Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Mi' hols - Part II
From Wednesday we had a hire car and we drove south from Airlie Beach to Eungella National Park. About 100 km of this trip is on the mid-reaches of the Bruce Highway, Route 1, part of the federal highway network that encircles the mainland.
The Bruce Highway section of Route 1 joins Brisbane to Cairns. The one abiding memory of it is that it was strewn with dead animals. I remember the first 10 kangaroos I saw on my first return trip here, 20 years ago, were quietly resting by the side of the road. This carnage used to stretch all the way to Brisbane, but it is less common now down south. However between Proserpine and Mackay we saw numerous kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, kites, possums and foxes (non native), all dead.
But Eungella is mountainous remnant tropical rainforest and is one of Australia’s biodiversity hotspots. There are several species, including frogs, crayfish and birds which are endemic to the area.
That said, I wouldn’t know a Gastric Brooding frog, unless I saw its babies pop out of its mouth.
By lunchtime we had climbed the escarpment to the Broken River section of the park which is renowned for its platypus. And it didn’t disappoint either. The normally shy platypus is pretty comfortable with people here and so there is no need to creep around at dawn and sit silently by the creek for an hour.
Later we took a walk up the Broken River creek system, which is absolutely stunning rainforest/creek scenery. Spotted a couple more snakes, one of them being picked off by a Kookaburra.
We stayed in a cabin down the mountain in the Finch Hatton Gorge section. Though the cabin was pretty basic, it was in the most stunning of spots, right on the National Park boundary with a creek running past. Another snake (not sure what type, but it was about 2m long and orange-brown, a bit like a Taipan…..) dropped down from the ceiling of the camp kitchen.
Thursday morning we had a couple of hours to go walking before we left for the airport. We explored Finch Hatton Gorge and climbed a couple of waterfalls, before the boys decided they needed the toilet and we had to run back.
Eungella is a beautiful place, every bit the match of the amazing Lamington National Park. When the boys are older, we must return to go off the track system and climb through the gorges and forests.
16th – 19th September - Lennox Head
Following an overnight stop at home, we hit the road south on Friday into NSW to stay at Lake Ainsworth near Lennox Head/Byron Bay – about 200km south of Brisbane.
Despite leaving in the sunshine and the weather being fine for most of the trip, the forecast suggested Friday night was going to be a bit rough. But we still spent most of the afternoon at the beach, a mere 150 yards from the tent.
By dusk however, things were picking up. And then by the time we got the kids in bed we got slammed by a SEVERE storm. In breakfast terms we had the full works: lightening, thunder, lashing rain and high winds. We were forced to abandon two decimated tents and some of the group retreated to their cars for the night. It was all hands on deck to prevent the tarp being blown out to sea.
But while most tents were buckling under the pressure, there was barely a ripple in the tent we had brought all the way from England.
Fortunately the really heavy rain lasted just 15 mins (despite rain carrying on for an hour or so more) as other storm cells passed us by. But the strong winds continued all night, making it all pretty unbearable. By dawn, the campsite looked like downtown Sarajevo.
With many of the group being - at least once upon a time – Poms, with stoical resistance and Dunkirk spirit (without the retreat bit), we slowly picked up the pieces the next morning, without loosing anyone.
That afternoon we walked along the magnificent Seven Mile Beach to Lennox Head, being battered by the continuing wind all the way.
I understand that memories are fickle things. When reflecting back on say, a holiday, you will always attach greater significance to episodes towards the end, rather than the beginning. Therefore, if things are bad at the start of the holiday, but gradually improve, you will be left with fond memories overall.
And so it will be with this break. From Saturday afternoon the wind disappeared and we had glorious weather and a great time.
On Sunday we ventured into the fabled Byron Bay. Byron Bay is a place full of contradictions. 20 years ago it was famous for just being the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. Today, it is famous for having one of the highest rates of unemployment in Australia (about 19%), being the left-field and alternative therapy capital of the nation and one of the most expensive places to stay outside Sydney. Its where the baby boomers settle for their 'sea change' and rediscover their hippy past and where the work shy come and bludge. The day we were there a giant Peace Rally echoed across the beach.
Either way, it is a great little town with bustling streets and devoid of anything branded or corporatised. I can’t even recall seeing a McDonalds (though there was a subway). It has a fantastic beach and the Cape (Cape Byron) is simply stunning, with views for hundreds of kilometres north (to Tweed Heads) and south down the coast and also inland to the rainforest World Heritage area. You get a great view of Mount Warning - the ancient volcano at the centre of it all - so named by Cook in 1770 as a warning (funnily enough) of the impending rocks of Tweed Heads.
There were too many cars though. It sometimes feels like their are more cars than people. But this doesn’t appear to worry the locals, who as pedestrians, show scant regard to road conventions and walk the streets as apparent equals of the car – whey-hey!
Later that day we strolled up to the lighthouse – the subject of half the postcards sold in town (the other half devoted to the bikini, or lack thereof). From there we definitely spotted several dolphins and we may even have been looking at a Humpback Whale migrating northwards, but being a couple of kms out to sea, it was difficult to tell.
My father and Kay had joined us by Sunday night. They were heading north to Brisbane to house sit for a while and hence our paths crossed in northern NSW.
On Monday, after a morning on the wind-less beach and lunch in the sun, we packed up and headed north.
Mi' hols - Part II
Posted by Living with Matilda at 9:05 PM
Eungella National Park From Wednesday we had a hire car and we drove south from Airlie Beach to Eungella National Park. About 100 km of this trip is on the mid-reaches of the Bruce Highway, Route 1, part of the federal highway network that encircles the mainland.
The Bruce Highway section of Route 1 joins Brisbane to Cairns. The one abiding memory of it is that it was strewn with dead animals. I remember the first 10 kangaroos I saw on my first return trip here, 20 years ago, were quietly resting by the side of the road. This carnage used to stretch all the way to Brisbane, but it is less common now down south. However between Proserpine and Mackay we saw numerous kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, kites, possums and foxes (non native), all dead.
But Eungella is mountainous remnant tropical rainforest and is one of Australia’s biodiversity hotspots. There are several species, including frogs, crayfish and birds which are endemic to the area.
That said, I wouldn’t know a Gastric Brooding frog, unless I saw its babies pop out of its mouth.
By lunchtime we had climbed the escarpment to the Broken River section of the park which is renowned for its platypus. And it didn’t disappoint either. The normally shy platypus is pretty comfortable with people here and so there is no need to creep around at dawn and sit silently by the creek for an hour.
Later we took a walk up the Broken River creek system, which is absolutely stunning rainforest/creek scenery. Spotted a couple more snakes, one of them being picked off by a Kookaburra.
We stayed in a cabin down the mountain in the Finch Hatton Gorge section. Though the cabin was pretty basic, it was in the most stunning of spots, right on the National Park boundary with a creek running past. Another snake (not sure what type, but it was about 2m long and orange-brown, a bit like a Taipan…..) dropped down from the ceiling of the camp kitchen.
Thursday morning we had a couple of hours to go walking before we left for the airport. We explored Finch Hatton Gorge and climbed a couple of waterfalls, before the boys decided they needed the toilet and we had to run back.
Eungella is a beautiful place, every bit the match of the amazing Lamington National Park. When the boys are older, we must return to go off the track system and climb through the gorges and forests.
16th – 19th September - Lennox Head
Following an overnight stop at home, we hit the road south on Friday into NSW to stay at Lake Ainsworth near Lennox Head/Byron Bay – about 200km south of Brisbane.
Despite leaving in the sunshine and the weather being fine for most of the trip, the forecast suggested Friday night was going to be a bit rough. But we still spent most of the afternoon at the beach, a mere 150 yards from the tent.
By dusk however, things were picking up. And then by the time we got the kids in bed we got slammed by a SEVERE storm. In breakfast terms we had the full works: lightening, thunder, lashing rain and high winds. We were forced to abandon two decimated tents and some of the group retreated to their cars for the night. It was all hands on deck to prevent the tarp being blown out to sea.
But while most tents were buckling under the pressure, there was barely a ripple in the tent we had brought all the way from England.
Fortunately the really heavy rain lasted just 15 mins (despite rain carrying on for an hour or so more) as other storm cells passed us by. But the strong winds continued all night, making it all pretty unbearable. By dawn, the campsite looked like downtown Sarajevo.
With many of the group being - at least once upon a time – Poms, with stoical resistance and Dunkirk spirit (without the retreat bit), we slowly picked up the pieces the next morning, without loosing anyone.
That afternoon we walked along the magnificent Seven Mile Beach to Lennox Head, being battered by the continuing wind all the way.
I understand that memories are fickle things. When reflecting back on say, a holiday, you will always attach greater significance to episodes towards the end, rather than the beginning. Therefore, if things are bad at the start of the holiday, but gradually improve, you will be left with fond memories overall.
And so it will be with this break. From Saturday afternoon the wind disappeared and we had glorious weather and a great time.
On Sunday we ventured into the fabled Byron Bay. Byron Bay is a place full of contradictions. 20 years ago it was famous for just being the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. Today, it is famous for having one of the highest rates of unemployment in Australia (about 19%), being the left-field and alternative therapy capital of the nation and one of the most expensive places to stay outside Sydney. Its where the baby boomers settle for their 'sea change' and rediscover their hippy past and where the work shy come and bludge. The day we were there a giant Peace Rally echoed across the beach.
Either way, it is a great little town with bustling streets and devoid of anything branded or corporatised. I can’t even recall seeing a McDonalds (though there was a subway). It has a fantastic beach and the Cape (Cape Byron) is simply stunning, with views for hundreds of kilometres north (to Tweed Heads) and south down the coast and also inland to the rainforest World Heritage area. You get a great view of Mount Warning - the ancient volcano at the centre of it all - so named by Cook in 1770 as a warning (funnily enough) of the impending rocks of Tweed Heads.
There were too many cars though. It sometimes feels like their are more cars than people. But this doesn’t appear to worry the locals, who as pedestrians, show scant regard to road conventions and walk the streets as apparent equals of the car – whey-hey!
Later that day we strolled up to the lighthouse – the subject of half the postcards sold in town (the other half devoted to the bikini, or lack thereof). From there we definitely spotted several dolphins and we may even have been looking at a Humpback Whale migrating northwards, but being a couple of kms out to sea, it was difficult to tell.
My father and Kay had joined us by Sunday night. They were heading north to Brisbane to house sit for a while and hence our paths crossed in northern NSW.
On Monday, after a morning on the wind-less beach and lunch in the sun, we packed up and headed north.
Posted by Living with Matilda at 9:05 PM
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