"No matter where you go, there you are."

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND

BUNYA MOUNTAINS

Tuesday 10^th October:

We farewelled Ros and Mick then headed west past rich red soil through Kingaroy tp the small town of Kumbia. It was a good place to base our van while we explored the Bunya Mountains. The Kumbia Apex club have provided a local park with free power for campers to overnight. Smart move as most of the vanners spent money in the town. We drove up to the Bunya Mountains in the afternoon, leaving Twistie behind in the van. The road up wended its way through magnificent forests. From the rangers station at Dandabah we took a 4km walk. We had only gone a short way when Ferg grabbed me suddenly. I was one step away from a large red belly black snake. Luckily it decided to slither away from me. The rest of the walk was uneventful although the pine forest was stunning. Back at the car we were just in time for the bird feeding at a nearby café. We were surrounded by King Parrots and Rosellas.

QUEEN MARY FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Wednesday 11^th October:

We had an early morning walk around the town of Kumbia before moving on. We found an unusual sign on our walk and of course Ferg obliged! We drove south through Kingaroy, Nanango and Esk heading for a camp ground at the Atkinson Dam. Unfortunately we hadn’t counted on the drought, there was absolutely no water left in the dam. We decided to continue south through Gatton and Warwick and ended up in Killarney. In the mountains behind the town is the most perfect caravan park opposite the Queen Mary Falls National Park. The park is full of King Parrots, Rosellas, Shrikes, Kookaburras, Magpies, Native Minas andnumerous other birds. The parrots sit on the roof of our van peering in through the door.

Thursday 12^th October:

We awoke to a glorious morning filled with birdsong. It had been rather cold overnight but we were snug in the van with our heater! We took a 2km walk down to the Queen Mary Falls. They were very pretty plunging 40m over a rock face covered in orchids.

After our walk we drove to Carr’s Lookout to enjoy the panoramic views over to Mt Barney and Mt Tamborine in the distance. We continued on down the range and turned onto a 4wd track that took us through the Condamine Gorge, crossing the Condamine River 14 times. The track took us back to Killarney where we stocked up with supplies before heading back up the mountain. We stopped at Browns Falls and Daggs Falls on the way back. We spent the afternoon feeding the birds. Ferg took another walk down to the Queen Mary Falls. Late in the afternoon another van arrived and blow me down they were from Townsville. (It’s a small world!)