With the broken armed one missing, our only other mishap was a couple of queasy stomachs on our sea-sick prone hikers. Despite this, they managed to eat their fair share of bugs and prawns. |
This week we followed a purple path, enjoying the gorgeous, blooming jacaranda trees around the streets and parks of Brisbane. Dressed in shades of purple to blend in, we started mid-afternoon at Goodna and moved on to Chelma, then Tarragindi. The trees took so much of our attention that one of our hikers tripped and fell on a steep street. A resulting broken arm meant she missed our sumptuous dinner to conclude the day at "The Prawnster" on the Brisbane River. The highs and lows of hiking are many.
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Some kind firemen, who were on a break, stopped by to wish Joc a happy day. When the fire engine pulled up, we told her they had come to extinguish the fire because they heard how many candles were being lit. She had been hopeful that we had organised a stripper. Her disappointment was soon forgotten when she tasted the delicious gingerbread birthday cake Leanne had made. After a long leisurely morning tea, we put on our walking shoes and began walking. We took some side streets to enjoy the homes around canals of Raby Bay. We then wove our way around to GJ Walter Park and were lucky enough to spot a koala. A main aim of today was to make a stop at the Grand View Hotel to see a display of local imagery from Darren C Manning Photography. The Grand View Hotel’s Art Gallery has a history of exhibiting fine art and creative work from award winning and local Redlands artists. We enjoyed a nice cold beer as we strolled around the gallery. On the way back to the Point we enjoyed some more art work at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery, then enjoyed a late lunch of fish and chips by the bay before heading home. Nine kilometres wasn't a bad effort, considering all the eating and art admiring we had done along the way.
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. This week was a real adventure for me - my first visit to North Stradbroke Island and my first time joining my walking group for their annual whale watching pilgrimage to Straddie. We caught an early morning ferry for a smooth crossing, then drove from Dunwich to Point Lookout on the east coast. We parked the cars and carried our day's supplies of tables, chairs, food and drink for quite some distance along a wooden board walk and down a large set of stairs to a rocky outcrop, which proved to be a perfect viewing platform for whale watching. North and South Stradbroke Islands were initially joined together but separated in 1895 after a violent storm created the passage between known as Jumpinpin. North Stradbroke Island covers an area of 275.2 square km. It is the world’s second largest sand island and forms part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park. Minjerribah is the traditional Aboriginal name for the island. At this time of year humpback whales are migrating north to more tropical waters and we were treated to a steady parade of these spectacular creatures close to the coast of the island. Some were swimming lazily, others were in a frolicking mood, putting on some wonderful displays of tail slapping and leaping and breaching. A few were even swimming with babies, having already given birth before reaching the northern warmer waters. As well as whales, we were able to see plenty of other wildlife including turtles, dolphins and kangaroos. This week it was back to Burbank to walk in the Brisbane Koala Bushlands. Some of us had done this walk in March last year when it was extremely dry and hot, so we expected a big difference today after all our recent rain. The bushlands stretch from Belmont to Burbank, providing a significant koala habitat, but we didn't see a single one despite plenty of signs of their claw marks on tree trunks. The rain definitely made this walk a much greener, cooler place to visit than this time last year. In fact, we got caught in a few heavy downpours during the morning, but with the weather still quite warm we didn't mind. After our hike we ate our packed lunches in the sheltered area near the car park. Thank goodness for the shelter as the rain continued to pelt down. Unfortunately we had to share it with a couple of groups who teased us with delicious smells - one lot were having fish and chips, and the other group were barbecuing sausages. We consoled ourselves with a piece of Jayne's delicious ginger and date slice for dessert and headed home, happy little hikers.
Autumn in South East Queensland is still seriously warm, but the sky and the air are clear and just right to lure you out walking. We enjoyed some beautiful parklands close to home this week, hugging a bend in the Logan River, not far off the Pacific Motorway. We clocked up 12 leisurely kilometres today and hardly noticed the distance as we were too busy admiring how lovely our surroundings were. The natural surroundings were complimented by local art works. Local artists and community members create works of art for Animating Spaces Logan - an Arts in the Park initiative of Artslink Qld in partnership with Logan City Council. It goes without saying that the highlight of our day was seeing koalas in the trees in Alexander Clark Park. Everything else was a bonus - blue skies, sunshine, fresh air, friendship. How blessed are we?
It was a chilly start, but we indulged with a hearty morning tea of hot beetroot and bacon soup, followed by coffee and cake at Fernvale before setting off. The Jagera, Yuppera and Ugarapul peoples are the traditional owners of the Fernvale-Lowood district. Much of the trail near Lowood is near the Brisbane River and features spectacular views of the river. We covered a total of 18 kilometres today and although it was an easy to moderate track, we were foot weary at the end. Foot weary, but still cheery. Another great day in the bush.
After fighting the morning city traffic we eventually drove up into the peaceful Sunshine Coast hinterland where this week's walk took us into Kondalilla National Park. We made a stop on the way for morning tea at Gerrard Lookout, though the normally panoramic view was dulled by overcast skies. We came well prepared to tackle wet weather conditions, but luck was with us all day. The rain stayed away. Kondalilla is an Aboriginal word meaning rushing water and the park is named after the spectacular falls that drop 80 metres over cliffs carved by years of erosion. Recent rains meant the falls were flowing and the surroundings were lush and green. All tracks were clearly defined, though the going was a little rough at the base of the falls where we had to climb over some large slippery boulders.
The scene of his week's walk, the Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Area, was a very pleasant find for our little gang of Wednesday walkers. Tucked away between Helensvale and Harbour Town, this area of over 1000 hectares is one of the last remnants of lowland coastal habitat on the Gold Coast and protects an amazing diversity of plant and animal life.
With over 15 kilometres of tracks winding through a variety of habitats ranging from coastal estuaries and mangroves to freshwater wetlands, flooded paperbark forests, eucalypt parkland, and grasslands, we were in for a very interesting day. Add to this the hundreds of birds, kangaroos, and a smattering echidnas and some elusive koalas, we couldn't have wished for a better outing.
Everything about the walk was brilliant, but by far the most surprising was the abundance of wildlife. We saw well over 200 kangaroos and wallabies, and we were delighted to watch the feeding antics of a couple of echidnas. The word 'Coombabah' is an English corruption of the Aboriginal word, and can have three alternate translations: 'place of the cobra worms', 'place of the turtles and the third, a pocket of land. Well, my friends, we found this pocket of land to be delightful and I would highly recommend a visit. And to sum it all up with a song, click here ... Skippy, Skippy, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
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