Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Queensland by the Numbers

Here are some interesting statistics from our journey in Australia’s reef-and-rainforest state.

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  • Time
    • Time zone:
      • UTC+9:00
      • Does NOT participates in DST.
    • Day entered: 9-Sep-2017
    • Day left: 16-Oct-2017
    • Total # of days: 37 
      • Nights slept in van: 37
      • Nights slept in tent: 0
      • Nights slept in hotel/etc.: 0
      • Nights paying for lodging: 13
  • Distance
    • Driven: ~8,856 km (~5,535 miles)
    • Hiked: 67.8 km (42.4 miles)
    DateLocationDescriptionDistance (km)Distance (mi)
    9/10/2017TamboCoolibah Walk1.20.75
    9/11/2017BarcaldineBotanical Garden Walk10.625
    9/12/2017Combo WaterholeWalk2.61.625
    9/13/2017Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NPRiversleigh Fossil Trail0.80.5
    9/14/2017Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NPWild Dog Dreaming Walk4.52.8125
    9/14/2017Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NPDuwadarri Lookout0.60.375
    9/16/2017Undara NPKalkani Circuit Track 2.51.5625
    9/17/2017Millstream Falls NPMillstream Falls0.370.23125
    9/17/2017Millstream Falls NPLittle Millstream Falls0.70.4375
    9/18/2017Crater Lakes NPLake Barrine Circuit53.125
    9/19/2017Danbulla State ForestCathedral Fig Tree0.10.0625
    9/20/2017Barron Gorge NPDjina-Wu Track 1.530.95625
    9/23/2017Split Rock ArtWalk0.780.4875
    9/26/2017Babinda Boulders NPBoulders Gorge Walk1.20.75
    9/26/2017Malanda Falls Conservation ParkRainforest Walk10.625
    9/27/2017Djiru NPFan Palm Walk1.30.8125
    9/27/2017Girringun NPGorge Lookout0.60.375
    9/28/2017Paluma Range NPJourama Falls Lookout Walk31.875
    9/30/2017Eungella NPPlatypus Walk1.0420.65125
    9/30/2017Cape Hillsborough NPAndrews Point Track5.23.25
    10/3/2017Blackdown Tablelands NPGoon Goon Dina2.501.56
    10/3/2017Blackdown Tablelands NPYaddamen Dhina0.200.13
    10/7/2017Great Sandy NPCarlo Sandblow Walking Track1.200.75
    10/8/2017Glass House Mountains NPMount Ngungun Summit Track2.801.75
    10/10/2017Girraween NPUnderground Creek2.801.75
    10/11/2017Girraween NPTo/From Campground0.740.46
    10/11/2017Girraween NPWyberba0.280.18
    10/11/2017Girraween NPGranite Arch1.040.65
    10/11/2017Girraween NPThe Pyramid3.602.25
    10/13/2017Lamington NPMoran Falls track4.402.75
    10/13/2017Lamington NPCampground to Track1.000.63
    10/14/2017Lamington NPToolona Creek8.805.50
    10/15/2017Springbrook NPBest of All Lookout0.600.38
    10/16/2017Burleigh NPOceanview Track1.200.75
    10/16/2017Burleigh NPBurleigh Link Track0.460.29
    10/16/2017Burleigh NPRainforest Circuit1.200.75
    Total67.84242.40125
    • Fuel fill-ups: 13
  • Money
    • Total spent: $2815.65 USD ($3609.81 AUD) 
      • Consists of the costs of traveling full time in Queensland, including 2 tours
      • Does not include gear or van conversion costs
    • Average cost per day: $108.29 USD ($138.84 AUD)
    • Average cost of diesel: $1.283 AUD per liter ($3.641 USD per gallon)
  • National Parks visited: 25
    • Annan River
    • Babinda Boulders
    • Barron Gorge
    • Black Mountains
    • Blackdown Tablelands
    • Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill)
    • Burleigh
    • Byfield
    • Cape Hillsborough
    • Crater Lakes
    • Daintree
    • Djiru
    • Eungella
    • Girraween
    • Girringun
    • Glass House Mountains
    • Great Barrier Reef
    • Great Sandy
    • Lamington
    • Millstream Falls
    • Moresby Range
    • Paluma Range
    • Springbrook
    • Undara
    • Wooroonooran

Interesting observations about Queensland:
  1. The second largest state.
  2. QLD doesn’t charge entrance fees for any of its 200+ national parks.
  3. And, its camping fees are quite reasonable (typically about $6.35 per person, which can be paid online).
  4. According to statistics, NT has the most accidents, but we felt like drivers in QLD were more aggressive and crazy. They also had a lot of smoking-blowing diesels.
  5. More than half of its population lives outside of the Brisbane metro area, which is the opposite of most states and capitals in Australia.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Last of Queensland

By Jen.

We passed the weekend in Lamington National Park, the less-crowded of the parks, then we went to Springbrook NP. We decided to stop first at the Natural Bridge. Despite the rain and the river, we didn’t find any leeches, so the walk was pleasant enough.

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The bridge part.

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Inside the cave and why there is a bridge instead of just a waterfall (the rock developed a way through the roof of the cave, leaving the bridge where it used to flow).


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Interesting fungus.

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The bridge part from above.

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The new waterfall.

Next we decided to go to the Best of All Lookout. Mostly to see the Antarctic Beeches, trees that are a remnant from when Australia was part of the Godwana supercontinent with Africa and Antarctica. They prefer cooler and wetter climes and have retreated to isolated pockets of rainforests in southern Queensland and New South Wales.

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It was a good thing that we hadn’t gone to the lookout to see the lookout, as it was simply all white from the clouds!

For our last day in Queensland, we decided to hit up Burleigh NP along the coast before crossing into New South Wales.

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Basalt hexagonal columns.

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More of the over-crowded coast.

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Isn’t it a beauty?

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The trees in one section all had this pinkish-purple tinge.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Gold Coast and Lamington NP

By Jen.

By visiting some locations farther inland, we had burned enough time to be able to pick up my package of batteries from the post office. After that, I wanted to give Jonathan a taste of the Gold Coast. When I came to Australia before (freshman in high school, which is 16 years ago now) with my friend who was here for a golfing tour, we spent most of our time in the vicinity of the Gold Coast. Sure enough, as we traversed the streets to reach the coast, I was flooded with memories from that time. The city isn’t really the type of place Jonathan and I enjoy, but it is worth visiting just to see what other tourists experience.

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This is pretty much what the coast looks like from Brisbane to the border with New South Whales.

Just the driving through town to the coast was enough to make us want to flee to the countryside via the fastest route. So we made a beeline to Springbrook National Park, but upon arriving, found the road blocked. A quick google showed that there were other entrances, so we started heading towards those. However, on the way, I was trying to book a campsite to stay that night and discovered that Springbrook’s campsites were all full (it was the weekend). I did find that the next park over, Lamington NP, had spots open. So, instead, we went to it. The drive was a bit longer than we expected as we had to drive up steep hills (alternating one-lane roads) through thick forest in the rain (it is a rainforest). But, we got there and got settled in and decided to walk Moran Falls track.

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The pademelons were out in full force after the rain, chomping down on the grass.

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On the way back, we stopped at a place where there was a trickle of water and endeavored to find a tree frog we heard. Instead, Jonathan spotted a large blue and white cray hiding in a hole under the path! I tried to get a picture of it, but it was too far in the hole and too dark. It was pretty massive, though.

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Blue-bodied ants.

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Colorful fungus.

The next day, I had planned on doing West Canungra Creek Circuit, but upon passing the info centre, found out that the path was closed. Instead, we decided to walk part of the Toolona Creek walk.

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This is a brush box tree, leftover from when it was cooler and drier. They are dying out in the region because of the climate has changed. These giants are at least 1500 years old.

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At Picnic Rock, we found a smaller version of the blue crays!

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As well as an eel!

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Then right next to the path, I spotted this red-bellied black snake. Pretty sure these can kill you. Jonathan and 2 other hikers walked about a meter from it without noticing and then I saw it.

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This picture actually has 2 medium-sized crays in it. They are fighting over who gets to hide in the water under the leaves.

While I was endeavoring to get some awesome photos of this pair, I suddenly realized that about 20 leeches were crawling towards on the small rock that I was on. It had started raining shortly before and being next to the river, they were coming out in droves. I quickly decided that getting those pictures were not worth being lunch to these blood-sucking creatures and decided to keep going on the path. However, despite getting farther from the river, the leeches kept coming (though not in as large groups). Between the rain and the leeches, we decided it was too miserable to keep going, so we decided to head back the way we had come. I only wish I had stopped long enough to get a picture of all the leeches that were coming at us! Fortunately, by the time we had gotten back to Picnic Rock, the leeches had stopped and we were able to enjoy a more leisurely walk. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died. The lithium ones last a lot longer, but they don’t give me any warning before they die. There wasn’t too much to take a picture of before we got back, except for this elusive King Parrot. He had been tagged, so we assume he was used to people and being fed. He actually let us get quite close to him.

King Parrot, looking like he wants a snack.

FUN FACT: Until a month before this (late September), I had thought that Australia didn’t believe in cornmeal, and thus, cornbread. Turns out that they may not quite believe in those, but they do have something that works. Apparently “polenta” is made from corn as well. The difference between cornmeal and polenta is the coarseness of the grind. Polenta is a coarse grind; cornmeal is medium. I found this news very exciting, as I love me some cornbread. It makes a great cheap meal when you combine it with beans. After 8 months in this country, we were finally able to have some cornbread! The polenta definitely worked, now I just have to figure out how to cook it in my toaster oven without burning it, which I think I am finally getting an idea of how to do that.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Places of Flowers

By Jen.

My new camera only takes AA batteries. This isn’t ideal, as I take a lot of photos and use the bluetooth function, so the batteries are dead just after a few days. So, we ordered some new lithium rechargeable ones to use. However, I didn’t send them to a post office far enough south for our timeline, and we needed to burn some days in the area until the package arrived. That was ok, though. It gave me a great excuse to have Jonathan take me a Japanese garden in Toowoomba. I must give credit to the Japanese; they know how to design a garden. Not only are they beautiful, but they are peaceful. Made me want to have one!


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From there, we went south to Girraween National Park. This place is known for its flowers, with supposedly 6 months of natural flower displays. Somehow, we arrived in that 6 months, but during a time when there were only a few flowers blooming. Our first walk was to the underground creek, where we found lots of dragons, lizards, and skinks living the good life on the rocks.

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The ubiquitous superb fairy wren along the path.

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Then, the next day, we did a circuit that included Granite Arch, The Pyramid, and Wyberba walking trails. I must say, there is just something about granite that makes it very fun to experience in nature. The boulders, the worn pathways for water, the bald peaks. They all just make me inexplicably happy.

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Granite arch. While it looks like a giant was playing with rocks, the 3 rocks used to be on large rock.

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Check out that slope we were traversing!

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This little skink made his home in a layer of bark. Sure looked like a snake for a minute, though!

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FUN FACT: If you have been reading the “By the Numbers” posts, you have noticed that some states provide plastic bags at stores for free, others charge. Despite Tasmania and South Australia requiring the use of reusable bags, we had so many bags by the time we reached Broome, that we decided to use reusable bags for a while until we ran out. They don’t really have very many recycling places for plastic bags here, so I didn’t want to be wasteful. Well, we finally ran out. From the beginning of June until about halfway through October, we did not need to obtain any plastic bags. We really only use them as trash bags, and only generate about 2-4 bags per week of trash. Now, we will only get bags from the store when need more bags for trash.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Brisbane

Brisbane is a modern metropolis by the sea.  With a mild sub-tropical climate and ringed by parks and wild lands, it is easy to see why millions of Australians call it home.  Of course, don’t ask anyone about housing costs, you might not get away unscathed. 

We opted to do a one-day tour of Brisbane’s Central Business District.  There were no convenient places to leave the van and ride the trains for a multi-day visit. 

The CBD is a eclectic mix of modern high-rises and hundred-year-old stone and brick buildings.  
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We started our tour at City Hall.  A testament to the wealth and prosperity of the city, it was built in the 30s, with its 85-meter clock tower, when the surrounds were nothing but docklands, and empty fields.
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They don’t do things in half measures here.  The building was designed to host visiting politicians and foreign dignitaries, as well as a hub for local activity.  At the time, Brisbane was very remote, only accessible by sea, or the long rough road from Sydney and Melbourne. Note the Corinthian columns. We also got a chance to climb the clock tower, and visit the in-house museum.
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Check out that banquet hall!  The huge domed ceiling is intense.
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The plasterwork makes my neck hurt just thinking of it.
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We continued on to visit the Gallery of Modern Art across the river. Brisbane is situated on the mouth of river Brisbane. As such, the CBD is built right up against its banks.  Bridges, roads, parks, and the swankiest apartments line and crisscross it. 
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