Back to the Mountains

W ehave continued with our policy of getting out and doing something on Saturdays as a family, as we become more familiar with our new environment here in Queensland. We have had some wonderful days together already, and strangely every time we do one, we seem to think of a couple of others to follow up with.

Last Saturday, we went back to the mountains where this all began - or at least - to a nearby mountain. Binna Burra Lodge is similarly located on the top of one of the ranges that peel off to the north from the Border Range, just like O'Reilley's. There is a really amazing walk that goes from one to the other - around 7 hours it takes. I'd like to do that walk sometime! In a straight line the two plcations are around 7 km apart, but by road it is close to 80 km. You head off down a parallel valley, eventually climbing your way up to the plateau on the top and then along to the lonely peak. Despite being similar in terms of location, they are visually quite different - with O'Reilley's much more deep in the rainforest whereas Binna Burra is on the peak of a hill and features some magnificent views. We set off to do a slightly longer walk on Saturday, and soon found that once you got away from the lodge and approaching road, you were back in the heart of deep rainforest, and it was absolutely magnificent. We chose to do the Caves Circuit Walk, which spent almost four kilometres in the forest. Despite all the advice to the contrary, we started at the top and walked down - starting in deep and thick rainforest, and gradually emerging into more open woodland. On the way down, our track zig-zagged down a steep hillside, following a tiny stream as it flowed over waterfalls and into a ferny gully. Then, we turned away from the creek and found our way through a series of shallow caves, carved out of the softer rock layers. Once we reached the bottom, we had our lunch at the information centre, and Nathan and I walked back up the road to collect our car. A lovely walk!

This was the first time we really went back to the same kind of place, although most places we have been have suggested other visits nearby would be just as good. Some of the other places we have visited are;

- A trip on the ferry into the heart of Brisbane, under the Storey Bridge, and stopping off at Southbank to have a swim at the beach and playgrounds.

- A visit to Mapleton, to the Baptist Union's campsite there, which has a lovely canoe lake and fantastic swimming pools. On the way home, we kept up a long-held family tradition, and dropped into the Big Pineapple for an ice-cream.

- A day at the Queensland Museum and Gallery of Modern Art. We also went on the big ferris wheel on that day, while we were out getting some lunch.

- An exploratory drive to Wyvenhoe and Mount Glorious on the way to a friend's place for a House Warming and dinner. Although we didn't stop off and do a lot on this trip, it certainly inspired us to return to a number of picnic spots that look great.

- A fabulous morning spent exploring the Mount Coot-tha Botanical Gardens on foot, before heading up the hill to find a quiet and beautiful picnic spot.

Our family times together are proving to be very positive and informative as well as entertaining. We are loving the times we have together, and loving getting to know more about our new state as we do.