For the first time since we walked in March before the Covid-19 lockdown, all seven of the Hungry Hikers hiked together again as a group. It was appropriate we begin with morning tea at the lovely Henry Ziegenfusz Park in Cleveland. The plan was to then hike in the Scribbly Gum Conservation Park behind the Redlands Hospital, but with no parking space available near the hospital, we had to drive to the other side and enter via Warana Drive. We were delighted to find this natural conservation bushland of 239 hectares in the heart of the Redlands. We walked a leisurely 9 kilometres, but there are many tracks we have yet to take here.
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Due to a little confusion this week we all walked our own separate ways on Wednesday without ZOOMing. We had planned a ZOOM lunch Thursday because the 'hungry' in Hungry Hikers needed tending and as the walking was being well covered we forgot to ZOOM that part. Confused? So were we. Helen and I walked locally, but a little further afield this week. We crossed the Albert River and walked the streets of Rivermount. It was lovely seeing some different streets, and the estate still has a rural feel with some bushland and pastures. Wednesday was walking day. Thursday was eating day. Sticking to government guidelines we were able to meet up for lunch in two households. The food looked good in both and although it was lovely to catch up, it is still not as good as the real deal. One day we'll all be together again . . .
Until then, stay safe everyone.
After our walk we visited the Logan City Art Gallery and got a sneak peak preview of the International Wildlife in Art exhibition now on. Local wildlife was captured well, especially after having seen the real deal only moments before.
White Rock is one of our favourite walks, and it always looks spectacular under a blue sunny sky. We are becoming used to early morning starts and picnic breakfasts, so we chased the late setting full moon to Spring Mountain Conservation Park and dined on one of the many picnic tables there. Walking trails vary in length and difficulty. We chose the six kilometre circuit which is a relatively easy walk on a wide well-cleared track. Some parts needed a little rock scrambling as we chose to climb and follow a ridge that gave us excellent views of the surrounding countryside with the skyscrapers of Brisbane looming in the distance. It is now well signposted thank goodness, as we have been known to get a little lost in the past. In fact one of our group (not mentioning any names) once turned the two hour walk into a five hour one because she was lost. Part one of our day successfully fulfilled our hunger for food and hiking, but the day was yet young, so we headed into Ipswich to explore the landscape through art. Arthur Boyd (1920–1999) is considered one of Australia’s most significant modern artists and the Ipswich Art Gallery's exhibition "Landscape of the Soul" is open until 18 August. We spent a bit of time wandering here before ending the morning with a delicious Indian banquet and a fine glass of wine. All in all, another great day of retirement.
We have hiked this section of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail before, but it is a great one to revisit under winter sunshine. We set off very early to begin with a breakfast fit for a king in the park near the old Lowood train station. Leanne never disappoints with her picnic breakfasts and this one was spectacular. Much of the trail near Lowood is near the Brisbane River and features beautiful views of the river. Some sections of the trail pass through railway cuttings stabilised with dry-stone pitch rock and brick walling, but then it runs through lovely farm lands of the Brisbane River Valley. The trail itself is mostly gravel and the 8.5 kilometres to Fernvale was easy walking. We had to forgo a local pie from the famous Fernvale bakery as we were still quite full from breakfast. (I know ... I hear you saying that is hard to believe, but it's true.) We rested our feet and sipped a coffee at the bakery instead. Then it was back on the track again. The original railway line through the Brisbane Valley was built during the early years of last century to transport supplies to the growing number of small farms in the Valley, and to transport milk products, timber and stock to Brisbane markets. The last rail motor service on the line was in 1989 and the railway line was finally closed later that year. We look forward to completing more sections of this trail in the future.
WE have been doing a lot more eating than hiking lately, so this week the Hungry Hikers decided it was time for a long, hard walk. We headed to Binna Burra to tackle some hilly terrain through the rainforest, exploring boulder-strewn mountain streams, dramatic lookouts, rugged cliffs, and plunging gorges. Of course that didn't mean we didn't do any eating. First there were Christmas treats for morning tea. There are many hiking trails to choose from, but we settled on the Bellbird Circuit. With a few side trips to scenic lookouts and waterfalls we ended up covering 18 kilometres, our longest walk this year. It was another excellent hike, and our aching feet, tired limbs and pesky ticks we took home with us were all worth it.
Just when you think you might have run out of new places to hike, something else pops up and you wonder how you never knew about it before. This week we discovered Bayview Conservation Park, an outdoor recreation reserve located between the suburbs of Redland Bay and Mount Cotton. There are over 60 km of bushwalking and mountain bike trails and horse riding tracks. Due to the warmer weather, we made an early start, meeting at the German Church Road main entry. The trails are graded at different levels and have the most interesting names. We began on the Wolf Peach track which gently climbs to its highest point, before descending with switchbacks. It then flows along the valley floor to connect with Puck Road. We also tackled Kids Loop, Chicken Run, Calendar Boys, and Blow. We passed through a diverse range of vegetation communities including open forest, Melaleuca wetlands, riparian areas and attractive stands of grass trees and candlestick banksias. The paths were clear with gentle rises and falls, and though there were plenty of sign posts, they were a little hard to follow and relate to the map at times. After a few hours, we found our way back to the car park and enjoyed a delicious morning tea picnic in the main day use area. The facilities include showers, BBQs, picnic tables and toilets, set in beautiful green lawns. We definitely plan to return soon to explore more of the many tracks available. For more information on this wonderful area including trail explanations and maps, click here.
First we met at Joc's for morning tea, then took the cross river ferry from Norman Park to New Farm Park, where we enjoyed the flowers and scents before wandering the streets and walking along the boardwalk. Having worked up an appetite (surprise, surprise), we had a delicious lunch at the Merthyr Bowls Club before strolling back to the ferry.
This week we headed to the north end of the Gold Coast, but cut our planned walk short to view the 2018 FAI World Parachuting Championships. This turned out to be a good decision as the weather was very hot. We began with a hike through the Pine Ridge Conservation Park The terrain varies from bushy trails to sandy open trails, through banksia shrubby bushland and rare coastal heath. I donned my gaiters as the snakes are quite active at present. My walking buddies may laugh at my fear of snakes and throw caution to the wind, tramping bare-legged through the Aussie bush, but I like to be prepared. Some recent controlled burning has resulted in plenty of new growth, and wild flowers added a touch of colour. After our walk we had morning tea by the water. Cake and champagne were in order to celebrate Jocelyn's birthday. Then it was a short drive down the road to the Sports Super Centre where the parachutists were in action. 600 elite skydivers from 25 countries participated over a week, in competitions including formation and speed skydiving. We visited the assembly area first where we were able to watch participants training and preparing for jumps. Then we went to the landing field and enjoyed watching them land. We didn't clock up many kilometres this week, but we enjoyed casting our eyes to the skies. And then of course, there was also food. Lunch at a cafe in Runaway Bay was a fitting end to our day.
Winter in Queensland is very mild, but there is one place where temperatures drop considerably. Our walking group decided to head to higher elevation on the Darling Downs for a few days of hiking, fine wine and good company. The cool, high country of the Granite Belt is located on Queensland's southern border. We ascended the Great Dividing Range through Cunningham's Gap, then by Warwick and Stanthorpe and Ballandean, where we had rented a lovely house, alone on top of a high hill with magnificent views. As we could not check in to our accommodation till afternoon, we parked our cars at the property entrance and took a wine tour for the day. We were the only seven on the tour and were able to pick and choose the places we visited. The mix of wineries and artisan businesses made for a fantastic day of sampling a wonderful variety of delicious tastes. Our drivers had organised lunch at Varias Restaurant. The Award Winning Varias Restaurant, Conference and Function Centre, together with the Banca Ridge Vineyard and Cellar Door, is incorporated into the Queensland College of Wine Tourism. In partnership with the University of Southern Queensland, Stanthorpe State High School and 27 other Gateway Schools, the College provides training from secondary to tertiary levels in viticulture, oenology, tourism, hospitality and business. We were delighted to help in the education of our state's young people. Before heading home we made a stop to see Stanthorpe's newest tourist attraction. Queensland's coldest town has celebrated its title by unveiling the Big Thermometer. It is set in Rotary Park and is so new its surroundings are still being landscaped. After our delicious day of touring local wineries it was time to settle in to our new digs. The house was big and warm, surrounded by bushland and gorgeous views. After all our eating and drinking and touring, we had an early night, retreating to very comfortable beds. While some of us continued to enjoy the comfort of our warm beds next morning, Helen and I braced the -4 degrees dawn and walked to the top of the hill to enjoy sunrise. After breakfast, we redid this walk with the others and enjoyed the view in a whole different light. After enjoying the view and a whole lot of posing, we returned to the house to hike down to the river. The sky was still splattered with an amazing swirl of cloud and wattle was riotous in golden bloom. We set off with confidence (mistake number 1) and no water or food (mistakes number 2 & 3) as we thought we would only be away a short time on a short hike (mistakes number 4 & 5). We wound our way along a rough, overgrown 4-wheel drive track and enjoyed the lovely bush with birds singing and kangaroos grazing, before hitting the creek. It was on the way back we found ourselves lost as there seemed to be tracks everywhere and we could not recognise any. Thankfully, after a few hill climbs and backtracking, good old Google maps helped us find our way out of the maze. We had a lot of thirst quenching and hunger sating to take care of when we returned. We had revived by sunset and made some more toasts to friendship, hiking and this beautiful part of the world. After a great night's sleep Helen and I once again took an early morning hike while the others slept on. We covered an invigorating 8 kilometres and returned just in time for breakfast before the others gave up on us and began. All too soon it was time to head home, but we made a couple of stops on the way. We enjoyed morning tea at The Bramble Patch and lunch at our picnic spot at Cunningham's Gap, then continued on home with full bellies and many happy memories. A perfect mid-week break to remind us how great retirement can be.
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