie or Stinging Tree (Dendrocnide moroides) – a highly toxic plant that can inflict severe pain at the slightest touch. The cure is duct tape or leg wax applied to the affected area of skin to pull the thin spikes out. The worst thing you can do is rub the area or apply water to it.

We slowly continued our ride northwards over several log bridges which crossed quiet creeks. The water is crystal clear and is good to drink as well. The trick with log bridges is to make sure you don’t get your wheel stuck in the gap between the logs, so it’s important to “Pick a plank” and stick to it, or run the risk of flying over the handlebars 🙂

The “Twin Bridges” track is named after two large log bridges which used to span Spring Creek. Floodwaters destroyed the bridges a while ago, and all that is left is a large pile of logs. So we had to wade across the creek in thigh deep water. Thankfully there were no crocodiles 🙂

Eventually we reached the top of “The Bump Track”. This track is part of the Bicentennial National Trail and forms part of the route that Cobb & Co took between Port Douglas and Georgetown in the 1880’s. The 322km trip trip used to take five days. When the coach got to the Bump Track, all the passengers had to get out and walk, while the horses dragged the stage coach up the steep hill.

Today we were going DOWN the Bump Track, not up it. At its steepest, the track drops over 300 metres in 1.8 km. My brakes were totally cooked by the time we got to the bottom. So I was glad to stop halfway down to enjoy the view of the Mowbray River to the east, and let the brakes cool down.

Once at the bottom, we made our way back to the Captain Cook Highway near Port Douglas and made our way south along the bitumen. This must be one of the most scenic highways in the country. On the way back we stopped at Rex Lookout to enjoy an amazing panorama of the coastline to the south.

All up we rode 55km in just over 5 hours including breaks. I burned 5,000 kcal as we ascended a total of 1,250m. On the tough-o-meter I’d rate this ride about 7.5 out of 10 for difficulty, but 10 out of 10 for fun and stunning views.

If you’re new to the area, DON’T do this ride by yourself. Get someone who knows the area, like Dan Foley. When you’re taking on a tropical rainforest with “Wait-A-While” vines, Gympie Gympie plants, Black Snakes, Crocodiles, and log bridges with treacherous gaps, a competent guide will ensure that you arrive home happy and in one piece.

Total distance: 56.06 km
Total climbing: 1304 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 05:12:16

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Australia, Family, Looking Up, Queensland

Eclipse – 2012

by NeilEnnis 16 November 2012 3 Comments Shortlink

After experiencing the Eclipse of 2002 in Woomera, South Australia with my daughter Laura, I was hooked. I vowed I was definitely going to do my best to see this rare event a second time. So ten years later, Liz and I agreed to take the kids to North Queensland to catch a glimpse of one of nature’s most awe-inspiring spectacles.

There were differences between the two events. Woomera is in the desert of South Australia. So in 2002 we had an almost certain chance of cloud-free skies. The down-side was it was miles from nowhere, we had to camp out in the desert, and that eclipse only lasted 30 seconds.

Roll forward to 2012. Palm Cove is in tropical North Queensland. November is the start of the “Wet Season” where it rains incessantly for 4 months or more. There was a pretty big chance that clouds would foil our attempt of viewing the eclipse. The up-side was that Palm Cove is a beautiful resort town on the beach. We were able to book great accommodation across the road from the beach, with uninterrupted views of the morning sky. And this Eclipse would last over two minutes – four times longer than the previous one.

We arrived at Palm Cove a few days before the main event. We had the beaches to ourselves. Although you could spot the odd geeky looking tourist in town (do I look geeky), this tropical paradise was serene.

A couple of days later it was packed. Umbraphiles (look it up) as far as the eye could see. There were network TV cameras on the esplanade, high-powered telescopes, satelite dishes, and learned looking people with devices I didn’t have a clue about. We just grabbed a couple of beach towels, walked across the road from the hotel, and plonked ourselves down on the sand to wait for the main event.

We all had our Eclipse Glasses – I had bought them on eBay over six months ago. I gave them to Liz, because she was less likely to lose them than me 🙂 Nevertheless, before the trip I think I asked her half a dozen times if she had packed the glasses. (I just wanted to make sure).

And then disaster struck. The clouds started massing on the eastern horizon like they do most mornings at this time of year. The sun disappeared and two thousand people sat on the beach crossing their fingers and willing the clouds to part.

And they did! People cheered. I got a bit teary because I finally realized this was going to happen! We were going to see the eclipse. I had my watch synchronized to the second and counted off the minutes, the seconds to totality.

And then “It” happened. Have you ever heard several thousand people gasp in awe? I was ecstatic. “You can take your glasses off now” I said to the kids. “Oh Wow! Look at that!”. The sky went dark, the stars came out. And a fiery black hole appeared in the sky where the sun was a few seconds ago. And I could look straight at it. And, emotional petal that I am, I cried. People cheered, yelled, sighed, and just gazed at something simply beautiful.

And as you can see, I did manage to find a few seconds to take a couple of photos. The professionals got some amazing photos, but the images I came for were those that are now in my head. I’ll never forget what I saw, and how I felt.

And, I think I’m now an eclipse chaser. I’ve spent just over two and a half minutes of the last ten years in “Totality”.

I want more 🙂

Cycling, Queensland

Palm Cove

by NeilEnnis 11 November 2012 No Comments Shortlink

There’s a total eclipse of the sun in North Queensland on 14 November, so I brought the family up here to enjoy it. (Stay tuned for pictures in a few days). A lot of people are just flying in, then flying out, but we thought we’d stay the week and do the “tropical tourist” thing.

We’re staying at Palm Cove, half way between Cairns and Port Douglas. It happens to be very close to the centre line of the eclipse, so provided the weather holds out, we should have an ideal opportunity to witness over two minutes of totality.

I wanted to do a bit of mountain biking while I was here, and didn’t want to have to pack my bike and lug it up here, so I spoke with Tor at PD Bike Works who did me a really good deal for the week on a nice GT hard tail.

My first ride for the trip was to the mountain bike trails at Smithfield about 10km south of Palm Cove heading back towards Cairns.

I had arranged to meet another rider at Smithfield, but he didn’t show up at the last minute. It wasn’t a problem though, as by chance I bumped into John who offered to take me on a tour around some of the tracks around Smithfield.

If you don’t have anyone to show you around, there’s a high quality map at the trail head. It’s easy to take a photo of it with your phone, so if you get lost you at least have a map to give you an idea of the layout of the tracks.

A couple of minutes after leaving the trail head, John took me past a dirt jump area containing a large jump called “The Bowl”. Crazy riders shoot down a long run, plummet into the Bowl and see how high they can jump up the other side. There’s a 5m high pole to make it easier to measure the height of the jump. Personally I wouldn’t even need a tenth of that, so whoever does these jumps must be pretty hard-core.

We slowly made our way up to the high point of the ride along a trail named “Cadels”. It’s named after Tour de France champion Cadel Evans who came here as a 19 year old, and rode the trail, and by all accounts nailed it. We then dropped down a gnarly descent called “Jacobs Ladder” – steep, rocky, slippery and a lot of fun.

One of the hazards of riding in the tropics is a particularly nasty plant called the Gympie-Gympie Bush. It is so toxic, contact with it can cause sever debilitating pain, vomiting and even death in some circumstances. So there are lots of signs around the trails warning riders to give the bushes a wide berth.

Much of the park winds through some beautiful rainforest including this track called “Black Snake” which snakes through the rainforest, over some fun jumps and through a couple of creek crossings.

After saying good bye to John, I made my way back to Palm Cove via some trails behind the university, avoiding the main road. On the way back I was impressed by this field full of kangaroos happily grazing beside the road. They didn’t seem to mind me pestering them with my camera.

Back at Palm Cove, what day at the beach would be complete without a family walk along the beach at night?

32km in just over two hours with about 200m of vertical ascent. The Smithfield part of this ride would be a fun outing for anyone who loves mountain biking. The tracks are varied, fun, well marked, and beautifully maintained. If you’re riding there from the north, try to keep to the bike tracks as the roads can be quite busy. I’ll give this one 6 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.

Total distance: 32.45 km
Total climbing: 242 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 02:49:42

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Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, History, Scenic Rim, South East Qld, xc

Goomburra

by NeilEnnis 4 November 2012 1 Comment Shortlink

Goomburra is part of the “Main Range National Park” on the Great Dividing Range in South East Queensland. The Goomburra section of the park is located north of Cunninghams Gap either side of Dalrymple Creek. It’s named after the Gooneburra aboriginal people. In the Keinjan language, “Gooneburra” means “Fire people” from the tribe’s habit of setting fire to grasslands as a means of managing the land. Professor Maurice French, at the University of Southern Queensland, says that they numbered perhaps 1500 to 2000 people.

Dalrymple Creek is named after Ernest Dalryple, a European squatter, who arrived in the area in 1841 to take up a “selection” on what the settlers called “Goomburra Run”.

Eric, Tony and I started our ride from “Gordon Country” in the valley along Dalrymple Creek, and then slowly wound our way up the long slow climb into the rainforest. It took about an hour to reach the top, and I was glad to finally get there.

The views from Mount Castle Lookout were amazing. Mount Castle and the surrounding peaks of the Liverpool Range form a sharp ridgeline extending from the Main Range north-eastwards towards Laidley. I was impressed by the cliffs and the views off in the distant east of the Teviot Range and Lamington Plateau.

At Mount Castle Lookout, the Great Dividing Range splits in two branches. The main range heads off to the west while “The Mistake Mountains” go off to the north. They were called this because in the early days, people mistook them for the main range. We rode north over The Mistake Mountains to “The Winder”. Years ago, loggers converted an old truck into a winch to haul up the large logs from the steep slopes of these mountains. The loggers have gone, and all that is left of the “Winder” are these rusty ruins.

Eric took what he called a “Micro nap”. He’s a lot faster on the bike than I am, so I suppose he decided to make the most of the time that he spent waiting for me to catch up 🙂

The ridge line along the Mistake Mountains is covered in rainforest. These Giant Tree Ferns (Cyathea australis) were all over the place. I’ve read somewhere that they can group up to 20 metres in height. This one made my bike look like a toy.

Once we’d finished at the Winder, we had to climb back the way we had come regaining 250 metres in altitude, back to the junction with the Main Range. We then continued our journey westwards along the Main Range.

The views along the track were spectacular. Every few minutes we stopped to catch glimpses of the valley through the trees as we looked down into “Glen Rock” park below.

As we rode further along the track, the slopes on either side became progressively steeper. Eventually, it felt like we were riding on the top of a razor blade. On our left, steep slopes dropped down to Dalrymple creek to the south. On our right, sheer cliffs dropped down to Glen Rock Park to the north. The track was wide, and safe, but it meant we had some amazing views.

I couldn’t belive the beauty of the landscape we were looking at.

As I looked down into the valley in Glen Rock National Park, I thought that perhaps we should come back to this place in the not too distant future and do a bit more exploring. There is some stunning country in South-East Queensland. With a reasonable amount of fitness, and a decent mountain bike, a whole new world opens up to explore. More than enough for one life time. In the last three yeas I’ve seen more natural beauty in thiis part of the world by riding my bike than at any other time in my life.

From our mountain-top high we rolled back down the mountain to “Gordon Country” 4wd park. There are a number of tracks down the mountain – some precariously steep, some rather gentle. By luck we managed to pick a quick but safe descent which had us back at the car in about 10 minutes.

All up we cycled 37km in about 5 hours including stops, climbing a total of 1,400m in vertical ascent. I burned about 4,000 kcal. This is probably the toughest sub 40km ride I’ve done. We had to push the bikes up a couple of hills, and had to work hard on some of the longer climbs.

I rate this one 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. You won’t need more than intermediate mountain biking skills – the tracks aren’t too technical except for one or two steep descents. But you’ll need moderate to high fitness, plenty of water and snacks. Make sure you take a camera 🙂

Total distance: 38.6 km
Total climbing: 1451 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 05:06:54

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Aboriginal Australia, BNT, Cycling, Scenic Rim, South East Qld, xc

Condamine Gorge

by NeilEnnis 28 October 2012 2 Comments Shortlink

“The Head” is a spectacular spot up in the Great Dividing Range of South East Queensland, near the border. It gets that name from the fact that it forms the headwaters of the Condamine River and the Murrary Darling Basin. Starting as a trickle on the slopes of Mount Superbus, it flows through Condamine Gorge joinng up with the Balonne River, the Darling River and eventually the Murray River before draining into the Great Australian Bight near Adelaide in South Australia.

Today we were lucky enough to ride through some of this beautiful country in a loop from the small town of Legume, in Northern NSW up into Acacia Plateau, then along the Border Fence to “Head Gate” and back to our starting point via Condamine Gorge (also known as Cambanoora Gorge).

The traditional Aboriginal owners of this area are the Githubal, Kambuwal and Jocumwal people.

For the first hour of our journey we took a long slow climb up onto Acacia Plateau, while we battled swarms of flies. Thankfully Eric had the foresight to pack some insect repellant which kept the pesky insects away from our faces, allowing us to enjoy to majestic open blue-gum forest.

The rocky road eventually rises up to the “Border Track” following the rabbit-proof fence along the border between Queensland and New South Wales. At an altitude of over 1,000 meters, this section has thick rainforest on the NSW side of the fence and open farmland on the Qld side. I’ve seen similar scenarios at other places along the border (such as The Border Ranges) and it makes me wonder about the relative priorities of both states in their early years, and the importance of land-clearing to Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

From the border track we dropped about 600 metres in altitude in the space of 8km. I don’t have any pictures of it since I was clinging on to my handlebars for dear life while I bounced down a rocky track, dodging stray logs and precarious ruts. The Trough Creek descent is a mountain bikers delight, but it’s rough. You need good suspension, and a reliable wheel / tyre combination. I suspect riding this on a cheap bike would result in pinch-flats and crashes.

I got to the bottom yelling out “Wow, that was awesome!”

A few minutes later, after bouncing down some more rocky roads, we eventually reached the rock pools at Koreelah Creek, where we stopped for lunch.

“White Swamp” marked the lowest elevation point of the ride. From here we faced another long slow climb up to “Head Gate” – the Qld / NSW border crossing.

“Head Gate” is a secluded border crossing in the middle of nowhere. It boasts a dilapidaed house, and a shed. If you stand in NSW and look north to Qld, a huge sign tells you how un-welcome rabbits are. In fact, if you try to keep rabbits in Qld, you’re liable for a $30,000 fine. If you stand in Qld and look south, you’ll see a similar huge sign wich tells you you’re not allowed to take livestock into the state along that road.

For us it was a welcome place for a short break. It was also a reminder that we had stopped our long climb and could look forward to some more descending.

As we rode along Condamine River Road, we enjoyed some amazing views of the Gorge.

Like the sign says, if you go along Condamine River Road you need to be prepared to cross the river 14 times. And they’re not just shallow little crossings, they’re deep, and you’re definitely going to get wet.

We rode through several crossings. Eric showed us how it was done. We waded through the rest of the crossings, carrying our bikes. Normally I hate getting my feet wet. On this trip, I just accepted the fact that it was going to happen, and didn’t worry about it. I actually discovered that it’s not that bad riding in wet feet – provided it happens towards the END of the journey and not the start 🙂

Once we got to the end of Condamine River Road, we headed south along the bitumen, across the border again, and back to our starting point at Legume.

Our route took us in a big circle, in the middle of which was Queen Mary Falls. Since we didn’t actually ride to that point, we decided to drop by in the car on the way home. The falls are only a five minute walk from the car park on Spring Creek Road, so it was worth the detour.

We also stopped at Carrs Lookout where we were gobsmacked by the views of Mount Superbus and Wilsons Peak.

What a stunning way to finish the day.

All up we rode about 64km in 6 hours including breaks. We ascended 1,450m and I burned 3,700 kcal. The ride has two tough climbs, one sketchy descent and numerous river crossings. It also involves a three-hour each way drive from Brisbane. I’m giving it 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. You need medium to high fitness, medium skills, a good bike, and some good riding buddies. Be careful after rain as the river crossings may be impossible to ford – which means a long detour. Take lots of water in Summer – it is hot work. Take lots of snacks.

Total distance: 64.6 km
Total climbing: 1518 m
Average temperature:
Total time: 05:51:20

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Cycling, History, South East Qld, xc

Mount Kilcoy

by NeilEnnis 15 October 2012 7 Comments Shortlink

Mount Kilcoy is a small farming community in a secluded valley bounded on three sides by the Conondale Range. I was curious about what it would be like to ride from there into the hills to the north, so I convinced a couple of friends to join me.

Jason, Wil and I started our ride surrounded by contented cattle grazing on the lush grass. This place has known severe drought in the last decade, so it was really nice to see so much green grass and flowing water.

After a few easy kilometres warm-up along Mount Kilcoy Road, we eventually reached the national park boundary. From here, the gradient increased sharply, and we had to start working quite hard. Wil made the mistake of munching on a couple of meat pies before the ride. He regretted that half-way up the 5km climb.

We climbed about 450m in 5km as we wound our way up the range. Hill climbs are a fact of life in mountain biking, so we just sat back, pushed the pedals, and slowly made our way to the top.

I’m glad we did most of the hard work at the start. From that point our route undulated northwards over the mountain range as we crossed several picturesque creeks. The creeks in the western section of the Conondale Range drain into the Stanley River and Somerset Dam, eventually flowing into the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay.

At the half-way point of our ride we reached the Sunday Creek Environmental Education Centre (EEC). This wonderful facility is run by the Queensland Education Department to provide Environmental Education to our kids. One of the walls of the centre has a mural based on an old photograph of Alf Raung and his bullock dray. Alf used to work his bullock team between the logging towns of Yednia and Jimna. In the early 20th century, the Conondale Range was logged for its magnificent timber. In fact, the EEC is situated where an old sawmill use to be. Some of the buildings used to form part of the sawmill. Alf Raung would collect the huge logs that timber getters had felled. After loading them on his dray, the team of bullocks would haul the heavy load to the sawmill where it would be cut into planks.

In a strange twist of fate, Alf’s grandson, Michael is principal of the EEC.

Before the days of logging, the Sunday Creek area had a gold rush. EEC principal, Michael, tells me that several thousand people lived in this area at the time. While some panned for gold in Sunday Creek, others dug myriads of mines as they feverishly sought the yellow metal. Some accounts say that people were crammed in so closely together in tents and makeshift shelters that it was almost impossible to drive a horse through the area. If you take time to wonder around, you’ll come across small mounds of dirt which at first glimpse appear to be unmarked graves – they’re actually old mine shafts.

Our plan was to then visit the Sunday Creek Fire Tower. It’s clearly marked as a feature on the DERM maps and I thought it would be a great spot to enjoy the view. After grinding for a kilometre up a very steep and overgrown track, we discovered the fire tower was gone. All that was left were a few old stumps. And there was no view. Aparently it was damaged by a forest fire several years ago, and was demolished. I was grateful the guys didn’t take out their disappointment on me physically 🙂

After the fire tower, we made our way southwards along “Ten Mile Road” over a few more creek crossings, stopping every hour or so to top up on food and rest our legs.

I’m glad we took time to rest. I was expecting a nice steep downhill run back into the valley, and didn’t anticipate the mother of all climbs beforehand. It was only about 500 metres long, but we were all pretty tired by the time we reached the top.

The view from North-West Point at the top of the climb was worth the effort. Below us, to the south, we could see the spectacular landscape stretching out towards Lake Somerset.

From this point, Kerrs Lane dropped steeply. It was a mountain bikers dream. We just put our weight back as far as possible, tried not to overheat the brakes, and enjoyed the long ride back down to the valley. We lost over 400m of altitude in about 3km.

At the bottom of our descent, we found ourselves in a paddock next to a farm house. Ed and Kylie Williams live at Cedar Glen – an idyllic cattle property at the end of Kerrs Lane. They kindly explained to us that although Kerrs Lane might look like an “official” road on maps, it doesn’t really exist. While we thought we were hooting down a gazetted road on our bikes, we were actually riding along one of their farm tracks.

From there, it was a quick roll down Kerrs Lane, back to our car, with the contented cattle still munching on the lush grass.

We rode about 55km in about 6.5 hours including breaks. We climbed a total of about 1,600m and I burned about 4,000 kcal. Due to the tough climbs at the start and finish, and the challenging navigation that it required in parts, I’m giving this one 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.

I’d like to pay tribute to Wil. He doesn’t have much experience in Mountain Biking (he’s a road bike rider). This was his first real cross-country mountain biking experience. Apart from a digestive challenge at the start because of the meat pies, he nailed this ride on an entry-level bike with flat pedals and v-brakes (not disk brakes). I think he did incredibly well. Good on ya, Wil!

Thanks, to Jason, too, for driving us out there, and providing some great company during the ride.

I’d also like to thank the Williams family for their warm welcome when we turned up unannounced at their front door-step. It was really nice to meet you, Ed and Kylie.

Thanks also to Michael from the EEC. It made a big difference to us being able to top up our water at Sunday Creek. What you’re doing there is amazing!

Total distance: 54.71 km
Total climbing: 1665 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 06:40:19

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Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, History, South East Qld, xc

Conondale Range

by NeilEnnis 7 October 2012 1 Comment Shortlink

The Conondale Range is a beautiful part of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland located between Maleny, Kilcoy, Kenilworth and Jimna. It forms part of the Great Dividing Range and includes rugged mountainous country, serene creeks, thick rainforest and some challenging but fun riding tracks. It forms the headwaters of the gorgeous Mary River, and is the northern most part of the catchment area for the Brisbane River.

This area is part of the traditional country of the Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi aboriginal people. The Bunya Pine (Araucaria Bidwillii) which grows here is sacred to them as a food source and a focus of cultural activities including the triennial Bunya Feast mentioned by Tom Petrie in 1845. In 1842, New South Wales colonial Governor Gipps recognized this, made it illegal to clear any land north of Moreton Bay if it contained Bunyas. This postponed European settlement of the Sunshine Coast hinterland until the new Queensland Goverment repealed the edict in 1860.

It wasn’t until 110 years later in the 1970’s that the Conondale National Park was established after a campaign by conservationist group, The Conondale Range Committee.

To their great credit, the local Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi people were instrumental in setting up the “Great Walk” trail – a popular route for many hikers today.

I’ve ridden in this area before with my friend Eric: In the southern section around Bellthorpe, and further north near Charlie Moreland Park and Booloumba Falls. After both rides, I started wondering if there was a way we could ride through most of the forest from south to north, starting at Bellthorpe, north of Woodford and ending at Charlie Moreland Park near Keniworth. Today we answered that question!

Rather than ride a big loop, we took two cars, parked one near Charlie Moreland Park (a couple of km from Kenilworth). We then drove the other car up to Bellthorpe in the south to start our ride. This meant we could cover a greater distance.

After a harrowing drive up Grigors Road from Conondale, we parked Eric’s 4wd at Bellthorpe near the site of the old Brandons timber mill site – a reminder of the logging history of the area.

We headed north along the road to Jimna. It’s a popular 80km drive for 4wd enthusiasts. Our aim was to follow the road part of the way, then veer North-East into the forest along one of the fire management roads.

Along the way, we enjoyed the stunning views to the west.

After about 45 minutes we reached our intersection and stopped for a quick bit to eat.

From there it was an easy roll down the hill to one of the many pristine creeks that flow through the forest. Since we weren’t in much of a hurry, we decided to have another quick break 🙂

The climb out of the creek crossing took us through a variety of different landscapes including some ancient rainforest, as well as a small hoop pine plantation and some open Eucalyptus forest.

The Fire Management Road overlaps with the “Great Walk” trail for several kilometres. The Great Walk allows hikers to complete the 56km circuit in about 4 days.

As we headed further north, we eventually crossed Booloumba Creek, then met up with Forest Drive – one of the forest roads we had ridden on one of our previous rides.

Rather than follow this busy gravel road back to Charlie Moreland Park, we detoured via another fire management road in order to find another way down the mountain.

The fire management road dropped us out on the main road at Cambroon, and we followed the paved road for a few km back to the end point of the ride on the banks of the beautiful Mary River.

We rode 40km in just over 3 hours (4:15 including leisurely breaks). I burned 3,500kcal and we climbed over 1,100m in vertical ascent. We also enjoyed over 1,500m of descent since we started at a higher point than where we finished. Because of the remote country, and logistical difficulty of setting this ride up, it rates 8 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. Maybe 7.5 out of 10 if it was part of a well organized ride.

Total distance: 40.88 km
Total climbing: 1157 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:12:38

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