This week's walk was a little shorter than last week's seaside jaunt, but more strenuous because of the climbing involved. Today we tackled Toohey Forest, a large remnant forest which covers about 260 hectares and is interlaced with a number of walking tracks that meander between, and up, Mt Gravatt and Mt Toohey. James Toohey was an Irishman who made his fortune in the Californian gold rush and bought up a great deal of land in the south Brisbane area in the late 1800s. Mt Gravatt was named after Lt. George Gravatt who was in charge of the Moreton Bay Penal settlement at Brisbane Town in 1842. |
We began our walk from Gertrude Petty Place and climbed to Mt Gravatt Lookout via the Summit Track. The views were extensive, though rather hazy. The indigenous people called Mt Gravatt "kaggur-mabul" - place of the echidna. No echidnas were sighted here today, but once there were many on this mountain. They were used as a food source and the quills were used for jewellery and as a weaving tool. Hiking through the open eucalypt forest we saw bloodwoods, ironbarks, grey gums, and in the sandstone areas, grass trees. Wattle trees were beginning to burst open in flower and brighten up the bush with golden yellow fluff. Some areas had been recently burnt off and were already showing signs of regrowth. Scribbly gums also graced our path at one stage, greeting us with graffiti of the bush. The scribbly gum is a eucalyptus tree with a very smooth, pale trunk. The distinctive brownish 'scribbles' are made by the larvae of the tiny scribbly moth and are harmless to the tree. Toohey Mountain and Mt Gravatt are made of tough, very old quartzite formed 380 million years ago when the coastline was far to the west and the region was deep under ocean. We ate lunch atop Mt Toohey in an area where the landscape was littered with large rocks making up an interesting landscape. The walk back to the car involved more climbing (somewhere in there we must have done some descending) and more huffing and puffing. Finally, after 22,000 steps taking us over 16 kilometres of walking tracks, we decided to drive back to the top of Mt Gravatt to enjoy an afternoon tea picnic of coffee and scones with jam and cream while also feasting on the view. A fitting finale to another fabulous day of hiking.
1 Comment
Helen
7/6/2014 03:09:19 pm
Yep, another great day hiking in the woods. I love the wattle shot!
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