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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Jump!

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Jump!

Riding in places like Cooloola National Park reminds me that we’re just kids in grown-up bodies. Every Saturday we get up early to ride our bikes with friends. But we always try to get home in time for dinner.



Creek Crossing

Noosa River


We started our adventure at Harrys Hut on the Noosa River and followed the river north into the national park through thick forests of paperbarks, cabbage tree palms…


Scribbly Gum


… and scribbly gums.


Cooloola Way


We then followed the smooth clay roads of the Cooloola way northwards alongside vast pine plantations.


Great Sandy National Park


Clare and Anna demonstrated some “Bush Yoga”. Unlike the last time they did this on one of our rides, I didn’t try to copy them.


Cooloola Way


Since our previous visits, the surface of the road has been graded which made some of the downhill sections smooth and fast.


Neebs Waterholes

Eric


We stopped at Neebs Waterholes for morning tea.


Neebs Waterholes


This gorgeous chain of freshwater lagoons form part of the upper reaches of the Noosa River.


Neebs Waterholes


Recent rain has raised the water level in the creek. Tanins from leaves make the water look like weak tea – but it’s still beautiful.


Simon


The rain has also made the track wetter in places, so we were grateful that the creek crossings had been strengthened with rocks to make them easier to pass.


Darb


From there we started our return journey southwards via Wandi Waterhole.


Wandi WaterholeClare


The water looked inviting. It might be cold. Should we have a swim?


Jump!

Absolutely! What else is a kid supposed to do?


Wandi Waterhole


The water was cold – but it felt delightful.


Darb

AnnaEricSimon


After this point the track became hilly and rocky in places – perfect terrain for mountain bikes.


Great Sandy National Park


Like hot snow on tropical mountains, the giant sand patches on the beach-side dunes loomed larger as we rode home.


Clare


We’d definitely get home in time for dinner!



We rode about 50 kilometres in 5 hours including breaks.


I burned 2,500 kcal as we climbed about 420 metres in vertical ascent.


I’ll rate this ride 6.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.


Thanks Clare, Anna, Eric, Darb, Paul and Simon for another memorable adventure.


Let’s not grow-up any time soon!


Anna


UPDATE: Here’s Darb’s video of our adventure



Harry’s Hut Neebs Wandi Waterhole 2014-09-27 from Darb Ryan on Vimeo.


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