Category: South East Qld

Aboriginal Australia, Family, South East Qld

Kondalilla

by NeilEnnis 19 February 2011 1 Comment Shortlink

Kondalilla Falls Panorama
“This is paradise” I gushed to Liz as we walked through this spectacular national park today.

Kondalilla Falls
“Kondalilla” means “Rushing Water” in the Gubbi Gubbi / Kabbi Kabbi Aboriginal Language – a reference to the amazing 80m waterfall that pours out of the rainforest down to the rocks below.

Bunya
What’s also special about this rainforest are the amazing Bunya Pines (Araucaria Bidwillii) which tower above the forest on ridges and hill tops all over the place. Some of them looked to be at least 70 metres high. This is the homeland of the Bunya Pine – a majestic tree so important to the Aboriginal people who have inhabited this part of the world for thousands of years.

Neil and HarrisonLiz and the kids in the forest
It’s mountainous terrain – not for the faint-hearted. We climbed 300 metres during our 6km walk. But it was well worth the effort.


As an added bonus, a friendly Lace Monitor swaggered up to me and gulped down a chicken bone while I was filiming him.

Montville Panorama
Mount NinderryMount Coolum
The icing on the cake was the stunning views from the lookout at Montville. We were able to see all of the Sunshine Coast, including Mount Coolum and Mount Ninderry.

Yes, this is paradise, and we’re so lucky to be living in it.

Total distance: 7.58 km
Total climbing: 346 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 02:21:07
Download file: activity_68950123.gpx
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Cycling, Pine Rivers

Conquering Mount Samson

by NeilEnnis 12 February 2011 2 Comments Shortlink

A couple of months ago we tried to climb to the top of Mount Samson. Today we thought we’d try again!

Mount Samson was called “Buran” by the local Aborigines. In the Turrbal language it means “wind”. Unfortunately there was no wind up there today.

The aim was to ride our mountain bikes up to a flattish point at about 500m elevation, then hike the rest of the way to the 680m summit. Easier said than done. The road had been washed out in several places, covered in fallen rocks and logs. We climbed 430m in the first kilometre. With my head spinning and sweat dripping from me I was exhausted. Thankfully Derek gave me a bit of a push-along when I needed it, and we all managed to get the bikes up to the planned point.
Farm houses
View from Mount Samson
From this vantage point, the views over Lake Samsonvale out to Moreton Bay are spectacular.

At this point we met up with some hiking friends, and started the long slog through the lantana and up the mountain. Lantana is a horrible weed with stems that can grow thicker than your thumb. The leaves and stems cut at your skin and several times blocked out way entirely. We had to smash through it with our feet (we didn’t take a Machete).
Are we there yet?
Eventually we beat the lantana and took a breather before the final push up through the rocks and the rainforest to the top.

Grass Trees
Prayer Flags
Prayer Flags
Strangely the view from the summit isn’t panoramic. It’s covered with trees. But it’s still beautiful. Someone has erected some Tibetan Prayer Flags at the top. It took me a while to make the connection. Prayer Flags are usually flown high up in the Himalayas. But I suppose this is as high as you’re going to get around Brisbane, so it make sense to me.
Little House
We made it!
We made it!
You could see a few good views by peaking out through the trees, but for me the best bit about the summit was taking a well-earned rest with some really fun people. This started off, for me, as a harebrained scheme when I asked a few friends “Do you think we could ride bikes up Mount Samson”. The fantastic thing is that those friends were willing to try something difficult and silly with me – even the ones that weren’t able to ride. I’m really grateful to have friends like that.

What’s next???

If you’d like a sadistic look at the climbing-profile for this trip, here it is:

Total distance: 22.56 km
Total climbing: 1002 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 06:08:37
Download file: activity_67763058.gpx
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Cycling, Pine Rivers

Lacey’s Creek

by NeilEnnis 6 February 2011 No Comments Shortlink

Lacey's CreekLacey's Creek
I had a great ride along Lacey’s Creek this afternoon from Dayboro up into the hills towards the D’Aguilar National park.

Lots of undulating farmland, creek crossings, Hoop Pines, etc.

A really pleasant way to spend a couple of hours šŸ™‚

Total distance: 29.88 km
Total climbing: 454 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 01:46:58
Download file: activity_66828316.gpx
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Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, South East Qld, xc

Lake Manchester

by NeilEnnis 6 February 2011 No Comments Shortlink

This was a huge ride, starting with a tough 5km climb at the start and a gruelling 7km climb towards the end. It was worth it for the tranquillity of being out in the bush exploring new places.
Cabbage Tree Creek
After climbing “The Goat Track” I took Lightline Road down to Lake Manchester. It’s descends steeply for about 8km, which is fun. The only problem is that what goes down must eventually come up! This is Cabbage Tree Creek which flows down from the D’Aguilar Range into Lake Manchester.
Prickly Pear
I rode back up to Mt Nebo via Cabbage Tree Range Road. I love hill climbs, but this one was hard work and just kept going for about 7km. About half way up I conked out and had a large Mars Bar to try and get going again. That’s when I spied this Prickly Pear clinging tenaciously to a rock.
Scarred Tree
Rainforest Eucalypt
Once back at the top of the range, I saw familiar looking markings on a huge Eucalyptus. I think they’re aboriginal scar marks – similar to what I saw at the Wights Mountain Bora Ring. This area is part of the traditional country of the Turrbal people and perhaps they made these marks sometime in the mid 19th century.

It was a great feeling to be back on top of the range again. The air was cooler, I knew the ride was mostly downhill from there, and the sound of the Bellbirds was magical. They really do sound like bells!

Total distance: 34.35 km
Total climbing: 1229 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:38:23
Download file: activity_66637125.gpx
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Aboriginal Australia, Family, Hiking, Pine Rivers

D’Aguilar Range National Park

by NeilEnnis 26 January 2011 No Comments Shortlink

Jollys Lookout Panaorama
To celebrate Australia Day, Liz and I took the kids for a walk through the rainforest in D’Aguilar National Park.

There are various traditional owners of the D’Aguilar Range area, including the Turrbal, Garumngar and Jinibara Aboriginal people. The country is magical: the calls of Bellbirds ringing in the forest, the cool mountain breezes, the dense rainforest and the towering majestic tress. I can only wonder what it would have been like thousands of years ago before European settlement.
Maiala Rainforest
We started our walk through the “Rainforest Circuit” in the Maiala section of Mount Glorious. We followed an easy 2km trail through some lush rainforest.
Harrison at MaialaLiz and Lilly at Maiala

At different points in the forest we spotted giant Sydney Blue Gums towering over the forest. Before this area was logged in the 19th century, the area was full of these majestic trees. Now they’re much scarcer.
Giant Sydney Blue Gum

We then finished our walk following the trail from the “Western Window” lookout, through the bush back to the car park, before driving down to Jollys Lookout for some stunning views of the Greater Brisbane Area – no wonder Lord Mayor William Jolly built a road to it in the 1930’s!
Jollys LookoutThe Four of Us

Total distance: 4.91 km
Total climbing: 167 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 01:18:18
Download file: activity_65190815.gpx
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Family, Pine Rivers

Mount Nebo

by NeilEnnis 23 January 2011 2 Comments Shortlink

Mount Nebo Summit
The kids were a bit restless this morning, so we decided to burn up some of their excess energy by taking them on a hike. We drove up into the D’Aguilar Ranges and hiked from the road to the Summit of Mount Nebo (620m) and back – a total of about 6.5km.

We followed a forestry fire trail for about 2.5km to the summit, and came back via a walking track on the southern side of the ridge, which meant we were able to check out a number of different ecosystems.
Liz and the KidsNeil at Mt Nebo
Lilly in a Tree StumpMount Nebo Walking Track

It’s a different world in the rainforest. Worries seem far away!
Palm Forest

Let’s do this again soon šŸ™‚

Total distance: 6.32 km
Total climbing: 328 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 01:48:10
Download file: activity_64668973.gpx
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Pine Rivers

Mangoes at Clear Mountain

by NeilEnnis 19 January 2011 No Comments Shortlink

Liz in the Mango OrchardMango OrchardMango Orchard
It was getting late in the afternoon, and neither Liz nor I had done any exercise for the day. It was too late in the afternoon for me to consider going on the roads in peak hour in the dying light, so we decided to go for a walk along one of my favourite mountain biking tracks at Clear Mountain.

It’s a state forest reserve, but it doesn’t take much looking to realize that this land had other uses. Right at the start of the walk there’s a very old orchard of Mango trees poking out of the undergrowth. The only problem is either someone got there before us, or the wind in the storms was particularly strong, because there’s no mangoes on the trees at all.

The route we took is a great one-hour workout with about half a dozen steep hills to walk up and plenty of peaceful looking scenery to check out along the way.

Where's My Stump?
Perhaps the strangest looking thing was this Eucalypt which appeared to be suspended in mid-air without any stump – an entire tree that must weight a ton. I’m guessing the stump burned away during bush fires last year, and the rest of the tree ended up nestled into one of its neighbors. It’s still a weird looking sight.

God its good to get out into the bush!

Total distance: 4.59 km
Total climbing: 239 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 01:07:57
Download file: activity_64099541.gpx
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Cycling, Pine Rivers

One Mile Creek

by NeilEnnis 16 January 2011 3 Comments Shortlink

There are two major creeks in our area with misleading names. One Mile Creek is about Seven miles long. Four Mile Creek is about Ten miles long. Both creeks have their source in the beautiful bushland of Clear Mountain. Here’s some pictures of my ride through Clear Mountain and over the upper reaches of One Mile Creek.

Clear Mountain - Centre Road
This is the trail head of one of my favourite rides through Clear Mountain. Starting at the top of the mountain near Old School Road, Centre Road winds steeply down the hill through the eucalypts to a few crossings over One Mile Creek.

There are lots of trees, lizards and no sounds except bird calls and wind through the leaves.

It’s a great place to ride, and I’m so glad most of it is a state forest reserve.

Clear Mountain - One Mile Creek
The crossings over One Mile Creek have created some steep banks which are challenging to cycle in and out of, but are always enjoyable.