9th May 2012
We did some necessary shopping in the
morning and drove 60 odd kilometres along the Cunningham Highway to see what
the Cunningham Gap was all about.
However, we turned off a bit before we got there to check out Spicer’s
Gap and the Governor’s Chair. Both of
these Gaps are chosen routes for the bullocks and carts to travel through the
Great Dividing Range with Spicer’s Gap chosen to be the safer way. Even then they had to drag tree trunks behind
the carts to slow them down on the highly dangerous descents, whereas at the
Cunningham Gap the carts had to be lowered on ropes. Governor’s Chair was the name given to the
rock at the edge of a sheer drop that provides a view out across the valley,
rather than something to sit on. A short
distance before the abrupt end to this road is Moss’s Well which is a small
watering point for those that need it but looks like a flooded hole in the
ground at the moment. A short way before
that is a campground alongside a pioneer’s cemetery that now only contains a
cairn in remembrance of the pioneers as the area was burnt out in a bushfire. We returned to the main road and continued
to the Cunningham Gap expecting a Gap such as the on the approach to Alice
Springs but that didn’t happen, it is just regular road through the mountains
with only the odd spot that allows a view over the valley, but with nowhere to
stop to enjoy it, and therefore very disappointing. There is a picnic area part way down the
descent which offers a few long distance walks which didn’t take as it was
getting too late. At Spicer’s Gap and
this picnic area the Bell birds were very evident with their bell like calls,
but there so many of them all around us that it was impossible to determine
where any individual bird was to try and spot it.
11th May 2012
We rose earlier than usual by arrangement
and headed for the Great Dividing Range again via Boonah which is an old German
founded town with a tree line town centre which is a one way street to create
parking space that that you still have to be lucky to obtain. We did manage to grab one but had a fair walk
back through the town to a pleasant cafe for morning cuppa and muffin. We continued on to the Waterfall route which
took us up a very steep winding road which bans trucks, buses and caravans, and
as we found out was very sensible. We
stopped a Carr’s lookout for while and few other unofficial spots to admire the
views and then reached Queen Mary waterfall carpark and picnic spot. We had our picnic lunch in the picnic spot
despite being slightly early for us, and chatted with another couple having
their lunch. There is a short walking
circuit at these falls one takes you around the cliff top and has a lookout
platform on the carpark side of the falls that has been allowed to become
overgrown in front of the falls so that you only see a small amount of the
outer surface of the water. However,
this is close to a bridge across the river that lets you view the falls on the
other side with a clear view of the complete drop from a viewing platform. There is a second longer walk from the
carpark that takes you down to the base of the falls via steps and a zigzag
track. There is a bridge across the
river at the base which is in line with the spray from the falls so is not the
best spot to stop and admire, or photograph, them from but is the best
view. It was here that Merry’s camera
informed her that the battery had decided to give up, so she climbed back up to
the carpark for her spare battery and then back down again.
This single drop waterfall is on the
Condamine River which eventually joins the Murray River that finds the sea in
South Australia. After crossing the
bridge the track is just a longer, gentler slope to the second lookout prior to
crossing the bridge and the short walk back to the carpark. Alongside this bridge is a short unofficial
track beside the river to a rather pretty pool with mini-falls dropping into
it. As always we took the longer 2km walk
via the base as we prefer to see the base of the falls if we can and enjoy the
workout it provides, and we get to see as much as possible despite the hard
work.
We moved on along the road to a roadside
parking area with a viewing platform to look at Dagg’s Falls which were very
similar to Queen Mary Falls in as much as it is also single drop and on the
same river, but there was no way down to the base. This only took a few minutes and we moved on
to another parking area with picnic tables and BBQ facilities associated with
Brown’s falls. This involved walking
through a tunnel under the road alongside the creek and proceeded along the
track past a sign recommending this track for ‘able bodied persons only’ until
you are forced to cross the creek via stepping stone with water flowing over most
of them and very slippery. We managed
this with wet feet by almost crawling and moved on around a bend only to find
we now had to cross back via more stepping stones. This time we found a convenient, broken tree
branch to use as a stave to steady us as we crossed in two short stages.
As we progressed along the side of the creek we came across some small pretty falls and eventually another creek crossing for access to the main fall. This crossing was easier but required a bit of clambering over rocks, as did the final approach to the clear view of the fall that involved a lot of mud due to the spray. The creek was probably fuller a week or so ago after the rainy spell which probably caused the mud initially but we clambered around it. The falls is also a single drop and would have looked even better straight after the rain but getting there would be pretty gruelling. As it was, for us it was a challenge but was well worth the effort although Merry came out with a bruised knee on one leg and some small cuts on the rear of the other which we suspect came from a slight tangle with a vine with spiteful thorns on it.
13th May2012
We went to the Amberley RAAF base and
visited the Heritage Museum which is free and opens on the second Sunday of
each month, or by arrangement for small groups.
It is home to a Boston that has been completely restored after being
recovered from a swamp in New Guinea.
There are 2 hangars the first of which houses the twin prop Boston bomber,
several helicopters, the front of an F-111 with steps to present a view into
the open cockpit and numerous piston engines.
All exhibits have been restored to virtually new condition by dedicated
RAAF volunteers, or retained from new.
The other hangar is more up to date with a Canberra Bomber, several jet
fighters including a complete F-111 and more engines of the jet turbine type,
including one from an F-111.
Outside there is a twin prop Caribou A4-236 troop
carrier with the back open to allow internal access to the uncomfortable
seating, the stainless steel cable that the troops clip their parachute
ripcords to as they jump plus a view into the cockpit, and a Sabre jet fighter that
still bears the damage incurred when it hit power cables whilst on a low flying
mission and four F-111s. There were TV screens
in several areas showing video of the various planes in action during their
wartime environment and plenty of visual displays. It took us about 1.5 hours to check it all
out and it was an interesting experience, and they are working towards enlarging
it as they are currently restoring more planes, etc. It was free, but in the final analysis, and
if we could choose to revisit any of the aviation museums that we have visited so
far regardless of entry costs, it would be Darwin, Perth and then Amberley.
15th May 2012
Earlier in the year we visited Brisbane and
the South Bank and were impressed with the amount of restoration that had been
achieved since the flood. We went back
today see the finished job as the ‘Beach” was still being rebuilt along with
some of the pathways. We drove out to
Rosewood train station ‘Park & Ride’ and caught the train to Ipswich where
we changed trains to continue the journey to Roma Street station where we
changed trains again to go to South Bank.
The 35 km journey took 2 hours which somewhat amazed us with the train
stopping at every station which seems be about every kilometre. We walked from the far end of South Bank
where the maritime museum is through along the path with the arches of
bougainvillea that seem like a guard of honour to the little cafe strip for a
coffee. We left there and headed to the nearby road to post a birthday card
and then turned back to the waterside walk and kids’ water play area. After taking a few photos we moved on to ‘The
Beach’ which was now completed and being a reasonably pleasant day had a good
number of people in bather sunbathing and swimming. The night time temperatures in Brisbane have
been around 9 degrees with 25 degrees during the day and this was getting on
towards mid day. The night time
temperature in Ipswich was 2 degrees and the coldest May night in 6 years with
a prediction of 1 degree for tonight.
The Beach is basically on open air pool with several pronounced areas of
varying depths and surrounded by sand to represent a beach as Brisbane is
slightly inland. Like seaside beaches,
this beach has permanent lifeguards on duty along with the yellow flags. It appears to be reasonably popular now despite
being the early stages of winter so it should be as crowded as Bondi Beach in
the summer. We continued on past the
Ferris wheel and entertainment centre and crossed the river to the pedestrian
Mall precinct to do a bit of shopping, and go to the visitors centre for a town
map. We had decided to catch the train back
to Rosewood from Brisbane Central station rather than return to the South Bank
station as we where now on the other side of the river. The map was required to help us find the
station but the woman in the centre directed us anyway, and with that information
in mind wandered through arcades and squares for a look around as we meandered
toward the station. We arrived in the
station in perfect time to catch a train just before it departed for Ipswich
where we changed again with only a short wait, so the return journey was quite
a lot quicker with only one train change.
We actually spent more time travelling on the trains than we spent in
Brisbane but we achieved what we wanted to see.
18th May 2012
We drove out to Cunningham’s lookout which
faces westward towards the gap before driving to Cunningham’s Gap, and at the
peak turned into a parking area which offered a look at Cunningham’s monument
and a choice of a 3.5km, a 9.5km or 1.5km walk.
We took the 1.5 km walk that took us on a circuit via a lookout that
faces eastward. After the short but
pleasant walk we drove down the western side of the mountain to a picnic area
where we had lunch whilst listening to the ringing sounds of the bell birds
which are actually Bell Miners. We then
moved on to Mooganah Dam which is an extremely picturesque spot with barbeque
facilities and a kiosk and allows access over the dam wall to 3km walk each way
in the national park to the top of the mountain.
The dam wall is quite big although we have
seen much bigger but is still impressive, and although the water was not
flowing over the spillway there was a pipe through the wall with a valve that
was at least partially open spraying water out into the river below. The river level is kept up to a predetermined
level by a weir about 0.5 km downstream which has a lower picnic area alongside
the captive waterway. We walked across
the wall but didn’t do the mountain walk and then used the kiosk facility for
something to go with our afternoon cuppa.
We then drove out to the lookout at Boonah that presents a great view
out over the town and countryside. The
lookout is an attraction in its own right as it has an attractive foliage arch
forming an entrance and includes a drinking fountain.
21st May 2012
We finalised the packing that we started
yesterday and moved on to Warwick involving another trip along the Cunningham
Highway and hauling the caravan over the Great Dividing Range. The caravan park that we chose to stay at is
our only option as it is the only one that allows dogs, and the road into it is
at a lower level to the highway causing the bottom of the vans chassis to
ground as we turned into it. This
dragged the pole carrier clamp backwards and destroyed the pole carrier bracket. Fortunately we had a spare one so the
afternoon was spent setting up the new camp and replacing the bracket instead
of checking out the town. The caravan
park is very ordinary and as the road turned back to run parallel with the
highway is subject to a lot of road noise, but fortunately we will only be here
for a few days before heading northward for warmer temperatures.
22nd May 2012
We drove down to the Condamine River to
take a few photos of the river and the statues in the riverside park before
moving on into the town centre and Visitor Centre for a heritage walk map. The
river side has parkland on both sides with sports field behind that which is a
change from the usual riverside properties hogging the view, but apparently the
area is subject to significant flooding in the heavy rain period. The
town centre is very pleasant with tree lined streets which are beginning to
change colour with the approach of winter.
There are also flower beds on all of the corners and roundabouts to
compliment the tree colours and the sandstone buildings.
The sandstone from the local quarry is hard
sandstone and has a variety of attractive coloured bands running through
it. We did the town centre walk to see the
sandstone buildings and then the outer walk for the outlying buildings, one of
which used to be a convent and is now a stunning part of ‘Assumption
School’. We followed that up with a walk
along one side of the river to the road bridge and along the other side back to
the car, about 5kms all together. To
give us more time to enjoy the town we bought lunch at a coffee bar opposite
the town park, and because all of the days’ activities allowed Foxy to enjoy
them as well, we arrived back home with a happy, but weary dog.
The sandstone from the local quarry is hard
sandstone and has a variety of attractive coloured bands running through
it. We did the town centre walk to see the
sandstone buildings and then the outer walk for the outlying buildings, one of
which used to be a convent and is now a stunning part of ‘Assumption
School’. We followed that up with a walk
along one side of the river to the road bridge and along the other side back to
the car, about 5kms all together. To
give us more time to enjoy the town we bought lunch at a coffee bar opposite
the town park, and because all of the days’ activities allowed Foxy to enjoy
them as well, we arrived back home with a happy, but weary dog.
23rd May 2012
We packed up and moved out and joined the
main road by exiting the caravan road on the wrong side of the road and turning
to the right to avoid the hump that caused the damage on the way in. We then called into a garage and took on a
small amount of fuel but mainly to use the garage as a means of turning round
to head for slightly warmer night time temperatures in Toowoomba With being on the plateau on the Great Dividing Range our barometer has
changed from the high side of ‘Change’ (1016hpa) to well below ‘Stormy’
(950hpa) which should indicate a cyclone, despite there not being a cloud in
the sky, so the atmospheric pressure has dropped considerably due to the extra
height. We are camping at the Toowoomba
Showgrounds because it is the only place we can camp with a dog as all the
regular caravan parks are ‘No pets’ but it is cheaper here so that is a slight
bonus. The ablution block is pretty
ordinary so we will stick to our own ensuite and there is a reasonable view
across a small lake. The ground is on a
two way slope which isn’t the best but manageable for a few days.
24th May 2012
The night time temperature in Toowoomba are
warmer but today the temperature is subdued by a bitter wind and we have been
forced to put jumpers on for the first time in a long time. We drove into town to the visitors centre for
directions to several of the attractions that we have seen in their
literature.
We drove about 1km to Lake
Annand which is an attractive man-made lake in the centre of a very pleasant
park land with several bridges over the water and a variable height fountain at
one end. The trees in the park are
starting to turn orange and red prior to dropping their leaves as it is that
time of year and add colour to the scenery.
It was more sheltered in the park and we could remove our jumpers. We then drove to Picnic Point Lookout that offers
magnificent views of the Lockyer Valley where many lives were lost and
townships destroyed during the floods.
There is a restaurant beside this lookout which was a convenient place,
and time, for lunch which became our dinner as the meal was quite large.
We drove about 1km to Lake
Annand which is an attractive man-made lake in the centre of a very pleasant
park land with several bridges over the water and a variable height fountain at
one end. The trees in the park are
starting to turn orange and red prior to dropping their leaves as it is that
time of year and add colour to the scenery.
It was more sheltered in the park and we could remove our jumpers. We then drove to Picnic Point Lookout that offers
magnificent views of the Lockyer Valley where many lives were lost and
townships destroyed during the floods.
There is a restaurant beside this lookout which was a convenient place,
and time, for lunch which became our dinner as the meal was quite large.
25th May 2012
The wind has dropped and given way to rain
which is supposed to last all day but clear for the weekend
