Bunyips, Birds & Cania Gorge

Despite the attack of the midges, I've had a delightful week!  The weather has been sunny and mild (still cold enough at night to make me thank the flannelette sheets and the dog) and I have been out and about, doing some walks, meeting some lovely people and camping in the best spot so far this trip.

I think this boab tree had some sort of disease or pest ... never saw another like it

And this is what happens to toads that try and cross the rail trail!

Driving north, I stopped at Ban Ban Springs.  This is just one of a series of freshwater springs that lie at the base of the Bin Bin Ranges and the water runs into a beautiful wetlands that was full of Plumed Whistling Ducks.  The springs is a sacred site and has a Dreamtime association with the Rainbow Serpent which is believed to have surfaced there.

I kept tootling on up the Country Way until I reached Mulgildie, where I'd decided to stop for the night at the pub there.  There's not much in Mulgildie ... a second-hand/coffee shop that didn't seem to be open, an Asian takeaway/supermarket that definitely wasn't open, the pub and a statue of a bunyip.  Yes!  A bunyip!  Why?  I'm really not sure apart from someone decided to donate it in memory of his parents.

I SO want a cow seat!

Who knew this is what a bunyip looks like?!?

The pub was quite an experience.  There was free camping next to it and the use of the toilet and shower inside the pub.  It was an old, rambling building covered with paintings, with multiple bedrooms, painters climbing about on the roof and a bar that it took at least 10 minutes to find!  I had a delicious dinner there and chatted with the new owners ... who had bought the pub only 17 weeks ago.  Before that, it had been empty apart from spiders and rats for two years.  So they had done a huge amount of work.  As we were talking, the publican asked where I was from.  "Mansfield" I said. "You probably haven't heard of it but it's ..."  I was about to explain where it was in Victoria in relation to Melbourne, when Shane said "Know it!  I'm from there!"  OMG!  So we discussed friends in common, his parents and sister who are still there and just kept laughing about how small a world it is.

I had been recommended to go to Cania Gorge (thanks Wendy!) which was a short drive from Mulgildie.  There was a caravan park set right on the National Park boundary, with walks starting virtually at the gate.  So I trundled along, thinking I might stay a night or two.  Well, I ended up staying four nights ... it was heaven!  The caravan park was nestled in between two sandstone cliffs, with beautiful green grass, so many birds, rock wallabies and lovely walks through the cypress pine woodland and up to rocky escarpments.  I walked and walked, met some lovely campers, shared a meal and some stories (one couple had worked in Vanuatu in the two years prior to independence!) and enjoyed the bird feeding time.  I would come back to Cania Gorge ... 

Heaps of orchids and staghorns on the rocky slopes

The birds, the birds ...

And wildflowers or weeds ... ???

My camp ...

But I couldn't stay forever.  I've been lucky to grab a spot at Carnarvon Gorge for four nights!  So I headed up to Biloela to restock on some necessities (including some antihistamines - drat those midges) and now am travelling along the Dawson Highway, heading west.

Family & Friends, Rainforest & Really, Really Steep Roads!

 I've just completed a rather lovely loop ... from Brisbane around the part of the Country way, through delightful little towns like Toogoolawah (an amazing art gallery and skydivers) and Blackbutt (great pies), ending up, up, up in the hill towns of Kenilworth (famous for donuts of all things) and Maleny (where Dave and Jenny Dunlop now live).  It's been very low key and relaxing and I've enjoyed some lovely walks, especially along the bike trails.

The Glasshouse Mountains - quite eye-catching

I enjoyed a delightful three days with Simon and family, relaxing in the relative warmth of Brisbane and just catching up a bit.  My plans (being rather non-existent) might end up changing because Peter has a show on at the end of July ... it is very tempting to go and see it.  One lunchtime, Simon took us out to a BBQ place nearby where we ate much too much of the delicious hamburgers, onion rings, poppers and loaded fries.  No-one seemed to want any dinner that night!

But I felt the urge to move on and left on a rather circuitous route, traveling up through The Gap to the D'Aguilar National Park & State Forest.  The scenic road climbed and twisted and turned, delivering majestic views and dark, eerie forests and a rather naughty brush-turkey who was very keen to get into Van Morrison.  Finally, I emerged from all that verdant growth down onto the plains where I stopped at the Toogoolawah Showgrounds.  I've discovered that there really aren't that many bush free camps available to me.  But every small town or community has camping at the showgrounds, usually with power and showers available.  So I don't really feel like I'm roughing it much at all.

Maggie chilling at the showgrounds at Toogoolawah - all that space to chase balls!

After watching people jump from planes most of the afternoon (I could often hear "woohoo" softly coming from the skydivers as they spun and did loops before landing behind the trees), I was ready for something a little more relaxing and the next day I discovered some beautiful waterfalls as well as a glorious bunya pine forest.  The verge of the road and the trees and bushes that grew there, were covered in a creeper so that they formed amorphous shapes, reminiscent of the rather scary topiary from The Shining.

Coomba Waterhole and Falls

Heading towards Maleny, to catch up with Dave and Jenny, I traveled along a tourist route ... oh, this will be pretty, I thought.  And it was but ... and I really thought they should have said something at the start ... it was a very scary steep road ... up and down!  Magnificent views, not that I could stop and look.  Kenilworth was a bit of a disappointment because they were hosting the Kokoda Challenge so there were hundreds of people in lycra running everywhere and eating all the donuts.  Not relaxing at all!  

Yep! That's the sea in the background.  I was very, very high!

Beautiful fig trees in a little patch of rainforest near Kenilworth

So on to Maleny where I have spent a lovely evening and morning catching up on all the Dunlop news and sharing my own.  Wonderful to see them!  Jenny and I walked around Maleny this morning (a bit like Mansfield on steroids), looking at all the galleries and gift shops, shopping at the Sunday market and then having coffee back at home.  But it's back on the road again ... the Country Way, here I come!