It is hard to believe that we still find new surprises around this beautiful city. Today the suburb of Springhill sprung some surprises on us. The summer heat is still upon us so we met early at Roma Street and enjoyed a walk through the parkland in the cool of the morning. As always, the gardens were in pristine appearance. We decided to try out some new poses . . . After all this walking it was time for a hearty breakfast at The Treasury Kitchen and the special of the month did not disappoint. The eggs Benedict were delicious. Afterwards some of us viewed the "Into the Woods" fairytale themed art display at G.O.M.A. before heading home. The exhibition brings together contemporary art, breathtaking costumes, immersive installations and stunning cinema from visual storytellers around the world to untangle themes of bravery and justice, loyalty and humility, cunning and aspiration. This was a varied and very pleasant morning easily notching up 10 kilometres.
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Today we enjoyed a new hidden gem with lovely trails to meander along and enjoy a variety of birdlife and different vegetation types. Archerfield Wetlands is a 150 hectare green space, just 12 kilometres from Brisbane’s city centre. It is wedged between the Ipswich Motorway, Archerfield Airport and Bowhill Road, Durack. Once a site for wastewater treatment and a meat works factory, Archerfield Wetlands is now being given back to nature for the community to enjoy. The parklands are still being developed with work progressing on
Archerfield Wetlands is one of Brisbane's largest floodplain ecosystems. Water from Haleys Creek and Blunder Creek feeds into the wetlands from the south before emptying into Oxley Creek to the north. Oxley Creek, also known as Benarrawa, has been used for centuries by First Nations people as a pathway between the Brisbane River area to the north and the Teviot Range to the south. After enjoying the wetlands, we drove a short distance to a lovely little cemetery nestled beside Archerfield Airstrip. This time the cemetery visit was not instigated by me, but rather by the Roles girls in search of their relatives who were early pioneers of the area. Afterwards we finished the morning with a delicious morning tea of scones and jam and cream.
Work to build the gardens at the foot of Mt Coot-tha began in 1970 and in 1976, Brisbane Botanic Gardens was officially opened. The now well-established 56 hectare gardens feature more than 200,000 plants representing approximately 5000 species from around the world. Plants are displayed in subtly changing thematic and geographic communities. This time of year, the gardens offer a spectacle of colour and we enjoyed a leisurely day exploring their beauty. But of course, first their was cake. Colour splashed our paths at every turn. The gardens are enhanced by sculptures throughout. We completed our walk with a leisurely picnic lunch and more bubbles. Some days are just meant for this.
Plunkett Conservation Park is a favourite walk of ours, especially in Spring when the wild flowers bloom. This week we were not disappointed. The paths are steep and rocky in parts, but the scenery is well worth the effort. This week we followed a purple path, enjoying the gorgeous, blooming jacaranda trees around the streets and parks of Brisbane. Dressed in shades of purple to blend in, we started mid-afternoon at Goodna and moved on to Chelma, then Tarragindi. The trees took so much of our attention that one of our hikers tripped and fell on a steep street. A resulting broken arm meant she missed our sumptuous dinner to conclude the day at "The Prawnster" on the Brisbane River. The highs and lows of hiking are many.
The garden city is at its prettiest in spring and we were delighted to be heading there on such a sunny, clear day. Toowoomba was in full bloom, bursting with colour and cheer as it celebrated the annual Carnival of Flowers. Since its inception in 1949, the annual 10 day event has flourished and is now an iconic Queensland event. We began with a wander through Queens Park, sucking in the glorious scents of the flowers, as well as feasting on the colourful designs woven into the flower beds.. Our spirits were high on such colour, but a morning tea picnic of coffee and homemade brownies proved that our spirits could be lifted even further. With appetites sated, we continued on to Laurel Bank Park, another great showcase of floral displays during the Carnival of Flowers. Our next stop was at Highfield Falls Bushland to do some hiking, after all, we are a hiking group. There are several walking circuits in this park - all named after birds that live in the area. Each of the walks is relatively short but very pleasant with lovely scenery. We felt we had now earned lunch, and had to admit our choice of homemade cottage burgers from the Chocolate Cottage was unbeatable. The sun shone. The sky was blue. The setting was in a little village green. The food was grand and the wine was cold. The Hungry Hikers were very happy. Leaving the mountains, we made a final stop at the beautiful Spring Bluff Railway Station. It never disappoints. Hopefully we never underestimate the joy of stopping to smell the flowers.
Today, being the first day of Spring, we decided to walk where we could enjoy some wildflowers. Plunkett Conservation Park is always an enjoyable place to walk, and also quite close to home. Only three of our group walked today though, as the other four are off galavanting around western Queensland. The countryside is drying out quickly as the heat builds. Make a trip to Plunkett soon if you want to catch the wildflowers before they wither.
Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, located in Carnarvon National Park, about 1,000 kms by road north west of Brisbane. Millions and millions of years have been taken to create this masterpiece of breathtaking beauty, which I feel very privileged to have finally visited.
I spent 4 days walking tracks that gave me access to Indigenous cultural sites,, narrow sandstone canyons, extensive sandstone cliff lines, basalt-capped tablelands and mountain ranges, and relict rainforest vegetation. Click here to read about my walking adventures at Carnarvon in more detail. We hiked another new trail this week out at Mt Barney National Park. About an hour and a half south west of Beenleigh we followed Upper Logan Road to the end of the track to reach Yellow Pinch Reserve. The last few kilometres are dirt road through lovely bushland. After morning tea we headed off in search of Cronan Creek Falls. We followed the track that is signed for the South Ridge. The walk starts with a fairly steep incline for about 800 metres and then flattens out to an easy walk after passing through a pedestrian gate to the left. (If you continued straight instead of passing through the gate you could take an uphill hike to see a beautiful view of the top of Mt Barney.) Once through the gate we followed the fire trail through the grassland and through a gate with a cattle grate. The trail then took us up and down some gentle slopes, past two campsites and through several creek crossings. Some were able to be rock hopped, but some were deeper and it was easier to remove our shoes and wade through. At about the 6km mark we spotted the small sign that marks the entry into the falls. From here we made our way through the tangled greenery and came out along the side of the creek. There is a lovely swimming hole at the falls but the water is freezing. We were content to sit a while and dangle our feet in the water before heading back. We completed our walk back at Yellow Pinch Park with a barbecue lunch - just the thing for hungry hikers.
We were excited to discover a new local walk in Cornubia Forest this week. There’s no dedicated car park for this walk so we parked on Collie Street, not far from the intersection of Boxer Ave at the start of the pathway. The path entrance is alongside a fenced playground, where we had morning tea before our hike. Cornubia Forest Park is a beautiful bushland setting with a wide, easy grade paved path cutting through its base. Following the path we had glimpses of the back yards of Shailer Park houses and exit ways to neighbouring streets. After enjoying the paved section we did a bit of hill climbing and explored some of the wonderful, and interestingly named tracks threading through the forest. Our favourite was the Stupidly Happy trail, but others also had enticing names such as Ginger Gully, Spangled Drongo, Bird Wing, and Resurrection. We covered a leisurely 10 kilometres, with plenty more tracks to explore in the future. If you plan to explore the park click on the Trail Map to plan your hike.
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