{"id":307,"date":"2013-01-08T16:47:30","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T08:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.joel.net.au\/?p=307"},"modified":"2026-06-26T00:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:16:09","slug":"bunya-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/day.lat\/lon\/2013\/01\/08\/bunya-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Bunya Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 from doing their morning ritual, the 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 went down well with a cup of coffee. <\/p>\n

\"Torquay
Torquay Beach, Hervey Bay, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 than 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. <\/p>\n

\"Wallaby
Wallaby in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Campsite
Campsite at Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View
View between Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea) in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View
View between Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea) in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bunya Mountains National Park has turned out to be really beautiful with excellent hiking tracks through extensive rainforests with great views, and very nice campsites. <\/p>\n

\"Donkey
Donkey Boiler, Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Donkey
Donkey Boiler instructions, Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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!<\/p>\n

\"Donkey
Donkey Boiler shower bag, Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Drive from Hervey Bay to Bunya Mountains National Park<\/strong>
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