South East Qld – Page 38

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

Coochin Creek

by NeilEnnis 5 October 2013 No Comments Shortlink

Today was a major milestone for me – this was my first cross-country ride since my accident in July. After some encouragement from the doctor to get back on the bike (and take it easy) I decided to plan a long ride with little or no climbing or rough terrain.

Our aim was to ride from “Moby Vics” petrol station on the Bruce Highway at Coochin Creek, through the pine forests to Golden Beach at Caloundra. Then we’d ride back.

I had ridden some of these roads with Darb and Simon last Christmas when I cycled up to Coolum, so I knew what to expect.

As with most of our rides, we had a great time – even if things didn’t go to plan.

Today’s ride would be slower than usual – but Simon and Darb kindly agreed to ride with me at a more relaxed pace.

We set off into the endless forests around Coochin Creek. Long flat logging roads stretch off to the horizon in almost every direction. This is the perfect place to disappear on the bike for a day, forget everything, and turn the pedals with next to no effort at all.

After about half an hour we reached Mellum Creek and started heading eastwards towards the coast. I’d spotted some great looking gravel tracks on Google Earth that would take us almost directly to Golden Beach.

For most of the day, Mount Beerwah watched over us. Occasionally we could see the smaller stump of Coonowrin as well. Ever since someone told me that Beerwah was a pregnant mother in Aboriginal legends, I like to think she keeps an eye on me when I’m in her country.

Everything was going to plan until we encountered a locked gate. The sign said someone was shooting feral animals, so we decided it would be safer to detour around the area rather than risk getting shot.

We later encountered the guy who did the shooting. He told us he wasn’t shooting today, but we couldn’t follow our intended route. The whole area had been bought up by property developer, Stockland and was going to be turned into a “Satellite city” of 30,000 houses some time in the next 20 years. Till then, no one was allowed on unless they had legitimate business – and that business didn’t include riding bikes. The Stockland motto of “Making a worthwhile contribution to the development of … our great country” seemed quite hollow.

As we headed off, I was aware than another friend, Wayne, was riding this way, about an hour behind us. We’d agreed to meet him at Caloundra. So I decided to make a big crazy wooden arrow on the track pointing in the direction of our detour in case he was following us.

The flat land around here makes the sky seem huge. It’s possible to see the horizon in almost every direction. It’s an exhillarating feeling.

These camels looked a bit out of place with the cattle, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Our aim was to keep heading east and perhaps find another track that would lead us around the perimeter of the Stockland property, and help us get back on course.

Sadly, that didn’t happen. The blocked off property was huge, and there was no way around it, since the only way across Coochin Creek was on that property.

If we were going to ride to Caloundra, we’d have to double back 10km, and try riding on the western side of the Bruce Highway instead.

So we did…

…and the first thing I had to do was keep a promise to myself.

One of the causes of my accident a couple of months ago was being unwilling to get my feet wet. I was trying to avoid putting my feet in a creek, and slipped. I decided I’d break this habit. My friend Jason encouraged me by giving me a pair of thin woollen cycling socks – the type that dried quickly when they got wet. My old thick hiking socks retained lots of water making for unpleasant rides.

When we arrived at Meillum Creek I boldly waded across. The water felt pleasant, and a few minutes afterwards, Jasons socks did their trick and I wasn’t aware of any moisture. Thanks Jason!

The tracks to the west were rougher and steeper than I had planned for, but we pressed on. I was very pleased to be able to ride up most of the pinch climbs. Darb and Simon patiently waited for me to catch up at the top of most of the hills.

Eventually we reached another “Private Property” sign. I think we could have navigated around it. We were only a couple of km from the Caloundra highway turn-off, but we all agreed that this was probably a good time to call “half-way”, turn around, and start heading for home.

We took a more direct route back south through some of the pine plantations near Landsborough and Beerwah. The trip back was going to take about half the time of our tortuous first half.

These motor cyclists looked like they were having a wonderful time, although I think with all that dust I would have prefered to be the guy in front. We stayed well out of the way till they passed.

We rolled back into the car park after about 5 hours having ridden almost 60km with 437m of elevation gain.. I’m sure Simon and Darb could have done it in much quicker time, but I’m really grateful we were able to do it together.

While we relaxed over some cool drinks in the cafe I saw this sign. Normally I ignore cheesy sayings, but this one rang true for me. In the past, going for an easy ride on some flat forestry tracks would have seemed a little thing. Like a lot of “little” things, you don’t realize how “big” they are till you lose them.

Thankfully this had only been a temporary loss.

For fit riders this ride probably rates about 6.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. In my current state I’d rate it about 8.5 out of 10.

Thanks, Darb and Simon, for a great day.

Total distance: 60.63 km
Total climbing: 1378 m
Average temperature: 30.3
Total time: 05:09:35

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

Somerset Lookout

by NeilEnnis 29 September 2013 No Comments Shortlink

We’ve been to Somerset Lookout a few times. It’s a spectacular precipice on the edge of the western escarpment of D’Aguilar National Park, overlooking Somerset Dam.

The Somerset Region is named after pastoralist and politician, Henry Plantaganet Somerset who, in the 1870’s, became the first European to cross the D’Aguilar Range from Samsonvale to Cressbrook in the vicinity of present day Joyners Ridge Road. While not belittling Somerset’s achievement, it’s interesting to note that the Jinbara and Undambi Aboriginal people had been doing this for centuries before him. Perhaps Somerset should have just stopped and asked someone for directions 🙂

Today’s point-to-point ride started at Chambers Road in Mount Brisbane. While Darb was griding up this steep gravel road, our riding buddy, Paul was heading for the end-point of the ride, Neurum Creek. He planned to ride the route in reverse, and meet up with us near the halfway point.

As usual, I was the designated driver for the day. It was my challenge to make sure I didn’t lose Darb when he disappeared down a twisty bush track, while keeping an eye our for Paul, making sure we didn’t pass each other unawares.

I love navigational challenges!

The other challenge about this section of forest is that it’s shared, so it was important to keep an eye out for friendly motocross riders who were also riding the trails.

Darb is a powerful hill climber. I shouldn’t have been so surprised to see him make it to the top of Chambers Road in record time. He didn’t even stop, but kept grinding up Peggs Road.

Peggs Road is challenging. After the tough climb to the top, there’s a wonderful winding descent to Byron Creek. The downhill section is the perfect place to catch your breath, because once you hit the creek crossing there’s another long climb up to Selin Road.

But, as usual, Darb nailed the climb up to Selin Road in record time. Later, when I looked at his Strava page for the ride, I noticed he had more Gold Medals than an East German weight-lifting team.

This was a different sort of Mountain Biking experience for me. We were both riding the same trails – except I was doing it in a car. Darb and I got into a rhythm where I’d drive ahead to the next interesting point on the trail, and wait for him to catch up. Usually I didn’t have to wait long. Mountain Bikes can move very quickly on rough forest trails.

To mix things up a bit, Darb went off on some single tracks while I stuck to the road. When I next saw him he couldn’t stop grinning. Those narrow winding trails were a lot of fun.

A popular destination for hikers, Somerset Lookout never disappoints. We could see Wivenhoe and Somerset dams in the distance, as well as the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers. We live in a wonderful part of thw world!

Like before, I rushed off ahead in the car then waited at the intersection of the road and the single track till Darb passed by on the bike. I was waiting here for what seemed like ages until I realized that Darb had been too quick for me. Although I had arrived at the point as quickly as possible in the car via the gravel road, Darb had been quicker on the narrow track. He had been and gone before I’d even got there. Nothing to see except wildflowers and tyre tracks 🙂

In order to catch up with my unstoppable riding buddy, I played it safe and headed for our “lunch” stop at The Gantry. “Lunch” is a misnomer – it wasn’t even 10am, but I think Darb had earned his lunch.

The Gantry is all that remains of The Hancock Sawmill that was built in the 1930’s to mill timber that was logged in this forest. It mas much easier to cut up the wood on the mountain than haul it down to Caboolture or D’Aguilar. The timber-getting days are over, and the forest is slowly growing back, although it may take a couple of centuries to regain some of the gigantic mature sentinels that once towered over this forest.

After our break, I sent Darb off into another part of the forest that was inaccessible to me in the car. He emerged a bit later than expected, with cuts from Lantana branches on his forearms.

“That was tough”, he puffed as he reached the top of the hill.

The overgrowth on those tracks made any sort of progress hard work.

Approaching us from the opposite directioin, Paul met us on Lovedays Road. He had ridden the tough climb up from the Neurum Creek Camp Ground and caught us pretty close to the Gantry. Considering he had started a couple of hours after we did, this was an impressive effort.

Driving with Mountain Bikers is tricky in hilly country. While they’re slower than motor vehicls going UP a hill, there are very few cars that can keep up with a skilled Mountain Biker going DOWN a dirt road. I played it safe and stayed behind the riders as we descended some of the steeper hills. I couldn’t keep up with them. Gee those guys are quick!

I just waited till they got to the bottom, then passed them on the way up the next hill.

With more downhills than up, we were in Neurum much sooner than we’d anticipated.

The 40km had taken Darb about four and a half hours including a total of about an hour in breaks. That’s an impressive pace for a route that had about 1,500 metres of climbing.

Darb said he’d rate it about 8.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. I think the cooler weather was kind to us today. In hot weater, or in muddy conditions after rain, it would have been much harder.

Thanks, Darb and Paul, for another fun day out!

Here’s Darb’s video of the day:

Somerset Lookout 2013-09-28 from Darb Ryan on Vimeo.

Total distance: 41.67 km
Total climbing: 1533 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:32:31

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Cycling, South East Qld, xc

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail

by NeilEnnis 22 September 2013 8 Comments Shortlink

Today’s ride was from Esk to Walloon following the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail for most of the way. I was support driver for Becca, Eric, Darb and Jason, dropping the riders off in Esk, then making sure they had a vehicle to get home from Walloon.

We’ve had many happy rides ending in Walloon. It has a railway station which makes it an easy destination for long point-to-point rides.

We’ve also experienced some amazing rides along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail from Fernvale in the south to Linville, Blackbutt and eventually Yarraman in the north. The rail trail isn’t an end in itself: in the past we’ve used it as any easy off-road route between different ride locations, allowing us to stitch together epic adventures covering large distances.

Like rail journeys in bygone years, today’s journey started in the middle of town heading down a straight flat track, surrounded by bustling townspeople going about their business. The only difference was that there was no smokey engine pulling these carriages.

Bridges over creeks are closed to traffic for safety reasons. There are large sandsone blocks in the creek beds to make it easier to cross the creek without getting your fee wet.

Mount Hallen Railway Station used to be the first stop on the south-bound line 10 km from Esk on the way to Ipswich. Our pedal-powered “train” rushed through there after about half an hour…

… In fact, it was little over an hour before the “Mountain Bike Expresss” pulled into Coominya, 25 km down the line. The flat gradients made it easy to keep up a quick pace.

The word “Coominya” comes from the Yugarapul aboriginal words “Kung-i-nya” which means “View of the water”. One sign in town suggested it might also be a question: “Where is the water?”

Charles Lumley Hill was an early European settler in the area. He owned “Bellvue Station”, a large cattle property. The railway station was originally called “Bellvue” and serviced his property, as well as allowing transportation of timber to the city. Hill asked for the name of the station to be changed to avoid confusion with his property, and so the name “Coominya” was chosen.

Lockyer Creek has deep banks as you ride south-east from Coominya to Lowood. In flood times, this waterway becomes a raging torrent. But on this mild spring day the water looked delightful.

The trail passes quite close to the road, south of Lowood. The railway engineers elevated it slightly here to avoid flood water. It was uncanny how train-like the riders looked, silently pedalling along the track. I don’t think they had any idea I was watching…

The “train” arrived in Lowood earlier than expected (as trains sometimes do), so we decided to have an early lunch. The busy town was startling after the solitude of the trail.

East of Lowood, the trail follows the Brisbane River. Driving a motor vehicle along the adjacent road, it’s difficult to enjoy the view. One of the delights of trail riding is being able to take your time and soak up the gorgeous scenery.

At this point we left the the rail trail and headed up “into the hills” south of Vernor. The steepness of Ogg Road was a pleasant surprise after 40 km of relative flatness. As always, the views at the top were worth the effort of the climb…

… and the horses were friendly too!

One of the consequences of leaving the rail trail was that the tracks became rougher. In places the grass was quite high, and the only way through was by pushing the bikes.

I eventually caught up with the riders again as they rode up the hill towards Haigslea Cemetery, near Walloon. They had ridden 62 km in about 4.5 hours including an hour of breaks. Total ascent for the ride was about 600 metres.

Becca and Jason had ridden “The Epic” the previous week, and thought this trip was a pleasant change from the rigours of racing. They rated it 5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. Darb rates in about 7 out of 10. Eric had mechanical problems and couldn’t finish.

I think this would be a relatively easy ride in either direction for most mountain bikers. Taking advantage of the railway service in Walloon, it would be an ideal start for a multi-day adventure northwards via the rail trail to exciting destinations in the South Burnett or along the Bicentennial National Trail.

Esk Walloon 2013-09-21 from Darb Ryan on Vimeo.

Here’s Darb’s excellent video of the ride.

And here’s his track log…

Total distance: 62.23 km
Total climbing: 672 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:31:49

Download file: activity_378718262.gpx
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BNT, Cycling, Recovery, South East Qld, xc

Anduramba

by NeilEnnis 15 September 2013 13 Comments Shortlink

Totdays adventure was a point-to-point ride from Blackbutt (on the Great Dividing Range) to Toogoolawah (in the Brisbane Valley) via portions of the Bicentennial National Trail through Emu Creek and Anduramba.

I drove the support vehicle while Darb and Eric rode the mountain bikes.

Although I’ve ridden through here several times before via the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail, this was my first look at this section of the Bicentennial National Trail. My friends Graham and Rients had ridden some of our route a week or two before us, and graciously gave me their track log to help me plan our ride.

Blackbutt is a beautiful little town. The cool thing about the local pub is that it still has rings on the posts outside so you can tie up your horse. It was too early in the day for us to pay a visit to the “Radnor” Hotel, so we set off out of town along the road to Crows Nest.

My plan was to drive ahead, set myself up, and take some pics of the guys as they rode past. But I underestimated how fast mountain bikes can go. Eric and Darb are strong riders, and although I had driven what I thought was a reasonable distance, as soon as I got out of the car and looked back, they had caught up with me.

I yelled some obscure abuse at them to slow down, but they just laughed at me.

The rolling farmland here had a unique beauty. The horizon felt like it was further away than usual and the sky seemed higher.

Eventually the plains gave way to a steep descent, and we dropped down to Emu Creek. Although this boulder-strewn creek is quite shallow, it becomes a raging torrent after heavy rain. The landscape changes from year to year as it is continually sculpted by floodwaters.

Today, thankfully, the creek crossing was a mere trickle.

After the creek crossing we had a steep climb out of the gorge with gradients of up to 25% for almost 1km. Huge granite boulders towered over us on one side, while the hill dropped sharply down to the creek on the other. This is a stunning trail.

Eventually the steep grind gave way to more rolling plains. We encountered this fascinating property at the top. If you’re interested, “Wayta Buggery” is for sale. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but I suspect this would probably be a “pro” not a “con” for the right buyer.

The road wound through numerous cattle properties and over countless grids, lazily following the contours of the land. Although Darb and Eric were working quite hard, I enjoyed the slow drive – not having to worry about deadlines. If you ever feel like a leisurely relaxing drive for a few hours, this is the perfect route.

It’s good for the soul to stop once in a while to soak in the panorama and be dwarfed by the landscape.

Perhaps that’s part of the reason that Eric and Darb kept catching up with me. Stopping to take pictures, losing track of time, I shouldn’t have been so surprised when I looked up to see them rolling past me.

At this point the route of the Bicentennial National Trail became a bit confusing. It has recently changed. Previosuly it headed eastwards through Nukienda Station, ending up at Eskdale. Today, our track took us further south, on an alternative part of the trail to Anduramba.

Anduramba Hall is a charming old building made from Galvanized Iron and surrounded by boundless plains of farmland. It was just past the halfway point of the ride, and had a friendly little picnic shelter out front, so we stopped here for lunch.

The grounds surrounding the hall were well looked after. The gardens were carefully maintained. The buildings were in good repair. In the city, we take this sort of thing for granted. I slowly turned around and couldn’t see another human anywhere. I realized that caring for a place like this, far from anywhere, takes a lot of work and dedication. These cheerful rural halls are hallmarks of a generous community spirit.

At this point we started heading east towards Toogoolawah. On future rides it might be fun to turn right instead, and explore “The Bluff” and Crows Nest. What do you think, Eric?

Halfway along the road to Toogoolawah, we stopped at Eskdale Station. This was where we met up with the old Bicentennial National Trail route again. The road here is hilly. Eric and Darb looked tired, hot and thirsty. Darb told me they were averaging about 20 km/h for the ride. That’s a cracking pace almost twice the speed we normally ride at. It was an impressive effort.

As they rode off, I had a look at Ivory Creek – one of the major watercourses in this area that eventually flows into the Brisbane River. The water here is crystal clear. On a hot day like this it was really tempting to ditch the clothes and jump in.

I made my way back to Toogoolawah to wait for my friends. The last part of their ride was northwards along the rail trail. Although the trains are gone, the railway bridge over Cressbrook Creek is still there.

As I stood at the trailhead near Toogoolawah, I could see Eric and Darb in the distance. They had done it. Slightly disappointed I couldn’t ride it with them, I was still grateful for being able to experience such a beautiful adventure.

Total distance: 78.18 km
Total climbing: 1450 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:30:31

Download file: activity_375239297.gpx
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Here’s Darb’s track log.

All up, 78km in four and a half hours, including breaks. There was about 1,400m of climbing and about 1,700m of descent. Average moving speed of 20.6 km/h.

An amazing effort. Darb tells he he’d like to rate this one 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. On this early spring day it was hot. In summer it would be really difficult.

Thanks, Eric and Darb, for including me in a great day.

Hiking, Recovery, South East Qld

Tinbeerwah

by NeilEnnis 8 September 2013 1 Comment Shortlink

The aim of today’s adventure was to join up a couple of sections on my “map”. I’ve ridden through Wooroi forest at Tewantin several times (and loved it). I’ve also ridden through the spectacular Noosa Trails Network near Cooroy, Pomona and Kin Kin. But I hadn’t explored the country in-between these two places, so I thought I’d check it out.

I parked the car half-way between Cooroy and Pomona and set off towards Lake Macdonald. This area has a wonderful network of trails, so I just followed the trail markers.

Lake Macdonald is an artificial lake formed when Six Mile Creek was dammed in 1965 to provide water for the Noosa shire. Today it’s home to a wide variety of birdlife and fish, including the rare Mary River Cod.

From the lake, I headed east along Collwood Road. I had plotted an ambitious course into my GPS that would take me down this road, around the back of nearby Mount Tinbeerwah (which I wanted to climb) and then to my final destination at Tewantin State Forest….

I happily followed my GPS along the quiet trails, oblivious to the fact that I had configured the GPS incorrectly. Instead of following my course, the GPS was in “navigate” mode. It was taking me on the shortest route between the two points. I was unaware that I was “off course” and just kept blindly following my GPS…

… and got spat out on a main road. I was very disappointed! My original course would have taken me through some great forests, but my GPS had taken me to a busy Sunshine Coast thoroughfare. I was on foot, and had limited range because of my injury, so I had no choice but to soldier on. I had determined that my sensible limit for the day was about 10km. Doubling back would have added another 5 or 6 km to that, which wouldn’t have worked for me.

After a slow couple of kilometres walking along the main road, I eventually reached Wooroi Forest at Tewantin. I’d passed this spot several times on the mountain bike. Today I met a happy Roadie riding up Gyndier Drive. This road used to be an old race track, winding up the hill. In fact once or twice per year vintage cars still race to the top. Most other days, cyclists use the hill to test their strength. It’s not terribly steep, but the long consistent gradient provides a good challenge.

I also passed a few mountain bikers on their way to the forest trails.

Today was polling day. By a strange co-incidence, the end-point of my hike was at a polling booth busy with people arriving to vote in the Federal Election. A few of the booth workers from the different parties agreed to get together for a group photo. I told them I thought they were amazing to spend their time working for a cause they believed in. Even though they were diametrically opposed to each other on some issues, they had more in common than they’d normally admit, which is why I think they were quite happy to pose together for this photo.

The bird-life didn’t get a vote today 🙂

I’d walked about 9km so far, but I still wanted to climb to the summit of Mount Tinbeerwah. I decided to catch a cab back to the car, and drove to the car park at the base of the mountain.

It’s a 500 metre walk from the car park to the summit of Mount Tinbeerwah. The path is paved all the way, with seats placed at strategic intervals for tired hikers.

The 360 degree panoramic views at the top are worth the easy climb. I can’t think of an easier climb on the Sunshine Coast which yields such an amazing vista. If you measured it in terms of view quality versus the effort it takes to get there, the Tinbeerwah Summit is about the best value you can get.

I met Ian and Angela at the top. They kindly agreed to let me take their photo, and to take one of me. Angela once had a similar knee injury to me, so we exchanged notes while clicking away on the camera.

Another enjoyable adventure came to an end. It didn’t go as planned. In hindsight, that was ok because half the fun was dealing with the surprises. As I think about it, an adventure isn’t about getting from the start to the finish – it’s about what happens in between!

Total distance: 10.59 km
Total climbing: 1276 m
Average temperature: 26.2
Total time: 02:39:53

Download file: activity_371680797.gpx
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Total distance: 1.82 km
Total climbing: 317 m
Average temperature: 29.8
Total time: 00:45:33

Download file: activity_371680779.gpx
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All up I walked 10km in 3.5 hours including breaks. I’d really like to explore some more of this area in future.

Aboriginal Australia, Hiking, History, Moreton Bay, Recovery

Minjerribah

by NeilEnnis 2 September 2013 1 Comment Shortlink

North Stradbroke Island is a stunning sand island which frames the eastern border of Moreton Bay, near Brisbane. It’s the second largest sand island in the world, after Fraser Island – a couple of hundred kilometres further north.

I spent a day roaming over this special place with my son, Jonathan.

Until about a century ago, it was one island. During a fierce storm, a ship laden explosives was wrecked on the Jumpinpin Bar. Local authorities detonated the explosives rather than risk a catastrophe while trying to retrieve the cargo. This weakened the sand bar, which allowed rough seas from the storm to break through, cleaving the island in two, forming a new passage between North and South Stradbroke Islands.

“Minjerribah” is the aboriginal name for Stradbroke Island. “Moorgumpin” is their name for Moreton Island. These islands, together with all of Moreton Bay are known as “Quandamooka” country. The Quandamooka Aboriginal people comprise three groups: The Goenpul and Noonukul from Minjerribah, and the Ngugi from Moorgumpin.

The only way to get to “Straddie” is by boat. Our ferry left Cleveland at 5:15am, so I had to get up at 3am in order to pick up Jonathan and get to the ferry on time.

Bleary eyed, and dosed up to the eyeballs with strong coffee, we stood out on the deck of the ferry, “Big Red Cat”, and marvelled at the amazing dawn.

As we drove off the ferry, our first destination was Brown Lake – an elevated fresh water lake in the middle of the island.

The sun was just rising over the hills as we arrived, so in true tourist fashion we gaped at the beauty while clicking off dozens of photos. It’s not every day you get to see a sunrise over a pristine freshwater lake.

A little further towards the east we arrived at the “Eighteen Mile Swamp” a coastal freshwater swamp stretching for almost 30 kilometres behind the coastal dunes. This amazing lake is the largest of its kind in the world and is home to a large number of rare and endangered species.

The swamp, surrounding forests, and dunes form part of the Naree Budjong Dara National Park. “Naree Budjong Dara” means “My Mother Earth” in the language of the Quandamooka people.

The beach here stretches as far as the eye can see in either direction. It was a wonderful feeling to be one of only a handful of people on the entire beach. Lots of space is good for the soul.

It’s important to remember that the beach is an official road, and that vehicles could pass by at any time. These drivers were bogged in sand and were desperately trying to free their car by scooping sand out from under the tyres.

As we made our way back from the beach, we stopped for a short walk around Toroise Lagoon – another fresh water lake that forms part of the “Blue Lake” system.

Because of my knee, I didn’t feel able to complete the full 6km walk around Blue Lake, but I felt pretty good about doing the shorter 3.5km loop around Tortoise Lagoon instead.

Back on the bay-side of the island near Dunwich, we checked out one of the few remaining Shell Middens on the island. Over centuries, Aborigines would sit around here, enjoying shellfish, oysters, crabs, etc. The left-over shells were discarded in a large pile. Over time this heap grew to several metres in width and a couple of metres high. I explained it to Jonathan as the remnants of a two-thousand year long indigenous seafood party.

“Imagine being able to go out on the rocks and pick up a handful of Sydney Rock Oysters, or Moreton Bay Bugs whenever you wanted”, I said to Jonathan.

Before European colonisation, this place was paradise. Life here must have been full of contentment.

We then made our way northwards towards Amity Point, at the north-western tip of the island.

This is a fascinating point for a number of reasons:

It’s not far from here across the treacherous South Passage to Moreton Island. This is a dangerous passage because of shifting sand bars, strong currents, and unpredictable conditions.

At this point in 1823, the local Aboriginal people had their first face to face contact with Europeans. Last week I wrote about three shipwrecked ticket of leave convicts who were rescued by John Oxley on Bribie Island. Finnegan, Parsons and Pamphlett were washed ashore on Moreton Island. The Ngugi people on Moreton kindly fed these poor begraggled strangers for two weeks, and then rowed them across the South Passage to Amity Point. The Noonukul cared for them for another five weeks before eventually sending them on their way across the bay to the mainland via Peel Island, coming ashore near Ormiston.

A couple of decades later, Europeans were colonising Moreton Bay, including the Island. Amity Point was chosen as a Pilot station because of its proximity to the South Passage. The Cargo Ship, Sovreign, was moored off Amity for over a week in heavy weather. She attempted to clear South Passage, but was wrecked in the process, going down about two kilometres off shore.

A group of Aboriginal men, some from Minjerribah, some from Moorgumpin swam to the wreck, at great risk to their own lives. They were able to save the lives of ten passengers. Unfortunately, 44 people drowned.

It was a tragedy, but the aboriginal men were heroes, and were honored by the NSW government for their bravery.

Today, two of these brave men, Toompany and Nuggin, have streets in Amity named after them.

As we drove along the northern tip of the island, towards Point Lookout, Jonathan and I discovered more historical gems at Cylinder Beach.

In 1803, the colonial ships, “Cato” and “Porpoise”, were wrecked on reefs east of Gladstone. Matthew Flinders took the ship’s cutter, and decided to sail the small open boat back to Sydney with thirteen other men. After sailing 600 km south, they were running dangerously low on water, and anchored off Cyclinder Beach to find water. Some aborigines on the cliffs saw them, and signalled to them where they could find fresh water from a small creek nearby. After refilling their casks, the crew were able to complete the perilous 1,000 km voyage to Sydney.

When we looked along Cylinder Beach today, speckled with holiday makers, it seemed a long way from the remote water stop for thirsty sailors over two centuries ago.

The warm turquiose ocean is stunning to look at here. As I soaked in the beauty it occurred to me that the original inhabitants of this place were fortunate to live happy, healthy lives in one of the most bountiful places on the planet. They enjoyed a standard of living higher than most of the Europeans who were trying to colonize them. In most early contacts, they responded with kind-hearted generosity.

Thomas Pamphlett came from the north of England during the industrial revolution. It would have been cold, dirty and crowded. His poverty would have made it difficult to find food to eat each day. I wonder how he would have remembered his seven weeks in the sun with the Quandamooka people?

At Point Lookout, on the north-eastern tip of the island, we walked around North Gorge. This is a spectacular inlet where the waves rush up the narrowing gorge.

It’s also a great spot to gaze out at the Pacific Ocean and watch for migrating Humpback whales.

You wouldn’t believe it was the last day of “winter” – the warm water was full of surfers.

From the headland we were able to look southwards down Main Beach as far as our eyes could see.

What an amazing place. I’m definitely coming back here on a bike when I am able 🙂

All up we travelled about 220km. It was 55km each way to the ferry at Cleveland, 10km each way across the bay and back on the ferry, and about 100km of driving on the island. To take a car on the ferry costs about $140, although during the winter months if you catch the early ferry it only costs $80. For a car with 4 or 5 passengers all contributing to the fare, it works out pretty cheaply.

We spent 9 hours on the island and didn’t feel rushed looking at all the things we wanted to see.

Total distance: 129.46 km
Total climbing: 3267 m
Average temperature: 29
Total time: 10:53:50

Download file: activity_367850565.gpx
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Total distance: 3.91 km
Total climbing: 323 m
Average temperature: 20.6
Total time: 01:08:33

Download file: activity_367861585.gpx
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Hiking, Recovery, South East Qld

Old Mills

by NeilEnnis 18 August 2013 2 Comments Shortlink

Today’s adventure had a couple of objectives. I wanted to close a gap in my map in Bellthorpe Forest. It was only about 2km in length, so I thought it would be achievable on foot, which would suit my current situation of not being able to ride a bike.

The other objective was to spend some time at Mount Mee an enjoy some of the amazing views.

I started the day at the Stoney Creek day-use area at the bottom of the range in Bellthorpe National Park. Stoney Creek runs down the southern slopes of the Conondale Range before eventually flowing into the Stanley River.

I thought this might be a great spot to re-visit in the heat of summer. The water in the rock pool here is bright blue. It looks like it would be a delicious place to cool off in the warmer months.

From Stoney Creek I slowly made my way up the mountain to Bellthorpe. The road is steep and twisty, so I took my time, enjoying the view.

At this point I parked the car, and set off on my short hobble/hike to the sawmill.

There’s plenty of evidence of logging from bygone days in this forest – you just need to know where to look. When trees were cut by hand, loggers would cut a square recess in a tree’s trunk which would then hold a wooden plank. They’d stand on the plank and either chop the tree, or cut another recess for yet another plank. You can still see the square holes in old tree stumps where the recess was cut by the logger.

The ruins of the sawmill show evidence of an old Gantry, crane, band saw and building foundations. They’re slowly being reclaimed by nature in its slow-motion revenge over the rusting machinery. The mill is a reminder that, like many other national parks and state forests, this place was once heavily logged.

As I sat on an old log, munching on my chocolate bar, a butcher bird found me, and sat down next to me – less than half a metre from me. I could have reached out and touched him if I wanted. He just looked at me as I ate, and made a pathetic chicken-like sound that was unmistakable. He wanted what I had…

…so I obliged. He was very grateful as his mate looked on enviously from a safe distance on an adjacent log. I didn’t know butcher birds like chocolate. I think perhaps they like whatever it is anyone else is eating – regardless of what they’re eating.

Nature seems to be taking over other things too. The lichen is growing very happily on the palings of this this cattle yard fence.

After I arrived back at the car, I slowly drove eastwards along the top of the range, over “Livingstone Hill” and through the small community of Bellthorpe. In the city below, the temperatures were quite balmy. But up here in the mountains, the breeze still had a pleasant chill to it. I parked a the car by the road and grabbed a few wild lemons growing by the side of the road. I’m not totally convinced Liz likes me bringing this sort of thing home as a “gift”, but it does my ego good to think that in some way I’m still playing the role of a primitive hunter gatherer.

Bellthorpe Range Road offers some amazing views of the Glasshouse Mountains as it slowly winds back down the mountain.

After a quick lunch in Woodford I made my way up to Mount Mee via Delaney’s Creek. On the way up, I stopped and had a bit of a look towards the north, and could make out the Conondale Range in the distance. It’s always fun to look back and get an idea of where you’ve been.

I made a quick stop at the Mount Mee lookout to soak in the views. Lots of other people had the same idea. What a glorious day – the views went on forever.

Eventually I made my way to Somerset Lookout near the Gantry at Mount Mee. Like Bellthorpe, Mount Mee also has a history of logging, as is evidenced by the huge gantry at the day use area. As I enjoyed the vista before me, I thought the last thing you’d want to do is log it.

I was fortunate to meet up with some happy hikers from the Hash House Harriers – a social group of runners. They describe themselves as drinkers with a running problem. I was delighted to meet up with such a cheerful group of people. Most people you meet in the bush are happy. I’m not sure if this means the bush makes you happy, or that it’s only happy people who decide they’d like to go hiking in the bush.

One of the hikers, “Beach Ball” (Harriers call each other by nick names rather than given names), decided he’d rather hitch a lift with me back to the gantry, instead of walking back. I was grateful for the company. He was grateful for the lift and gave me a beer when we got back. Cheers, Beach Ball!

Total distance: 4.16 km
Total climbing: 436 m
Average temperature: 22.8
Total time: 01:17:37

Download file: activity_360070719.gpx
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The walk to Brandon’s mill was only 2.3km but it took me 1 hour 18 minutes including stops for photos. If you were doing this ride on a mountain bike, I’d suggest starting at either Woodford, or the Stoney Creek Day use area. You might get an idea for a route from this ride I did a couple of years back – but be prepared for a long climb up Stoney Creek Road. If you do this ride, I suggest you take the short detour to Brandon’s mill before going down Bellthorpe West Road. It would only add 10 or 15 minutes to your ride, but it’s a fascinating place.

The drive was just over 200km with some great lookouts. If you were lookiing for some places to take the family for a Sunday drive, some of these spots would be ideal.

Australia, Family, Northern NSW, Recovery, Scenic Rim, Travel

The Border Ranges

by NeilEnnis 11 August 2013 7 Comments Shortlink

I’ve cycled through the Border Ranges a couple of times with friends. Both times it was raining, so we didn’t really get to see it at its best. So today I thought I’d take advantage of the recent run of specatcularly clear days and drove there for the day with my son, Jonathan.

While not being able to ride a bike for a few months has its disadvantages, there was one advantage – we had a lot more time during the day to stop and enjoy the views.

“The further south you go, the better it gets”, I said to Jonno as we drove south from Beaudesert. Just near of the border, along the Lions Road, we arrived at Running Creek. The road here crosses this pretty creek several times. It’s difficult to enjoy the view while driving, so we decided to get out and have a quick look around.

The interstate railway line crosses the range here via an unusual arrangement of loops and tunnels that were constructed about a century ago. We were able to look down on the system from the “Border Loop” Lookout.

(Pictures – Jonathan Ennis)

Our route meandered over more creeks and under several railway bridges until we eventually turned off onto the Gravel at Simes Road.

One of the joys of revisiting a special place is bringing someone who’s never been there before. Jonathan was stunned by the beauty and kept wanting to stop and take pics. I was happy to oblige.

We eventually arrived at “The Pinnacle” lookout after a long slow drive up the mountain. The last time I was here it was so cloudy and wet you could see nothing.

Today the beauty was overwhelming.

(Photo – Jonathan Ennis)

To quote John Williamson…. “You know, some people never see such things…” (The Cootamundra Wattle)

After carefully making our way down the other side of the range, we slowly made our way into Mount Burrell, in the upper reaches Tweed Valley. Believe it or not, this little stream is the Tweed River.

(Photo – Jonathan Ennis)

We found thls lady by the side of the road. She kindly posed for a photo with me but didn’t say much.

If you want to see some of the best scenery in South-East Queensland and Northern NSW in one day, I’d thoroughly recommend this drive. We drove a total of about 420km in just over 7 hours. I used most of a full tank of fuel.

Thanks Jonathan, for sharing it with me.

Oh – and thanks to my neighbor, Mike, who let me take his Holden Ute so far from home!

Musings