Cania Gorge 2014

[Rumpig]

This trip was done over the 2014 Easter / ANZAC long weekends. Along for the trip are our family, the wifes sister and partner, the mother inlaw, the wifes cousin and partner, and a heap of members from our 4wd club. Some people such as the wifes family and some club members are only along for the Easter duration, but others like ourselves have taken the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off of work to extend our trip over the 2 consecutive long weekends.
DAY 1
Well night one really....It's the Thursday before the Easter break and i was hoping to finish up at work around 3.00 p.m so i could race home and start packing the camper trailer, as i was walking towards the front gate i got a phone call asking me to wait back for a tilt tray driver that was coming to drop one of our forklifts off onsite :evil: luckily the tilt tray arrived a few minutes later and i was away from work about 3.30 p.m, the driver of the tilt tray told me he'd come from the Northside of town and had seen 4 accidents along the way, so i was glad we weren't planning on leaving Brisbane until atleast 7.00 p.m tonight in hope the traffic will have cleared by then. Tonights destination is the SIL's property up at Gympie, both our kids have been staying there the past week with their Nanna whilst on school holidays, so we have an uninterrupted run at packing the camper and are finished much earlier then expected a touch after 5.00 p.m 8) 8) we make the call to grab some Hungry Jacks for dinner tonight before we leave, more so out of convienence then anything as there's one just down the road, and by 6.00 p.m we are fed and showered and ready to rock and roll. Last week we had to drive to Gympie for the MIL's 70th birthday party, we made the mistake of leaving around 5.30 p.m which added an extra hour onto our normal travel time there, so i was wondering if leaving at 6.00 p.m was really such a good idea or not. We ended up leaving at 6.00 p.m and to our surprise had a prety good run all the way there, arriving just before 8.30 p.m and this even included a stop at the Matilda servo outside of Gympie to refuel before our early morning start tomorrow bound for Cania Gorge. As per usual we saw bugger all police on the road, i recall seeing one speed camera and one mobile patrol car in the 200klms we'd just driven....i'm yet to see a "Easter Blitz" go past sunset when we head away at this period.
Arriving at the SIL's i grab a can of Bundy from the fridge and walk inside expecting to watch the footy, it takes me a few minutes to realize that today is Thursday and not Friday and there's no NRL on tonight i settle for watching the AFL for a while before calling it a night as we have an early start tomorrow.

DAY 2
Alarm goes off around 4.45 a.m as we want to get away by 6.00 a.m this morning in order to beat any Easter traffic, surprisingly we get away on time after a quick brekky and coffee, but our drive North through Glastonbury for the Wide Bay Hwy was fairly slow going in places due to the heavy fog about some low lying areas. The fog was abit of an issue for a good part of the morning until we reached Gayndah, we ended up stuck behind a few slower vehicles in some places due to not being able to see far enough infront to know if it was safe to overtake or not. In the end we just poked along behind the slower vehicles, as it wasn't worth dieing over to arrive at out destination a little bit earlier. In Gayndah we waited about 15 - 20 minutes for the wife's cousin and partner to join us before pushing onto Cania Gorge. Whilst waiting in Gayndah some of our fellow 4wd club members go past and we give them a wave and say we'll see you down the road later on. Our travel partners soon arrive and we are soon on our way once again. A short while later and we are driving into Eidsvold, we see our fellow 4wd club members at the service station and hear over the uhf that they can't refuel as the EFTPOS is down and cash only available, luckily they have enough fuel to make it to Monto so they join up behind us and we make a convoy run from here on. Surprisingly this won't be the only time over the weekend fuel is hard to get for some, a few days later we hear the tanker didn't arrive in Monto overnight, so the diesel had run out at the only place open on a public holiday, and some people were left waiting until after 10.00 a.m when another tanker finally got there.
The run into Monto was uneventful, traffic was pretty light alround and we made good time. Arriving in Monto some people needed fuel and some needed some other supplies like bread etc, we left them to it and pushed on to the caravan park at Cania Gorge that we'd be calling home for the next 9 nights. It was around 10.00 a.m when we arrived and we quickly checked in and set up camp at our powered site, we chose powered for the stay as it was only $60 extra, and for that price i couldn't be bothered mucking around with solar panels the entire time we were there. We spent the arvo doing bugger all, just lazed around camp and had a few drinks to finish the day off.
About the only thing worth mentioning for this afternoon was that Peter and Fran came to say gidday to us all, Peter is the head Ranger of the local National Parks and his wife Fran happens to be the sister of one of our 4wd club members, so we have plenty of local knowledge available to us, and we even have them acting as our tour guide for tomorrows drive 8) 8)

WHERE WE STAYED





TAKE NOTE OF THE STOCK SIGN... THERE'S PLENTY OF COWS ON THE ROAD AROUND THESE PARTS

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 3
Todays plan is a drive to Kroombit Tops National Park with Ranger Pete (on his day off) leading the way, the route we take is the same as you'd normally do on your own, but getting some local knowledge of stuff pointed out over the uhf as you go along certainly added to the drive today. We had an 8.30 a.m meet up at the front entrance of the caravan park, we got away a touch before 9.00 a.m which was later then we had hoped for but so be it.
It was a righthand turn out of the van park and a short kilometer or 2 run on the bitumin before we were turning left onto our first dirt road of the day, a nice graded gravel road but a pleasant change from yesterdays bitumin highway run to where we are staying. We followed this to the end after an easy creek crossing / causeway or 2 and turned left once again back onto a bitumin road. A short distance up ahead the bitumin ends and turns back into a good gravel road again, at this point Pete tells us to look left and mentions the house we are looking at is where Queenslands biggest ever gun and ammunition haul was found back at the end of last year http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/detectives-seize-significant-haul-firearms-and-amm/2097839/

THE PROPERTY WHERE THE GUNS AND AMMUNITION WERE FOUND



Continuing on, Peter points out creeks along the way and tells us where they run to etc, if only all our trips had someone leading the way with such local knowledge i think to myself. We've done this same drive about 7 years ago now, the roads are much like i recall and whilst it's not a hard drive to do, it's definately worth doing for the scenery along the way. The drive itself runs through different properties along gazzetted roads, there's some gates to open and close along the way, so as is the custom, be sure and leave them either opened or closed as you find them.

SOME OF THE DRIVE TO KROOMBIT TOPS NATIONAL PARK





You'll be doing well if you get yourself lost on this drive, there's plenty of sign posts along the route showing you the way to go, so just follow the signs and pretty much stay on the main tracks.

ROAD SIGNS ALONG THE WAY







MORE OF THE DRIVE TO KROOMBIT









There's a pile of creek crossings to do along the way to Kroombit Tops, at the time of our visit they all had water flowing in them, i don't recall this being the case last time we were here, so it made for a nice change to the trip from last time. Pretty much all the creeks we crossed had a nice hard rocky base to them, this route had been closed for about a year and a half after the major flooding that decimated the area back on Australia Day weekend 2013, and after lots of major repair work has only just reopened in time for the Easter holidays

ANOTHER CREEK CROSSING



Before long we were entering Kroombit Tops National Park itself, i stop for a quick pic at the sign, before continuing on along the drive. As you drive along the road in the park climbing up higher in elevation you may notice the white trunks on some of the gum trees, Peter tells us these are Sydney Blue Gum trees, and this is the furtherest point North that they grow....more interesting local knowledge 8) The road starts to climb in elevation as you enter the National Park, and also starts to become quite stoney. A touch further on we stop for morning tea, and due to the sharp rocks on the road, many of us decide now is a good time to air down the tyres some.

ENTERING KROOMBIT TOPS NATIONAL PARK



MORNING TEA BREAK...AND YES WE DO HAVE A BIG GROUP ALONG FOR THE DRIVE TODAY...LOL

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 3 CONTINUED...
Originally we were thinking of having morning tea at the lookout further up the road, but there was another 4wd club infront us and we took a punt that they'd be stopping there for a bite to eat, so that's why we stopped where we did. With our food and drinks break complete we jump back in the vehicles and continue on up to the lookout. Arriving here we find the other 4wd club is just starting to leave, so we were right in thinking they'd be here, lucky we stopped where we did. We give it a few minutes and the others all leave giving us some room to move in the carpark area, there's a few other people about the park today so it's turning out to be quite a busy day people wise. The lookout carpark has a pit toilet block at it, some make use of the facilities and the rest make the short walk to the observation deck less then 100 mtrs away. Keep an eye on any young kids whilst here, there's signs warning of the cliff faces and the big drops over the edge surrounding this area, if someone where to fall over the edge here it would certainly be to their death. The cliff face is fenced to prevent this from happening, but young kids could fit through the gaps if you weren't keeping a good eye on them.

KROOMBIT TIOPS LOOKOUT



MOST OF OUR GROUP AT THE LOOKOUT PLATFORM



THE VIEW FROM THE LOOKOUT, LOOKING EAST / NORTH EAST TOWARDS GLADSTONE & LAKE AWOONGA



Knowing the other 4wd club is headed to the same next place we are going to, we take our time here and don't rush off. The next stop for today is Beautiful Betsy, it's a plane wreck site of a crashed WW2 B-24D Liberator Bomber. We eventually continue on our way to the crash site and as we drive along i notice a small memorial on the side of a tree, i quickly pull my vehicle over and walk back to the tree to see what it is about. The memorial is in memory of a timber feller by the name of Glenn Hockey, who was killed in 1994 whilst cutting down trees in the area.

TREE MEMORIAL





Back in the vehicle once again and i'm soon jumping out to take yet another photo, the sign mentions being a 4wd only road from here on in, but in reality..... so long as you have a high clearance vehicle, in good weather conditions a 4wd isn't necessary at all. I will say though..... if you plan to take the track back from the bomber site via The Wall instead of the track you go into the bomber on, there are some steeper rocky sections of road that aren't really suitable to 2wd vehicles, i actually engaged lowrange 4wd a few times just so i didn't have to ride the brakes down the steeper sections of rocky hills.

ROAD TO THE BOMBER WRECK



Arriving at the bomber site the other 4wd club aswell as a few other people have taken up all the carparks, Peter jumps out of his 4wd and unlocks a gated road at the far end of the carpark, allowing us to all drive in there to the surprised looks of the other 4wd clubs members...lol. Many of them think we are continuing down this road, but all we do is park here and return back out once we've finished looking around the wreck site. It's now i'll explain just how the plane wreck was found seeing we are parked on this road. The plane went missing on 26 February 1945 and the wreck lay undiscovered right up until 49 years later on, on the 2nd August 1994. A park Ranger was checking the results of a controlled burn-off in the National Park, he saw something glinting in the sunlight and walked over to see what it was. The road that runs through the car park (now gated) was in use the entire time the plane wreck lay undiscovered, the wreck was only a few hundred metres away from the road, yet nobody knew it was there until that day the Ranger stumbled across it.
It's a short walk from the carpark to the crash site, there's a loop walk to do here and you'll be amazed at the amount of wreckage scattered about the crash site as you walk along. Along the route is some information boards that not only give details about the plane and it's ending, but also give an insight into the 8 people that were aboard the plane who died here aswell.

BEAUTIFUL BETSY CRASHED LIBERATOR BOMBER SITE

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 3 CONTINUED....

With our look around the plane wreck site complete it was now time for lunch, the carpark area here is a bit of a dust bowl so we decide we'll drive down to The Wall campground which is not real far away, and we'll have lunch there. Retracing our path back to the main loop road, we turn left and head towards "The Wall", there's another 4wd only sign located here so i take another quick pic before we move on to our lunch spot. As i've mentioned previously, the drive up until this point is not really a 4wd track in good conditions, but from this point on it becomes slightly more of a 4wd track, though i wouldn't consider it a hard drive by any means. There's a few steepish (nothing extreme) decents and climbs along the way, the loose rocks are what make it unsuitable for your standard 2wd vehicle, i'd be more concerned about puncturing a road terrain tyre then getting stuck from a lack of drive to the wheels though, as it's pretty easy going really. We arrive at The Wall campground and there's only 1 person set up here camping, it's not an overly large area to camp at and it has no facilities, but a nice enough spot to spend a night or 2 IMHO. We spend about 45 minutes having lunch here before moving on once again.

GOING BACK TO THE MAIN LOOP ROAD (it's one road in and back to the bomber from turn off)



HEADING FOR THE WALL CAMPGROUND



SPOTTED A FEW OF THESE ABOUT THE PARK, SO WATCH WHERE YOU WALK



THE WALL (the main feature of the campground)



Continuing on the loop road it's now a One Way track from here on, you can go back the way you came to The Wall as a 2 way track, but if you do the full loop it's now One Way only. If you look at this PDF you'll get a better idea of where we drove today and where we are going, we came from the bottom right corner of the page, did the entire loop road and will be exiting the park towards the top centre of the page http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/kroombit-tops/pdf/kroombit-tops-map.pdf .
Rejoining back on the main track we came onto the loop road on, we are soon taking a lefthand turn at an intersection to head out of the park towards Calliope. There's a few blind corners along the way and the sun is making it hard to see in a few places aswell. We soon pass by / through The Barracks campground and note this as another nice little spot to spend a few nights, there's no facilities here either but it seems a touch more popular then The Wall as an Easter destination.

THE LOOP ROAD AFTER THE WALL (slightly more 4wd like, but not hard to drive)





THE BARRACKS CAMPGROUND (alot more area off to the right that you can't see)

 

[Rumpig]

Continuing on straight through the camp ground and a short while later we are taking a lefthand turn off the main road onto another 4wd only track, this track is definately not suitable for a 2wd vehicle due to several steep climbs and a few creek crossings that can get quite deep if recent rain has been about the area. 2 days before we drove this track one creek was bonnet deep according to Peter and 2 days before that was windscreen wiper deep. The Razorback Track as this is known, would be one of the highlights of our drives across the holiday, i'd never heard of it before yesterday, but if you're in the area and don't do this drive, you are missing out big time IMHO. There are several spots along the track that are very much what i'd call Victorian High Country like, and when you get to the ridgeline section that the Razorback Track gets it's name from, you'll understand what i'm talking about (there's no sign that indicates this spot, just a lockable yellow steel gate on a ridgeline). Once again this drive isn't what i call difficult, several times i engaged lowrange 4wd for the steep declines to save my brakes from overheating, and there were a couple of steep inclines that lowrange would help you not to tear up the track as you climb to the top....i only wish i had a GOPRO camera or the like that showed this drive and what it was like. Peter mentioned there were several other tracks like this one about the surrounding area, so next time we head back here we'll be quizzing him where they are exactly 8)

TURN HERE FOR THE RAZORBACK TRACK





I know i've mentioned already the positives about travelling with mates in a 4wd club as they know people and know places you don't know, but sometimes there's a downside to travelling in a group, AND DUST IS IT!!!!!. Seriously...dust and an afternoon setting sun with little to no breeze about is not a good recipe :evil: Serveral times as the afternoon rolled on we found ourselves stopping for the dust to try and clear so we could see where we were going, and trust me, you don't want to drive off of the edge of the road in some of the places here...it's a long way down!!!!

BLOODY DUST!!!!



BUT WHEN IT CLEARS YOU GET TO SEE THIS.....





Somewhere along the track we stop high up on top of a hill with an absolutely breath taking view, we all hop out of our vehicles here and stand looking out over the far horizon infront of us 8) 8) The view taken in we need to push on as the afternoon is fast getting away from us, and we don't really want to be driving this track in the dark as we plan to be at a pub in Biloela for dinner by then.

A FANTASTIC VIEW HERE



WE SPOT CALLIDE POWER STATION OFF IN THE DISTANCE AS WE DRIVE ALONG



It's a touch further on here where a fantastic day out turns to poo :!: :!: Driving slowly through a no more then knee deep water crossing i come out the other side and the vehicle is running a touch rough, i think to myself that it's strange this is happening and consider pulling over to pop the bonnet and check the air filter......though for some reason i don't. A few hundred metres up the track we have the crossing that was bonnet deep 2 days ago, it's now not that deep but still has some depth to it.

DEEPEST CREEK CROSSING OF THE DAY



I slowly cross through this creek and pull up over the other side with the vehicle still running rough. I shut the vehicle off and pop the bonnet, open the air filter box to find a pile of water inside :shock: :shock: Removing the air filter water pours out of it, and i stand there shaking the filter through the air trying to remove as much water as possible. I grab a rag from the back of the fourby and one of the other guys starts drying the water from inside the filter box. We notice we can see a large hole in the side of the filter box, and realize the dust cap sub assembly from the bottom of the filter box is completely missing, and that's where the water has gotten in. With the box now dried and the filter shaken as much water out as possible, we replace everything back in position and restart the vehicle to see what happens. It runs much smoother now and a sigh of relief is given, we all start to drive off. Watching the temperature gauge i notice it starts to rise quite dramatically, i drive on hoping the moving air will start to cool things down but this in not the case. I radio to the others i still have a problem and we stop once again. Shutting the vehicle off we pop the bonnet once again and have another look around. Straight away we notice the fan blade is completely destroyed, how the hell we didn't see this before is behond us, as 6 of the 8 fand blades are completely busted and a 7th one has the end broken from it also. It's now starting to get dark as the sun is starting to set, and we are still in the middle of the bush. We make the call to tow the vehicle out to a CWA hall just outside of Biloela using a winch extension strap whilst we still have some twilight, where we'll look at removing the fan and possibly driving the vehicle back to Cania Gorge tonight in the cool of the night. Getting towed out around the windy tracks wasn't much fun, occasionally i'd start the vehicle for a short burst to get a brake pedal back if i needed it, but for the most part it was hang on and use Popeye like arms to avoid the trees and cattle grids...lol.

GETTING TOWED OUT (by a Patrol...ohhhh the shame...lol)



It was pretty slow going and eventually we arrived at the CWA hall, we set about removing the fan shroud (this was busted in several places) and also eventually managed to get the fan off aswell (it's not much fun doing this at night under torch light, who'd want to be a mechanic...lol). We were still undecided how it'd go on the drive back to Cania Gorge, i said i'd keep an eye on the temps and worst case scenario we'd call RACQ to come get the vehicle. Just as we were ready to leave someone piped up suggesting we loosen the radiator cap for the drive back, it was here Darren removed the cap completely and commented that there was no fluid in the top tank (not sure why we hadn't thought to check it earlier actually). I made the comment that i had checked it last weekend and it was full, so we poured the contents of the overflow bottle into the top of the radiator, and with torch light shining down the back of the radiator, i watched it pour straight out through a hole near the bottom onto the ground. The call was then made to tow the vehicle into Biloela and i'd phone RACQ to get it towed back to Cania Gorge tonight, there was no point leaving the vehicle in Biloela as it was now Saturday night on Easter weekend, nothing would be open anywhere until Tuesday morning and i'd sort it out then for getting the parts we needed.
After a bit of toing an froing with RACQ, i eventually managed to get them to send me a tilt tray, i have Ultra Care cover and the lady was trying to make me claim it as an insurance job, eventually i got my way and they sent a tilt tray that drove us (me and the vehicle) the almost 100 klms back to camp. My other 3 passengers were farmed out to mates vehicles for the drive back to camp, so whilst their dust was a problem with them along for the drive today, it now turns to a blessing having mates along there with you on the day.
We arrive back at camp a touch after 9.00 p.m, i know i haven't mentioned this earlier, but both our kids were back here with the SIL and MIL today, our 2 passengers were the wifes cousin and his partner. We decided they should come with us for the day as their vehicle is a stock standard 4wd with no snorkel, and we didn't want to risk it on the creek crossings.....isn't that ironic...lol. We have a few drinks at a mates campsite before being roused on by the owner of the van park for being too loud (it's now just after 10.00 p.m)....we call it a night and go to bed hoping the Easter Bunny will find us during the night 8) 8)

ALL HANDS ON DECK...OPERATION REMOVE FAN BY TORCH LIGHT



HEADING BACK TO CAMP....(best fuel economy of the trip for me here, 0ltrs / 100klms...lol)

 

[Rumpig]

that's as far as i've written so far....to be continued

 

[roverrocks]

My father flew B-24's over Germany and was shot down but survived the war as a POW so seeing that crash site is fascinating and poignant. Nice journey so far.

 

[bjm206]

Nice trip...looking forward to next update.

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 4

It's Easter Sunday morning and the bunny has paid the kids a visit during the night. As i was getting up early this morning i noticed him cruising past heading for home after a hard nights work, so i waved him down and invited in for a Bundy to say thanks for finding the kids whilst we were on holidays.

EASTER BUNNY CRUISING PAST (no surprise to see he drives a Landcruiser, a bunny of good taste...lol)



HAD HIM HANG OUT FOR A FEW MORNING HEART STARTERS TO SAY THANKS



After a while the bunny had to go and it was brekky time for me anyhow, that out of the way we jumped into a few mates vehicles and headed just down the road a touch to the National Park day use carpark, where some of the locals were holding a small weekend market. The market as i mentioned wasn't real big, nothing really for the guys to look at as it was mostly arts and crafts stuff, but there were several people selling home baked goods there aswell as fresh fruit and veges, so i grabbed some ANZAC bicscuits and a banana bread 8)
After the market we headed back to camp, we didn't do bugger all today except sit and relax from memory, the more energitic of our group got a cricket game going for quite some time, and others of us just sat back and watched whilst enjoying a beverage or 3 8) i thought about doing some work on my fourby but decided to give that idea a swerve for today. At some stage during the day the kids had an Easter egg hunt, we got a fire going as the afternoon rounded off and spent some time that evening sitting around it having a few more laughs and a few more drinks (some of us had a few more then others though, no names mentioned...lol). Actually thinking back now i'm pretty sure we may have removed the radiator from the fourby this afternoon aswell, but it was only a small job and hardly worth mentioning as nothing else can be done until Tuesday morning now anyhow.

THERE WERE SOME DODGEY LOOKING EASTER BUNNIES ABOUT THE PARK TODAY



DAY 5

Another day of not much planned for today other then relaxing, some of our crew have to head back for home today and work on Tuesday, so we lazed about camp watching them pack up and eventually say goodbye to all those who have to go. I mentioned a moment ago that some of us may have had a drink or 2 too many last night, well it was one person actually and it's my lovely wife whom i am referring to here. With friends like we have who needs enemies i say...lol...Sarah came up with the great plan of telling the misses she was so pissed lastnight, that she went missing for a while and they found her fast asleep in the toilet cubical, and that her sister then had to climb under the locked door to get her back out again before i then had to put her to bed (none of which was true by the way, well she did need a small hand getting to bed...lol). We all thought it sounded like fun, so went along with the story much to the horror of my wife who seemingly for some reason couldn't remember that happening...lol. The misses may not have found out the truth until a day or so later, so we had plenty of laughs at her expense...lol
A touch before lunch time, those of us who are left here jump into the vehicles and head to Lake Cania for the afternoon. It's another cracka of a day weather wise and the sun even has a bit of a bite to it, the kids make a bee line for the water when we arrive at the dam and most of the adults throw out the camp chairs under the shade of the surrounding trees, and sit back and do some more of that relaxing stuff.

RELAXING THE AFTERNOON AWAY AT LAKE CANIA



KIDS PLAYING IN THE WATER



After a while it's time to eat, and thanks to Rick bringing along his cooker we had some toasted sangas for lunch....it's amazing how toasting a ham cheese and tomato sandwich gives it a much nicer taste then when they are just eaten on untoasted bread i think to myself...lol.
Lunch eaten and the kids head back to the water whilst i grab the camera and go for a walk around part of the dams shoreline. Last time we were here about 7 years back, this dam was lucky to be at 30% water storage capacity from memory, it actually could have been even less then that, i just know it was nothing like the 90 something % full it now is. Last time here we could drive the fourby down the end of the boat ramp and around the corner some, and park up down by the water to walk around the place, but now due to the height of the water you can only park on the bitumin carpark area. I head around to the left of where evryone is sitting to where i see some trees sticking out of the water, i spend sometime taking pics here before eventually heading back to join the others.

TREES IN THE WATER AT LAKE CANIA



Walking back to join the others in the hot sun i get a bit of a sweat up, the sun definately has a bite to it today. I ask what the water temperature is like and expecting others who were swimming around earlier to say it's pretty cold, i am surprised to hear it's actually quite nice. I then make my way down to the waters edge and jump in the water to cool down...well when i say jump in the water i mean hobble over the sharp rocks that can't be seen under the water actually...lol. Seriously, the rocks were pretty sharp where i entered the water and my bare feet weren't enjoying the experience of trodding over them, but once past them i could swim around and enjoy the water, which was nice. I took a different path to exit the water getting out and there were much fewer rocks about the place, maybe i was just unlucky where i entered the water as far as sharp rocks go, but just be careful as you may find them like i did.
Some time later in the afternoon we call it a day and head back to camp, we take a small detour down a dirt track to the right along the way just after leaving the dam carpark which leads us to the dams spillway. The damage done by last years flooding is clearly eveident here, the concrete causeway is ok but below it you can see the earth of the waterway gouged out big time, and where a track once ran across a small waterway (i assume) is now barracaded off with no access to the area being allowed.
From here we head back to camp and some of us get ready to go visit Ranger Pete and his family tonight for a bbq dinner and a bon fire. More importantly though Wests are playing Parramatta this arvo in the NRL and Pete's place is the nearest location we have available to us to watch the game...lol. Arriving at Peter and Frans place just in time for the game, some of the guys make for the lounge room and the rest of the crew (not everyone came for dinner out of our group, some stayed back at camp) sit back in the backyard listening to Rick swear at the telly as Wests tried hard to loose the game...I may or may not have been yelling and swearing with him though...lol...in the end Wests won a nail biter of a game, and happy with the end result we ventured downstairs to join the others in the backyard. Peter cooked up a beaut bbq and Fran made some great accompliments aswell as fantastic desserts for us, the hospitallity they've showed for near complete strangers is amazing and very much appreciated by all of us. After dinner we walk over and get the bonfire going, it's now i regret leaving my camera back at camp for the night, as the combination of the setting sun over the mountain range in the distance and the roaring bonfire made quite the spectacal IMHO. We sat around the fire talking B.S for a while and enjoying a few drinks before eventually calling it a night, thanking Peter and Fran for their hospitallity, and heading back to camp where we then went to bed....the end of another beaut day at Cania Gorge.

 

[Beowulf]

Nice report.

 

[Rumpig]

sorry for the slow going with the report, been busy at work and now sick with the flu...grrr

DAY 6 (i think it is, lost track it's been so long since i started writing this...lol)

Up earlyish this morning as i need to make some phone calls to try arrange the parts i need to get my vehicle back on the road. I only really have today to organise the parts i need and hopefully get them tomorrow, if all goes pear shaped with not getting the stuff i need or it's wrong when i get it, that only leaves Thursday to sort the mess out as Friday is another public holiday for ANZAC Day. Where we are staying and around much of the surrounding area has no mobile phone reception, there's a pay phone at the van park but that'll cost a fortune with all the calls i'm likely to be making this morning. I have a choice of driving about halfway back to Monto to get reception (it's a bit patchy here and you're best to drive most of the way into town) or if you head out to Lake Cania there is good reception there aswell. Yesterday whilst out at the lake i jumped on the net and started searching for places to source what i needed, i was surprised to read the radiator shops in Gladstone opened at 7.30 a.m, so my plan was to be out at the lake just in time to ring them as they opened. Rick was nice enough to offer to drive me out to the lake this morning, the beauty of having him along this morning was his mate Hilly was coming from Gladstone tomorrow morning to join us for a few days, so if i could source what i needed there, we'd know Hilly had it in his hands by this afternoon and it'd get delivered first thing tomorrow morning when he joined us.
Heading out to the lake from camp and it's a pretty slow drive, the fog about the place is pretty thick, and at times you are flat out seeing 20mtrs up the road in front of you......not great when there's cattle roaming free about the place, which we found plenty of on the road to the lake. We arrived at the lake about 7.40 a.m and i started with my phone calls, first up i rang the Biloela radiator shop as it's only 100klms down the highway from where we are, i'm thinking if i can source the parts i need in Biloela, then i'll drive there this morning and get them and try and have my vehicle back on the road by this afternoon. First call i make and he's got the radiator i require, wow this is looking good 8) next call i make is to Repco in Biloela...no luck here but if need be they can get one overnighted in apparently, the storeman says there's a fan in Bundaberg and one in Rockhampton apparently. Next call i make is Toyota in Biloela...no fan and maybe we can have one within the next week the guy on the other end of the line says :roll: :roll: I think i tried somewhere else in town (i forget now as i made a pile of calls that morning) with no luck also, so i give up on Biloela and try Gladstone. I ring Gladstone Radiator Supplies and the phone rings and rings and rings, just as i'm about to hang up Peter answers the phone and i find out they don't open until 8.00 a.m, not the 7.30 a.m the web page i looked at mentioned....so yeah so far i've been making calls for 20 minutes now trying to source what i need. Peter has the radiator i need which is great and i ask him where would be the best place in town to ring for a new fan. Peter asks me what my problem is and i explain that aswell as the radiator i need a fan, i'm at Cania Gorge broken down and have a friend of a friend who's in Gladstone coming to join us tomorrow who we'll get to bring us what we need if i can source it for him. Peter asks for my phone number and says to leave it with him, he'll try and chase up what i need and get back to me, that way the fan will be at his shop and Hilly only has to come to the one spot to collect it all for me. About 10 minutes later Peter calls me back with some bad news.... nowhere in town has the fan i require and the best he can do is get one overnighted in from Brisbane. Peter even went as far as to get a price on one being freighted to his shop, which is much more then i expected him to do, and i really appreciated the fact he went out of his way to try and help out a complete stranger who had rang his shop just looking to purchase a radiator from him. Unfortunately by the time the fan would arrive in Gladstone at the radiator shop Hilly would be long gone, so this wasn't going to be an option. I decided i'd buy the radiator from Peter even though i couldn't get a fan in town, i'd told Peter that Hilly was working on an island there and would stop in after work to collect it from him. Peter knew that some of the island workers didn't finish until 6.00 p.m, so he offered to stay back to 7.00 p.m if need be to make sure i got the radiator from him, as generous as this offer was it wasn't needed, Hilly finished at 1.00 p.m today and dropped in around 2p.m and picked it up for me.
Back on the phone and i tried Mackay next, why Mackay you ask? well Hilly's wife was flying in from Mackay to Gladstone this afternoon to join him, before then joining us tomorrow. I rang several places in Mackay (including Toyota) but nobody had a fan :roll: From here i rang Bundaberg Repco as the guy in Biloela reckons the computer showed a fan was there, the guy in Bundaberg says no we don't have one, i don't know what the other guy is on about. It was here i ran with plan B... Darren who towed me in to Biloela the other night had rang another club member (Kris) back in Brisbane on his way back to camp that night, Kris had said he'd try and source the parts i needed, and worst case scenario he'd drive halfway to Monto and we drive the other halfway back to Brisbane, where he'd meet up with us to make sure we get the parts and my vehicle back on the road again to get us home....a very generous offer indeed. I call Kris and he has already found a source for the parts i need, i tell him i only require the fan now and says no worries i know where has one. The main problem now is getting it freighted to Monto, it's not a major transport route, and we now need to hope the transport company doesn't lose it somewhere along the way. It's here that i ring my sister inlaw who was camping with us at Cania Gorge, she works for Followmont Transport who just so happen to do a run out of Bundaberg to Monto 8) We organise for Kris to drop the new fan at the Brisbane depot where it'll then get overnighted to Bundaberg, and then hopefully arrive on the morning run to Monto Wednesday morning...fingers crossed...lol. I want to give a big thanks to Kris here...he went out of his way to source what i needed, purchase it and then drive across town to deliver it to the transport depot before lunch time so it was able to get to me. Also i want to thank the SIL here aswell....she rang her boss who then rang a mate down in Brisbane to try and make sure it got me on time.
Well that's how i spent a bit over 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday morning, it took me that long on the phone to source what i needed and arrange to hopefully get them delivered to me tomorrow morning sometime. With that now done it was time to head back to camp and have some breakfast, something we didn't bother doing before going as we thought we wouldn't be gone long...lol. Heading back to camp the fog had well and truely gone by now but we got caught up in a local traffic jam instead, we eventually made our way through it successfully and arrived back at camp just in time to say goodbye to Darren and his family who were leaving us this morning.

TUESDAY MORNING TRAFFIC JAM, CANIA GORGE STYLE (excuse the crappy phone pic)



Brekky had and a few people were heading into Monto to buy some supplies at the shops and also have lunch at the pub. There wasn't enough seats for all our family to jump into the vehicles that were going, so i told Leanne to take the kids and go, and i'd try and do some repair work on the radiator shroud whilst they were all gone. The radiator shroud was in 3 parts at the moment, not all the damage done was from what ever hit it the other afternoon, we also broke it a touch more ripping it out trying to remove the fan in the dark, it was already busted so we didn't see the sense in going gently on it, but now it was just something extra to repair ...lol. With the others gone i set about trying to repair the shroud with a 2 part plastic welding kit Jeff had given me that he had stored in the back of his vehicle (that reminds me, i need to replace that for him...lol). I'd never seen or used such a product before, so hopefully i did it right and it'll hold together whilst i drive down the highway once it's refitted in postion. There's a section missing out the top where i need to put duct tape around first before filling it in with the 2 part mixture to "remake" the missing section, it seems to work well and i think i've now got it all sorted. Below is a pic of all the damaged items, you can see the shroud is in 3 pieces, it's missing a chunk out of the top from whatever originally caused the damage, we broke the bottom of it ripping it out in the dark. The fan is completely destroyed from whatever hit it / it hit. Ignore the main damage you see on the radiator, the large gouges are damage that was done up at Cape York back in 2006, i snapped a fin off the fan back then but didn't hole the radiator, i replaced the fan in Weipa (overnighted one in from Cairns) and have continued using that radiator ever since, i've been meaning to replace it ever since then but never got around to it...lol. If you look to the bottom pic you'll see the hole i pointed to that put us out of action the other night, we could have fixed if if we really needed to, but it was just easier at that time of night to put it on a tilt tray and head back to camp. We also probably could have bodged it up to get us home, but as you see it really needed replacing, so now was as good a time as any.

THE DAMAGED PARTS







Later that afternoon when the others returned from town, a few of us went for a drive. Jeff had noticed a track on his HEMA the other day that looked like it went up around the back of the dam, so we decided we'd go see what was up there. Heading towards the dam we turned left off of the bitumin just before reaching the Big 4 van park, a sign at the turn showed the road was closed ahead and local only traffic, but we weren't sure how far along this road it was before being closed, so continued on for a look. We drove along this road for about 5 minutes before reaching the section that was closed, there was no going any further so we turned around and headed back from where we'd just come from.

THE DIRT ROAD WE TURNED OFF BITUMIN ONTO



ROAD CLOSED...NO GOING ANY FURTHER



PASSED THIS ON THE DIRT ROAD....it was in the same spot last time we were here 7 years ago also



Back to the bitumin we turn right and head back towards camp, just before reaching camp we all take a righthand turn onto a track that is just some wheel tracks in the overgrown grass. It's here that DJ's local knowledge come into play, i'd never have driven this track if it wasn't for him taking us there, it doesn't show up on the GPS, but was a great way to spend an hour or 2 in the afternoon. The track traverses through a state forest, there was a few gates to open and close along the way, and the changes of scenery all the way made it well worth doing. With the recent rain about the area the tracks were starting to get a touch overgrown, some places even had us slowing to a stop to see where the track actually went. It was a pretty nice drive alround that wasn't real hard to do, just enough in it to keep you interested in the drive hardness wise, and some pretty scenery along the way.

SOME OF THE TRACK



THEN WE CAME TO A GATE



SOME MORE TRACK



WHERE WE WERE



We saw a few roos and some cows along the way, we even saw 3 pigs that weren't overly concerned to see us at all, they just slowly trundled off up the hill away from us. We had to stop a few times to remove sticks caught up under peoples vehicles, but other then that it was just a nice drive through the countryside. After rejoining one of the main tracks further on, we stopped off to collect some firewood for tonights fire before heading back to camp for the night.

THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET....



HEADING BACK TO CAMP FOR THE NIGHT

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 7...D DAY

Why D day you ask?...well hopefully that stands for delivery of the parts i need :lol: Not much to do this morning but wait and hope the parts i need show up as promised. Hilly was supposed to arrive early this morning in time for brekky, but he didn't show up till just after 9.00 a.m. Thankfully he had my new radiator onboard tied to his roofrack, so that was one part i required now in my hands.....lets just hope the other part arrives in Monto now.

WE HAVE A NEW RADIATOR



Not long after Hilly arrived i jumped in the car with DJ and we headed into Monto to see if my fan had arrived yet, i was told it'd be around 10.00 a.m the courier normally gets to town, so hopefully if it's not there it shouldn't be far away. We get to Monto Auto and Towing just before 10.00 a.m where the courier will hopefully deliver my fan to, i enquire if the courier has been or not today but unfortunately he hasn't yet arrived. After the air box and filter getting a good soaking the other day, i decide to get a new air filter for the Cruiser seeing i'm not sure how well the dust and water will have effected the filter that was in there, the Towing and Auto store doesn't have what i need so we go a few doors down the road to another auto store, and fortunately they have what i am chasing. With a bit of time to kill we duck around the corner to the convenience store and grab a drink and snack to eat, we then head back to the Auto Store and see the courier truck parked out the side unloading his frieght. Luck is on our side and my much wanted package is aboard the pallet, i sign for it then ask them a question regarding another part for my vehicle. The guys at the Towing and Auto store are also a RACQ agent, after i had arranged the parts i needed yesterday i found out they have a few Crusiers they are wrecking, and i could possibly have gotten what i needed from them, it's not 100% they had what i was chasing, but if you need something around the Monto area vehicle wise, then it would be wise to try them and see what they have. We didn't try the places in Monto as we thought the town was too small to have what we required, they certainly didn't have what i needed new, but who knows, i may have jagged it if i'd thought to ask here first. I enquire if they'd have the missing part from my air filter box i require, one of the guys goes outback and checks through their gear, and comes back with a similar part off of a 70 something series Cruiser. I ask if i can take it with me and try and see if it fits, if it does i'll drop back and pay for it, if it doesn't i'll just drop it back and say thanks anyway....as is the country way, he says no worries and i take the part away with us to try out.

MY FAN ARRIVES IN MONTO (crappy phone pic...lol)



Arriving back at camp we quickly set about installing the new radiator and fan into the vehicle, it doesn't all go smoothly and the shroud decides to break again at the 2 bottom spots i thought i had repaired properly yesterday. The large section at the top that was missing and i repaired holds together nicely, but we need to do something to hold the bottom together if we are to install the shroud back in place. I consider punching holes through it and zip tieing it together, but luckily for me DJ just so happens to have a cordless drill, a pop riverter and some pop riverts in the back of his vehicle, so i grab the tin snips he also has in his pull out draw under his tray and set about cutting up some aluminium cans. I cut the tops and bottoms off of the cans and then proceed to fold the aluminium into reinforcing strips that we pop rivert into place to hold the shroud together. All up we use 4 cans and a pile of riverts, it seems strong enough to us, and the bolts that hold the shroud in place will give it even more strength anyhow we say to each other. With the shroud fixed once again we set about the install process for a second time.

FIXING THE BROKEN SHROUD A SECOND TIME





With a break for lunch inbetween working we eventually get the radiator, shroud and fan all back where it belongs, we fill the radiator with rain water that DJ just so happened to get from his mums rainwater tank the day previous, and fire the Cruiser up hoping it runs nicely with the new filter in place, and also hope it doesn't have any leaks anywhere.....which thankfully it doesn't. Some people may wonder why i didn't get new coolant to go back in the vehicle aswell, i was advised by a friend of Kris's who owns a radiator shop back home in Brisbane not to mix different coolants together as they sometimes react and can gum up some, it was suggested to me to just use distilled water for now and get the whole system flushed properly when i get back home, and then add in the proper coolant after it's been flushed, so this is the plan i run with. It's here i'll mention the part from the 70 something series Cruiser didn't fit my air filter box, i ended up using race tape on the inside of the air box to seal it as best i could, we'll see how that works out i guess.
Not knowing how the vehicle will run after it's water in the air filter episode the other day, Jeff jumps in the vehicle with me and we take it for a spin out to the lake to see how it goes. Keeping a constant eye on the temperature gauge we have an uneventful run out to the lake, and drive up to the lookout that is there for a look around whilst Jeff makes a phone call that he needs to make. At the lookout is some nice views of the surrounding rock walls of the gorge aswell as views out over the dam itself aswell, there's also a monument here with some headstones incased in it, that were moved from the old cemetery that is now below the waters of the lake here.

IT'S HERE I'LL SAY A BIG THANKS TO ALL THE GUYS WHO HELPED WORK ON MY VEHICLE WHILST WE REPAIRED THE SHROUD AND REINSTALLED THE FAN AND RADIATOR, GAVE ME A LIFT TO MAKE PHONE CALLS AND PICK UP PARTS IN THEIR VEHICLES, AND EVEN DARREN WHO TOWED MY VEHICLE WHEN IT NEEDED TOWING, ASWELL AS ANOTHER SHOUT OUT TO KRIS AND MY SIL ASWELL FOR THEIR HELP.....CHEERS ALL!!!

CANIA DAM









MONUMENTS AT THE LOOKOUT





With Jeff's phone call made we head back to camp and meet up with the others once again, it's now about 3.30 p.m. Most of the guys decide nows as good time as any to go for a drive to do some more exploring, but Rick and Hilly and the ladies and kids all stay back at camp, preferring to relax instead. We jump in our fourbies and hang a right out of the van park, we drive along the bitumin and pass through the tiny township of Moonford (about 6 houses and a hall) which is only a few minutes up the road (this is where the local Rangers Station is located, and also where Peter and Fran live aswell), a touch further up the road we hang a righthand turn onto Glen Valley Rd i think it was called, which is the same road we eventually popped out onto yesterday after doing our state forest drive. The road starts out as bitumin but then turns to into a good gravel road part way along it, if you follow this road all the way along like we do, you'll pop out onto the main highway that runs from Monto to Biloela. Yesterday whilst driving along this road i took some out of focus pics as we cruised past some Boab trees, now that we were heading past them once again, i call to the guys to pull up so i can take a few nicer pics of them.

BOAB TREE NEAR CANIA GORGE (there's quite a few of these trees around these parts that you can see)



HERE'S AN OLD PIC I TOOK LAST TIME WE VISITED THIS AREA, I THINK IT'S LOCATION WASN'T FAR FROM WHERE WE CURRENTLY ARE.



MOST OF THE GROUP ON THE DRIVE



Pushing on with the drive we soon reach the main highway we need to cross, a good check left and right and we all cross over it safely, i stop for a quick photo oppoturnity and we continue on with the drive.



From here the drive is very easy going as far as the road is concerned, but turns pretty dusty in alot of it and we find ourselves slowing to a crawl in many spots to try and let the dust clear some, not that it's working with a complete lack of breeze about the place. Somewhere further along after a few turns here and there we reach a sign at a T intersection where we take a righthand turn, a touch further down this track is a palce known to the locals as The Rockhole. The Rockhole is just that, a hole in the rocks where people can go swimming if the conditions so suit, there's no permanent waterflow in the creek here, so i guess it's pot luck as to when you get the chance to swim here or not. We explore the creek bed a touch and checkout the patterns that we find in the rocks about the place, the amount of solid rock that is found in Cania Gorge and it's surrounds just blows us away with it's size and beauty everywhere we go.

THE ROCKHOLE





CHECKING OUT THE CREEK BED AT THE ROCKHOLE







With our look around here complete and the sun starting to get pretty low in the sky we make our move, we follow DJ's lead ad head roughly towards Monto direction. Somewhere along the way we pass by an old logging shed, we take the opportunity to stop once again for some photos before continuing on our way.

OLD LOGGING SHED





With the sun now well and truely setting and the dust going nowhere fast, it's pretty slow going on the run back towards Monto, we stop at a spot with a view along the way but push on pretty quickly from there as we know it's starting to get late and the people back at camp are probably wondering where the heck we are. I did take a pick of the cattle grid whilst stopped at the spot with a view, as it was one of the nicer looking ones i've seen in quite some time.

SMALL VIEW OVER THE RIDGELINE OF SETTING SUN



CATTLE GRID AT SAME LOCATION



We continued on through the dusty roads until we eventually popped out on the bitumin just outside of Monto, it was a quick run back to camp from here and just a few hundred metres short of the caravan parks entrance we see a snake on the road. Luckily for the snake it's on the opposite side of the road to us and avoids getting run over, it was hard to see in the headlights as we croozed past it, but it looked like a harmless python of some sort, and i noticed the next morning when i drove past the same spot that it wasn't squashed on the road there, so hopefully it managed to slither off to safety. The others ask where the hell we've been for so long, and after explaining the slow going with the dust and all, we all eventually have some dinner and sit around the fire once again having a few drinks and laughs, before heading off to bed.

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 8

A bit of a drive planned for today so we are up at a decent hour and get brekky out of the way. Today we are headed for the old Monal Goldfields which are located a touch under 40klms to the North of Monto. We set off and rather then take the well worn bitumin path back to Monto, we take a bit of an alternative route. As we enter into Moonford we hang a lefthand turn onto a dirt road which is Coppin Road (the same road we headed to Kroombit Tops on the other day), instead of turning left at the end of this road like we did last time, we instead take a righthand turn onto Youlambi Road which keeps us heading in the right direction for Monto. The dirt roads we travel to town on are in fantastic condition, it's a pleasent morning drive through the country side and we eventually turn right onto Powers Road which we follow to the end and turn left where we rejoin the Burnett Hwy which takes us back into Monto. A quick refuel for some people here before we leave, and a few others duck around to the local store to get some lunch supplies just incase are plan of stopping back at a local pub for lunch today doesn't come to fruition.
With fuel and supplies gotten everyone then remeets back up in the middle of town on the Gladstone - Monto Road, and we soon head off on todays drive. Leaving Monto we head Northish towards the tiny town of Mungungo, all going to plan we will stop by here on the way home to have lunch at the century old Waratah Hotel that is here. As we crooze along the highway past a few of the local homes i wonder just how bad the crime is around these parts, the guard dog i see chained up out the front of one house is a monster, and doesn't look like the type i would want to try and give a friendly pat too.

BEWARE OF THE DOG!!!



It's not long and we are entering the town of Mungungo, somewhere here or just after here we took a lefthand turn at a fork in the road and then an immediate right turn i think which took us over some train lines....actually i'm just guessing now...lol. I can't recall exactly where we travelled from here as DJ was leading the way and we were all just following along, suffice to say , we were headed for one of Peters properties that he owns around here. Our plan is to "short cut" through the property and head to the old goldfield from there, it's not a "short cut" really though, as it'll add time to our journey, but why take the local graded dirt roads when we can take the scenic route instead...and scenic it most certainly was 8) .
Before long we are at a gate which is where we enter onto Peter's property, from here it's farm tracks for a while, where we follow some fence lines and make our way through the property, up hills and down through creeks along the way. The idea of creek crossings today doesn't exactly make me feel great, i still have part of my air filter box missing though i have taped it up, so i need to watch the depth of water i travel through, and be sure and take crossings ultra slowly so as not to run the risk of getting water in the air filter again. This drive was done at a nice relaxed pace, you couldn't rush even if you wanted to, there were some great views along the way and with the recent rain they'd had around these parts the countryside was looking fantastic.

DRIVING THROUGH PETER'S PROPERTY













After a while we exit the property and rejoin the main road that runs out to the Monal Goldfields, it's another dirt road that's in fantastic condition, we crooze along and enjoy the beautiful scenery that is to be seen along the way. There's a pile of creek crossings to do along this road, though thankfully for me they are all fairly shallow, none the less i slow to almost walking pace to cross through them just to be sure with the air box how it currently is with the missing part. We pass by a 4wd's only sign somewhere along this road, but in dry conditions and driven sensibly, with the way the road is at the time we were there, you could get most 2wd vehicles out to the Goldfields no problems at all (any rain would certainly change this though, road would become very slippery and creeks would rise).

BACK ON THE MAIN DIRT ROAD TO MONAL





RANDOM WINDMILL ALONG THE WAY



PLENTY OF CREEK CROSSINGS LIKE THIS ALONG THE WAY, THANKFULLY ALL SHALLOW



As we drive along i check out the time on my watch and make comment to the others over the uhf that i don't think we'll be eating at the pub for lunch today, with the time whatever it currently was, i couldn't see how we'd be able to get to the goldfield and back to Mungungo in time for them to still be serving lunch...oh well, lucky we all brought something along with us just incase. As we round a corner i spot a strange object in the paddock to the right behind a fence, we've reached the Monal Cemetery, and we cross over a cattle grid and take a hard righthand U-turn where we enter through a closed gate and park up to have a look around. There are a couple of old fenced grave sites here aswell as the monument i'd seen from the road that first grabbed my attention. Reading the plaque on the monument, Steve makes comment about one particular family name that keeps reoccurring on the list of people who were laid to rest in this cemetery. It's quite a sad read when you realise that a family with the surname Clewley buried their 10, 1, 5 & 2 year old children here, and 2 of them were buried in the same month of the same year. We have our look around before jumping back in the vehicles and heading off for the goldfields.

MONAL CEMETERY





I WAS HOPING THIS PLAQUE COULD BE READ TO SHOW NAMES AND AGES OF DECEASED, BUT IT'S HARD TO SEE WHEN ENLARGED



GRAVE SITE





The drive to the goldfields is only a short one, it's only about another 500 mtrs up the road and we are pulling up to have another look around. To the left of the road is a beaut grassey area perfect for a picnic lunch, to the right of the road is an area you can park the vehicles at whilst looking around the goldfield. There's a gate you need to enter through to gain access to the site, be sure and leave it how you find it as this is someones property you are now entering onto. Straight away you will see plenty of old relics from where you park your vehicle, so it's not far to walk to start your looking around.

MONAL GOLDFIELDS SITE











FAMILY PIC AT THE TEN HEAD STAMPER



We spend a bit of time looking around here before heading back to our vehicles, looking at the time we make the call to have lunch here before we leave, it's going to be way to late to make the pub for lunch, so i drive the Crusier across the road and we roll the picnic blanket out on the nice grass and have some lunch.

PICNIC LUNCH AT MONAL...nicer then being at a pub for lunch anyhow i reckon

 

[Rumpig]

With lunch had we decide on a route to head home on, some of the roads running back towards Cania Gorge from here are still in pretty bad condition from the flooding last year (read bridges washed out with a 20ft drop into one creek that we know of, and hardcore 4wding required on some other roads / tracks), we make the call to head back roughly the same way we came here just to play it safe, only on the way home we'll take a bit of a different track to exit out of Peter's property on. Passing through Peters property i notice a pile of split logs where they've been cutting up timber to make posts for fencing, being i'm Tail End Charlie of the group, when i notice this it's a bit late for the others to come back and see how they make the posts for the fencing of the properties. I radio to DJ who is leading the group that it'd be a good idea to pull up if he sees another pile somewhere, and we'll show those who haven't seen it before how it is they make the fence posts on the properties.
We exit Peters property and rejoin the road to take us back to Mungungo, not far down this road we happen across an area they have been milling timber at, so we pull up to see if we can show the others how they make the fence posts. There's a saw set up here for slabbing timber, and as luck would have we find a few posts to explain to the others how they are made.
For those who haven't seen it done before, basically they drop a chainsaw down into the end of their log just short of the heartwood and rip a cut down the entire lenght of it....often there'll be a second person with a crowbar who will jamb it into the cut to stabilize the log whilst the guy with the chainsaw continues to cut along it. The log will get rolled over and another cut will be made down the length of the log, this gets done several more times as the log continues to get rolled over, and then once the cuts are all completed, they'll drive wedges into the ends of the log and split the post away from it. If i haven't explained it well enough, then watch this youtube link i found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rILXrWcav_Q

DRIVING BACK THROUGH PETERS PROPERTY



THE TIMBER MILLING SITE WE FOUND



CHECKOUT THE THICKNESS OF THIS SLAB...MUST HAVE BEEN A MASSIVE TREE IT CAME FROM



HOW THEY MAKE THESE





From here it's a short drive back into Mungungo where we rejoin the bitumin road for our run home, we continue on into Monto and those who need some supplies grab them, and the others head back to camp from here. I stop off in the main street of Monto to photograph the old council building that is here, it's a beautiful piece of arcitecture IMHO, and something the town should be proud of.

MONTO COUNCIL BUILDING



Whilst stopped here i grab some drinking water in a jerry can from the park across the road for the camper trailer, we have just about run out back at camp and the bore water the van park runs is pretty ordinary and not suitable for drinking IMHO....i certainly didn't pump any of it into our campers water tank. Another good night spent sitting around the fire having a few drinks, but we head to bed fairly early as we all plan to be at the Dawn Service back in Monto tomorrow morning for ANZAC Day

 

[Rumpig]

DAY 9

The plan today was to be up around 4.30 a.m so we could all head into town for the ANZAC Day dawn service, though we were woken somewhat earlier then that to a sound i don't like to hear ever, let alone when we are away camping in the campertrailer. Around 11.45 p.m our eldest daughter Olivia wakes me with the sound of her coughing and gagging like she's about to throw up. I jump up and switch the light on just in time to see her hurl between her bed and the side wall of the extra bedroom room that the kids are both sleeping in. This is then followed up 2 or 3 more times, i lost count at the time actually whilst thinking.... that's not going to fun to clean up!!!
My turning on the light wakes Leanne, i'm the first one on the scene and upon taking a whiff of the putrid vile smell of vomit everywhere, i almost throw up on the spot myself, i tell you what... my dinner was 3/4 the way back up my throat at the whiff of that lot. I beat a hasty retreat back to our bed and grab a deep breath of fresh air, i then go back over and try to work out how to deal with the mess that lay infront of me. We have a touch of luck on our side... yeah there's spew everywhere, but the bottom of the extra room is a vinyl floor and so is the bottom of our kids self inflating matresses. Olivia has somehow managed in the dark to miss throwing up on her bed or on the canvas wall of the camper, the entire mess is actually beside and under her bed. So with a multitude of towels thrown to me by Leanne, we manage to clean the mess up over the next half hour or so. Leanne takes Olivia over to the toilet block as she's still feeling a touch ill, she washes the towels out of chunky bits whilst over there and at who knows what hour, we all eventually get to go back to sleep again for the night, though Olivia has a bucket sitting beside her now...lol.
Thankfully the rest of the night is uneventful, the alarm goes off on my phone and myself, Leanne and Olivia all wake up. I take a whiff and note that the camper doesn't smell anywhere near as bad as i expected it to do, it has a slight odour about it, but for the most part doesn't smell to badly of vomit at all. Leanne takes Olivia over to the toilet block whilst i start getting changed into what i'm wearing today, when the 2 of them return i am informed that Olivia has just thrown up again. We make the call for Leanne and the kids to stay back at camp and give the dawn service a miss, Makensie is still asleep and Leanne and Olivia head back to bed to do the same thing.
A quick coffee had over at DJ and Kerry's camper (thanks for making that for me guys) and it's time to leave for town, we fire the vehicles up and quickly drive out of camp, hoping not to wake too many people in the van park. The drive into Monto is pretty slow going in places, the fog is pretty bad and all we can do is plod along into town at a safe speed. Arriving in town it's a good sized turn out, the sun is starting to rise and the service starts. It was a nice country service to honor the Australians who served and died in all the wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. I didn't take any pics of the event as i myself prefer to just stand there and take in the day. I did however take a few pics of the program we were handed when we arrived, so below is a pic of the front and back pages of that.

ANZAC DAY 2014...LEST WE FORGET





With the service completed it was time to head inside the RSL for the "gunfire breakfast", i was feeling pretty hungry right up until i got a whiff of the food, it was at that stage i thought i was going to be sick, so i just went and sat down at a table and then watched the others hook into their brekky and also watched a few enjoy the Bundy Rum aswell. Eventually it was time to make a move and head back to camp, we all left town seperately and i stopped off on the outskirts of town to take a few pics of the water pump houses in the foggy conditions.

WATER PUMP HOUSE ON OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN



Jumping back in my fourby i head off for camp again, i end up stopping about 5 minutes short of the van park to try and take some pics of some galahs sitting in a ploughed farm paddock surrounded by the fog, but as i walk close enough to get a pic of them they all start to fly off. I snap a few pics of the birds in the air and also a quick pic of the road conditions, before i then jump back in the fourby and head back to camp

GALAH IN THE FOG



FOGGY ROAD CONDITIONS (the fog was just starting to burn off)



Back at camp and the rest of the family has only just gotten out of bed, we have a nice cooked brekky of bacon, eggs and tomato, and then think about what we'll do today. If you've not been to Cania Gorge before then i guess you won't know about the walks you can do through out the gorge, there's quite a few different walks to do here so be sure and bring the walking gear with you (they aren't all listed below either, some leave from a different direction). Up until now we've all been meaning to do a walk or 2 but been pretty slack about doing it, a few of us decide we'll tackle one of the shorter walks being we have a heap of kids with us, so we jump in the vehicles and head down to the day use carpark of the National Park (Leanne stayed back at camp with Olivia to play it safe)
Our plan is to walk to The Overhang, it's only 3.2 klms return, but with 6 little kids along for the walk, it's going to feel like much much more...lol. If you look at the pic below you'll see a wheel chair sign, don't go thinking these tracks are suitable for them at all, as along the way you'll be going up and down a pile of steps. The sign must relate to a very short section of the track that goes down by the creek at the start, or possibly a section that turns off to the bottom of the day use area, it certainly doesn't relate to the track we walked today.

SIGN AT START OF WALKING TRACK



As the sign says... it's 1.1klms to Dripping Rock and a further 500mtrs to the Overhang, this and The Overhang are both on the same walking track. You go past Dripping Rock to reach The Overhang, then return back to the carpark on the same track you walked there on. If you've got dodgey knees then maybe don't do this walk, there's a heap of steps to climb and also a heap of rocks to step over along the way as you go up and down the track. The kids for the most part were well behaved, they all kept wanting to rush into the lead of each other, so eventually i assigned each one of them a turn as the leader, and made the rest of the kids follow along behind that person for a period of time...it seemed to work pretty well in stopping them trying to push infront of one and another. Eventually we made it to The Overhang and after taking some pics and having a small break, we returned back to the carpark and then back to camp in time for some lunch.

DRIPPING ROCK (pretty hard to phtograph due to the sun being where it was, this is a small section of it)



THE OVERHANG



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The rest of the afternoon is spent doing not much at all other then relaxing, we get the fire going pretty early today and sit around that as usual, have some dinner and few more drinks before retiring to bed for the evening once again.

DAY 10

It's pack up day for 3 families today whilst the rest of the group is staying one more day to go to the local "show" that is on in town this weekend. Knowing we don't need to rush today it's a pretty slow pack up after breakfast, we have about a 7 hour drive infront of us but we don't care if we arrive home at night time, which is what we reckon will happen today. Around 10.30 a.m i think it was we leave the van park headed for home, we have a slight detour to take on the run home, and before leaving Monto we all grab some fuel for the vehicles and also stop in at the bakery to grab some supplies for lunch.
We eventually leave Monto and drive South on the Burnett Highway past Mulgidge, about 20 - 30klms South of here i think it was we took a lefthand turn off the highway onto a dirt road for Mt Perry. The dirt road was in fantastic condition, it's not dirt all the way to Mt Perry, but from memory about half the road was before it turns back into a bitumin road again. Arriving in Mt Perry we take a left turn at the T Intersection of the main street, we head out of town towards Gin Gin on the Gin Gin - Mt Perry Rd. About 12 klms along this road we take a righthand turn onto a dirt track where we are going to the Boolboonda Railway tunnel. As soon as you turn off the bitumin road you are greeted with a gate, we open it and drive through, but be sure to leave it how you find it. Following the main dirt road there's a few more gates to open and close as you drive about another 3 klms to reach the tunnel itself. Arriving at the tunnel we drive through it's 192mtr of length to the other side, before turning around and jumping out to read the information board they have here. With that done we jump back in the vehicles and drive back through the tunnel again, having one more look inside at the 100's of bats flying about the place, before exiting out the other side and heading back down to Mt Perry where we have some lunch.

BOOLBOONDA RAIL TUNNEL



ROCK AT SIDE OF INFO SIGN







Arriving back in Mt Perry we see a park on the left with a tank sitting in it that the kids could play on, but on the opposite side of the road is a small carpark area that we turn right into instead. With just enough room for 3 vehicles and camper trailers, we jump out here to have lunch. Located here is a beaut kids playground and large undercover area with a bbq and tables and chairs to sit at, we make lunch whilst the kids run wild in the play ground, and we eventually all have something to eat and drink before calling it time to hit the road for home once again.
Turning right out of the carpark we head straight through town and out along the Gayndah - Mt Perry rd, this road turns to dirt for the majority of it, and it like all previous dirt roads we've driven on this trip was in great condition, just before Gayndah the road turns back to bitumin once again. We have an uneventful drive from here down the highway to Yarraman where we pull into town around 5.30 p.m, to stop at the Royal Hotel to have some dinner before completing our final run for home. Last year we stayed in Yarraman for Easter and the majority of the 4wd club members there at the time went to this very pub for dinner one night with disastrous consequences. The pub had another 4wd club aswell as a walking club all there for dinner together, and the place was totally overwhelmed, some people in our group waiting 3 hours before they eventually got their meals. This time around for us the pub was dead quiet, there was maybe 2 or 3 people sitting in the front bar and that was it. Walking in we inquire what time they start serving dinner meals, we are told it's normally 6.00 p.m, but if we like we can work out what we want and they'll be happy to take our orders now for us....so that's exactly what we do. We all have great meals, service is great and the food is nice aswell, a complete turn around from last years debacle. Happily feed and a rehydrated it's time to head for home, somewhere around just after 8 p.m or 8.30 p.m we arrive at home....we grab some stuff out of the fouby and leave the rest there to worry about tomorrow instead. Even with a bit of drama with the vehicle it's been yet another great holiday away with a fantastic bunch of mates, there's so much to see and do around Cania Gorge that i can't wait to head back there again sometime soon and have more of a look around.
A great trip away with a fantastic bunch of mates...can't ask for anything more then that i reckon.