The Steinbock ready for the outback

It has been an anxious wait to start this trip.

A covid 19 5 day lock down in Melbourne meant state borders closed and my Central Australian adventure not possible.

Life during the 5 day lockdown was not too arduous as I live near the beach

And it was only 5 days till I could catch up with mates again

And undertake preparation for the trip ahead.

In the days of GPS I still love a good map

The 5 day lockdown turned out a godsend.

The outbreak was quickly bought under control and there are no more new cases in Victoria

I recieve my permit to enter South Australia on Friday and today I complete my annual medical tests

Problem of being 63 with some heart disease.

But will soon be off on the adventure which will take in

The Great Ocean Road;

The Coorong;

The Adelaide Hills,

The Flinders Ranges,

The Oodnadatta track and surrounds,

The Red Centre of Australia made most famous by Uluru and the amazing county around it

Into Queensland and down to Longreach,

The fossil area finds around Winton,

Carnarvon Gorge.

0ver 8,000 km to get to my friends eldest daughters wedding near Brisbane.

Wouldn’t do it any other way!

The Bunya Mountains and environs – SE Queensland

The Bunya Pine is an ancient tree, a living fossil from the age of the dinosaurs

These magnificent trees are very rare and found in only a couple areas of Queensland.

The Bunya Mountains lay west of Brisbane, the capital city Queensland

In an area called the Scenic Rim

The road to the Bunya Mountains takes you through the Somerset Region

An area with an interesting history and some great riding roads.

The historic town of Marburg has some very beautifully restore light timber framed buildings typical of Queenland early construction

The hotel is beautiful, well restored good food and a cold beer.

There is the old seminary which is now a winery, reception centre and accommodation is another insight into the early days of local European settlement

The Bunya Pine in the seminary grounds a reminder that this is the right track to the Bunya mountains

Coomba Waterhole is virtually at the base of Bunya Mountain a nice stop off .

The area had recently been burnt in bushfires and the fire tolerant Balga Grass Trees were flourishing as part of the regeneration.

The Bunya Mountain was declared a National Park in 1901 and there are beautiful walks through the forest

The Bunya pines grow higher than the forest canopy, which is mainly eucalypts. These eucalypts grow to about 45 metres high buy Bunya Pines of over 60 metres have been recorded

When you look across to the forest from the mountain lookout. You can see the Bunya Pines sticking their prehistoric heads out above the forest canopy.