10 NOVEMBER
We left Mann River
Nature Reserve and continued along the Old Glen Innes Road.
The road was now
bitumen as we made our way to the top of the Great Dividing Range. We joined up
to the main highway and drove to Glen Innes for supplies and petrol.
Our next stop was Boundary
Falls in the Gibraltar Range National Park.
We followed a track to steps which lead down to the base of the falls. The area was rainforest and dark. The waterfalls were very pretty with a deep and wide pool into which the water plummeted. The pool would be good for a swim.
We back tracked and
followed the trail to Lyrebird Falls. It was about 2 kilometres. The ending was
at a fenced off viewing area with the falls on the other side of the ravine. It
looked very rugged with the water cascading into unseeable bushland.
Next, we drove to at
camp site at Mulligans. There was only one other person there. The site was
good with firewood and table and chairs. There were a number of birds who
visited throughout the afternoon and for the rest of our stay.
After lunch and
resting, I had a mountain bike ride to Murrumbooee Cascades. A great ride with
a lot of up and down through rainforest on a damp trail. Along the way, I saw
lyrebirds. I didn’t quite make it to the end as it was getting a bit late. I
backtracked and took the turn off along the Forest Walk. This was more track
like with a fun downhill. Towards the bottom, I came to an abrupt halt as a
huge carpet python (4m) was slithering right across the whole of the
track. I watched it for awhile and decided that going around it was not a smart
option even though they a relatively harmless. I backtracked and took another
turn off for Barra Nula Cascades. These were pretty and very rugged. I
backtracked again and continued back to camp. The final leg of the ride was a
firm and fast downhill.
Back at camp, we lit a
campfire, ate dinner and watched darkness descend.
11 NOVEMBER
After a late breakfast, we did the Fern Tree Hike.
It was a long hike of about three hours with a long
steep uphill section. We crossed a bridge not far from the camp and followed
the track. The track was wide and lined with a head high bush covered in purple
flowers intersperse with bright red waratahs. A memorial sight especially with
so many waratahs. The track then descended to the creek and we crossed two
bridges. This next part was the long steep uphill. It was rainforest all the
way to the top and dark. We didn’t see many birds but we heard plenty in the
dense foliage. At the top the track turned to the left and the vegetation was
much more open. We skirted around a high heath area and wound our way along the
track. The land opened up more with bare areas of granite with small pockets of
plants growing in the cracks. Across the ridge was the bridge was a cascade of
water wounding its way over the open granite in a number of directions. We
stopped for a short while and ate lunch while we enjoyed the view. We descended
down the relatively bare rocky hill and down to Dandahra Creek. We crossed a
bridge and returned to our camp. At this point, it started to rain lightly. A great hike! The sign said 8 km but the site
said 9.2 km. I think it was the latter.
Back at camp, we lit a
campfire and had fun keeping it alight in the increasing rain.
12 NOVEMBER
We woke to light rain.
Eventually, the rain
lighten and I went for a mountain bike ride along the track that runs beside Dandahra
Creek. It was a fun easy ride of about 6km.
On return, we left
Mulligans Campground for the Platypus Picnic Area. We didn’t see any platypuses
but it was a pretty.
Onwards and back to
Lawrence.
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