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.
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.
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This week we did a winter favourite hike of ours. With lovely sunshine and pleasant temperatures we hiked beside the Beautiful Brisbane River. We met at the Brisbane Wheel, and after enjoying a coffee by the water, we walked through the Southbank, then followed the river under the Kangaroo Point cliffs, under the Story Bridge, past Dockside Marina and caught a ferry from Mowbray Park across to Teneriffe on the other side. This gave a chance for our tired feet to rest before following the river back to the city. Thirteen kilometres later we were famished and ready to enjoy refuelling at the Jade Buddha Restaurant overlooking the water. We were a little disappointed they no longer serve the $10 lunch specials, but we happily settled for a pork belly burger that proved to be quite delicious. After lunch we took the city cat back to Southbank and caught a train home, our hiking and hunger urges greatly satisfied.
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.
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.
This was my first walk back with the Hungry Hikers since the country went into lockdown in mid-March. While we had continued to walk and stay connected through ZOOM, nothing beats real life, real time, connecting through food and nature. We discovered a new walking and picnic spot at Rafting Ground Reserve in Brookfield this week, and this is where we met for morning tea and a short walk before heading on to Gold Creek Reserve.. The scenic reserve takes its name from its history back to when it was used by early settlers in the 1860s and 70s as a launching pad for timber that had been felled from the Sir Herbert Taylor Ranges forests and was transported to the site by bullock wagon. We concluded the day with a late picnic lunch before heading home, happy to be out and about again, especially in the glorious winter sunshine.
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.
One way to beat the summer heat in Brisbane is to start early. So, we started early - very, very early - so early that we made the top of Mt Coot-tha just as the stars began to fade and the sky began to lighten. By the time the sun was breaking the horizon and burning through a familiar haze of smoke and dust from our brutal summer bushfire season, we had set up a breakfast table and poured champagne to greet the day. One thing for certain is that the Hungry Hikers know how to do it in style. While there was still a coolness in the air, we packed away our breakfast things and headed off on a brisk hike down the mountain to the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and on to the nearby Toowong Cemetery. Toowong Cemetery officially opened in 1875 and features a number of cultural areas, historical trails and memorials. A couple of us had distant relatives buried here, but we were unable to locate them. We were too early for the help of the office, so we just enjoyed meandering through and admiring the weird, the wonderful, and the often sad headstones and memorials.
This week we decided to take a trip down memory lane for a couple of the Hungry Hikers. Jenny and I met when we started walking in this group, but after a few years in a chance conversation, we discovered that we had both been at Kilcoy State School in 1968 and taken part in the school musical together. We had been in different classes, so didn't really know each other then, but we discovered we knew many of the same people. In fact, Jenny helped me reconnect with a few people from this time and on this outing I got to meet up with the person who had been my best friend at that time. Reluctantly, we left Woodford, but were not disappointed by Kilcoy, another gorgeous country town that shows great pride in its heritage. Before exploring, we stopped at the tranquil Yowie Park and set up our morning tea by the lake. After morning tea it was time to ditch the fascinators and don the sun hats. There is an excellent tourist information building in the park. Here we learnt more about the area and also picked up some information on possible future hikes.
Kilcoy is very proud of its yowie statue and it is a great tourist draw card. A yowie is a strange, mythical creature, believed by many to inhabit the rugged mountain ranges surrounding Kilcoy. The Somerset website lists the following Yowie facts: Yowies are large humanoid mammals ranging from 2.1 to 3.6 metres tall Fur colour ranges from rusty red to dark brown and black They are reported to have a strong odour similar to rotten eggs They are nocturnal Their manner varies from shy to overly aggressive They are thought to be very intelligent creatures Yowie is believed to be an adaptation of the Aboriginal names ‘Yuuri’ and ‘Yown’ There have been thousands of Yowie sightings reported The last reported Yowie sighting in Kilcoy was in 2007. Leaving Kilcoy, we drove out to Woongooroo Estate Vineyard and Cellar Door for lunch, enjoying more lovely, though very dry countryside and Somerset Lake views along the way. Along Neurum Road we passed a most interesting outdoor gallery of wooden sculptures along the fence line of one property. The roughly hewn sculptures are cleverly done in all shapes and sizes.
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