Wongalinga Beach on Queensland’s north coast is a beautiful place to rest and regenerate before heading inland again.
The clear water is warm and being inside the Great Barrier Reef the waves are gentle.
Perfect for daily swims to ease the muscles tight from three and a half months on the road.
Scotties Hostel, which is only a few hundred metres to the beach was a perfect place to find a bed and give the tent a rest.
But I wanted to see the Reef again before I needed inland.
Kings Reef is the closest part of the Great Barrier Reef to the mainland.
So I found myself a camp site right beside the sand at Kurrimine Beach.
A good travelling friend had recommended it.
Here, when the moon is coming onto full and the very low tides fall during the day
One is able to walk out to Kings Reef
I walked past the yacht sitting at rest on the sand
And out to the reef
Being exposed so much the coral is sparse but there are beautiful patches
So it was goodbye to the Pacific Ocean.
The next Ocean I will swim in will be the Indian Ocean on the other side of the continent
It was a beautiful ride up onto the Atherton Tableland past the waterfalls and rainforest to historic Herberton, just off the Savannah Way and the route to the west.
The Bunya Mountains are west of Brisbane in Australia’s Great Dividing Range and house the world’s largest Bunya Pine forest.
The Bunya Pine is one of the few plants surviving from the Jurassic period -200 million years ago these magnificent trees developed and the Bunya Mountains is the place on the planet where they are still prolific.
What a place to camp for my last nights before reaching my destination.
I love the Bunya’s droopy branches and leaves.
To me they resemble giant rastas with their shaggy dreadlocks towering above the forest.
Walking in this beautiful cool rainforest wa such a contrast to the hot dry heat of the central Australia.
Walking amongst the trees
Walking through the trees.
Gardens on the ground
And in the trees in the shape of ferns and moss on the trees.
The gentle wallabies are in the camp grounds and on the trails.
At the northern end of the range at Mt Kiangarow, the forest is drier and grass trees prolific.
The view from Mt Kiangarow magnificent
By day
And at sunset.
That is just over 10,000km completed since I left Melbourne on 1 March 2021
Only 5 weeks or so back there had been flash flooding around the station as 85mm of rain fell inn30 minutes.
This had closed a number of trails and left other badly rutted challenging for walking.
But the view from Yacca lookout was worth the walk. Named after the Yacca grass trees that are endemic to Australia and can be seen in the middle photo above
The walk was very steep in places and the foothold very loose.
Further along the trail there are petroglyphs – aboriginal engravings.
These are thousands of years old.
I had read the last time I was here back in 2014 that there engraving were often sign posts. Showing where water or food can be found.
The circle symbol meant a permanent water source and the arrows the direction to find it
So I followed the dry creek bed in the direction of the arrows
After a kilometer or so there seeping from a rock, life giving water
Enough to make a string of little water holes on the creek bed
Its been a beautiful couple on nights camped here
Sitting by the camp fire
Walking the amazing gorges amongst the gum trees and native conifers
Next stop is the Wilpena Pound National Park before heading north toward the Oodnadatta Track.
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.
Bunya Mountain is a rare and beautiful place to visit
