We met at Southbank and walked from here to follow the path under the Kangaroo Point cliffs, then took a ferry across to the Eagle Street Pier where we stopped for breakfast. What a delicious breakfast menu the Riverbar and Kitchen has. Between us, we ordered almost everything on it, and no one was disappointed. The warm sunshine and the sparkling river view made our meal taste even better. |
A few of us have been away on different adventures lately, so it was great to have all the Hungry Hikers together again on a brilliant Brisbane autumn morning. We made an early start as today we had plans to feed mind, body and soul. Some more walking and talking via the riverside, through the Botanic Gardens, and a quick visit to the QUT Cube had us at Old Government House in time for a talk on the importance of letters providing valuable insight into not only the people who wrote them, but also the place and period of time they were written. We particularly enjoyed Dr Katie McConnell's presentation on Lady Lamington's letters to her husband. Lord Lamington was governor of Queensland from 1886 to 1901. Then we were in for another culinary treat on the verandah of O.G.H. where a delicious spread was served after the talk. I thought it was fitting there was a lamington cake included. Despite all our eating and education time, we still managed to clock up 9 kilometres and top up our Vitamin D levels in the glorious sunshine. We concluded the day by registering to receive Old Government House newsletters, for they run some excellent free concerts, talks and exhibitions.
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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.
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!
Winter is here, but the country doesn't know it. The sky was blue and the temperature in the mid 20s as we explored Murwillumbah and surrounds on today's walk. An early start from home had us in Murwillumbah in time for breakfast, which was yummy of course. Murwillumbah is a lovely town with interesting old buildings, cafes, antique and clothing stores lining its streets. We followed the Heritage Walk and climbed up to the top of Lions Lookout where we were afforded beautiful views of the lush, green surrounding countryside, the wide, sleepy Tweed River and nearby Mt Warning (which I climbed a couple of weeks ago). Fun fact - Murwillumbah is the eighth town mentioned in the original Australia version of the song "I've Been Everywhere". A stop at the Visitor Information Centre was interesting. Inside one room the walls are painted with a panoramic 360 degree view of the Tweed caldera from the summit of Mt Warning. Jocelyn and Margot think that counts as actually reaching the summit, but their day will come. Next stop was the Tweed Regional Gallery in which the interior of Margaret Olley's Paddington home has been re-created.. Visitors are able to peer inside original windows and doors to view the eclectic assortment of belongings Olley kept in her cluttered and colourful home. As well as being a renowned Australian artist, Olley was also the subject of paintings by many of her artist friends, including Russell Drysdale. She was twice the subject of an Archibald Prize winning painting; the first by William Dobell in 1948, and the other by Ben Quilty in 2011. Although actual hiking distances were not great today, we did cram a lot in, including food. A late, leisurely lunch at the nearby Tumbulgum Tavern was a perfect finale to our ventures in Northern New South Wales.
On this mild May day our little group of walkers explored some suburbs by the Brisbane River. But first things first - and that means cake and coffee. Our group of Wednesday walkers has taken to calling ourselves 'The Hungry Hikers' as we work up quite an appetite on our walks and seem to balance eating and hiking quite well. Margot's recipe for the absolutely divine Persian Love Cake she served can be found on our Facebook page - The Hungry Hikers. After fuelling up we walked through Fairfield past the Dutton Park Cemetery and crossed the Eleanor Schonell Bridge to wander through the beautiful grounds of the University of Queensland. Eleanor Schonell made an internationally recognised contribution to testing for dyslexia and was renowned for her generous and humane approach to life. Her work with cerebral palsy children led to international recognition and she also contributed substantially to the education of children with intellectual disabilities. During its conception and construction, the bridge was known as the "Green Bridge" because it was a sustainable transport initiative and, since the naming, many people have continued to call it the Green Bridge in preference to its official name. A lovely outdoor market was in full swing on the university campus. This day was becoming better and better - a little hiking, a little eating, a little shopping under a whole lot of sunshine. Not a bad way to spend a day at all. Crossing back over the river, my friends kindly indulged my hunt for burial places of long lost ancestors and followed me through the Dutton Park/South Brisbane Cemetery. We were successful in finding the headstone of my husband's great-grandmother. Ann Martin (nee Hill), the daughter of a convict and the granddaughter of a convict, married a man whose father was also a convict and grandfather, a first-fleeter convict. After our cemetery sojourn, we proceeded to follow the river as it wound its way through Fairfield and Yeronga. The Corso nature reserve offered a peaceful walking area through manicured parkland interspersed with seating facing the river where one can linger a while. We admired many of the beautiful homes along the river, now renovated or rebuilt after the devastating Brisbane floods of a few years ago. One of our group is off hiking in Canada without us at the moment, so we posed in repose and sent the photo to annoy her. Helen thinks we slacken off when she is away. (She may be right.) After clocking up 15 kilometres we felt we deserved a good lunch and we were not disappointed by Cafe 63 in Yeronga. Not only were we served up the most delicious Turkish bread with slow baked lamb shoulder and accompaniments, but we received complementary bottles of water and no corkage charge. (Margot had carried a chilled bottle of wine in her backpack all morning, bless her little cotton socks!) A 5 star rating for this cafe and a 5 star rating for our day. Life's great in the sunshine state!
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.
With 3 out of 5 of our group carrying leg injuries this week, our Wednesday outing was more of a social event than a hike, though we did walk between movie theatre, cafe, delis and dress shops, so we did get a little exercise. The day began at the Graceville Regal Twin where we watched the Icelandic deadpan comedy, Rams., followed by a light lunch at the nearby Three Girls Skipping cafe. Then came a ramble through delis and dress shops with the planned icing on the cake being a grand finale of a serving of a Lick ice-cream. (In case you have never tried a Lick ice-cream, do yourself a favour and indulge. You will thank me.) Alas, it was not to be for us as the ice-cream shop was closed. However, there is always another day.
This week's outing with my bushwalking buddies was more 'talk' than 'walk', more focussed on 'eat' than 'feet', and more 'hanging about' than 'hiking'. And there's nothing wrong with that now and again! It all began with a couple of group members hankering for pineapple parfaits from their past. Apparently the Big Pineapple near Nambour used to serve the 'best' pineapple parfaits in the whole world, so the plan was to visit the Big Pineapple and walk (or eat) down memory lane, then do a hike in the vicinity. The Big Pineapple originally opened in 1971 and was a Queensland Tourism icon, but has had some ups and downs. We had read that it reopened in 2015 and its website states, " ... the Big Pineapple is proudly open and boasts iconic, heritage listed BIG fun. You can again climb the Big Pineapple and explore the process of pineapple farming from start to factory, on your way to enjoying the fabulous views of the observation deck." When we arrived at the big empty car park, we knew something was amiss. Our hopes for that perfect parfait were quickly dashed. A small cafe at the front of the complex was open (no parfaits on the menu), but the big function rooms, restaurant area, toilets and shopping area were all locked up and looking very sadly run down and neglected. The website says there are Saturday markets held here, so hopefully it livens up on weekends. We climbed the iconic Big Pineapple as the website suggested, but again were saddened by the run down state it was in. The displays look like the originals from 1971, shabby, dated and the cans all going rusty. What to do? What to do? With our stomachs rumbling to the tune, "Came here to parfait", we had to go in search of a fix. We decided to head up the road a few more kilometres to the Buderim Ginger Factory and test their restaurant. Eureka! We struck gold! A lovely lady served us the most delicious parfaits ever, topped of course with little gingerbread men. We were in parfait heaven and all past sorrows were forgotten (as were our plans to hike). Feeling just the tiniest bit guilty, we went for a little walk, exploring the beautiful ginger gardens and rainforest area on site. The variety of ginger flowers were spectacular. We also enjoyed browsing through the onsite shops and admit to making a few purchases of hard-to-resist ginger products. We cannot recommend this tourist attraction enough. If you are ever up this way, run, run, as fast as you can and grab yourself a gingerbread man. Oh, and don't forget to have a parfait as well or any of the other delicious foods available in the cafe/restaurant. After the Ginger Factory experience we moseyed on over the road to the Coffee Factory and the Macadamia Nut Factory where we indulged in some taste testing of more delicious samples. Then, surprisingly, we decided we could still fit in the picnic lunch we had brought with us, so we drove to Caloundra. We had our rather late lunch overlooking the beautiful blue ocean and all agreed it was a very enjoyable day out despite the low kilometre count clocked up on our pedometers. Oh well, there is always next week.
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