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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Bunya Mountains

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Steep Descent Ahead

The magnificent peaks of the Bunya Mountains are a three hour drive to the northwest of Brisbane.


J.S.Fisher Lookout

Our plan today was to ride from Burtons Well – close to Mount Kiangarow, the highest point in the Bunya Mountains at 1,135 metres above sea level. We’d then follow forestry roads eastwards towards Maidenwell where we would have lunch, before climbing back up the range to finsih at Yarraman.


This was a point-to-point ride, which meant we’d finish at a different point to which we started. This always raises logistical challenges – bringing two vehicles, retrieving one vehilce from the starting point at the end of the ride, etc. My friend, Paul, kindly offered to be our driver for the day, dropping us off in the mountains, then driving back to Yarraman to pick us up. This saved us a lot of hassle at the end of the day.


YarramanYarraman

We met with some of the guys from Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club in Yarraman before making the final drive up to the top of the mountains.


J.S.Fisher Lookout

The Jarowair Aboriginal people call this place “Boobarran Ngummin” which, literally translated, means “mothers’ breast”. They believed that the creators of the land, people and animals lived here. These mountains were so important to the aborigines of southeast Queensland, that every three years they’d walk several hundred kilometres from places as far away as present-day Northen NSW, Brisbane, Moreton Bay Islands, Sunshine Coast, and Wide Bay.


The journey would take upto several months, and during that time they’d engage in trade, marriage ceremonies, spiritual discussions and gathering the nuts from the abundant Bunya Pines.


Even today, the Bunya Mountains is the site of the largest natural Bunya Pine forest in the world.


Burtons Well

Burtons WellBurtons Well

Burtons Well is named after local pioneers, Bob aand Geroge Burton, who dug the well in the drought of 1901 to provide water for their horses and bullock team.


On this morning in late May, at such a high altitude, and under clear skies, it was very cold. So we all rugged up in anticipation for what would be a fast, cold descent down the mountain.


Steep Descent Ahead

This was the fastest descent I have ever done on a bike. The winding paved road drops about 500 metres in altitude in the space of about 5 km. At one section where the road dropped steep and straight, my GPS tells me my top speed was 99.9 km/h.


Needless to say that was too fast for me to stop and take photos :) Hopefully my good friend, Darb, will publish his video of the ride. It should contain some footage of this descent, and I’ll share it with you here.


The road whizzed by in a blur of howling wind, chilling cold, and my shrill cries of “On your right” as I passed a few other riders.


I still haven’t confessed to Liz how fast I went.


Alice Creek

In little more than ten minutes we were out of the rainforest, down the mountain, and rolling through open farmland with frozen faces, and cold noses. A few of us took the opportunity to remove some of the cold-weather gear and prepare for the hard work ahead.


Thick MudThick Mud

The dirt roads through Alice Creek are made of black soil. It’s nice and smooth in dry weather, but after rain it turns to sticky black goo. After a few minutes riding on it, our wheels caked up with thick mud. It was impossible to ride.


We stopped and scraped the mud from the tyres and our shoes, then pushed the bikes.


But in a cruel twist, the mud still stuck to the tyres while we pushed. So we had to carry the bikes for a couple of km.


It was hard going.

Heart Break Hill

But wait… there’s more!


Not only was the ground akin to wet cement, some of those hills were impossibly steep.


Hoop Pine Forest

Thankfully, even the steepest of hills come to an end, and soon we were enjoying some more bumpy descents through a hoop pine plantation.


Barker Creek

Barker CreekBarker Creek


We followed the trail along Barker Creek for a few kilometres, crossing it several times.


Barker Creek

The road surface gradually improved as we got closer to Maidenwell.




Eventually we came out on the paved road we’d driven along a few hours before. The fields of sticky black mud that we had encountered earlier had delayed us by about an hour. Although it’s difficult for a mountain biker to admit, it was actually a relief to ride on the bitumen for a short while before lunch.


Lunch at Maidenwell

Ten hungry cyclists decended on the Maidenwell General Store and ordered mountains of food. A few of us took the opportunity to dry out wet, muddy footwear on the footpath outside. It took a while, but after about an hour, we had all eaten and were ready for the final leg of the ride.


Coomba Waterhole

Coomba Waterhole


We stopped by Coomba Waterhole on the way back. This picturesque location is a great spot for a picnic, and (in warmer months) a swim. The imposing rock formations are fascinating. But in today’s chilly weather we decided to forget about having a swim.


Bunya Mountains

Resting at the Summit


After a long climb up yet another nasty hill in Yarraman State Forest, we took a rest at the top and looked back towards the west. A long way distant, on the horizon, we could see the shadowy peaks of the Bunya Mountains. It was a great feeling to think “We’ve just ridden from there”.



We rode about 70 km in about 7 hours including breaks.


During that time we descended almost 1,800 metres, but we also had to climb about 1,200 metres, during which I burned about 3,000 kcal.


This was a tough ride, made more difficult by the sticky mud, and the logistics of starting and finishing such a long way from home.


The Bunya Mountains are stunning – well worth the effort of the visit, whether it’s on a mountain bike or in a car.


This one rates 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.


Thanks everyone for great company on a spectacular ride!



Monday, May 20, 2013

Living the Dream – Tropical Trick Shots

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In 1999 Liam Connor made a major decision to quit his Environmental Science degree, and study something he was passionate about – Film Making.


Since then he has shot a number of overseas films, and was a recent finalist in the prestigious Tropfest 2013 Film Festival with his short film “Time” – shot in and around the Gold Coast Hinterland.


His latest work, filmed in tropical North Queensland, is a fun two minute video of people performing amazing trick shots with footballs.


Liam and his film maker friends, Lucas Thyer and Brad Francis, got together a bunch of excited backpackers who were staying in Cairns at the time, as well as a dance crew that Lucas knew.


They used an array of GoPro Hero3 cameras, including a semi-submerged vertical array to get some spectacular footage – the result is stunning.


Liam tells me while some of the shots worked on the first go, many of them took hours.


You might look at what this son of a humble avocado farmer from the Tweed Valley is doing and think “What a lucky bloke – he’s living the dream”, but I don’t think it has anything to do with luck.


I think it comes down to Passion, Persistence and Perfection – the magic ingredients for any successful venture.


How can you create anything worthwhile unless you’re passionate about what you’re doing?


But passion isn’t enough. It takes ages to get some things just right – which requires persistence. And you’re not going to persist unless you really want excellence.


Good on you, Liam, for having the guts to decide to follow your passion – and for sticking with it. And best wishes to you, Brad and Lucas with this entry in the “1 day in Paradise” competition :)



Living the Dream – Tropical Trick Shots

Read More

In 1999 Liam Connor made a major decision to quit his Environmental Science degree, and study something he was passionate about – Film Making.

Since then he’s shot a number of overseas films, and was a recent finalist in the prestigious Tropfest 2013 Film Festival with his short film “Time” which was shot in and around the Gold Coast Hinterland.

His latest work, shot in tropical North Queensland, is a fun two minute video of people performing amazing trick shots with footballs.

With his friends Lucas and Brad, Liam got together a bunch of excited backpackers who were staying in Cairns at the time, as well as a dance crew that Lucas knew.

He used an array of GoPro Hero3 cameras, including a semi-submerged vertical array to get some spectacular footage – the result is stunning.

Lucas tells me while some of the shots worked on the first go, many of them took hours.

You might look at what this son of a humble avocado farmer from the Tweed Valley is doing and think “What a lucky bloke – he’s living the dream”, but I don’t think it has anything to do with luck.

I think it comes down to Passion, Persistence and Perfection – the magic ingredients for any successful venture.

How can you create anything worthwhile unless you’re passionate about what you’re doing?

But passion isn’t enough. It takes ages to get some things just right – which requires persistence. And you’re not going to persist unless you really want excellence.

Good on you, Liam, for having the guts to decide to follow your passion – and for sticking with it. And best wishes with this entry in the “1 day in Paradise” competition :)

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The Devils Staircase

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The Devils Staircase
My friends and I had some “Unfinished Business” in Conondale National Park.

Last time we rode here, we took a wrong turn and ended up a long way from where we intended. Today we wanted to correct that mistake.

My personal goal today was much simpler – I wanted to fill in a missing link in my Ride Network Map between Charlie Moreland Camp Ground and Kenilworth which would make my map stretch unbroken from the Coast westward to Maidenwell in the South Burnett.

Unbeknownst to all of us, our intended route would take us through some of the toughest country we’ve ridden, including a nasty monster of a hill which Paul dubbed “The Devils Staircase”.

To add to the fun, we were following a “point to point” route which meant that I’d have to drive back up into the mountains at the end of the day to pick up the other car.

Booloumba Falls Car ParkBooloumba Road
We started the ride at the Booloumba Falls car park. This is a beautiful spot for a swim in the heat of Summer, but at almost 600 metres above sea level, it’s freezing in late autumn.

North Goods Management RoadNorth Goods Management Road
Instead of following the busy dirt road back down the mountain, we took a short cut along a quiet fire management road. It was a bit overgrown, and rougher than the road, but it was delightful to crunch over the dry leaves and brush past the ferns and native ginger while Bellbirds rang out in the trees. With the crisp cool breeze sighing in the tree tops, this was a perfect day to be on the bike.

North Goods Management Road
As with many trails in this mountain range, we knew we were up high, and we could get tantalizing glimpes of the view through the trees, but the forest was too thick to see the horizon. So we gave up on trying to get a panoramic view, and instead, enjoyed the steep descent down the mountain.

No Entry!
We followed a ridge line as we descended. Impossibly steep tracks dropped off on either side. It would have been crazy to follow them. One precarious looking track had a warning. “No Entry. Survivors Will Be Prosecuted”. I think the land owner was telling us this was a suicidal track – even if we did survive it, we’d have to contend with his lawyers afterwards.

So we stuck to the main track instead :)

Somewhere in the Bush
As we progressed down the hill, the overgrowth became thicker….

Lantana
Eventually we were surrounded by Lantana. This horrible weed grows thickly and has prickly stems. As you brush by, it can cut your skin and tear your clothes. Crashing through it on bikes, we were asking for some punishment.

Conondale Range
Eventually the lantana thickets cleared, and we enjoyed a delightful view of the mountain tops in the distance.

Creek Crossing
After crashing through some more lantana on the steep hillside, we finally made it down to Booloumba Creek Road. I was delighted to be back on flat ground, even if it meant splashing through a few cold creek crossings. The creek crosses the road a few times, so its inevitable that we would get wet feet.

Our first objective was complete.
Hoop Pine forestHoop Pine Forest
The next leg of the ride was through some hoop pine forest to the north, towards Kenilworth. I assured the guys that even tough the terrain was very steep, I had chosen some trails that I thought would have kinder gradients and would be easier to ride.

But, alas, I was wrong…

Hoop Pine Forest
We discovered “The Devils Staircase”. It started out quite steeply…

The Devils StaircaseThe Devils Staircase

It got even steeper….

The Devils Staircase
And by the time I had dragged my bike to the top I was exhausted.

The reward for the tough climb was an exciting downhill run from the top of the range down to the town of Kenilworth…
Kenilworth PubKenilworth Pub
… where our lunch awaited us :)

Kenilworth Bikies
This ride was only 30 kilometres, but took us four and a half hours including breaks. I burned 2,000 kcal as we climbed about 950 m, and descented about 1,300 m.

It was a tough ride through some rough country. I rate it 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.

Thanks Eric, Tony and Paul for a great ride.