This week we re-did the pleasant beach walk over Burleigh Hill and north along the beach to Mick Schamburg Park on the headland between Burleigh and Miami Beaches. But first we began our adventure with a bit of shopping at Wild Earth. Some folding hiking poles, travel briefs and hiking socks later, we proceeded to Tallebudgera Creek for coffee and muffins, then hiked in earnest. We set a fairly cracking pace today as one of the group had to get back to Brisbane for an appointment, but we still made time to stop at the Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Life Saving Club for lunch. Although an overcast day, this walk is always pleasant, and a respectable 10 kilometres was achieved despite all the side activities.
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If you can stand the heat, Townsville is a walker's paradise. From the heights of Castle Hill to the sweep of Rowes Bay, from the Strand stretched between Kissing Point and The Port to the Town Common Conservation Park, from the walkways along Ross River to nearby surrounds, there are many paths for itchy feet to follow. Castle HillDuring our recent week's stay I joined the hundreds who walk Castle Hill, some in the pre-dawn, climbing above the twinkling city lights, others in the late afternoon, clearing their work-weary heads of the day's troubles. They thread their way up and down via the road or one of the many walking tracks. Some crazy Townsvillians even do it twice a day, but once a day was more than enough for me.
The StrandThe hundreds of walkers who pound the pathway along The Strand morning and evening may be a little less challenged, but are no less committed. They are joined by joggers, rollerbladers and cyclists out for exercise, but thousands more enjoy more relaxed activities like picnicking, swimming, playing in the water park, dining in one of the many waterfront cafes, or a myriad of other choices to fill their tropical days. Townsvillians love their Strand and make good use of it.
Jezzine BarracksOne of my most favourite Townsville walks is around Jezzine Barracks. It is a lovely place to take a leisurely stroll to take in scenery, enjoy art works, and soak up some history. The 15-hectare heritage precinct commemorates the military and Aboriginal heritage of the Kissing Point headland through 32 specially commissioned public artworks, extensive interpretive signage and the restoration of significant elements of the Kissing Point Fort complex. Art Work along the Coastal BoardwalkArt Work on the Ethno-Botanical TrailArt embedded along Jezzine Way - 'Moments in Time''Moments in Time' by Claudia Williams comprises 12 cast bronze circles with terrazzo centres, each representing a significant local Aboriginal story, a military campaign or a key moment in Townsville's history. Rowes BayRowes Bay provides another great walking path which sweeps 10 kilometres along Cleveland Bay beach. More fascinating public works of art dot the path. The location also provides access to many other walks through the bordering Town Common. Ross River ParkwayThe Ross River Parkway is a fabulous continuous community open space along both banks of Ross River, interspersed with high quality recreation facilities, all linked by over 30 kilometres of shared pathways. Truly a walker's delight. Harvey RangeTownsville is full of wonderful surprises and has changed so much to when I lived here almost 40 years ago. And that is just within the city. There are many beautiful spots in driving distance, but a week was not been long enough to sample many. One we did enjoy, however, was a drive to the top of Harvey Range and a visit to the Heritage Tea Rooms. The views back over Townsville were spectacular, especially so under the brooding light of brewing storm clouds. The Tea Rooms are set in one of the few remaining slab sided inns left standing in Australia. Once they provided a welcome stop to travellers and their horses and bullock teams on the way to the goldfields. Now they provide delicious food and a welcome escape from the brutal Townsville heat to motorists, cyclists and hikers. Being a Sunday when we visited, the garden tables were filled with people enjoying delicious breakfasts, brunches and morning teas. Mount StuartAt 584 metres elevation, Mount Stuart is a more strenuous hike up than Castle Hill. We drove instead and did a short walk around the summit, enjoying spectacular views over Townsville. We do love Townsville and are so glad we get to visit again and again since we still have relatives and friends there. I wish I had appreciated it more when I lived there.
The weather is warming up fast, so a beach walk and a swim were on this week's plan. We parked at Main Beach and walked to Broadbeach, enjoying the sunshine, the sea and the sand. After lunch at the Broadbeach Surf Club, we caught the tram back to Main Beach, but had to forego our swim as storms were approaching. Not many photos this week as we have done this walk a few times before. The sights were still stunning though and it remains high on our list of favourites.
Last Wednesday rain kept our little walking group indoors, but we made the best of it with bubbles and board games on Jocelyn's patio, followed by lunch at a local restaurant. This week some of our hikers were camping at Fingal Head, so Margot and I drove down to join them, fully expecting a long hike south to Kingscliff. Helen met us at the caravan park and drove us to the headland where she said the others were waiting. She walked us up past the lighthouse, then put up a big umbrella in front of us and insisted we watch the ground as we walked until she revealed all. Fully expecting a spectacular view of the coastline, we were not disappointed. BUT, there was more ... The happy campers had set up a lovely spread for morning tea, complete with table and chairs and bubbles. Morning tea turned into a long leisurely affair as we watched whales putting on a display in the deep, and dolphins playing and surfing the waves near the shore in front of us. After two hours we were still oohing and aahing out loud as we saw each splash of a breaching whale or leap of a dolphin. With reluctance we eventually packed up and went to explore the headland and nearby Giants Causeway. There are walking tracks all over this area. The headland itself is the result of a lava flow from the now extinct Tweed Volcano. About 500 metres offshore from the headland is Cook Island, a rocky uninhabited isle first charted by James Cook in 1770. The stretch of water to the island is called the "Giants Causeway", named after the famous Giants Causeway between Northern Ireland and Western Scotland. The local indigenous Goodjingburra clan's name for Fingal Head is Booninybah - Home of the Giant Echidna: "Booniny" means Giant Echidna. The spectacular columns of Fingal Head resemble the spines of an echidna, and so the Goodjingburra believe that the spirit of the echidna inhabits the headland. We followed our strenuous morning with lunch at Kingscliff and decided this had been the perfect way for the hungry hikers to spend the last day of winter. Next Wednesday we must walk!
After six weeks away, it was great to share a hike with my fellow 'hungry hikers' again. We have walked this Tallebudga/Burleigh Heads trail before, but we thought we could combine it with a spot of whale watching while the whales are still on the move. We entered Burleigh Heads National Park from the northern entrance and took the Ocean view walk around the rocky headland towards Tallebudgera Creek. We then followed the creek along the southern side, crossed the creek again and looped back towards the ocean.
This was a great 13 kilometre hike combining suburban, river, rainforest and ocean views. Please follow thehungryhikers on Instagram if you would like to see more of our adventures.
We seem to have been doing a lot of eating lately and not much walking, but with all five members back on deck and mostly recovered from their injuries we hit the hiking trails again. We started out from Jenny's place in Wynnum and upped the kilometres through the Bayside Parklands. Bayside Parklands conserve the area's remaining tidal wetland and bushland habitats and shelter many wildlife species. The foreshore parks overlook the tidal flats of Moreton Bay Marine Park which are important feeding and resting grounds for migratory wading birds. Having said that, we did first start with Jenny's delicious home made muffins and coffee to fortify us for the walk ahead. Starting at the Wynnum Jetty we headed north along the foreshore. Thankfully summer has finally eased off and the temperature in the mid 20s was most pleasant. Many old boats clung to the banks along Wynnum Creek and looked as though they were soon to pass from this world. We crossed Wynnum Creek where a large bat colony hung in bordering trees and eventually came to the Wynnum North Reserve Circuit starting from Elanora Park.. The reserve has been transformed from a refuse tip, now revegetated with native plants to bring back the bush. We followed the mangrove boardwalk through a section of mangrove forest that covers Wynnum Creek to Fisherman Islands. Rich silts fed from the Brisbane River provide ideal growing conditions for both the grey mangrove and a small number of red mangroves. Coming out of the mangroves we reached a birdhide from where birdwatchers are afforded great views. This birdhide is made out of recycled rubbish, including over 60 wheelie bins and old car bodies.
We had noted that this year's Sand Safari was underway on the Gold Coast, so we figured a sea and sand inspired art walk was a grand choice for this Wednesday's walk. While we had a great time, we were far too early to see the major works. Some smaller sculptures were on display in shopping areas along the Sand Trail from Tweed Heads to Loganholme, but the big stuff to grace Surfers Paradise Esplanade is still to come. Sand was being packed in readiness for the sand sculpting championships to be held over the following weekend. This year's theme is Dreamworks Heroes. If you want to see the artists in action, make a visit to Surfers this weekend and next, but for viewing completed art works I would recommend the final week in February. Follow this link to see a full program. We enjoyed the seaside walk, the fresh air, the sunshine and the smattering of sand art, as well as some permanent "Animals with Attitude" art that adorns the coast. The koalas are colourful and fun. We also enjoyed a pop-up photographic exhibition showcasing local talented photographers' works. We walked a relaxed 14 kilometres in all from Main Beach to Nobby Beach, returning via the Gold Coast G-link tram. Fresh air and art - what a perfect combination to nurture body and soul.
My first walk of the year with our little band was a twilight walk along the Redcliffe foreshore. The overcast sky was a blessing, cooling the weather after some extreme heat. Leaving the water front via the Bee Gees Way, we completed the evening with a delicious meal at Kiss My Fish. The foreshore, the Bee Gees Way and the restaurant are all well worth a visit. Free and open every day and night, Bee Gees way is well worth a visit. It has been developed in conjunction with Barry Gibb and features a life-size statue of the brothers as young boys in Redcliffe, more than 60 captioned photographs and 13 album covers from across the band's career, personal stories and reflections by Barry Gibb, a 70-metre mural featuring artwork of Barry, Robin, Maurice and Andy Gibb, a new statue of the Bee Gees from the 'One Night Only' era, seating featuring lyrics of Bee Gees songs, a copy of the contract they signed with Bill Goode and Bill Gates in 1959, a 5.3 metre square video screen showing exclusive interviews with Barry Gibb and never before seen home movie footage, along with Bee Gees songs. It seemed I jumped the gun declaring last week's walk as the last for the year. We fit in one more - a twilight walk on the Wynnum foreshore, followed by fish and chips and a bottle of bubbly on the beach. Not a bad finish to this year's ramblings.
This week's walk had three of us back in the country. We redid a beach walk from Broadbeach to Southport, then took the Gold Coast tram back, finishing with a refreshing dip in the waves at Main Beach. All in all, a very pleasant day in Paradise. Unfortunately not many photos as a big smudge on my lens spoilt most of them.
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