A walk in the Bunya Mountains

 Since Omicron hit Australia, we have been more reluctant to attempt longer trips down south and will postpone them until later in the year. We have both received our booster shots, but for the moment we prefer to stay in Queensland which is handling Omicron pretty well and the number of Covid patients in hospital appears to be on the downswing.

So we decided to do a mini trip to Toowoomba via the Bunya Mountains, partially to get away from the heat of Summer in Hervey Bay. We drove the same route a year ago when we went to Lismore and it's a very pleasant drive though the country.

The old Woolooga pub.

The highway passes through Woolooga.

Hills behind Woolooga. After all the rain we have received since the beginning of the year, the countryside is remarkably green.

Playground and public toilets.

The nearby Kikivan golf course has a peculiar feature. The greens are dirt. Don't be deceived, the fairways are usually very brown. Presumably putting is challenging on a dirt surface. I looked up their Facebook page and they call them 'browns'. 

An unusual plant beside the highway that reminds me of a thistle. 

We stopped in Kingaroy for lunch at an old bakery that sold meat pies. I enjoyed mine, but Marianne was less impressed. The price of $3 for a pie is very low.

We drove up the Bunya Mountains to a park where there is a good view if the sky is clear. Not this day, unfortunately. I had a nap.

A few miles further on we came to an area where you could do walks through the rain forest to see the Bunya Pine trees. We had to pass through this gate affair.

Organisms on your shoes can damage the pine trees, so you use the red brush to remove dirt, and then the green thing squirts disinfectant on your shoes.

Marianne displays an elegant leg as she brushes her shoe.

And now she steps onto the green plate and disinfectant sprays onto your shoe.

Success! What a talent.

Path down into the rain forest.

Aussie rain forests are studys in browns, greens and greys.

A bunya pine from below. Most of them are from 100 to 150 feet tall and they live for about 500 years.

Bunya Pines have this distinctive top.

Lots of ferns. It was distinctly cooler here on the mountain than down on the flat. The altitude is about 3000 feet.

The bark of a Bunya Pine.

This is a large tree. You get much of the same sensation you get in a Redwood forest, except the Redwood forest seems quieter. The birds in the Bunya Mountains certainly let you know they are there.

A fallen tree that has been cut into small sections.

This was interesting. Every few years, various Aboriginal mobs would come from hundreds of miles around to meet and enjoy the Bunya Nuts. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

The grooves used to climb the trees.

Root structure.

Creek flowing to a waterfall.

We only walked this far and decided we did not want to descend all the way into the valley and then have to climb back up.

Marianne is growing this variety of plant indoors at our unit. This is the full-size version.

This tree had lost some bark.

We got back in the car and continued along a ridge.

Communication towers.

TV towers.

A bench with an Aboriginal snake theme carving.

Next morning we had breakfast at a cafe across the street from our motel. Marianne ate this huge mound of smashed avacado.

The cafe is next to a former restaurant that my family used to go to whenever we were in the area. We had been going there for fifty years. It served a huge lavish smorgasbord and was quite a treat when I was young.

It closed in 2015 and the building now houses a vet. Outside is a fenced area to hold your dog while you are waiting for your appointment.

Speaking of dogs, here is Marianne being unfaithful to the Airedale breed. For the past few weeks, these Great Danes have been walking on the beach while we have dinner. Marianne decided to get a closer look. They are certainly magnificent.