Noosa Trail 4 Lake McDonald to Killawarra Rd

What a pleasant surprise this walk was!
I had not done this walk before. Starting early and arriving at Kookaburra Park at 7am, we easily found the start of the track. There was a recent council sign mentioning that the track is due to be upgraded and parts of it could be closed . The phone number to call for an update is: 54757272. So far so good, Even though sections of this walk takes you over gravel roads, these are not busy and quite pleasant,as long as you don't walk in the hot dry weather. The track also meanders through sections of bushland and rainforest, crossing small creeks along a trail that used to be the bullock track from Gympie to Tewantin. At the junction of Gumboil Road and Collwood Road there are spectacular views of the hinterland towards Mount Ninderry, Mothar Mountain and towards Boreen Point and the lakes. A great place to stop off for a drink and a snack.

Theory is: this is Mothar mountain in the distance, facing north.
We only walked as far as the start of Old Tewantin Road which took us an hour and returned via the same route. On the way back taking in things we missed on the first part of the walk, like some lovely flowers and funghi.

If I am correct this is the Tree Shaggy Pea, I could be wrong. It was flowering along the track.
Coffee in Cooroy at the Jamaica Blue Coffee shop for a change. Great apple pie, with whipped cream, yum..

Wallum Wild Flowers

Now is the right time to get out there and enjoy the wallum heathland, that comes alive with wildflowers this time of the year.
At first sight this kind of bushland might seem uninspiring, but after having seen it reveal it's secrets at the end of winter and beginning of spring, it certainly has grown on me.
We decided to walk in the Mooloolah River National Park today starting at Claymore Road.. This is usually a very wet area with parts of the track under water for most part of the year. We thought as it had not rained for a few months that the tracks would be passable. This was the case, except for a few sections where we had to get our hiking boots wet.

Never mind, The wildflowers were out in full force in yellow, white, and  purple. Boronia,

Vanilla Lily  and Sundew were growing along the side of the track in profusion. A great time to get some good close up photographs of these lovely dainty flowers.
There was an icy wind blowing, so we did not spend long on the flats, but the trail does continue into the forest, so getting outof the wind was no problem.
Great coffee afterwards at Designer Deserts in Chancellor park! Highly recommended.

Walking in Mapleton Forest

Mapleton and the Blackall range are one of my most favorite areas to walk. We chose to hike the walk on page 28 on our bushwalking CD called Mapleton Forest Trails Track 2. As it was a bit rainy we chose a track without too many creeks

and slippery down slopes. This one was perfect. It's so great to start early on a winter's day when there is low cloud and fog about. The track was all misty and the forest was shrouded in fog . We chose not to take our hiking poles, as it was cold and we wanted to keep our hands in our pockets. These poles might seem a bit of a pose, but can be a life saver on rocky tracks and I was a bit regretful I decided to leave them in the car as there were some sections of this walk that were a bit slippery.

It's amazing what you forget about a walk and what you remember. I certainly forgot about the slippery down hill slopes.
never mind, the walk was great, not too long, only 1 hour and 15 minutes. One reason we all decided to get hiking poles was that one of us read that they are great for building upper body strength. Can't get enough of that stuff! The walk took us through a beautiful area of Mapleton Forest, no views, but a great hike through the forest.
Coffee in one of the little Cafes in Mapleton afterwards, a great ending to the hike, and home not too late.

Climbing Mount Cooroy

It was just 2 of us this Sunday morning, a beautiful sunny day, freezing cold wind blowing a gale out of the west.
Early start as usual, turning into the driveway of Cooroy Mountain Spring water at 7.10 am. One of us had called through the week to let them know we were going to hike on Sunday, so the gate was left open. If you climb through the week, you are asked to sign into the visitor's book and park at the visitors carpark near the office.
We had a 4WD, so drove through the gate past the office and near the cattle yards and up the mountain track to park next to the sheer cliff face that marks the start of the walk.

I would not advice driving up without a 4Wd or in wet weather, just walk the track up, it's a lovely walk.
With your right side to the cliff face, walk straight for maybe 5 metres to a couple of pine trees, the track wind around the cliff face to the right and then comes to a T  where you turn right. Follow this trail into the bush and up the mountain.
The westerly was very cold as the climbing side of the mountain was in the shade. So a good tip: in summer climb this mountain in the early morning, but in winter an afternoon climb better.
The track is still in good shape, rocky in parts, definitely not as steep as Cooroora Mountain in Cooroy.
Near the top there first is a cliff face towards the west, a bit cold and windy for us, but climbing on we got to the other side of the mountain where the sun  was beaming down and we were protected from the wind. On the way to the the other side you'll pass a rock and a large bird's nest fern, stuck underneath  wrapped in plastic is a visitor's book (another one) . It makes a good read and of course pop your name in if you wish.
Wow, the easterly side was so warm, we stripped off, had our morning tea on a rock, what a view all the way to the coast, Noosa, the lakes, great!

It was difficult to leave and start on the track back down, beanies back on all rugged up, way to go! It only took half the time getting back. Coffee in Cooroy back at Peter's Cafe. delish!

Elanda Point to Kin Kin Creek

 3 of us started out early on Saturday morning, driving to Elanda Point , just past Boreen Point. We arrived early(for us) at 7 am. it was chilly, but beautiful. Destination Kin Kin Creek.
We found  a couple of changes to the track and have now popped updates to this walk on our website
www.sunshinecoastbushwalks.com, on the track update page.
This area is usually notorious for mozzies after rain, but they weren't too bad today. The track was wet in parts but passable.
What we noticed though, was the huge amount of birds everywhere. A lot of the gum trees and melaleucas were flowering, heavily scenting the air, and drawing all the birds to the nectar.
Seems July on is a great time to go bird watching in this area.
The walk took us as far as Kin Kin Creek where we had a morning snack on the wooden bridge. Careful, it is very slippery! What a peaceful view over the creek either way, the water was flat as glass, trees either side reflected on the water. the odd bird flitting about. After snacks, we has a short excursion across the creek for a couple of hundred metres. The scenery changes as you cross and becomes wet rain forest, palms, absolutely beautiful! Next time we'll go as far as Harry's hut, today time was an issue.
We were back at the car after 3 hours, not bad for a morning's work.
Coffee, always a huge part of the outing, was at Peter's Cafe in Cooroy, they come highly recommended.
It seems the lovely little cafe in Boreen Point has been closed for a while. Too bad.
Next week we'll climb Mount Coory.