Gayndah River Walk Parkrun and Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum (Yeppoon Trip)

 

Saturday 17 July 2021 – 312 916

Gayndah River Walk Parkrun was a pretty but cold start to the day – a very friendly group of people.

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

After packing down we drove to Gympie, stopping in Kilkivan for morning tea. Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum was an interesting stop. There was incredibly detailed information available on a great variety of topics. All items had a catalogue number and the majority had labels attached. My two favourite pieces were the restored and fully operational 1920’s ambulance and 1940’s fire engine.

http://gympiegoldmuseum.com.au/

And then home. 

313 177  Total 2461km

Exploring Gayndah, Coalstoun Lakes National Park (Yeppoon Trip)

 Friday 16 July 2021 – 312 771

After a sleep in we drove up the steep road to McConnells Lookout. Then on to Ideraway Upside Down Bridge – a bit like an upside-down Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

https://northburnett.org/destinations/gayndah-scenic-drives

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideraway_Creek_Railway_Bridge

We looked around town. The town clock would be very pretty with the sun on it. Mellors Drapery is an old-fashioned country store – men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, fabric etc. This store has a central point from which flying foxes run to each different counter for providing change. I purchased some quilting fabric to make a skirt.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellors_Drapery_and_Haberdashery

Archers Lookout provided a good view over the town. I then went to photograph some lovely old buildings that form part of St Joseph’s school and Catholic Church.

The Gayndah Museum had quite a large collection of historic items.  Two items I had not previously seen were an ambulance rail car and an early dishwasher (Dishmatic – it looked more like a top loader washing machine with racks. I would not have a clue how to load it).

http://www.gayndahmuseum.com.au/

After a picnic lunch we went to the Big Orange – I bought a gigantic bag of mandarins. 

https://www.queensland.com/au/en/things-to-do/attractions/p-56b264e1aeeeaaf773cf7cf9-gayndahs-big-orange

We then drove out to Ban Ban Springs – this is beautifully clear water flowing out of the earth at a significant rate. Near the rest area there is unfortunately rubbish in the spring, but only a little way downstream I could hear lots of frogs with a variety of different sounds.

https://www.bundabergregion.org/ban-ban-springs-discover-our-region

Last up for today was Coalstoun Lakes National Park – there were two quite definite craters that at times fill with water and as such attract a variety of birdlife. The craters are from an extinct volcano – Mount Le Brun.

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/coalstoun-lakes

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/coalstoun-lakes/things-to-do

Eidsvold, Munduberra and Auburn River National Park (Yeppoon Trip)

 Thursday 15 July 2021 – 312 615

The RM Williams Bush Learning Centre was our first spot for the day. This was very disappointing. It had one small room dedicated to RM Williams, and next to nothing about the brand or what they currently produce.

https://northburnett.qld.gov.au/rm-williams-australian-bush-learning-centre/

Mundubbera Bicentennial Park was our next stop. The river and weir are quite picturesque. We took the Arthur Dagg walk along the river, before going to look at the Meeting of the Waters Mural and Big Mandarin.

https://northburnett.org/directory/mundubbera-heritage-and-information-centre

https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/Mundubbera

https://bigthingsofaustralia.com/the-big-mandarin/

https://www.northburnett.org/destinations/mundubbera

The afternoon was spent at Auburn River National Park. The views from both the lookouts were great. We then took the track down to the river and rockpools. It is an impressive gorge with massive water polished rocks. We spent quite a while climbing and exploring and could have spent much longer. We would have liked to camp here but according to the website it was booked out (although we only saw one other vehicle).

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/auburn-river

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/auburn-river/things-to-do

We stopped for afternoon tea at Wain’s Hill Lookout. We are camped for the evening at Sunset Campground (a fruit pickers camp) near Gayndah.