Kingaroy, Maidenwell and Palms National Park

29 December 2018

Wondai parkrun this morning – adding another letter to our alphabet, and catching up with some fellow Sunshine Coast runners.  This is a lovely welcoming parkrun that uses the rail trail south from Wondai, so again smooth bitumen and gentle gradients – recommend!  http://www.parkrun.com.au/wondai/

After packing up we headed south along the rail trail to Kingaroy.  We visited the Kingaroy Heritage Museum which is dedicated to the peanut industry and had all sorts of ingenious devices developed to make the growing and harvesting of peanuts easier. 
https://www.southernqueenslandcountry.com.au/destinations/kingaroy/attractions/kingaroy-heritage-museum

Of course, we also checked out the enormous peanut silos across the road.  We also visited the Peanut Van to try some flavoured peanuts – Maple Bacon and Salt and Vinegar – it was a big decision as there were so many choices!

https://www.peanutvan.com.au/

Maidenwell was our next stop for a delicious lunch at The Trading Post, followed by a swim at Coomba Falls.  The lunch was awesome and really solid serves.  

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community/The-Maidenwell-Trading-Post-277674049250948/

Then onto Cooyar Swinging Bridge – it is quite high.  

The Palms National Park was one we had never heard of and is very small, but well worth the stop for a walk.  It has a surprisingly large variety of plants and animals for such a small park. 

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/palms/

And then onto home.  A quick trip but really enjoyable.

South Burnett Rail Trail

28 December 2018

This morning we headed north to Murgon on the South Burnett Rail Trail.  This trail is fully bitumised, and being an old railway line has gentle gradients, with a few small steeper parts of descent in and out of creeks where there are no longer railway bridges. This section of the rail trail crosses a few roads but is largely very peaceful country.  It made me think of a bushwalk or trail run but with a smooth bitumen base beneath my feet. After a brief look around Murgon we then headed back to Wondai.  Being December, this was a hot walk by the time we got back in the early afternoon. 

http://www.southburnett.qld.gov.au/rail-trail

After a delightful and well-earned shower, we decided to have a look at some of the rest of the trail from the comfort of our air-conditioned vehicle (the remainder of the trail running more or less parallel to the highway).  We headed south through Tingoora to Wooroolin Wetlands.  This is a large wetland area which developed following a small earthquake and as such has the skeletons of drowned trees in it.  Due to the prolonged drought the bird hide is now some distance from the water, however it is still quite pretty.  

https://www.discoversouthburnett.com.au/attractions/national-parks-and-reverves/wooroolin-wetland/

We then headed back to Wondai to the public swimming pool for a relax and cool down.http://www.southburnett.qld.gov.au/aquatic-centres

Wondai

27 December 2018

We left home travelling north to Gympie and then inland to Kilkivan where we stopped for a picnic lunch.  Then on through Goomeri and Murgon to Wondai.  We have set up camp at Wondai Rest Area – this is a lovely free camp with hot showers and toilets, where the train station previously was.  This is a perfect base for us as our primary reason for visiting was to walk the South Burnett (Kingaroy to Murgon) Rail Trail.

After setting up we headed to the South Burnett Region Timber Industry Museum and Wondai Visitor Information Centre.  The displays were interesting and informative.  After talking to the very helpful staff it was decided that we would walk the Wondai to Murgon section of the rail trail tomorrow as this is the prettiest section of the trail and does not travel near the highway – so it allows us to see different countryside.
https://www.discoversouthburnett.com.au/attractions/galleries-museums-and-collections/south-burnett-region-timber-industry-museum/

Hayden then enjoyed the musical playground in the centre of Wondai.