Header image: Bandon's Mill
The Conondales
Saturday, March 21st 2015.
HEMA App Track Stats:
Meeting point at Cruice Park, to Booloumba Creek Campsite - 70.4kms.
Booloumba Creek to Point Glorious Lookout - 59.2kms.
We met at 8:45am for a 9:00am departure from Cruice Park, Woodford under an overcast sky. Although it would have been nice to have blue skies, the temperature and humidity were up and we certainly weren't cold. Despite the number of folk that had said they were going on this trip, we only ended up with 6 vehicles carrying 11 people.
Members in attendance were; Kim & Tony Wilson, Alison French, Alison Watson, Rodney & Rachael Galloway, Tim Shadwell & Leanne, Robert Idzes, and Kate and myself of course. There were no injuries reported and damage to vehicles was limited to a flat tyre on Tim's Pajero, due to sidewall damage and the trailer plug bracket on Alison Watson's car got bent.
Our first stop was the Stoney Creek Day Use Area to air down and a few of the group took photos as well. Coming out of the Day Use Area we turned left onto the Branch Creek Track and proceeded to wind our way through the many twists & turns and ups & downs, Rainforests & Eucalypt forests.
The track eventually meets up with Stoney Creek Road again for an easy, gravel road drive to the Old Brandon's Mill site in the Bellthorpe Conservation Park. We stopped here for morning tea and photos and proceeded along what was now Brandon's Road.
After a few stops to argue with my camera and check my bearings at a couple of intersections we ended up on South Goods Road, where Tim blew a tyre. The video for this trip will contain more slideshow than video.
After Tim changed his tyre we finished the last leg of the off road portion of the trip and came out on Grigor Road at Cambroon where the dirt turned to bitumen once again. After a stop at a rest area we headed for Booloumba Creek Road to locate our pre-booked camping area at Booloumba Creek Camping Area #4 as shown on these National Parks webpages "here" and also on this "PDF". If you look on the map you will see where we camped, at the start of the purple track line on the left of the map.
On arrival at the very busy and sloping camping area we all picked about the only spot we could all camp reasonably close together and set up camp. It started to drizzle shortly afterwards. It ended up raining most of the night but that didn't stop us from gathering under various member's camps and having a chat. Early on we sat around the unlit fireplace for a chat and then took a wander down to a brilliant swimming hole over near camping area #3.
We each did our own thing for dinner before chatting as mentioned above and I think most of us hit the sack fairly early. Somewhere during the afternoon we drew Saturday's Raffle which was won by Robert Idzes. We had plenty of light to moderate rain and lots of thunder but nothing nasty. I think most of us were up with the birds in the morning which is usually the case when camping. We awoke to the sounds of Kookaburras, Bellbirds, Whip Birds and numerous others. A beautiful spot, surrounded by high hills and forest and a pristine creek close by to swim in.
Sunday morning and we all packed up and Tony, Kim & Alison French went off to do their own thing and the rest of us drove over to campsite #3 for another swim before we left. Doing this after we packed up turned out to be a brilliant idea because I doubt that I was the only one dripping with sweat after packing up. Swimming in this gorgeous spot was a great way to finish off our Saturday and start our Sunday. After drying off and changing we hit the road again for the short drive into Kenilworth.
After leaving camp on Sunday our first stop was the Cheese Factory in Kenilworth where some of us enjoyed a beverage and some made purchases from the great variety of cheeses on offer. If you're in the area, it's worth a visit. They sell all kinds of cheeses & jams & preserves etc. Website "here". A few 100 metres up the road to the only garage in town so we could air up and some of us used our own compressors to speed things along a bit, and we were on our way again.
Heading North out of Kenilworth and veering right toward Eumundi to head for our next bit of off road which wouldn't require lowered tyre pressures. Alison Watson now left us to go and do her own thing leaving just 4 vehicles. A scenic drive through parts of Mapleton Forest Reserve, past Cooloolabin Dam and up to the Lookout at Point Glorious where we enjoyed the view over lush green valleys and watched the rain come in.
A quick set up of my foxwing awning saw us all under cover and enjoying a hot cuppa from my kitchen draw. The reduction in group numbers saw the chances of each person winning Sunday's raffle increased. The raffle was drawn and was won by Rodney Galloway. We called it a day and made our way off the mountain with two cars going North and Robert helped me pack up the awning and followed us South into Yandina where we parted company.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend and Kate and I would like to thank everyone that came along. It was great to catch up with members and meet new members & guests. You all made our weekend awesome. Please enjoy the photos in the gallery below. Just click to enlarge the images if on a PC. If there are more photos of one persons car than another is is simply because they were better photos. Not all photos came out as we would have liked but that's just how it goes. A video will be added soon.
Our thanks to those that came and made the weekend special.
As usual, photos without the watermark may be purchased in various sizes by visiting the shop page "here" and quoting the image number that appears on mouseover or in the caption. If the image belongs to a member, you will be put in touch with that member. Any money raised from photo sales goes back into the group in the form of free raffle prizes.
HEMA App Track Stats:
Meeting point at Cruice Park, to Booloumba Creek Campsite - 70.4kms.
Booloumba Creek to Point Glorious Lookout - 59.2kms.
We met at 8:45am for a 9:00am departure from Cruice Park, Woodford under an overcast sky. Although it would have been nice to have blue skies, the temperature and humidity were up and we certainly weren't cold. Despite the number of folk that had said they were going on this trip, we only ended up with 6 vehicles carrying 11 people.
Members in attendance were; Kim & Tony Wilson, Alison French, Alison Watson, Rodney & Rachael Galloway, Tim Shadwell & Leanne, Robert Idzes, and Kate and myself of course. There were no injuries reported and damage to vehicles was limited to a flat tyre on Tim's Pajero, due to sidewall damage and the trailer plug bracket on Alison Watson's car got bent.
Our first stop was the Stoney Creek Day Use Area to air down and a few of the group took photos as well. Coming out of the Day Use Area we turned left onto the Branch Creek Track and proceeded to wind our way through the many twists & turns and ups & downs, Rainforests & Eucalypt forests.
The track eventually meets up with Stoney Creek Road again for an easy, gravel road drive to the Old Brandon's Mill site in the Bellthorpe Conservation Park. We stopped here for morning tea and photos and proceeded along what was now Brandon's Road.
After a few stops to argue with my camera and check my bearings at a couple of intersections we ended up on South Goods Road, where Tim blew a tyre. The video for this trip will contain more slideshow than video.
After Tim changed his tyre we finished the last leg of the off road portion of the trip and came out on Grigor Road at Cambroon where the dirt turned to bitumen once again. After a stop at a rest area we headed for Booloumba Creek Road to locate our pre-booked camping area at Booloumba Creek Camping Area #4 as shown on these National Parks webpages "here" and also on this "PDF". If you look on the map you will see where we camped, at the start of the purple track line on the left of the map.
On arrival at the very busy and sloping camping area we all picked about the only spot we could all camp reasonably close together and set up camp. It started to drizzle shortly afterwards. It ended up raining most of the night but that didn't stop us from gathering under various member's camps and having a chat. Early on we sat around the unlit fireplace for a chat and then took a wander down to a brilliant swimming hole over near camping area #3.
We each did our own thing for dinner before chatting as mentioned above and I think most of us hit the sack fairly early. Somewhere during the afternoon we drew Saturday's Raffle which was won by Robert Idzes. We had plenty of light to moderate rain and lots of thunder but nothing nasty. I think most of us were up with the birds in the morning which is usually the case when camping. We awoke to the sounds of Kookaburras, Bellbirds, Whip Birds and numerous others. A beautiful spot, surrounded by high hills and forest and a pristine creek close by to swim in.
Sunday morning and we all packed up and Tony, Kim & Alison French went off to do their own thing and the rest of us drove over to campsite #3 for another swim before we left. Doing this after we packed up turned out to be a brilliant idea because I doubt that I was the only one dripping with sweat after packing up. Swimming in this gorgeous spot was a great way to finish off our Saturday and start our Sunday. After drying off and changing we hit the road again for the short drive into Kenilworth.
After leaving camp on Sunday our first stop was the Cheese Factory in Kenilworth where some of us enjoyed a beverage and some made purchases from the great variety of cheeses on offer. If you're in the area, it's worth a visit. They sell all kinds of cheeses & jams & preserves etc. Website "here". A few 100 metres up the road to the only garage in town so we could air up and some of us used our own compressors to speed things along a bit, and we were on our way again.
Heading North out of Kenilworth and veering right toward Eumundi to head for our next bit of off road which wouldn't require lowered tyre pressures. Alison Watson now left us to go and do her own thing leaving just 4 vehicles. A scenic drive through parts of Mapleton Forest Reserve, past Cooloolabin Dam and up to the Lookout at Point Glorious where we enjoyed the view over lush green valleys and watched the rain come in.
A quick set up of my foxwing awning saw us all under cover and enjoying a hot cuppa from my kitchen draw. The reduction in group numbers saw the chances of each person winning Sunday's raffle increased. The raffle was drawn and was won by Rodney Galloway. We called it a day and made our way off the mountain with two cars going North and Robert helped me pack up the awning and followed us South into Yandina where we parted company.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend and Kate and I would like to thank everyone that came along. It was great to catch up with members and meet new members & guests. You all made our weekend awesome. Please enjoy the photos in the gallery below. Just click to enlarge the images if on a PC. If there are more photos of one persons car than another is is simply because they were better photos. Not all photos came out as we would have liked but that's just how it goes. A video will be added soon.
Our thanks to those that came and made the weekend special.
As usual, photos without the watermark may be purchased in various sizes by visiting the shop page "here" and quoting the image number that appears on mouseover or in the caption. If the image belongs to a member, you will be put in touch with that member. Any money raised from photo sales goes back into the group in the form of free raffle prizes.
Stoney Creek Day Use Area (our air down point)
On the tracks - Branch Creek to Brandon's Mill.
Morning Tea at the "Old Brandon's Mill" site.
Brandon's Mill to Cambroon.
Back on the Bitumen - Then off it again to the camping grounds, and out on Sunday.
All photos may be purchased for a nominal fee by going to the "shop" page and filling out the form. Please be sure to quote the image numbers exactly as they appear when you mouseover the image. eg; the last image above is "TC-C82". Fees and ordering instructions can be found on the shop page. Any and all profits from photo sales go toward prizes in the "SEQ Overnighters 4X4" facebook group.
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If I do not own the image, I will put you in contact with the person that does. Please use the form on the contact page.
contact | prize winners
All content on this site is © Copyright and may not be downloaded, saved or used in any way without permission.
If I do not own the image, I will put you in contact with the person that does. Please use the form on the contact page.