Category: South East Qld

I spent a couple of hours exploring some dirt roads north west of Coolum this morning.

I didn’t really have a plan – just wanted to stay off the main roads and discover some places I’d never been before.

Even thought it was raining when I left, I wasn’t disappointed. There are plenty of dirt roads, fire trails, and bush tracks around here and I had a great time finding some new places.

Lake Weyba is a large salt-water lake north-west of Coolum. There aren’t many roads that allow access to the lake because it’s bounded on the east by national park and mostly on the west by private property.

After riding down a dirt track for a kilometre or so, I eventually found the lake shore. It’s quiet and picturesque – well worth the effort to find it.

Noosa National Park – Emu Swamp Section is low-lying swamp land containing lots of paper-bark / Tea Trees, Banksias and Tree Ferns.

Simon and I had an awesome ride today through Brisbane Forest Park.

We rode from Lawnton to Samford, up the Goat Track to Mt Nebo, down South Boundary Road fire road to The Gap, up Highvale Road to Mt Cooth-Tha, and then along the Coronation Drive Bikeway into the City.

All up, just over 70km, and 1,500m of climbing.

We rocketed down some amazingly fast dirt roads, climbed some mountainous steep hills, saw some beautiful sights, and met some great people.

I really must do that ride again!

Neil: “It’s down that road somewhere I think….”

Simon: “Should I believe this bloke?”

I had been searching google maps for days trying to work out a good route west of Coolum to explore on the bike. The idea was to ride along some old tracks by a creek, then onto a quiet gravel road, and eventually across the Maroochy River via an old cane “lift bridge” and on to Bli Bli.

That was the plan….

The first track by a cane field looked perfect. I rode down it for a few km until it got muddier, the grass got higher, and ….

I ended up in a pretty thick Tea Tree (or Ti Tree) swamp. Tea Trees are amazing in that they can live happily in swampy ground with their roots submerged most of the time. They have beautiful papery bark, and can grow in a thick inpenetrable scrub, which is impossible to ride through on a bike.

So I backtracked….

I eventually came out on an old gravel road with some rickety old bridges. When I saw the bridge I realized I’d found the right track after going down a few wrong ones….

I came across what I was looking for. The local council described it as a sugar cane “lift bridge”. I figured I could squeeze myself and the bike through the gap in the bars and cross the river…

Crossing an old railway bridge while pushing a bike (I wasn’t crazy enough to RIDE across!) required a bit of care, but the bridge was solid, and I wasn’t in any danger…..

Arrrgggg! So THIS is what a “lift bridge” is! A section of the bridge lifts up to allow boats to pass under. Unfortunately the last “lift” happened years ago. There was no way I was going to cross that bridge!

So I turned around and rode home.

But it highlights what is an underlying theme for me when riding a mountain bike. The destination isn’t really the point. Yes, it’s nice to arrive, or achieve an objective, but when you really think about it, it’s all about the journey.