We crossed the border on the Bruce Highway with our permits on the windscreen. Even though there was a big queue it was moving along quite smoothly. The only people they were pulling out of the line were those with Victorian number plates so we weren’t surprised when the police asked us to pull over. When we had left home Covid cases had been dropping and we had none on the Mornington Peninsula where we lived. But things had changed in the last few weeks since we had been away. An outbreak in the Western suburbs of Melbourne was further fuelled by the security men sleeping with the women in quarantine, all leading to increased numbers. The policeman asked us several questions such as where we had been, why we wanted to come to Queensland and how long would we be there. Lindsay said we would be in Queensland for three weeks when we actually had no idea what we were planning to do at all. It all depended on when or if the Northern Territory borders would open and if we could get in there. While waiting for our paperwork to fill in, he stayed by our window and we chatted some more. We explained where we lived and where the hot spots in Melbourne were. On reflection it was lucky that we hadn’t continued on our NSW itinerary otherwise we would have gone through Sydney and that may have stopped us from getting in.
I had always wanted to go to Lamington National Park but it’s too close to the border of NSW and Queensland, and I didn’t want to take any chances of ending back on the wrong side of the border, so it could wait for another trip.
Springbrook National Park
I wasn’t interested in staying on the Gold Coast so we found a place to stay further inland. We were very happy to be in Queensland and while I hadn’t changed into a t-shirt and shorts yet, it was warm! About 22kms from where we were saying is the Springbrook National Park. The plateau was formed from a massive volcanic eruption around 23 million years ago. It was a beautiful sunny day, too good to waste sitting in camp. We arrived after lunch so it wasn’t surprising that the car park was full and we had to park a fair way up the main road. There are two viewing points to see the falls which we looked at before deciding to do the Purlington Falls Circuit, a 4km grade 3 track that takes you down to the base of the falls, which means you have to come back up! There wasn’t a lot of water coming over the falls but it was nice being out and about in the sunshine. There is a side track to Waringa pool which adds another 2km but I wasn’t going to push my luck in asking to do it. We hadn’t started using the drone yet but if we come here again it would take a great picture from above just after the wet season.
Walking Tracks in the Springbrook NP
I was allowed to choose one other short walk, so how could I pass up one called the ‘Best of All Lookout’ which was only 600mts return. It was a gorgeous view of the valley below. The track to the lookout takes you through rainforest where you will find a couple of strange-looking beech trees from Antarctica, leftover from the last ice age. The narrow roads through this park also take you through the rainforest which makes it a very enjoyable drive.
Before leaving our campground Lindsay notices that a pin on the tow bar is missing. There is no way this pin could have come out by itself, so someone had to have taken it out, possibly when we were at the park the day before. It would have been very dangerous if he hadn’t noticed. We had heard a number of stories about Victorians being targeted (slashed tyres, key coding their duco) because of the high numbers of Covid-19 down there. Hopefully, this is our only encounter.
Glasshouse Mountains National Park
The Glasshouse Mountains National Park was only thirty minutes up the road from where we were staying in Burpengary. Like the last one, this national park seems to have several sections that you needed to drive between. The most popular trail, the Mount Ngungun summit walking track, was very crowded as it was still school holidays. The parking area was overflowing again. No social distancing here as you had to pass people closely as there was human traffic both ways on the trail. There were many many steps to a magnificent view of nearby Tibrogargan, Coonowrin and Beerwah peaks at the top. Many steps again down and Lindsay hears a snap as he rolls his ankle. There goes all the good work the surgeon did two years ago. He manages to get down but his ankle is hurting. It later swells and goes purple. He thinks he may need another ankle reconstruction and books an appointment to see his surgeon in October. The track is only 2.8km return but it feels a lot longer as the large rocks you are walking up are higher than normal stairs.
At the next trail, the Tibrogargan circuit, I go alone while he waits in the car but I feel guilty leaving him and only go as far as the lookout where I can see people walking up the mountain, which looks very steep. It doesn’t surprise me that this area is known for abseiling and rock climbing.
Glasshouse Mountains National Park Trails
NSW closed its border to Victorians today. The daily Covid-19 cases have been increasing steadily since we left, in fact, they are out of control. So glad we aren’t there. When people ask me where I’m from I tell them I’m taking the 5th!
Cooloola National Park
We opted for Freshwater campground instead of Inskip thinking we might be able to see some whales coming up the coast as it is very close to Fraser Island. On Fraser a couple of years ago we saw hundreds of Humpback whales from the beach, breaching multiple times as they travelled up the coast. There were some but you would have had to sit on the beach all day to maybe see one or two. The track in was similar to the inland tracks on Fraser Island in that they were very sandy, single lane but a whole lot busier as it’s the last track in from the people driving up the beach. There were a couple of resident goannas that walked around the campground during the day, even coming under my chair which was a little bit startling but very special.
Cania Gorge National Park
All the walks mentioned lots of steps which meant Lindsay’s could come with me. There are two main starting points for the walks and while they both can be accessed from the campground, you cut out 1.8 kms (return) from the further one if you drive to the picnic area. I drove. I had told Lindsay I was only doing Big Foot and the Dragon cave but they were actually from different starting points. I did the Dragon Cave and Bloodwood Cave first and then the Dripping Rock and The Overhang. Feeling guilty that Lindsay would have expected me back in half the time it was going to take me; I still kept going. The tracks led from one to the other so it would have been pointless only doing one and then coming back for the other. On my way to The Overhang, you are walking in a rainforest and it starts to get dark. I had no idea what time it was, my watch was tracking my walk so I had to end it to see the time (a very annoying point with the Fitbit). It was only 3 pm, so there was plenty of time to finish as it was only 1.2 kms to the end. I was very conscious of walking alone, I had passed other people at the beginning of this walk, but none towards the end, what if I fell? This was my favourite track as I found it the most interesting of them all. There were lots of steps, so it was lucky that Lindsay didn’t come.
Victoria’s Covid-19 new cases hit over 400 today, I am so glad we are not there
Lindsay found some travel buddies for me to go walking with! We left from the campground and visited Big Foot and then did the Fern Pool circuit in the opposite direction to what was recommended as they had heard it was easier that way. It was a really pretty walk with the hills covered in grass trees and it was so nice having other people to talk to while we were walking. Again there were lots of steps; so no good for Lindsay. That night eight of us got together around our campfire. The resort did pizzas on Friday nights which two of us took advantage of so we didn’t have to leave the campfire to go off and cook. Our campground looks like it’s in the National Park but it’s actually right next door, so you have the convenience of good amenities with the feeling of spaciousness and a bush setting.
What is so nice about this trip is that we are going to places we have never been before. When we arrived in Queensland I had no itinerary. We knew we wanted to catch up with a few friends and my aunt, but other than that, I had no idea. All my planning had been for NSW.
Blackdown Tablelands National Park
The drive-in is very beautiful with palms everywhere. Caravans are not advised to enter as the road is very steep in places, windy and narrow which was no problem with our off-road camper. I found three walks to do, two of them I could leave from the campground. The third I would have to drive and of course, it was the most important one. The kookaburras are acclimatised to humans and let you walk quite close to them. I suspect food has a bit to do with this.
On the first day, I did the Goon Goon Dina (Lightning Lizard) cultural trail in the morning. It’s a 2.5km circuit that tells you about farmer Yaldwin who named the place in 1868 after his family home in Sussex. The cattle developed chalky bones due to the phosphorous deficient soil if they stayed here too long. So they were moved to Planet Downs regularly which was a three-day horse ride away. The Zamia palms caused rickets in the cattle which caused them to lose control of their hind legs, so why would you bring them here? Nothing remained of the cook-house, except a few rocks as it had been made of bark. The rest of the trail explained what the aboriginals used the different plants for. Stringybark was used to make ropes or nets. The cabbage palm leaves were made into a twine which was then used to make baskets and dilly bags. The sticky resin from grass tree trunks was used as glue, just to name a few. In the afternoon I did the Mook Mook trail which was a 2.4 km return hike to the edge of the tableland.
The Currawongs and Kookaburras have been fed as they are pests. A Currawong stole a packet of our coconut powder off the kitchen bench and his partner in crime laughed as they flew off together. I don’t know if it was the bright blue packaging he liked or whether he could smell the coconut. I hope he got a stomach ache.
The last walk I wanted to do started 8 km down the road. As we couldn’t get two nights in the same campsite, we had to move the following day and had got up early, but then had to wait until the people in our new site had left. I had no idea what the road would be like and I was a bit worried as I haven’t done much four-wheel driving. It was rough and corrugated for the first 6km, then the last 2km was steep and narrow with a steep descent and few “hoop de doos” to stop the erosion. Thankfully no-one came up as I was heading down.
I spent a few hours at Gudda Gummo gorge (Rainbow Falls), the 4k m return walk takes two hours and I explored lots of side paths after going down the 240 stairs to the bottom. I was worried if I would need low-range to drive out as I wasn’t sure how to engage it, but it didn’t seem as steep going up as it did coming down so I had worried for no reason. Only one person came down at the same time and they pulled off to let me through. Phew! How did I like my first four-wheel drive Lindsay asked. What a question, what do you think?
While I was away Lindsay had been talking to the park ranger. He was the only one on our whole trip who checked our booking. He looks after 19 national parks with one other person and back burns many hectares a year when he thinks the time is right. Being aboriginal, I think the parks are in good hands. Our aboriginals are now called First Nations like the Canadians which he doesn’t like at all. I agree, they are aboriginal.
Homevale National Park
There isn’t much to this little national park. It was the site of an old mining town and someone had put up little placards with a picture and a story of what used to stand there in the 1810s. So many hotels, a photographic studio, a doctor, an apiary (bees) and a store that also held the post office. There is also some old mine machinery from the day. The amazing thing for me was that the mountains glow as the sun goes down. I didn’t have much time to get this shot as we had been sitting around a fire inside a shed and it was only by chance that someone noticed the colour. I raced to the car, grabbed my camera and tripod and only got two shots before the colour disappeared.
Eungella National Park
It took me ages to figure out how to pronounce this park – young-gulla, then say it quickly. We could see the platypus from the side of the creek in our campground. You look for bubbles and rings in the water and up they come, only to dive down again pretty quickly. They say the best viewing times are between 4am-8am and 3pm-7pm, but we found it could be anytime. They were originally described as duck-faced moles that lay eggs and ate the same food as hard-shelled reptiles.
During the Rainforest discovery walk 780mt, I lost Lindsay in the first few minutes. I had stopped to read a sign and he hadn’t stopped at all. Then I got to a Y intersection and took the wrong turn, so when he came back, I was nowhere to be seen, so we both ended up walking alone! It was really beautiful but I do prefer to walk with company.
Later that afternoon I did another short rainforest walk, the Granite Bend circuit by myself which is 1.6km.
We only went part of the way on our second rainforest walk on the Clarke Range Track, never intending to go all the way as it’s 8.2kms, as (a) it’s too far for us and (b) we heard it was very wet underfoot. So when it started going uphill we turned around.
To see the route map, go back to the first post in this series (NSW)
Luminosity Trails 