On Wednesday the 23rd this month we drove to Blackdown Tableland National Park, which you can find out more about on the EPA website. The day before I’d booked for two nights on the web, because self registration at the campsite is no longer allowed. After stopping at the Horseshoe lookout on the edge of the tablelands (photo to the left) and finding a geocache, we arrived at the South Mimosa Creek campground at about 1PM.

We had a limited choice of campgrounds, because about 20 of them were closed for maintenance and redevelopment and only 9 were available for camping. After a while we chose a campsite and I was able to explore the surrounds. A small creek (about the size of Kemp Beach creek) flowed near us and we had a composting toilet block just opposite our tent. Unfortunately, possibly because of a lazy ranger, there was no water in the taps and we had to use the creek for washing hands and utensils.

The first place we went to after arrival: the potholes. Some, like the one shown above, has water cascading into it while others, such as the ones below, are covered by water. These particular potholes can be found at the beginning of the Mook Mook (or Officer’s Pocket) walk, just down from the campground.

Taken at the same locations as the potholes above, this photos shows the ones covered by water. I had fun jumping off the ledge to the left, which is about twice my height. There are also very short tunnels connecting some of the potholes.

This waterfall is located about 50 metres down from the potholes, and although quite small, it is still very beautiful. The sides are approximately 7 metres high.

The view from the top of the above waterfall. I like the dynamic aspect to this pic. All the water has just been frozen in place. And don’t panic, although it looks as if I am hovering above I was really lying down and holding the camera out.

The most used item that I brought along was my mountain bike, which I rode practically everywhere. You name it, up stairs, down stairs, across creeks and over rock outcrops with plenty of challenging spots. I feel like I can tackle anything with it now . The photo was taken on the Mook Mook walk.

The beautiful view from the lookout at the end of the Mook Mook trail. Unlike the picture at the top of the post, which was taken at the Horseshoe lookout on the rainy day that we arrived, this view was clear and unimpeded by rain.

Another view from the lookout with the fence in the foreground. In the background you can see a minor landslide, caused by a slab of rock peeling of from the cliff.

Rainbow Falls would have to be among the biggest (if not the biggest) falls in a 100km radius around Blackdown Tableland. I estimate the height of the falls to be around 25 metres, which is really big if you get a tape measure and measure it out. I climbed up a bit on the right side and put my hand under the water falling on the rock you can see. It felt like someone was slingshotting you (not withstandable for more than about 5 seconds). Swimming under the falls is bearable though, because the water isn’t falling from as great a height.

They can be accessed by driving 8 kilometres from the campground and then following the walking trail for about 2km downhill. To get to the very bottom of the gorge you then have to go down 240 stairs

This photo can also be found on Contrasting Sharply.

In total there are 3 defined tracks in the vicinity of the campground (not counting the walk at Horseshoe Lookout) and the last that we walked was the Cultural Circuit. The wooden, burnt out fence above was part of a settler’s stockyard. The posts have been there so long that the tree has grown around it.

The Cultural Circuit also boasts some Aboriginal handprints (OK artwork if you must…), which are created by placing your hand on a rock and blowing paint over it.

Back at the campsite I experiment with waving a lighted stick in front of the camera, creating a fiery hammock for daring (and foolish) people

On the way back from Blackdown we drove over the Dawson River again (we’d gone over it on the way to Blackdown, but it wasn’t as high as this), which was now fully in flood. Almost all the trees were partly submerged.

A tire tube caught in some flotsam and jetsam on the Dawson River. I bet it would have a story to tell.

And with that photo, my retelling of our trip to Blackdown Tableland National Park ends. Hope you enjoyed it.

[tags]national park, blackdown tablelands, holiday, travel, water, waterfalls[/tags]

We left our place at approximately 4:00 AM on Christmas morning, and we arrived at the Gold Coast around 6:00 PM. After arriving at our grandmother’s place we changed clothes and headed off to my cousins place, about 25 minutes away. Can you guess why? Christmas dinner of course!

I received (and bought) some useful computer accessories, namely a USB hub, a USB flash drive and a new 2 button Logitech mouse (previously I was using the old 1 button Apple mouse). I also got some clothes and new shoes.

Below are 6 photos of the trip highlights, with commentary. Enjoy them.

The sun rising just out of Rockhampton at about 5 in the morning. I picked this shot with the blurred trees because it gives the photo a nice sense of movement.

We had to take our kitten, Sachi, with us because the last time we went on holidays without her she was fretting for us. This photo was taken at the Gin Gin caravan park.

At the Gold Coast we always go for a walk. The boardwalk that can be seen above is located around the Currumbin area.

This little game of magnetic checkers was a really good way to pass the time driving back home.

On the day before our departure (Saturday), we drove down to Tweed Heads. Because of the low that is currently off Fraser Island, all the waves at Tweed Heads were really big and the wind was almost galeforce.

Another picture of the waves at Tweed Heads.

There are also some photos of the trip on my photoblog, Contrasting Sharply.

[tags]gold coast, christmas, holiday, travel[/tags]

This is the auditorium. To get an idea of the size, look just below the left columns and you can see a person.

An amazingly bright plant with pink in the middle. No modifications either.

These heart-shaped sprinklers were used extensively throughout the gardens.

Another strange flowering plant.

Anyway, we walked around for a couple of hours and then we had lunch. While we were eating some fairly tame ducks and geese came up to see if we would give them something to eat.

While walking along my mum saw this crow throwing rubbish out of the bin in search of food.

These two geese were the least afraid of us. The food they’re eating was left there by someone who had eaten before us (I think).

In this post I have put captions underneath each photo, so let me know if you like it like that.

[tags]noosa, cooroy, botanical gardens, holiday, travel[/tags]

One of the beaches that we discovered on the walk had thousands of medium-sized smooth rocks all over it – you can see a Contrasting Sharply photo of them as well as the ones below. An amazing thing about these rocks is that they were really bouncy. I threw one of them as hard as I could at the other ones and it must have bounced about 8 times!

I think I’ve said it once before, but I’ll say it again: Geocaching is a great way of finding those hidden spots that only the locals know about. If you want to find out more about the sport, go to geocaching.com, the home of geocaching.

I should be posting about them in the next hour or so. BTW, the resort we were staying at was called Coral Beach Resort.

Maryborough

On Thursday 28th June, Maryborough was our destination. We had heard of a river cruise boat that took people for cruises on the Mary River, so as soon as we arrived at Maryborough we went to the tourist information office to find out about it. When that was done, off we drove to the Maryborough Sailing Club to await the boat. Once on the boat, the captain (see the picture below) started telling us about the Mary River’s history. An enjoyable hour passed before we were dropped off again. Lunch was next: for that we walked over to the Botanical Gardens opposite the boat club. Although the gardens didn’t have any taps (what was the council thinking), it was still very nice. After lunch, we drove up to the library where we stayed until it was time to go back to Hervey Bay. Below are the two photos.

Fraser Island

On Saturday 30th June, we went on a trip across to Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island. Adults and children were half price, so we got a good deal that included morning and afternoon Tea, lunch, tours and lectures plus the boat trips there and back. We didn’t see any dingoes, although we came very close to seeing one as some people who were walking behind us were surprised when a Dingo walked out in front of them. On the boat trip back, they showed us the photos that they took. Below are some photos of Fraser Island.

[tags]Holiday, Hervey Bay, GPS, Geocaching, Maryborough, Botanical Gardens, Mary River, Fraser Island, Kingfisher Bay Resort, Dingo[/tags]