It was an exciting walk this week for we were delighted to discover a new trail. We were quite surprised we hadn't heard of the Ernest Junction Tunnel and old Southport Rail Trail before. We had stumbled upon a couple of references online, but it was hard to find any up to date information, so we went prepared for anything, got a little bit lost, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. Trains no longer pass through the tunnel, but many a graffiti artist does. The tunnel is freely available for artistic pursuit and we bumped into a chap doing just that. Because it is long and curved the darkness is a bit spooky, but it was clear of rubbish all the way. On the eastern exit there is quite a bit of information posted. After reading it all, we proceeded to climb the hill on this side to get back up to the car on Ashmore Road. We drove a short distance down the road to Cathedral Park where we has morning tea, then decided to leave the car and pick up the trail from here. It looked simple on the map, but we spent a lot of time consulting our phones to find the way. With a bit of backtracking and a few circuitous routes we found our way to Griffith Uni in time for a toilet break and a cold drink. Then we tried a different track back with similar results. Despite feeling lost for much of the time, we came across some lovely spots and notched up double digits on the kilometre count. Next time we won't get lost, but some of our greatest finds have been when we don't really know the way. This adventure concluded with a lovely cold glass of wine over lunch at the pub at Nerang. Not a bad way to spend a day at all.
0 Comments
We had eagerly been anticipating 'Fire Gardens' by the Brisbane River, but our bushfire season has started badly. and the event was cancelled due to a total statewide fire ban. We decided not to waste the evening and did a late afternoon river walk ending at Southbank to catch the light and laser show, another Brisbane Festival event. We met at Mowbray Park and followed the river under the Story Bridge, under the cliffs at Kangaroo Point until we reached Southbank, where we decided we needed a little sustenance before proceeding on. Night was falling as we continued along the river to choose a spot in front of the Brisbane Eye to watch the laser show. The use of water fountains and light and lasers and story telling told of the history of this part of the river. A delicious Thai meal, followed by a ferry ride back to Mowbray Park added to our appreciation of this beautiful city. Love ya Brisbane!
.Perfect winter weather here in Queensland called us to the river this week. We have been eagerly waiting for the new section of the Kingsford Smith Drive River Walk alongside the Brisbane River to open! The pathway between Portside Wharf and Brisbane CBD provides lovely river views, and though the new section is open, workmen were still adding finishing touches of beautification. We began by taking a city cat to Brett's Wharf and enjoying coffee and muffins in the sunshine of a sidewalk cafe before heading off.
An unexpected discovery along the way was to find the fabulous Gloria has a new mate. Gloria, the stainless steel Wool Store ewe, is larger than life and has always been a favourite of ours. Now she has a mate gazing with binoculars over the river. We don't know when he appeared or who he is as we can't find any reference to him, so please fill us in if you know anything about him.
All in all, another great day hiking, but we wouldn't recommend this one in the heat of summer. A warm winter's day is the perfect time.
30 minutes on from Beaudesert is Boonah, another lovely, laid back, country town. We drove to nearby Mt French and followed two different walking tracks that took us to lookouts with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. The North Cliff leads to Logan’s lookout with views over the Fassifern Valley, with the Main Range escarpment to the west and Flinders Peak and beyond to the east. The Mee-bor-rum circuit passes through heathland and features the East Cliff lookout with views of Tamborine, Lamington and Mount Barney. Further along the track a circular platform with seating provides views of the heathland and southern section of Mount French Both tracks are quite easy to walk, but we were surprised by the number of vehicles parked there belonging to walkers and campers. Although no strenuous hiking had been done, we were still hungry hikers, so back to Boonah we went in search of a good meal. This we found at Flavours, a cafe in an iconic building that was built in 1916 and was originally the offices for the Boonah Butter Factory. A stroll around Boonah was followed by a quick stop at nearby Obum Obum (oh yes, oh yes, it's a real place). The origin of the name is not known, but we had a bit of fun here before heading home via a stop at the Wyaralong Dam.
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.
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.
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.
The Hungry Hikers split again this week - some went camping down into NSW and some of us held the fort here and decided to roam around Brisbane as there is always something new to discover. We weren't disappointed. Brisbane is as colourful as ever, especially with summer and Christmas just around the corner. We began with coffee at Southbank, then crossed the bridge to enjoy sampling the delights of the Jan Powers Farmers Market. Next it was a stroll past the Myers Christmas window decorations (sadly, so politically correct we couldn't find Christmas) and on to King George Square where the giant Christmas tree is on its way up. Next door to the bunker, the Albert Street Uniting Church, nestled amid modern high rise buildings, provided us with a quiet moment as we admired its beautiful interior. Next it was time for some more serious exercise, after all, we are supposed to be a hiking group. Up Jacob's ladder we climbed to Wickham Terrace where we admired the Old Mill before strolling back through the green peaceful King Edward Park to the city below. By now the temperature was quite warm, so it was lovely to make it to the river where there was a cool breeze blowing off the water. We followed it from the Botanic Gardens to the new riverside precinct being developed at the Howard Smith Wharves under the Story Bridge. It is close to completion and looks very inviting. By now we were famished, so we made a stop at one of our favourite riverside restaurants, the Jade Buddha. Burgers and a beer by the Brissy River - now that is living. We lingered over lunch, enjoying the breeze and view, before our final trek back along the river, through the Botanic Gardens and across the Goodwill Bridge to catch a train home. We had packed a lot in today, so it wasn't surprising we notched up double digits in our kilometre count. It was so worth it though. Brisbane is beautiful.
Eagleby is full of surprises, the nicest being its beautiful, rural backstreets that run through wetlands, and farmlands hugged between two rivers - the Logan and the Albert. After an exciting trip to the Melbourne Cup in the big city, we enjoyed this peaceful walk this week with all seven Hungry Hikers present. We met at the carpark at the Eagleby Wetlands and threaded our way through the lush countryside under a blue sky putting on an ever changing cloud display. We passed grazing cattle and bleating sheep, waterways and windmills, cane fields and ramshackle barns, and before we knew it we had clocked up 11 kilometres. Another surprising find so close to home! We began very early to beat the heat and we were finished in time for another surprise - a delicious breakfast supplied by Helen. We devoured this with great gusto and appreciation. We aren't called the Hungry Hikers for no reason.
|
Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|
- Home
-
Travel Tales
-
Australia
>
- Frazer Island - 2016
- Australian Road Trip - 2017
- Melbourne - 2018
- Warra Races - 2019
- Queensland Road Trip - 2019
- Brisbane to Proserpine - 2020
- Waiting Out a Pandemic in the Whitsundays 2020 >
- North Queensland Road Trip 2020 >
- Qld Road Trip 2021 >
- Uluru, N.T. 2021
- Southern Downs and Granite Belt 2021
- S.W.Qld - 2022
- N.S.W. Road Trip 2023
- Cairns Train Trip 2023
- Toowoomba 2023
- Tasmania 2023
- Byron Bay - 2023
- Train Trip to Adelaide - 2024
- China
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Greece
- Netherlands
- France and Belgium
- Romania
- Russia
- South America
- Sweden
- Turkey
-
Australia
>
- Cruising
- Classroom Quotes
- Poetry Place
- Photo Gallery
- Walking Blog