OurTripDreaming: June 2023

Today was a big day, so up early and away! The trail from Lowood to Fernvale is an older more established trail, with the planted trees large enough to provide shade. The trail surface was very good underfoot and the trail was beside the main road most of the way, with minimal elevation change. There were no cattle grids on this section.

In Fernvale there is a large park between the railway line and main road with toilet facilities. The toilets are locked from 6pm to 7am, and there is unfortunately no camping allowed here. After a quick trip across the road to the Old Fernvale Bakery and Café, we continued on.

https://www.facebook.com/OldFernvaleBakery/

The section between Fernvale and Wulkaraka involved some very rocky patches of trail. After crossing the Brisbane Valley Highway there was a large section of trail that was being redone with decomposed granite. The trail has a mixture of open exposed paddocks and lightly shaded woodland. The last 5km of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail are on a concrete bikeway so very easy walking in an urban setting. The trail finishes at the new trailhead carpark which is about 1.2km from Wulkaraka station, and as such the last track marker you see is the 2km marker. If you wish to complete the full 161km, as we did, you need to continue on the bike path to Wulkaraka Station and then return to the car.

We gratefully put down our packs, after our longest day so far of pack hiking. Next stop was the Browns Plains Hotel where we had prebooked a room for a well deserved shower and a sleep in a bed. Renewed appreciation for the day to day joys of modern life.

https://brownsplainshotel.com.au/accommodation/

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Day 7 of 8 Brisbane Valley Rail Trail - Coominya to Lowood

Thursday 8 June 2023 – Coominya to Lowood

https://www.brisbanevalleyrailtrail.com.au/

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/BVRT/Trail-map#onPageHeaderIdentifier2

A short hop today to Lowood today. I spent some significant time exploring under, around and over the Lockyer Creek Railway Bridge – it was magnificent. There was also signage explaining its construction stages.

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/BVRT/See-and-do

The trail today was very exposed with minimal breeze, this was the hottest walking conditions of this trip. The track conditions varied greatly through the day, with many short sections that were rocky and sloped sideways. The trail as you approach Lowood from this direction is beautifully landscaped with native plants for about a kilometre.

Drakes Supermarket is equivalent to a small Woolworths or Coles, and we bought ourselves a large lunch of salads and chocolate milk, and then went to the Lowood Bakery for hot pies to go with it. Dinner was again sourced at the supermarket.

https://drakes.com.au/

We had originally thought we would go to Fernvale today, but the closest accommodation was 3km out of town. While this would have meant a shorter final day, it would have added 6km to the hike. We opted to do a short day today and a long day on our final day. We were fortunate that the caretaker at the Lowood showgrounds was happy for us to set up undercover so we would not need to wait for the dew to dry off our tent the next morning.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067110232373

https://www.camparoundaustralia.com.au/campsites/lowood-showgrounds/

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Day 6 of 8 Brisbane Valley Rail Trail - Esk to Coominya

Wednesday 7 June 2023 – Esk to Coominya

https://www.brisbanevalleyrailtrail.com.au/

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/BVRT/Trail-map#onPageHeaderIdentifier2

The trail surface today was much tougher – clay with rocks and quite a humped surface to allow drainage rather than being flat across the path. In many parts the trail is the true width of the railway and there were several cuttings, making if feel very much like travelling along a railway line. There were a number of very steep gullies to descend and ascend to cross the water. Overall however the trail was constantly up and down with a generally gentle gradient. Today had more variation in the types of countryside we passed through than any other day. There were two shelters in this section, nicely spaced. This section of the trail seemed the best set up for those on horses, with mounting blocks and water troughs, as well as tie up points.

We have camped at the back of the Bellevue Hotel Coominya. This is not a formal camping area, however it is possible to camp behind the beer garden by prior arrangement. The toilets are accessible all night, however the shower is only available while the pub is open as you need a key from the front bar. They even provided towels – a luxury after a few days of a hiking towel! Once the pub closes, about 8pm on a Wednesday night, we were completely on our own.

https://www.facebook.com/CoominyaPub/

The Coominya General Store and News is much larger and better stocked than it appeared in the photos I found on the internet. Dinner was at the Bellevue Hotel Coominya – and the serves were massive and good! Only downside of this location is the road noise as there were some vehicles being driven very noisily during the night. The drivers seemed to think it was the Wild West.