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Published: October 5th 2011
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Bunya Pines
Tall towering trees with massive girths dotted the mountainside all wrestling for access to the sky. One advantage of school holidays gives us the opportunity for Kevin to take some time off work and extend a weekend break to explore some more of the surrounding countryside around Brisbane.
So with recommendations from friends and a three day weekend booked we drove north west out past Ipswich and onto the Brisbane Valley Highway towards Ferndale, a town locked in a time warp and travelled back 50 years in time but it did have the "The Best Pie Shop in Queensland!". We drove over The Wivenhoe Dam and stopped for a coffee and pastry and wondered at the size of the lake and tried to imagine how the water levels must have looked back in January.
The road took us further north to Esk and onto Yarraman and a drive through the Blackbutt Forest and onto Maidenwell where we came across Coomyar Falls a little oasis surrounded by a rocky out crop and grassy banks with a waterfall to boot! That was something that was not in the guide book and well worth a visit.
The drive up the steep winding road to the Bunya Mountains reached heights of 1107m on the slopes of Mount Mowbullan
The Wivenhoe Dam
A more tranquil view now. and lead us to the estate at Dandabah and our weekend accommodation. Red-backed Wallabies roamed the grasslands around the houses and king Parrots and Bower Birds greeted us on the veranda as we arrived at Fern Cottage, a small two bedroom house nestled amongst the rainforest. Due to the chilly nights we gathered kindling and Kevin chopped firewood ready for the wood burner which was a welcomed feature for the evenings, before enjoying a meal watching a dvd and an early night.
The Bunya Mountains are described like an island surrounded by plains and cleared farming land with many different plants and animals with more than thirty rare and threatened species. Nine different kinds of rainforests cover most of the mountains with the Bunya Pines towering above the canopies with their distinct dome shaped crowns. Fortunately we were not visiting in December to March as the huge bunya pine nuts as big as a soccer balls fall from the trees and become lethal weapons to passers by! When harvested they are roasted and then the kernals are pounded into meal and made into a kind of cake which was once an important food for local inhabitants. On the lower
Lunch time
A quiet lunch on the banks of Coomyar Falls just outside Maidenvale. slopes Hoop Pines grow with vines and ferns covering the forest floor offering the opportunity to walk its many footpaths leading to viewpoints and places of interest.
We decided to walk the Barker Creek circuit a 14km track with an additional path to reveal waterfalls and grassy 'balds' and views out below the valley at agricultural lands. Not content with that we decided to walk a further circuit where we zig- zagged down steep mountain slopes to more look out views over the Koondail Valley. Needless to say we were very tired that evening and our legs ached!
We also managed to identify some australian birds and add them to our bird list, for those who may know or be interested, we saw Rufus Fantails, Grey Fantails,Superb Fairy Wrens, Eastern Spinebills, Australian King Parrots, Rainbow Lorikeets,Satin Bowerbirds and big black Currawongs, we also heard a Whip Bird but he was too clever with his camouflage to be spotted.
As we drove down the mountainside we decided to drive through some of the minor roads on our way to The Crows Nest NP, this meant that we could see some of the rural farms and many creeks that
King Parrots
Bold and cheeky birds jostled for crumbs that were offered by hand. dotted the low lands. We also got to spot a snake and lizard crossing the roads too, we decided not to stop and examine them too closely! Some of the small towns appeared to be stuck in a time warp and you felt you were travelling back in time where the simple style houses and the all in one shop offering everything from bread and milk to dry cleaning, fuel and animal feed. I think we decided it was a little too remote for our liking especially the building that doubled up as a gym, social club, playgroup centre and church hall. You could not help but wonder though how much more of the surrounding towns had 'progressed' or had remained the same for the past fifty years.
Crows Nest NP was just off the New England Highway where we took another 6km walk along the creek and waterhole and overlooked the cascades which were just a trickle and then climbed to the Koonin lookout which over looked the Valley Of Diamonds where the Perseverance Creek forged its way through the valley, there was still evidence of fallen trees and scrub washed along in the big floods strewn along
the banks where the sheer force of the water had washed debris from far and wide. It will be a long time before the creeks and rivers will be cleared and the devastating floods a distant memory.
The last part of our planned journey took us down into the Lockyer Valley and to Murphy's Creek a small township that had suffered greatly from the floods and also our name sake which made us curious to see for ourselves what it was like. Murphy appears to be a popular name and one that we see quite often, I wonder how many descendants there are in Australia now?
So with the clock registering 600 kms and a promise to return with Sheila and Eddie when they visit at Christmas we returned home relaxed and excited having seen more of Queensland's wonderful scenery.
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