End of year road trip, 2016. Day 4.

The united bird alarm clock woke us up at around 5:15 am. Cockatoos, kookaburras, roosters, galahs, etc. so we got up relatively early had some breakfast, packed up and hit the road not long after 7 am. We stopped off at Kroombit dam on the way for some photos and then continued on into Biloela but it was still all closed up. So we continued on to have a look at the Callide dam and power station. We stopped for awhile, had a walk around and took some photos and then decided to take a short cut back to the highway. 

The road showed on some of our maps but not others, so we headed off opening and closing gates through various properties as we went. Most of the time we knew where we were going and didn't get too lost. It ended up being an interesting drive and a lot of fun, however it took about 90 mins longer than if we had simply backtracked a little to the main road.
We continued onto Calliope where had some maccas for lunch at the big service station and then headed south to have a look at Turkey Beach. It's an interesting little beach side spot and judging by the car park near the boat ramp everyone in town has a boat and they were all off fishing. There was also a large number of tractors with boat trailers connected up. 

With no camping or caravan park in town we decided to try and have a look at the Bustard Head Lighthouse but we got half way out only to find the gate access locked but there was also another 20 or so cars with boat trailers parked here. So fishing is very popular.
After a bit of searching round we found the southward road towards Eurimbula national park. All the warning signs were there when they said the road was unmaintained and dry weather only but we couldn't resist. All went fine for awhile as the track was narrow and rutted but pretty easily navigable, then the muddy sections started. We then spent more time on the side tracks going around the mud than we did on the main track and then the side tracks ended up muddy. Several times we had to get out of the cars and plot a course through the least muddy sections. The Blute got quite dirty.

This finally joined up to the Eurimbula nat park road and we headed out to Middle Creek camping ground. We got a nice spot on top of the hill which I think was left vacant as that was where all the sand flies were congregating but a little bushmans sorted them out. The weather was fine and clear but it would not have been a good spot if the weather was bad as there was no protection. 

A couple of other cars turned up a bit later. We had a fire for the first time on the trip and caught up on what was happening in the world as we had internet again. We ended up doing around 270 Kms for the day but they took a lot longer than they should have after all our detours and supposed shortcuts. 

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End of year road trip, 2016. Day 3.

Woke up early and thought it was raining/drizzling but it was just the clouds and mist blowing up the cliff behind us and the water condensing in the trees and then falling like rain. About 50 meters away from us the ground was completely dry. 

Because of the wet conditions we didn't end up leaving camp until around 8 am. We headed into the park and first stop was at the wreck of the Beautiful Betsy bomber where we wandered around looking for quite awhile. 

Then it was onto the Wall campground and the Loop Rd track before stopping at the Griffith creek camp ground for a drink. The camp ground was completely empty but it was nice and green and shady.
Then it was onto the Razorback track where we stopped for some lunch at the camp ground. We continued on this track which was quite a bit harder than anything else in the park and headed out towards Biloela. Low range got some good testing for Blute as some of the hills were quite steep and slippery.

 We ended up at Kroombit Park and Lochenbar Station around 3:30 pm and decided to have an early day and try to work out where to go tomorrow. This camp ground used to be a commercial venture but they got flooded out a couple of years ago and now it is a free camp ground with a gold coin donation for using the showers. 

After three days of traveling the hot shower was worth its weight in gold coins. We did a grand total of about 80 Kms today.

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End of year road trip, 2016. Day 2

The bloody cockatoos were quite noisy at about 5:30 am, so no alarm clock was needed. We had some breakfast and a lazy pack up before hitting the road at around 7 am. On the way out of town we drove up to a lookout behind Gayndah to get a good view of the area. 

Then we headed west and north before stopping for a quick iced coffee in Eidsvold and then onto a bit of a detour to look at an old mine at Selene. After some photos we ended up in Mulgildie at the metal sculpture of a Bunyip. We followed some instructions and drove out to the nearby Bunyip Hole in the state forest but didn't see any Bunyips or Yowies. It was a nice waterhole and looks like a good place to camp.

At Monto we refueled the cars and had a bite of lunch before heading north towards Biloela but we turned off before then and headed out to have a look at Mt Scoria. This is the remnant of an old volcano that is made up of fairly distinct shaped rocks. They are long and hexagonal. We had some afternoon tea and followed the walk around the back of the mountain and when that finished Shane kept wandering around while I returned to the car park. 

Looking at our maps we then tried to work out how to get into the national park at Kroombit Tops. Shane thought there was a road from Biloela but it didn't show up on any of the maps, so we ended up going back to the Cania Gorge turnoff and taking the back roads through a lot of farming area before finally getting to the National Park.
The road in was very steep and windy and by this stage we were driving into the sun. We passed a few cars driving out of the park and ended up at an information sign which showed us where the missing road was situated. We had a quick look walk through the rainforest loop before heading onto the lookout. By this time it was getting pretty late so we decided to set up camp here after taking some photos. 

It was getting chilly and the clouds had started rolling in so I retired to the camper after having some dinner. Overnight the mists came in an a light drizzle started, this was still going in the morning when we woke up. We ended up doing nearly 400 kms during the day.

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End of year road trip, 2016. Day 1

Had the car mostly packed and only needed to put the food in the fridge, so I ended up leaving home around 6am, refueled at the caltex getting onto the freeway and then headed north to meet up with Shane in the car park of the Yatala Pie Shop. Got there just after 7am as they were opening so I had to have a sausage roll, which was not too bad. We then headed north and turned off onto the Logan Motorway and headed west. There is fairly new road out this way so it was nice and easy before we turned off towards Esk.
We stopped in at the Wivenhoe spillway day use area for a few photos and a short break. 

Back on the road and through Esk and quite a few other small towns before we turned off at Benarkin to have a drive into the forest to have a look at the camping areas. I haven't been to Benarkin for many years and I think there was even less water in the creek this time than there was then. Thankfully it was also not as hot as that trip where it was up over 40 degrees C from memory. Both camping areas were looking nice and green and there was only one tent in the first camping area so it would have been nice and quiet, although no swimming in the not existent river.

We continued on north to Nanango where we stopped for some lunch and Shane of course had to park his car in the big red shovel. 

Then more norther with the occasional stop to stretch our legs and have a drink. We were both feeling a little snoozy so we ended up stopping early on the outskirts of Gayndah in a park by the side of the river. There was only a couple of caravans there and the breeze kept things cooler than it would have been. 

After a bit of restful sitting around chatting we cooked dinner before the sun went down and went to bed bed relatively early. We had travelled about 460 Kms today and as we have no real plans of where to go we'll just wander on again tomorrow. 

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Quick trip with camper. Day 2

Had a bit of a sleep in and lazy morning as it was still windy and cool outside the camper. While I was having coffee and breakfast the local wallabies and scrub turkeys were hanging around hoping for some scraps. 

While I really like the ease of pack up with the camper, the thing I didn't expect was how nice it is to have water at the flick of a switch rather than having to tip it out of a jerry can.
I wandered back into Canungra and had a rather ordinary sausage roll from the bakery down near the fuel station and planned how to get home without going the normal boring route back to Nerang and the M1. So after leaving Canungra I turned off towards Beechmont and took the steep windy road around to stop in at the Hinze Dam for an early lunch. I don't often drive on the Nerang Murwillumbah road but every time I have, I have seen a police hand held radar just before the turn to the dam in the 80 mph section. They must have good business there.
I had quite a nice coffee and lunch at the dam cafe before having a bit of a walk around for a look. 

Then it was further south taking the Pine Creek Road turnoff and heading up another steep and windy track to the Springbrook road where I turned back towards Mudgeeraba and wound my way downhill this time. From Mudgeeraba I was able to take the side roads and stay off the M1 getting through to Old Coach Road which took me into the back of Tallebudgera and then through the back of Elenora and home. A very lazy 135 Kms today through lots of windy mountain range roads.

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Quick trip with the camper. Day 1

Since I have next week off work I thought I would head off for a quick trip. At the last minute I threw some clothes in the car, some food in the fridge and quickly booked a camp site at Tamborine National Park, Green Mountain campground via the internet. On the way I dropped into Bunnings at Nerang to look for some plastic containers for the camper and picked up a few that would fit. 

Then it was off through Canungra and out to Beaudesert before stopping in for lunch at Wyaralong Dam. There were quite a few tents set up here but not in the space that I think was set aside for them. Reading the regulations I wouldn't be able to stay there in the camper, only tents allowed. 

After lunch I saw a few nasty looking clouds headed my way, so I took off to the south of Beaudesert and followed Christmas Creek Rd before turning north into Kerry road. 

There was quite nice looking camping area beside a creek - Darlington Park. The sign said $8 per person per night and it looked like dogs were allowed and there was a little kiosk on the other side of the road. There was a large area for camping but it wasn't too crowded yet, although I expect that will change after Xmas. I continued onto Duck Creek Road and turned off there to head up the mountain to Tamborine National Park. There's a stretch of bitumen, followed by a good gravel road before the going gets tough. On the dirt road I chatted to some young tourists in a Ford Focus who thought they could get up the road to O'Reilleys, I indicated that they almost certainly wouldn't make it, so they would have to go back to Beaudesert, then onto Canungra before they could turn off to O'Reilleys. They sensibly chose the longer drive. 

About a third of the way up the hill the track seemed much more washed out and rougher than the last time I had been up that way. A quick stop at a lookout showed some rain clouds approaching, so I continued up the hill, Blute and the camper handled it pretty easily even when the rain made the road and rocks a little slippery.

 I then had to stop and help a motor bike rider get his bike back on the road and going after he had slid towards the edge. It continued drizzling most of the way to the top but there were no other problems. Up the top near O'Reilleys the rain had blown away and it had got quite chilly, 16-17 degrees. I found my campsite and set up quickly before walking up to the rainforest. I didn't go too far as there was some mist and light rain making things uncomfortable. 

So it was back to camp for a warming drink and I settled down to do some reading. The wind hadn't let up but luckily, for dinner I just had to heat up some left over Chilli Con carne and rice. The tent sites were all pretty exposed and after talking to some of them about the wind I realised they weren't very happy campers. Then it was off to an early night in the nice warm camper while the wind continued to blow outside. All up a leisurely 180 kms for the day.

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Koreelah national park trip.

Decided to try out the camper with a quick overnight trip. Did my normal Saturday morning shopping and chores and threw some clothes and fresh food into the camper and headed off. Left home around 11'ish and headed off north and then west. Ended up at the park at Rathdowney where I made some lunch and had a quick break.

Then I headed toward Boonah and took the Lake Maroon turnoff. Followed White Swap road until the Head Gate Road turnoff and went right. Then it was up the hill mostly through the Koreelah national park and then headed west to the Condamine river road. The river was pretty low so the 14 or so crossings were no problem. Around the end of this road near Killarney I could see some very dark clouds to the south west and the wind had become very strong. On face book Shane said he got hammered with rain and wind around Mt Barney.
I had originally planned on staying at Koreelah nat park but Shane also suggested Tooloom Falls near Woodenbong. I headed south and east from Killarney towards Woodenbong and I could see the rain and storms to the east of me. I ended up going to Koreelah as it didn't look like it was raining there. There were four camping bays, the first two were pretty packed and I thought I may not get a spot but the third was empty and the fourth had only one tent. So I ended with a nice spot by the creek with a picnic table.

The temperature had dropped considerably since the early afternoon feeling of being in an oven. Setup was quick and I was relaxing with a drink and snacks in no time. There were more storms coming, judging by the rumbling coming from the west, so I shut up everything and retired to the camper to write up the blog and enjoy the sound of rain on the roof, knowing I wouldn't have to pack up wet gear in the morning. The rain only lasted an hour or so and when it was over I had a quick dinner and read a book for awhile before going to sleep.
All up I had driven a lazy 235 or so kms during the afternoon.
I woke up early when the sun came up (around 5am) but lounged around in bed reading for awhile, this is much easier to do in the camper than in a tent. Then it was coffee and breakfast. I had just got the JetBoil frypan to go with my JetBoil so I cooked bacon and eggs in it. Not very impressed. The pan in not a non-stick pan and the extra baffles underneath to spread the heat out don't work real well so the centre of the pan gets very hot, the rest not so much. The eggs left a layer on the pan making it very hard to extract them intact. It cleaned up ok after a soak in some water but I think I'll go back to the butane burner and cheap non-stick pan. The JetBoil however is still great for boiling water for drinks, washing up, etc. so I'll keep using it for that.
After packing up I went for a wander down to have a look at the waterfall just down the creek, not very spectacular but a nice quiet little spot. There were several monitor lizards and a wallaby and quite a few birds, so it was a pleasant walk. 

I hit the road then and headed for Woodenbong where I had a nice cappuccino and planned out my route home. I headed off towards Kyogle but turned off to the Border Ranges national park and wandered through the park stopping for a look at the camp grounds and lookouts. The Pinnacles Lookout was pretty spectacular with views back to the east and Mt Warning. 

I stopped for some lunch at Black Butt lookout before continuing out of the park and towards Murwillumbah and then onto the motorway and home at around 3 pm. A total of around 225 km today and a grand total of 460 km for the weekend.

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