Brisbane Valley Adventure

This morning we set off early (4:30am) to Esk with a plan to do Parkrun and then hike at both Ravensbourne National Park and Crows Nest National Park.  Most of the way out to Esk it rained, and rained.  It rained some more while I did a warm up.  Thankfully it stopped raining while parkrun was on - another tourist run to add to our collection Old Esk Railway Station Parkrun.  It is a flat two lap course on a mix of concrete, decomposed granite and grass.  In wet conditions it felt like heavy running, but I am confident this would be a nice run when not wet.

https://www.parkrun.com.au/oldeskrailwaystation/

Breakfast was at Brisbane Valley Roasters - lots of people, but prompt service, nice atmosphere and good food. 

https://brisbanevalleyroasters.com.au/

We then decided to brave it and head for Ravensbourne National Park with the plan of doing all the walks.  Before leaving the car we smothered ourselves in Aeorgard. We set off on the pretty Rainforest Circuit, followed by the Palm Creek Circuit.  After stopping numerous times to remove literally hundreds of leeches, we decided not to walk to Buaraba Creek, but to turn around at the Sandstone Overhang.  On returning to the carpark we stripped down in the bathrooms and conducted yet more leech removal.  When we got in the car we saw the only other people in the park doing exactly the same "dance" in the shelter shed.  It was not the day for walking in the rainforest - way too many leeches!

https://parks.desi.qld.gov.au/parks/ravensbourne/things-to-do#toc-1

Change of plans - we headed back to Esk to visit the Glen Rock Gallery - beautiful Phil Lister photographs currently. 

https://www.sasiart.com.au/glen-rock-gallery

We had lunch at Lars Anderson Historic House which contains the Nash Gallery and Cafe - a lovely well priced serve of risotto.

http://nashgalleryesk.com.au/

Then on to Toogoolawah to see the inside of The Condensary, which holds the Somerset Art Gallery. The interior of the packing shed was burnt out in the past and it has been converted into a gallery space while retaining as much of the historical structure as was possible, including the bomb shelter built during WW2 to protect important documents.  I was glad to see this space - I had wanted to when we hike the BVRT but it was closed by the time we got there, so great to finally see how they had preserved this.

https://thecondensery.com.au/

Then the lovely drive through the country home.  Another great day's adventuring, even if did not follow the original plan.

Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre and Show, D'Aguilar National Park

 A local adventure today, another aspect of D'Aguilar National Park.  

https://parks.desi.qld.gov.au/parks/daguilar

This park is diverse and spreads from the Brisbane suburbs up into the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.  Today we visited the Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre and saw the Walkabout Creek Discovery Show, near the Enoggera Reservoir.  

https://parks.desi.qld.gov.au/parks/walkabout-creek-discovery-centre

https://parks.desi.qld.gov.au/parks/walkabout-creek-discovery-centre/things-to-do#wildlife_discovery_show

The Discovery Show was very informative and as advertised, catered for all ages.  The children present asked a variety of questions that were pertinent and well answered. The Wildlife Ranger explained the different types of National Parks Rangers as well as the goals of National Parks in protecting diverse habitats.  All the animals at the Centre are rescued animals and not suitable for release. The striped possum is one of only three in captivity in the world and was badly injured - it is believed he was dropped from a height by a bird of prey.

 

After the show we took a walk through the centre to see the other animals.  The tree kangaroo was very fast moving. The Wildlife Centre is set against the backdrop of Enoggera Reservoir - where you can swim.  It does not feel that we are just a minute or two from suburbia. The emu was very calm and stately, standing his ground quietly on the path and waiting for us to go around so he could continue on his stroll.

Reflections on Jatbula Trail

This hike is stunning – if it is on your bucket list – go and do it! It is a hike with plenty of down time and exploring time. The landscape reminds me that I am just a tiny blip in time and space (as are my challenges) and I stand in awe of the wonderful natural world!  Due to the limited numbers this hike allows you to really feel the location.  It does mean it books out very quickly, but if you can go at relatively short notice (few weeks) a cancellation during the season is definitely an option. We went with 15 days notice.  There are no decisions to make regarding the walk itself as the campsites are set for you, so just food and logistics to organise.

Lessons learnt: Greek yoghurt nut bars work better than chocolate ones in hot climates, a wet wrap placed around bag of liquid chocolate in shade will allow it to set and be eaten, look higher for arrows – most are 6 foot plus above the ground, jellybeans cope with heat much better than other jelly lollies like snakes

What would I do differently: take an underwater/waterproof camera, take antihistamines (if allergic to wattle), don’t bother with fly for tent (we had been advised this but it seemed impossible to us that there wouldn’t be dew – we were wrong), hang food in all campsites, take moisturizer – all the swimming dried my skin out, take a groundsheet with strings to create shade, investigate lightweight seating options

I collected a variety of “rubbish” on this hike – most of which appears to be forgotten items, most likely due to people leaving in the dark and not spotting an item.  I collected assorted scraps, 2 x tent pegs, Jetboil stove stand, pair of ladies underwear, D-shackle and a complete set of tent pegs.

We did this hike during the late August heat wave of 2024, temperatures in Katherine were 37 degrees or higher each day. On the high stone country they are considerably hotter.  My tips for this walk are:

• 1.     Carry lots of water – much better to be carrying too much than worrying that you will run out in the heat.
• 2.     Leave early – many of our fellow walkers left in the dark.  I really wanted to see the country between each waterhole, so we left each day between first light and sunrise. This was right for us.
• 3.     Rest regularly – better to take a little longer to get there and arrive in good spirits. Even with stops we arrived in camp by lunchtime every day.
• 4.     Swim fully clothed when you first arrive in camp, then set up camp while your clothes dry off, they will keep you cool as they dry.
• 5.     Protect these beautiful swimming holes by using clothing to protect yourself from the sun rather than sunscreen which contaminates the water.

Enjoy!

The Tank House and Mt Coolum

 

Feeling recharged and refreshed!
A beautiful Sunshine Coast weekend with my sister, who needed a break from Melbourne winter.  Saturday we spent at "tank bathhouse" - think massage, mineral baths, sauna and food.  I felt so relaxed and sleepy after this.

https://www.tankspa.com.au/post/day-spa-mooloolaba-sunshine-coast

Sunday morning was a hike up the ever beautiful Mt Coolum to enjoy the views - definitely no Melbourne weather here.

https://www.visitsunshinecoast.com/guide/climb-mount-coolum

And Home - Jatbula Trip

 Post Day 3 – Sunday 25 August

The flight departed and landed on time.  I slept most of the way home.  We then waited until 6:30am for the first bus home – I definitely slept all of this.  We arrived home around 8am, had breakfast and then finally went to bed!

Flight Darwin to Brisbane JQ673 (Confirmation Number OGM96Y) 1:30am departure, land 5:40am

Aquascene and Howard Springs - Jatbula Trip

 Post Day 2 – Saturday 24 August

Aquascene and Howard Springs

We were woken around midnight/1am by all the planes coming and going from the airport.  We set our alarm for 5:15am to give us time to have breakfast and pack down our tent, before Nightcliff Parkrun at 7am.  This was very hot (26 degrees Celsius) and crowded. I finished in just under 26 minutes and was in position 99.

https://www.parkrun.com.au/nightcliff/

We then spent some time at Aquascene and saw mild fish, mangrove jack, coral trout and barramundi.  These fish are wild and come in from the ocean at particular tide points and are fed.  

https://www.aquascene.com.au/

We then drove back to the van park for a shower and to hand in our gate key.  We topped up our fuel and then bought some food for lunch.

We drove to Howard Springs Nature Park, hoping to have a swim.  This is a great green space not that far from Darwin with playgrounds, shade shelters, picnic tables, barbeques and opportunities for kids to get wet safely.  Unfortunately, the “swimming” area was not much more than ankle deep, but a spot to cool off none the less.  There was a very large shade shelter where we spread out all our wet gear to dry and then repacked everything ready for the flight home tonight. I took a walk through the forest (Howard Creek Walk) and also to the actual spring where the water emerges.  This park area was developed as a recreation area during WW2 and the concrete has the Australian Field Company details in it.

https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/howard-springs-nature-park

Next up was the Palmerston Water Park to play in the water park and go on the super slide like the big kid I am. 

https://northernterritory.com/darwin-and-surrounds/see-and-do/palmerston-water-park

We had a picnic dinner in the shade at the Palmerston Campus of Charles Darwin University and watch the sunset.

https://www.cdu.edu.au/locations/palmerston-campus

Last up we topped up our fuel and headed to the airport to rest until our flight. We arrived about 7:15pm and were soon joined by many young state tennis players who had just finished a week long tournament and were heading to their various states in the early hours.