9/7/22 Lake Kerwongbah & North Pine Dam

 

   Following on after our bike ride out at Woody Point , we had some lunch and went for a drive . There's a few lakes not too far away . We found Lakeside Drive and headed on down - hoping to find somewhere to get some aerial shots from - got a big surprise when we found Lakeside Race Track , and they had a race weekend happening ! We had a quick look , before driving back out to the entrance and let the drone out for a look . Here's the racetrack - now you know why it's called Lakeside !

 The track is alongside Lake Kerwongbah .

You can see the water in the distance , and we figured it was all part of this lake .

   Back into the ute , down a few other roads and we find North Pine Dam and Lake Samsonvale - which is a lot larger than Lake Kerwongbah . Lake Samsonvale is for drinking water , and Lake Kerwongbah is for recreation . This is North Pine Dam .

   North Pine Dam Wall .

   Down into another road , we find many houses on acreage that back onto Lake Kerwongbah , just beside here .

    Back to Lake Kerwongbah and the rowing club . There's a small park here with chairs & tables , the dam wall is over to the right in this photo .

   Here's the view up the rowing course , some of the single skulls rowboats are on the bank .

    Dam wall is on the right and the main pump is on the left .

   Here's the dam wall and a local paddling away bottom left .

  The rowing course from above .

  Here's Lake Kerwongbah below , with Lake Samsonvale top left .

   And with that we headed home , the temperature was heading south , it was time to warm up !!

Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1zvz3JJ9llFT-E2mIeB1oktL52v3gZN4&usp=sharing

9/7/22 Scarborough & Redcliffe

 

   Today we headed out to Scarborough and Redcliffe on Moreton Bay , we'd been here many years ago and memories were a bit vague , so we had a drive around first then went for a ride on the bikes . 

 Scarborough Beach was the first stop , the beach was very quiet though .

   There were people out & about enjoying the sunshine and grassed areas .

  There were plenty of boats out , and a few Sup's getting some practice .

   Around the northern tip to the marina and you get views to the Glasshouse Mountains .

   Down to Suttons Beach at Redcliffe , a sweep of sand with views out to Moreton Island , this is looking down toward Woody Point .

   Views from Margate are toward the Brisbane Port and Airport .

  There's a beautiful mural along this wall - it looks amazing , the dolphin looks like it will jump straight out of the wall !!

    Parking at Woody Point we headed out on the bikes , there's a great network of bike tracks here , we followed the track south down to the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge . It has a dedicated walking lane and two way bike lanes , the bridge is approx 2klms across and carries the south bound traffic , an older bridge carries the north bound traffic , both are 3 lanes wide .

 There's arches each side of the bay that are from the original 2 lane bridge that spanned the water - It was the Houghton Highway - this is the southern side .

  Here's the view of the northbound bridge , with the southbound bridge on the other side .

  Here's both of them

    About one third the way across , there's a fishing platform for those who wish to use it !

    We headed back to the ute & loaded up the bikes and went back to the van . Here's map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1m-fZPpd16wRk_XLAIYRofQufkLth2FI&usp=sharing

3/7/22 Bribie & Kuluin

  

   Time to visit some friends , firstly out to Bribe Island to catch up with Kym & Caroline . They live at Gemlife over 50's resort style living . Well we were amazed at the facilities on offer - tenpin bowling ; lawn bowls ; golf simulator ; cinema ; tennis courts ; indoor heated pool & spa ; sauna ; outdoor pool ; Bbq areas ; games room ; library ; mens shed ; craft rooms ; hairdresser ; function centre ; gym - it goes on and on and on - such an amazing facility !! 

  After our tour around the facility , we headed out for lunch at the bowling club not far down the road , then had a drive around Bribie Island . First stop was Woorim Beach on the eastern side of the island to this concrete bunker - A submarine detecting facility for WW2 , there were also observation points up the eastern side of the island , some since have had their foundations washed away by the ocean .

  This is the bunker with 30cm thick walls .

   This is Woorim Beach looking north .

   After our drive around , we headed back to the complex and enjoyed a beer and lots more conversation - we dragged ourselves away about 9:30 pm , having had a great day catching up .

   A few days later we headed up to the Sunshine Coast to see Richard & Marcia , who also live at a Gemlife over 50's - this one is at Kuluin , which is near Buderim . The resort has all the same facilities as Bribie does and is essentially set up the same way . 

   Lots of talking and catching up with what's been happening since we last saw each other last year , then a lovely lunch and a walk around the resort . There's a boardwalk here that takes you down to a viewing platform over the Maroochy River . This is the outlook .

   After being equally amazed at the facilities here , we headed back for afternoon tea - pumpkin scones with home made plum jam and freshly whipped cream - I don't usually take photos of food , but this was too good to miss out on - they tasted as good as they looked too !

   Another great day and always good to catch up with Richard & Marcia ! 

Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1hw9HU6P9I2AuI2Zt-FrvVG66OwoKlVk&usp=sharing

6/7/22 Caboolture

 

   Another day , another adventure , todays is a drive out to Caboolture and some exercise on the bikes . The Caboolture to Wamuran Rail Trail caught our attention - the old railway hasn't been in use since the early 90's , so they have converted it to a rail trail for walkers/runners & cyclists . It was used to transport timber to timber mills - the timber mill is still here - now surrounded by suburbia - it has 10m high sound reducing walls , and seems to be a little out of place . The trail is primarily flat , but does climb gradually all the way to Wamuran - a small town to the west about 10.5 kms away .

  It goes through a lot of pine forest , running beside the D'Aguilar Hwy .

  It also goes underneath another road through this bridge / tunnel on it's way to Wamuran .

   Back to the ute again , we decided to go back to the van via a back road or 2 . The road to Mt Mee looked interesting , so away we went first driving to up to Wamuran  then up to Mt Mee . The road up was similar to Mt Glorious , we ended up on top of the mountains again . It's hard to describe the views we were getting , but they were spectacular when you could find somewhere to pull up and have a look .

  From the top of Mt Mee the road then heads back down to the valley below and to the town of Dayboro - a very popular destination for Brisbanites - a little like Berrima in the Southern Highlands , but with a larger population . Here's the Crown Hotel .

   This is a section of the main street .

 

   Being a week day it was relatively quiet , it was also later in the afternoon so probably a lot quieter than normal .

  From there it's was back to the van again , another enjoyable day . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=14ctKYLROqg8_yCdvSphXCg0-zQrkG2w&usp=sharing

28/6/22 Mt Glorious

 

   Time for a drive into the hills to D'Aguilar NP and Greene's Falls . It is situated near the village of Mt Glorious - what a name ! The drive was interesting and very much the same as going from the coast to the highlands , quite a climb . The height above sea level is 619m so the temperature up on top was similar to the highlands - we left with 17 degrees and arrived at 12 degrees .  The shorts & tee shirt didn't quite cut it , luckily we took jackets and our hiking boots as well . There were a selection of walks to do as per the sign , so we chose the rainforest circuit and off we went . It was good to get moving so we could warm up a bit .

   Fortunately we were getting a bit of sun here & there , and there was definitely no wind .

    The track led us down into the forest , huge trees all around , all competing for the available light .

  The further we went down the thicker the forest got , ferns of all sizes & descriptions .

   Palm trees & strangler figs dominated down here .

    Stopping to have a good look around , up as well , reveals crows nests , elk horns & stag horns clinging to the tree trunks .

    A pair of Mountain Lowry's watched us wander past .

  Small streams trickled down through the forest floor .

   There's something special about going for a walk through the rainforest - good for the soul - you can relax and enjoy the view .

   Other large gumtrees started to appear as we walked back upwards .

   We continued on to the Cypress Grove walk and then down Greene's Falls track . Interesting how a tree fell on the track , and they just cut steps into it so people could get past it . Everything over this side seems to be covered in moss .

   A board walk appeared - probably to keep everyone out of the creek , also just to the left was a grove of Hoop Pines - the darker trunks .

   Little birds flutter around the place , posing for photos whilst going about their business .

   There are many types of fungus here in the forest , this one appears to be wafer thin and plentiful .

   At the end of the boardwalk is the falls , not the classic waterfall with a long drop and streams of water dropping into a pool at the bottom , rather a flow of water over the rocks . There needs to be another viewing area so you can look from the side and see it all , rather than looking down the slope . It's still a great place to be though .  

   Here's another look at the boardwalk through the forest on our way back up to the ute .

   That's it for today , here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1lmBjEdBjwO6VVA2yPvBxX5hbK0HLQjE&usp=sharing

27/6/22 Deception Bay

 

   Murwillumbah is now behind us and we head to the north side of Brisbane . School holidays was upon us , so we found a spot to camp for a couple of weeks - Watson Park in Dakabin - it was a good price and we could use it as a base to visit friends and see some sights . 

   Arriving there just after 12 , we set up , had lunch & headed out to Deception Bay to go for a ride . We found the deceptive part - the water was missing 😂 - no it was low tide , and it was out about 150m .

   There's a bike track that will get you out to Redcliffe & Scarborough , it follows the bay round till there's lots of mangroves , then goes back into suburbia . There's plenty of wetlands here .

   The was a cactus plant growing up into a few trees beside the path , and it really likes to take over - bit like a weed !!  It was nearly to the top of this 15m high tea tree .

    And was going fairly high in the 2 gumtrees beside it .

    There's plenty of green grass & mowed areas around the trees . Exercise equipment has been placed there as well , so you can go for a walk and some exercise as well .

   Back to the ute , we were parked beside the boat ramp - you'd have to drive a long way out though !

   Along the other end of the track , there's more parkland , chairs , tables & Bbq's , and all of it is very well used - it was monday afternoon and there were people everywhere , walking their dogs & entertaining the kids .

    That was our day , here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1GQtAiZLv7kD-neSYuCt6S-5vi8elD7w&usp=sharing