Places – Page 44

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

Christmas Creek

by NeilEnnis 10 March 2013 1 Comment Shortlink

The purpose of todays ride was to follow a route which connected up a previous ride Duck Creek with the small rural town Rathdowney via some picturesque country around Christmas Creek. Christmas Creek is in a rugged valley in the Macpherson Range south of Brisbane, near the state border. It’s the traditional country of the Mununjali Aboriginal People who are part of the larger Yugambeh-Bunjalung language group.

We started from Duck Creek in Kerry and followed some quiet paved roads south along the swollen Albert River. Recent rain has increased the flow in many of the local rivers and creeks – they look spectacular.

If you keep heading south in this part of the world, you come up against the impenetrable wall of the Macpherson Range and a number of rugged valleys such as the “Lost World” valley.

Our objective was is the next valley to the west, so we had to grind up and over the Darlington Range into to the Christmas Creek valley.

After more that 25km of paved roads it was a delight to finally arrive at the muddy tracks that followed the upper reaches of the creek. Cliffs shrouded in clouds reared up on either side as the creek raged over the rocks below.

Much of this area is a popular hiking destination. We met up with a group of enthusiastic hikers who didn’t mind braving the intermittent rain and muddy trails. “It’s a bit wet, isn’t it?” I asked one lady. “Yes, but it sure beats sitting at home watching TV” she replied. I couldn’t have agreed more. Incidentally, I’ve never met a grumpy hiker. Or a grumpy mountain biker. So if you’re feeling a bit depressed…. 😉

After last week’s adventure through flooded creeks, Eric joked that he’d be disappointed if he didn’t get his feet wet today. We didn’t let him down.

At this point we decided it would be best to avoid the more flooded sections of the creek. Unlike last week, it wasn’t necessary for us to attempt this crossing, and there was only a short section of track on the other side, so we turned around and headed back up over the hills.

On the southern side of the track, the imposing cliffs seem un-scaleable. In fact, in this spot, almost 75 years ago to the day, they were the site of a fatal plane crash and an amazing rescue mission by Bernard O’Reilly. (To read more, click on the following newspaper clipping from the Sydney Morning Herald in March 1937).

Bernard O’Reilly was a hero. He climbed these mountains to rescue two survivors of the Stinson plane crash, and them brought them back on stretchers by following the ridgeline at the top of these hills. Everyone thought it was an impossible task – but he succeeded because of his bushcraft skills, determination, and intimate knowledge of the land.

Inspired by O’Reilley’s bravery, we thought it would be worth having a look at the final section of the “Stretcher Track”. We rode / pushed our bikes up the steep slopes of “Neglected Mountain” following the track that O’Reilley used to bring the survivors down. It was tough going.

After battling ankle-deep mud, and impossibly steep gradients, we made it about half-way up the hill and were able to enjoy lunch and some wonderful views of the valley to the east.

I have no idea how this truck got up the hill, but it looks as though it died after the stress of the trip.

Cattle and wet weather have recently made the track a quagmire, so we decided to turn around at this point and enjoy the slippery ride back down the hill.

After the rigours of the “Stretcher Track”, it was relaxing to ride back to Rathdowney on a few more quiet back-roads.

We rode about 77km in about 6 hours including breaks. Our total ascent was about 1,200m, and I burned about 4,000k cal. I rate this one 7.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. If you plan to include the climb up the Stretcher Track in wet weather, then I’d add an extra point and make it 8.5 out of 10.

Thanks Becca, Eric and Darb for a fun ride!

NOTE: I lost my GPS after this ride, so this is Darb’s track log.

Total distance: 77.45 km
Total climbing: 1230 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 05:54:35

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

The Head

by NeilEnnis 3 March 2013 6 Comments Shortlink

“Eighty percent of success is just showing up” – Woody Allen

In the midst of the Queensland wet-season, it would be tempting to get up at 5am, look out the window at the rain, and decide to go back to bed for another couple of hours. But instead, I recalled Woody Allen’s famous words, and decided to “turn up” and hope for the best.

The aim of todays adventure was to ride from Moogerah Dam up to the headwaters of the Condamine River at “The Head” via Koreelah National Park. I also wanted to fill in another missing link on my map. Eric and Becca kindly agreed to indulge yet another hare-brained whim, and so we set off full of hope from Lake Moogerah in the drizzle.

On long cross-country rides like this, I prefer to use non-paved roads as much as possible, so we headed south towards the NSW border along Croftby Road.

The views of the Great Dividing Range to the west were stunning, but also served as a gentle reminder that we had a lot of climbing ahead of us. The Condamine River flows westwards into the Murray-Darling basin, so to get to its headwaters, we had to get over the Great Divide. And that meant a lot of hills.

We also wanted to check out the “Bicentennial National Trail” which runs through this region. It’s a mammoth 5,000km trail that runs from Cape York in Far North Queensland to Healsville in Victoria. It covers some of the toughest terrain in Australia, and we were lucky enough to be riding some of it today. The crossing at Reynolds Creek was flooded, but we were able to be able to avoid the flooded crossing by passing a couple of kilometres to the east.

A few kilometres of flattish terrain lulled us into thinking this was going to be an easy ride, until we hit Carney’s Creek Road. Instead of the 1.8km climb that the cruel sign would have you believe, the climb here is actually about 11km and ascends about 600 metres into the cloudy rainforest of Koreelah National Park.

After what seemed like hours of climbing, we finally reached the NSW border. A rabbit-proof fence stretches for most of the length of the 1,300km border between NSW and Qld – part of a vain attempt to keep the voracious animals out. The fence winds its way over mountain ranges, through thick rainforests, and across wide plains. It’s also a tangible sign of the work done by surveyors Roberts and Rowland in the 1860’s as they marked out the imaginary line between the two states. These and other early surveyors like Oxley, Dixon, Stapylton, Warner, Delisser and Lavelle were the true explorers of the Austrailan wilderness – blazing trails that we are still able to follow more than a century later.

As we rode, the rain continued to increase in intensity. By the time we got to Koreelah Creek the crossing was flooded and we had to wade through. We took it carefully, making sure no-one slipped in the fast flowing water. Just to be on the safe side, Eric carefullly waded into the water first, to check that it was ok to cross.

After yet another long climb, we made it to the top of Head Gate Road, to the border crossing known as “Head Gate”. The old shed was a perfect spot to get out of the rain, dry off, and have a bit of lunch.

Normally, this spot would have been the most scenic of the ride, with views to the west of Condamine Gorge with craggy cliffs rising on either side, and Mount Superbus towering in the distance. Today it was rainy and foggy, and we could see nothing, so we started the long descent down Head Road…

Head Road was closed to traffic. It was strewn with fallen trees, boulders and land-slips. Thankfully we were able to navigate around these obstacles with our bikes. It would have been impossible in a larger vehicle. As mountain bikers, we coined a new phrase for this sort of damage. It had been “Goat Tracked” – a reference to how damage to the Goat Track between Highvale and Mount Nebo had rendered it impassable to most vehicles except mountain bikes – not necessarily a bad thing 🙂

At the bottom of Head Road we had to contend with the swollen Teviott Brook. It crosses the road several times, and we had to carefully make our way across several flooded causeways.

I think it’s important to point out that wherever possible I don’t cross flooded creeks. It’s dangerous. It’s not something that we set out intentionally to do. There was no other realistic option for us, and we only crossed when we were certain it was safe to do so.

All up we rode about 90km in 7.5 hours including breaks. We ascended just under 1,800m and I burned 4,200 kcal. Taking the weather into account, the obstacles, and the tough terrain, this one deserves a rating on the tough-o-meter of 10 out of 10. Not for the faint-hearted. In cooler dryer weather it would be slightly easier and would probably rate 9 out of 10.

Total distance: 89.34 km
Total climbing: 1832 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 07:26:58

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

Spicers Gap

by NeilEnnis 24 February 2013 No Comments Shortlink

The aim of today’s ride was a reasonably long cross-country ride from the Southern Queensland town of Boonah, to Spicers Gap on the top of the Great Dividing Range and back again. It was challenging but had the benefit of being enjoyable despite recent wet weather.

We left Boonah and made our way towards Lake Moogerah via some quiet back-roads. Most of the country around Lake Moogerah is hilly, so we had to work reasobly hard. But it’s worth the effort. The views are amazing!

The Ugarapul Aboriginal people called this area “Moojirah” meaning “Place of thunderstorms”. When Reynolds Creek was dammed in 1962, the local authorities named the new dam “Moogerah” after the local aboriginal place name. When I saw the clouds brooding over Mount Greville in the distance, I agreed with the Ugarapul. It’s a perfect name 🙂

Our track took us around the back of the lake and up towards Spicers Gap Road. We took it easy on the undulating tarmac and gravel roads, aware of the impending long climb up the Great Dividing Range.

Spicers Gap road has been used for thousands of years by Aboriginal people as a (relatively easy) way of getting over the Great Dividing Range. In the 1840’s, stockman Henry Alphen discovered it was a much easier route for moving bullock drays than nearby Cunninghams Gap. So in 1847, with the help of convict labor, the government built the road along the ancient Aboriginal pathway. It’s steep – rising 600 metres in about 8km. That makes it a perfect mountain biking route 🙂

On the way up, there are some historical sites that provide a welcome break from the long climb, including a small cemetery containing the graves of several 19th century pioneers, and a curious freshwater spring, known as “Moss’s Well”.

The “highlight” for me was the wonderful view at the top of the long climb.

The views to the east are stunning. It was a perfect place to stop for a bite to eat, take in the panorama, and cool off.

And the up-side of any long climb on a bike is that you get to enjoy a long fast descent back down the hill. Riding down the steep, winding, muddy road with flecks of clay flying up into my face, hitting speeds of 65 km/h was a lot of fun.

Thoroughly exhausted, we made our way back to Boonah via the small town of Mount Alford. The local pub beckoned to us with its proud boast that it has longer opening hours than neighboring Boonah. We couldn’t resist. Hard work on a bike makes a drink at a pub taste so much better.

I’m grateful to Becca, Eric and Tony for agreeing to ride with me on yet another whimsical day of adventure and exploration on the bike. And especially grateful to Eric who let me “slipstream” behind him for some of the ride when I was feeling tired. We call it “getting a tow” because sitting behind a stronger rider makes so much difference when you’re tired.

We rode almost 80km in 6.5 hours including breaks. During that time we climbed about 1,300m, and I burned about 3,700 kcal. This is a tough ride. You have to first ride 40km, and then do a long 600m ascent up a dirt track, made more difficult by the soft wet surface. I’m rating this one 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. On a hot mid-summer day it would be even harder. In dry winter weather I’d probably rate it 8 to 8.5.

Total distance: 79.28 km
Total climbing: 1382 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 06:26:57

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Update

While at the State Library reading random old copies of the Moreton Bay Courier from the 1840’s I stumbled on this article about Spicers Gap Road. Click on the image for a larger more easy to read version.

Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, South East Qld, xc

Hardings Paddock

by NeilEnnis 16 February 2013 No Comments Shortlink

The purpose of today’s ride was to fill in a “missing link” on my map between Walloon and Hardings Paddock. I’ve done some fun rides with friends at both places in the past. Today’s wet weather provided an ideal opportunity to complete the 27 km gap between the two places and enjoy some scenic country out the back of Ipswich in South-East Queensland.

In typical mtb style I headed south out of Walloon looking for a dirt track I could follow. It wasn’t long before I found Mount Elliot Mine Road – a road casement which runs along sone one of the many mines around Ipswich.

The track was a bit muddy in parts, but was very rideable despite the wet weather. It eventually led me to the small town of Willowbank near the RAAF base at Amberley.

After battling some busy traffic along the Cunningham Highway for a couple of hundred metres, I turned south and followed another dirt track past some beautiful properties with some gorgeous horses galloping around. They were pretty curious and galloped up to me as I rode past. A bunch of horses galloping towards you is a wonderful sight.

This small cemetery is a couple of kilometres from Hardings Paddock. It’s unusual in that it’s a reserve dedicated specifically to Aborigines. I had a bit of a look around and was gobsmacked by what I found….

Harold Blair
Passed away 21 May 1976
Go our beloved
Be free in the land
From whence you came
Dorothy, Nerida
& Warren

Harold Blair was a a world-famous Aboriginal Singer and activist. He was born in Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve and grew up in Purga, south of Ipswich. The Australian federal electorate of Blair is named in his honor.

A little further down the road and I eventually reached Hardings Paddock. Feeling pretty pleased with my self, I stopped for a quick lunch before heading back to Walloon.

Hardings Paddock borders on a military firing range. As I rode past I saw these kangaroos huddled by the fence. They looked like they wanted to get out. Who knows? Perhaps they had decided that the military life wasn’t for them? Who can blame them?

I rolled back into Walloon after riding about three and a half hours including breaks. The total ride was just under 50km, with almost 400m of ascent, and about 1,800 kcal.

This was a pretty easy ride – flatter than what I’m used to, and with a large amount of quiet bitumen roads. It was ideal for a wet day, but I imagine it might get a bit hot on a fine summer day. The short stint on the Cunningham Highway was unpleasant, but the rest of the ride was quite enjoyable. I’ll rate this one 6.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.

Best of all, my map has one less missing gap 🙂

Total distance: 48.54 km
Total climbing: 425 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 03:29:55

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Brisbane, Cycling, Friends, xc

Daisy Hill

by NeilEnnis 10 February 2013 6 Comments Shortlink

I felt like doing a big ride today, so my friend Dean agreed to accompany me on a long cross-town ride from my place to Daisy Hill. The plan was to try to stick to Bikeways as we rode the 75km across town, then do a few off-road tracks at Daisy Hill Conservation Park, then I’d finish the ride by heading west across town to visit my parents at Forest Lake.

It was also a chance to fill in some of the “missing links” on my global ride map.

Dean surprised me when he turned up on a fully laden Salsa Fargo touring bike, complete with panniers and bottle holders on the forks. It weighed a ton – which is saying something because a lot of my mates tell my I should send my bike to weight watchers.

As if on cue, as we started the ride, the rain started falling, so our first few kilometres along the bike paths were in cool humid dampness – which was actually more comfortable than riding in the blazing sun.

Before long we were winding through the swampy She-oak and Paperbark forests of the Boondall Wetlands. I love this part of the Moreton Bay Cycleway. Being so peaceful makes it hard to imagine that this track is so close to the busy Gateway Arterial Road.

And since I was in a lazy mood, I just stuck behind Dean all of the way, in his slipstream. He’s a strong rider and we were able to maintain some really fast speeds as we powered along the cycleway in our mini peloton of two mountain bikers.

A combination of high tides and recent rain meant that the track was slightly flooded in one or two places.

Eventually we reached the Gateway Bridge and made our way over the slow hump of the bridge and down the other side.

From there we rode through the Minnippi Parklands towards the Critereon track at Murrarie. Since I was still tailgating Dean and riding in his slipstream, he passed the Finish Line on the track just a split second before I did 🙂

We continued to head south, towards Daisy Hill along the Bulimba Creek bikeway.

When we eventually reached Daisy Hill, Dean led me up “Second Coming” track near the Buddhist Temple on Underwood Road. It was amazing to watch him push this heavy bike with no suspension along some winding steep single track. The bike rattled a bit on the bumps, by Dean handled it really well.

We rode down “Stringybark” trail and did a loop of the Quarry Lake in Neville Lawrie Reserve. By this time the sun was high in the sky, the day was starting to get hot, and I was sorely tempted to ditch my gear and jump in the water. I think Dean was relieved when I decided not to 🙂

Next time I’m there, I’ll definitely jump in. The water looked great on a hot day.

From there we headed up to the “Top Carpark” to top up on water, before riding down “Possum Box”.

And I got a lesson from Dean in how to ride a heavy no-suspension touring bike on some twisty single tracks.

Including the last leg of my ride to Forest Lake, I rode a total of 117km in just over 6 hours (excluding breaks). I burned 5,100 kcal and climbed a total of 1,150 metres. Riding this with Dean made it much easier – especially being able to slipstream him, and to benefit from his knowledge of where to go in a part of town that I don’t normally ride. I’ll rate this 8.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. But if I did it solo, I’d probably rate it 9.5 out of 10.

Total distance: 116.91 km
Total climbing: 1279 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 08:51:20

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Cycling, South East Qld, xc

Mapleton National Park

by NeilEnnis 2 February 2013 3 Comments Shortlink

Most of the National Parks and State Forests around Brisbane were closed this week because of recent heavy rain. Luckily, Mapleton National Park (about 100km North of Brisbane) was open, so a few of us decided to go for a ride up there this morning.

We started in Mapleton, and rode northwards along the main vehicle track through some beautiful open Eucalyptus forest towards Cooloolabin Dam.

At the dam, we decided to take our chances and took the less-travelled fire trail to the west. The track was covered in fallen branches, bark, and a couple of fallen trees. But it was rideable. We only had to climb over one large fallen tree.

The climb up to the lookout is hard work, but it’s worth it for the great views.

From the lookout it’s a quick fast descent back down the hill to Cooloolabin Dam.

On the way back up to Mapleton from the Dam, we stopped at the waterfalls on East Cedar Creek to enjoy yet another spectacular view.

The steep ride back up the hill to Mapleton was tough, but the Eucalyptus trees looked stunning after all the rain.

Many thanks to Becca, Jason, Simon, and Ron; and also to local riders Dave and Ross. I really enjoyed being able to share such a perfect day with a great bunch of people.
This was a lot tougher ride than I anticipated. It’s only 22km from Mapleton to Point Glorious, so it’s a 44km out-and-back ride. But there are some long climbs between Mapleton and Cooloolabin. The hot and humid summer weather and the muddy branch-strewn path west of Cooloolabin added to the challenge.

Today we climbed 1,100m in 44km in just over four and a half hours including breaks. I burned 3,000 kcal.

Based on today’s conditions I think this ride deserves 8.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. In cooler months when the tracks are drier and there’s less debris laying around, I’d rate it 7.5.

Total distance: 44.95 km
Total climbing: 1152 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:46:48

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Lawnton, Wildlife

Butcher Bird

by NeilEnnis 20 January 2013 2 Comments Shortlink

Here’s a few photos I took of a juvenile Grey Butcher Bird (Cracticus torquatus) sitting in a tree at our place this morning.

They have a beautiful song, and are quite agressive in the nesting season. Birds often attack cyclists in the nesting season. A Plover will scream madly at you until you go away (they nest on the ground, and have a lot to lose if thet don’t chase you). A Magpie will give you a warning cry before attacking, and will often snap their beaks close to you, to scare you off. But a Butcher Bird will slam into the side of your head without warning, and then warble happily about it afterwards, as though she was laughing at you: “Gotcha, you nasty cyclist. Stay away! Don’t come back!”.

For the rest of the year they’re fun to watch, and to listen to…

DID YOU KNOW that there was a vindictive court case in Brisbane in 1882 (Spry vs Minchinton) about the theft of a Butcher Bird?

Cycling, Pine Rivers

Cooling Off

by NeilEnnis 9 January 2013 2 Comments Shortlink

Most of Australia has been experiencing a heat-wave. This makes riding a bit more challenging. So to beat the heat on my ride today, I thought I’d take a break at the half-way point and go for a swim.

Many of the trails around the lake are kilometres from anywhere. Knowing that the nearest person might be several kilometres away often gives me a wonderful feeling of solitude.

The views are great too.

So I just found a quiet spot, parked the bike, and jumped in.

I loved the feeling of having such a large lake all to myself, and enjoyed cooling off. The water was delicious. I think I could make a habit of this!

Total distance: 33.89 km
Total climbing: 625 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 03:02:01

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Musings