Bunya Mountains National Park

 

Trekking through the majestic rainforest under ancient Bunya Pines

Our first stop on the drive west was a planned visit to Goomeri Bakery. This was a highlight of our last trip through the QLD Hinterland – so we had high expectations. It appeared so did everyone else passing through as the queue for the bakery was out the door! The Lamb Pie was a winner, as was Cathy’s chosen dessert of Passionfruit Meringue, but Sippy’s choice of Chocolate, Cherry Pie fell far short unfortunately, with most of it left uneaten. Sippy didn’t take up his wife’s suggestion of the Strawberry Cheesecake (which looked delicious). Bad luck Sippy.

After heading through Maidenwell we were greeted with a sign on the side of the road saying 'narrow, winding road ahead unsuitable for caravans'. After a quick chat with some locals, they assured us we would be fine and so on we ploughed. The road into Bunya Mountain was extremely pretty and extremely steep in some spots (after all we were heading up a mountain). The car was certainly put under a bit of pressure, but Sippy seemed okay and dropped to first gear for a few of the inclines – and we made it! The views on the way up were very impressive.

After setting up in Dandabah Campground in the National Park, we grabbed a trail map and prepared for the next two days of hiking.

Day one we hiked 15kms on the Barker Creek Circuit, including the Barker Creek and Big Falls Lookout. We also added on the Westcliff Lookout walk on our return. Trekking through the rainforest under giant Bunya Pines, Hoop Pines and Strangler Figs was amazing. The green, coolness of the rainforest was a welcome relief from the 28 degrees as we admired ferns, fungi and birds, including blue, yellow and orange winged wrens, along with the odd goanna.

Day two we hiked 12kms to Bottle Tree Bluff. This walk afforded us views towards Bell, Dalby and the open plains below as we zigzagged through shady rainforest and open, sunny sections of track. We finished the day with a 5km walk to Festoon Falls and Pine Gorge Lookout. This was the most beautiful section of the Bunya Mountains and we were very happy to linger on the trail and admire the impressive, grand old giants of the forest.

Sippy deserved a beer (or two) upon our return to camp. 32 kms in two days was pretty good going. We shared a few stories of travels ahead with some other campers (some saying the Gibb River Road is just another dirt road and others saying it is a disaster for cars and vans), ate a yummy dinner of red curry chicken and headed to bed.