The trip to the Aratula is fairly uneventful. We do get stuck behind a bloke doing 80 for about 40k’s though … that’s about the highlight. Once in Aratula
, I note that most of the travellers have stopped for fruit and veg or something from the bakery or both. I suppose it is a lovely place to stop whilst visiting Moogerah Dam or theMain Range National Park
, I note that most of the travellers have stopped for fruit and veg or something from the bakery or both. I suppose it is a lovely place to stop whilst visiting Moogerah Dam or the
We start to climb the Great Dividing Range up to Cunninghams Gap. This gap in the range was the first choice for Mr Cunningham, but another was preferred by the locals until The Gap was paved. It proved difficult until then as loads of produce needed to be lowered over a cliff face to waiting bullock teams below. Spicers Gap was a much easier route for bullock teams even if rather treacherous at the time. You can still drive a fair amount of it, ending at Governors Chair Lookout, which has spectacular views. But we aren’t going that way today, as you can no longer go any further than the lookout, and we need to head to Goomburra.
They are still doing road works on The Gap from the rains of January 2011 and I’ll bet they still have a fair bit to do. This road claims many trucks each year and is sometimes impassable, but not today. We are limited to 40kph going up which gives me a good chance to grab some photo’s of the view. Impressive, but hazy.
Once at the top, we need to travel some 23k’s to our turnoff at Gladfield, heading for Goomburra township. It’s not much of a town at all, but rather a grouping of houses with a church and hall. From there we head east along Inverramsay Road Goomburra Valley
Once there I consult the site map I’ve printed off the Gordon Country website and the hunt for a good campsite begins. Due to recent rains, the owners have blocked off most roads to stop Sunday Drivers buggering up their roads, but if you are a paying guest it’s fine to drive where you like to camp, but please inspect on foot first. We even ran into the owner and his daughter on horseback with dogs in tow. They are wrangling cattle for some reason and he says we can leave our payment in his vehicle if we like, which we do.
Ripplebrook
Black Cockatoo
Most of the sites are large, grassy, tree lined creek gurgling past and some even have shower blocks. If you are planning to camp where there is no shower block, a portable toilet is a must. There are so many choices for camping it takes us an hour to choose one after looking at a fair few of them, most of them along Dalrymple Creek.
Our camp is titled “Lorrikeet” and we do hear some as we pull up although we don’t hear them again. The pups are happy to be out of the car again (they helped inspect each site) and we start to set up camp.
We are within ear shot of the creek and about 20 steps from it. The water is freezing so simply placing ones feet in the water cools the entire body. You could cool drinks in that water very well. My youngest loves it regardless of the cold.
After sitting for a little while, we have a quick lunch and decide to go for a wander downstream to find a spot where the dogs can swim rather than just paddle. There is a creek crossing not far from us and we head there. Telashi loves the water and does not hesitate jumping in for a swim, although the others need some encouragement. After a thorough wetting, we head downstream further to check out some campsites that we missed coming in. We see some on the opposite side of the creek that would be perfect for us and that seals the deal for coming back here and trying as many of them as we can handle.
Banshee Junction
Lorrikeet
We head back to camp up the main road and only one car passes us. It’s an employee coming to get our site fees, so we let her know to check her boss’s passenger seat. She is happy to chat with us for about 15 minutes about anything. I do take the time to ask her about camping here with horses for a friend, as we can see some yards from our campsite. She recommends chatting with the owner, but does say that people have been here with their horses before. She even mentions some campsites not mentioned on the public map, but says the owner must give permission for those to be occupied. This makes me wonder just how large the property is and I find out that they have 4000 acres to explore and she provides me with another map of the entire property with different markings than that on the net. Excellent!
The owner has wrangled a vast number of cattle and put them in the yards above our camp, which apparently he does on a very regular basis. They are quite vocal, but it’s a natural noise and therefore not overly irritating like doof doof might be. .
There is no phone reception out here (I’ve got a rural ready 3G phone). I’ve got the solar panel out even though the day is overcast, 28.6⁰C and somewhat humid. We set up the OzPig as we have planned T-bones and vegies for dinner. We spend a late night in front of the fire and listen to those cattle as we drift off to sleep.
4.7AH in the batteries.05.02.12
Next morning dawns overcast, humid, but much cooler conditions. Glenn is surprised that cows don’t sleep and can talk all night, but says at least he couldn’t hear me snore. As the sun comes and goes, Glenn starts up the OzPig for breakfast. Snag and eggs. Once those are eaten, the dogs fed, dishes all done, we head over the creek and head upstream for awhile. We find a very deep section that Telashi happily heads into without invitation. It’s hilarious to watch her bite the water and make weird noises at it, but she’s having a ball, so we don’t mind.
After this we head over to check out the cabins marked on the map. I open the unlocked door on one and look inside. Very comfortable for a weekend or week stay however no shower or toilet. I notice a shower block not far away, so I guess all the cabins must share it.
Jack is getting a bit tired (he’s older), so we head back to camp and relax for quite a while till it’s time to start the slow pack up we do. The cows are still in fine form and I watch them for a while. I give Telashi another thorough tennis balling before sitting for another hour. Kiah has been very interested in the cows. They are slowly being let out … cow by cow … and she’s fascinated by them. Just like the ducks at Atkinson Dam, only these are quite a bit larger and a tad more dangerous that ducks. It’s good that she’s so obedient, but that doesn’t stop her constant interest in them.
Cattle Yards
You are allowed to collect fallen timber anywhere on the property and there is a goody amount along the banks of Dalrymple Creek, if you are prepared to collect and haul it. If you have a chainsaw then there will be no stopping you. All fire places have the obligatory stone ring.
As we pull apart my OzPig, we decide to give it what sanding we can. With the flue collecting soot (as they do) it is getting harder and harder to put together and pull apart. Also, she’s starting to rust up a bit and could do with a coat of exhaust black once more … after a sanding of course. We get it going together a bit better but it really needs some intensive work.
Sighing with regret, we start out pack up in earnest. This is always the part of our weekends that I like the least. But we take our sweet time. Unfortunately as we put tyres back onto Inverramsay Road
Lake Moogerah from The Gap
Trip Kilometres: 345
Trip Duration: 48 hours
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