Author: Joel

Had one last night to camp before arriving in Brisbane to visit some friends and see the city. The area I camped in was quite beautiful, but the campground was another state forest full of bogans. After pitching my tent in what appeared to be a deserted campground, I ventured off to explore some of the sites in the area including The Glasshouse Mountains and The Australia Zoo.

The Glasshouse Mountains were really quite interesting since they was actually volcano plugs that were once below the surface of the earth but not sticking up as mountains due to the erosion of everything around them. There were a series of them in a line that James Cook spotted and named as he explored the area.

The Australian Zoo was the base for Steve “Crikey” Irwin before he died and is still run by his surviving family. Not being a huge fan, I was a bit put off at what appeared to be too much emphasis on the family members as celebrities and not enough on wildlife. I was especially put off by the $60 price tag (!) to visit the place for the day. I spoke with several friends since I decided to skip it and they all said it was quite good. For $60 I would have felt obligated to spend an entire day there – and that would have made it difficult to get into Brisbane during peak rush hour at the end of the day.

While I was out, the campsite quickly filled up with loud boisterous bogans smoking dope and drinking too much beer in the evening. Some of them were actually making an attempt to be quiet and friendly (perhaps to head off any complaints), but the combination of very hot weather, very high humidity, and very stagnant air made it very difficult to sleep that night. Campfires made it especially bad because every time there was a slight breeze it ended up blowing smoke in my tent and choking me out.

At last, a national park with actual mountain bike trails! They’re shared with horse trails and maintenance 4wd tracks, but at least they have SOMETHING here! So yes, I took my Cannondale mountain bike out for a spin in Conondale National Park this morning while it was still a bit cool. Only problem was that there were only two flavors of trails: straight up (Nanga Challenge style) or back and forth meandering through river beds – which seemed to get progressively deeper. I did a bit of both but didn’t last too long in the heatwave. At least I found a nice spot for a swim along the way.

Conondale National Park Mountain Biking

Had my first cold night since I started this trip! Found myself completely zipped up in my sleeping bag and still a bit chilly in the wee early hours of the morning. Checked my thermometer and found it was 14C (upper 50’s F) which really isn’t THAT cold, but it sure was nice for a change. A heavy fog rolled into our mountain-top campsite by morning and my tent was soaking (again), so I left it there and went for a wonderful scenic 5km hike down the road past waterfalls, giant Bunya Pines, and other dense rainforest stuff. Many of the Bunya Pines were chopped down in the 1800’s for their cedar, but there were still quite a few of them. Absolutely huge trees with soccer ball sized pinecones (nothing that you’d want to drop on your head, mind you) that were believed to be alive in the age of the dinosaurs.

After spending several hours hiking and photographing the area, I returned to my campsite to pack up my tent and head back down the mountain towards my next campsite. Someone tipped me off that a nasty heatwave was moving into the area, and sure enough, I found the temperatures back up over the 100F mark while I was driving my car. I was pleased to find myself being directed back up another mountain range and the temperature dropping fast as I climbed, but only continued on to drop off the other side and into a hot stuffy creek valley where the campsites were located. At least there were some nice places to swim nearby.

Saw yet another bush turkey, but also a huge monitor lizard move though my campsite a few times. The campsite was a reserved one that actually turned out to be nice, shady, relatively private, but just a bit too hot this time.

Felt a bit sad to be leaving Hervey Bay and Fraser Island after just one night. It was another wet dreary morning, but that didn’t stop all the cyclists there doing their morning ritual Esplanade Drive circuit. I headed out to a recommended cafe for breakfast and had a Canadian Breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, Australian bacon, and pancakes with maple syrup and whipped cream. Not sure if the Canadians have sanctioned this, but it when down well with a cup of coffee.

After breakfast I walked across the road and took one last look at the beach while I continued to dodge the occasional showers. I had another 4 hours of driving to do before reaching my prearranged stay at Bunya National Park. The terrain is now noticeably browner that it was throughout the tropics – which isn’t quite as attractive, but far more comfortable. As I drove I noticed a mountain range looming in the distance which is always good news at this time of year for cooler temperatures.

Bunya Mountains National Park has turned out to be really beautiful with excellent hiking tracks through extensive rain forests with great views, and very nice campsites.

Our campsite has a Donkey Boiler shower that involves lighting a fire under a steel boiler to heat water. The water automatically spits out of the boiler into a bucket which you mix with cooler water and dump into a shower bag in a shower room that is suspended from the ceiling by a pulley system. You hoist the shower back up and grab your hot shower before the shower bag empties through a shower head on its underside. All rather complicated, really, but it sure looks pretty cool!

I only had time to do one short hike this afternoon, but hopefully I will have time to do one of the longer ones tomorrow morning

There are so many mangoes growing up this way that it is not uncommon to find yourself driving over a pile of squished ones that have dropped from a wild tree. Roadside stands will refuse to sell you individual mangoes – you must purchase a bucket or box full for $10 if you want any at all. Supermarkets still sell them individually, but for a higher price.

I did manage to buy a few pineapples from a roadside stand which were really sweet and flavorful. Probably the nicest ones i’ve ever eaten.

After another long day of driving, I finally managed to punch through – out of the Tropic of Capricorn to nice dry Mediterranean style weather. What a relief it is to be able to take a bike ride without sweating profusely at the slightest effort. I’ve arrived in a nice little launch pad for Fraser Island that is VERY bike friendly, has endless beaches, a good ~20km bike path the entire way, a bike friendly 1km long pier/jetty, nice stinger-free and croc-free swimming, and not too much commercialism or elite resorts clogging the place up. My kind of place, Hervey Bay. It seemed very community oriented. I’m checked into a YHA here and was a bit taken back to find a lack of air conditioning – but I don’t think I’m going to need it because it is cooling off nicely. Must be in the middle of pineapple land because I’ve seen quite a few roadside stands selling nothing but since I got here.

Hervey Bay Coastal Ride & Swim

Harvey Bay also looks like it would be a nice cruisey place for sea kayaking due to having no swell, nice clear waters, and a fantastic place to explore just across the bay (Fraser Island). Just as long as the wind doesn’t kick up as it always seems to do in the afternoon

Queensland has a few strange practices when it comes to parking. They are one of the only place I can think of that reverse diagonal park. Very odd. I can’t see what the benefit is. They also seem very keen to maintain very wide streets with parking in the middle as well as on the sides of the road. Sometimes the parking is perpendicular to the traffic flow and sometimes it is parallel. Both parking methods leave me turning my head in circles constantly to ensure i don’t hit anyone.

After a nice cool night up in the Eugella National Park mountains, i drove down the long switchback road through the fog and back into the hot, coastal flats. I’m getting a bit wary of Queensland road signs that say “fatigue zone next xxx kms” because i’ve learned that really means some tedious driving is ahead. Sure enough, the designate my day’s entire drive down to Byfield National Park as in this category. At one point they even had trivia signs up to try and help keep you awake! I finally get down to Byfield to find plenty of bogans gearing up to get the beaches in 4wds, trail-bikes, and quad-bikes. A fit of a showery afternoon, i explore a bit of a plantation area to suss out possible mtb rides. Unfortunately, i somehow ended up with a less than stellar campsite right along the main road to the beach ( while everyone else is nestled in deeper in a forest behind me). I’m right about where all the 4wds stop to reinflate their tires after coming off the beach.

Not sure about this system Queensland uses for selecting campsites online. I’ve been stuck with a few dogs due to their maps and illustrations not really depicting the locations very well.

Cruised out of Arlie for points south and a mysterious national park on the west side of the highway. I liked what i was seeing: lots of big mountains! It took a little while to find the place, but eventually I was set straight by a local shop and told it was much cooler up there in Eugella National Park. Just what I wanted to hear! After another series of switchback inclines, i found myself up top. My notes said another 600m hike was in order, but when i got to the information centre I discovered that I actually had three to choose from. The 600m in version was in a nice rainforest area near a creek with a fabled platypus, but i was a bit put off by a giant black snake sunning himself across the road on my way in. I decided to check out the other two campsites down the road. One was not super exciting – along a road next to an old dilapidated one room school house – but with quite good facilities (new toilets, covered picnic tables, fresh rainwater, and a bbq). I decided it was good enough for the night, but was curious about the 3rd site that was 33kms away up a 4wd track. I made it most of the way there but had to turn back when i came across some big logs down over the road which appeared to have fallen as a result of a bush fire some 6-12 months ago. Oh well, it was a beautiful drive, anyway. I settled back in to camp site 2 next to the school and am looking forward to a nice cool nights sleep for a change. Might mtb down a side road in the morning that looks pretty doable. For the first time i was actually checked up on by a park official, although this happened to be a local farmer.

Arrived at Arlie Beach after spending another night at Bowling Green National Park just south of Townsville. A bit of an adjustment being back in a tent in this sweltering humid heat after 6 days in air conditioned YHA rooms. It was very hard to get to sleep and although the mosquitoes were not nearly as bad this time, they were still trying to make a comeback. I did discover one new thing about the place: it is full of great swimming holes a short hike from the camp sites. They discourage you from swimming there, but not too many people listen because their were many people there to cool off. Only problem was that the water was warmer than the hot art (or so it seemed). Had been a beautiful drive down from Cairnes along mountain ranges.

Arlie Beach is one of the main hubs to the Whitsunday Islands. I had reserved a national park campsite nearby on a beach with the caveat of a 2km hike in from the parking lot. My plan was always to check it out by mountain bike and shuttle my stuff if all good.

Arlie Beach Campsite Investigation

Along the way I met up with some hikers who politely pointed out that mountain bikes were not permitted on the trail (a sign I missed), but were very supportive of me riding it, anyway. Between the distance to the beach, rough enough track for cycling, and my officially not being allowed to cycle in there, and the run down nature of the actual deserted campsites, I decided to aim for a local caravan park. The first one I approached wanted $48 for an unpowered tent site! That’s a record. I found a much cheaper option just down the road. Only problem with it is the neighboring airport with a steady stream of incoming small planes and helicopters. Hopefully all will be quiet tonight.

As for Arlie, its not really what I’m looking for at the moment (coming too soon after Cairns) with too many developments and not enough wilderness. More nice looking beaches you can’t swim at due to stingers. Officially below croc line, I believe.