Day 93 Zero day in Biggenden

Sunday 18th July, 2021

Zero day at Biggenden

I got up early and went to breakfast. The place opens at 6am and I was there at about 7.15 and it was cold. They have seating in the under cover areas but not inside, so eat quickly before it freezes. Today was Eggs Benedict.

I then made a shopping list and packed all my gear up, had another hot shower then walked across the road to the caravan park. It's a council park but the man running it let me have some grass beside the camp kitchen for a very good price.

The park was chockers with every powered site taken, all 3 cabins full and caravans parked in non powered areas. Apparently the one pub doing meals last night did 80. There is a cattle sale tomorrow but most of the people in the park are just keeping away from southern states.

I did my washing then wandered into town to look around and do my shopping. The people roaming around town are begging for something to be open but it's all shut tight, except the servo and th Foodland. I'm told the pub doesn't open its kitchen on Sundays, strange given the number of people in town.

Sunday is not a good day to shop at Foodland either, no bread of any kind and a lot of shelves empty. The stuff I wanted was OK except for the chocolate specials which had all gone. I found some Maggi stir fry sauces that Fred put me on to so that made the menu easier to work out. 7 days required so it's going to be a little heavy.

Back to the park then repack all my stuff and then I could relax for the afternoon. I found a crossword not done in a magazine, went back to the Cafe across the road and bought a couple of PepsiMax and decided a nice piece of tiramasu sas for sweets tonight. The park hosts had given me a container of curried sausages as the pub wasn't doing dinner.

Some low life during the day came to the camp kitchen and pinched my sausages and tiramsu from the camp kitchen fridge! I was there nearly all afternoon so I probably saw the culprit but don't know which one actually did it, so dinner was a bust again.

That was until a lady across the other side of the camp kitchen offered me chilli bean and cheese toasties, another lady also offered me some baked rice for dessert. So in the end I was fed.

I watched the Boncos lose and went to bed rather full. Not a big day planned tomorrow so breakfast at the Cafe and then onwards.

Day 92 Paradise Dam

The river in the morning

Saturday 17th July, 2021 34.5

2229.2 / 2869.7km

Some dark clouds came over last night and it rained for a bit, heard a bit of thunder but it didn't come near and all stopped by about midnight.

Paradise Dam

It was a lovely cool morning and I was up early as since I was short on kilometres due to my stuff ups yesterday. If I wanted to make Biggenden today then I was going to have put in a 32 kilometre day.

The walk out of the river and further is of course not like the notes in the book as they have built

Paradise Dam since the nineties. They apparently buggered it up and have been rebuilding it ever since. So now there's a bitumen road to get to Paradise and instead of camping at the old township you get to pay Sunwater money, but since I stopped back at the river I was just passing through.

Trail from the dam

I climb up an old track that then follows a ridge line parallel to the Burnett River, it was an old coach road. Further on up I had to climb a few gates as they have been chained and locked. But I saw no one until I hit the main road again. I enjoyed the walk very much with the old coach track climbing over a range and then down into a valley of grazing paddocks. I climb another small range then leave the paddocks for a gravel road that will then meet up with a bitumen road. If I had turned left coming out of the river in the morning instead of right I could have walked to the same road via a bitumen road. I think the trail was a lot better.

The river from the ridge

It was then a long walk down this road into Biggenden. I passed an old homestead with a sign mentioning the ladies mile. Apparently this was a section of this road notorious for breaking wagons until it was rebuilt by the government. Then it was the best road in the area and the ladies used to do laps in their buggies.

I was about an hour and a half out of Biggenden when a car with two local gents pull up and say " Hey grandad you want a lift?" I thought, piss off you cheeky arseholes, but looked at the bitumen stretching out before me and said "OK".

Back into farmland

I squeezed into the front seat while they cracked a few more beers. We took of as the driver drank and casually rolled a cigarette and kept us generally in the road confines and we talked about walking. The bloke in the back tried to convince me to get out to the main highway. Better chance of getting a lift if I wanted to go to Victoria. Myself and the driver couldn't convince him that just getting there wasn't the point so he sat back and drank a bit more.

then the bitumen

When I was planning this section I went through the shop to see what I could buy but I didn't take notice of the closing times. The Foodland shut at 4pm every day. Most IGA's I've come across shut at 7. This meant I was now in a rush to shop for a 7 day resupply. The two pubs had no accomodation nor the motel and the caravan park was full but he would find a spot for the tent if need be. There are a lot of NSWelshmen and Victorians staying put and a big cattle sale on Monday with stock getting dropped all weekend.

In the end Belinda was talking to the motel just as they had a cancellation and I had a room. The BNT campsite is out by the golf course but about 1.5k. I decided I would have to stay two nights as I had 15 minutes before the shop shut so I did a quick shop for snacks and dinner tonight and picked up some booze from the bottle shop. It was a 1 man party night.

Degilbo Homestead

The motel is about 800 metres from town but it was good. Mindless television, hot shower and the ability to sretch out on a bed, eat and drink in warmth and comfort.

Biggenden being busy doesn't mean there's a good food choice. No cafes were open only 1 pub serving meals but not on a Sunday night I was to find out. The motel runs a Cafe and opens at 6am and closed 2pm. They did it when the town Cafe closed when Covid came. So it wasn't far to go for breakfast at least.

Overall a good walk with a pleasant result. I made a shopping list drank my liquor and slept reasonably well.

Day 91 Burnett River

Friday 16th July, 2021 23.9km

Sunrise

2194.7 / 2904.2km

It was a beautiful sunrise, it should have warned me of the day to come. Yesterday was warm, today was warmer. Much too warm to cover a lot of ground and I was covered in sweat most of the day and water was an issue as I spent a lot of time in a State Forest area. Also going across the ranges meant the creeks were dry.

After I missed the turnoff

I made two blues today. The first one was about nearly 2 kilometre before I realised and today being hot it was hard to make up. Again there was no sign at the turnoff down a fence line and the second one I only thought about because a motor bike had sped out of an obscure track. Somedays the write ups are useless and then, when your not reading the notes you miss some clues.

The track through State Forest

Later in the day I was looking for a 4wd track down to Schaeffer's crossing of the Burnett River, only to see that the crossing had washed away many years ago and a car had not driven up the hill for 10 or 15 years. There was no clue a car had ever driven up there.

The crossing

The car track had disappeared

In the end I found the road reserve down to the river. There was running water which I haven't seen for a while and I was able to overload on water, finally. I was down to about 400ml of water before I hit the river. I bathed and set up the tent as a couple of storms passed by. That was all over by midnight and it was finally a cooler night.

With the mistakes, I was about 4 kilometres short for the day with a 32 kilometre following day turning into a 36 kilometre day to get to Biggenden.

Oh well, see what I can do. One thing I changed is I got a box of Vita Brits and those motel packets of sugar, that has been a yummy breakfast. Also Fred put me onto a stir fry sauce and I've had a couple of meals with rice noodles using that and it has been very satisfying.

A python, about 2m long

Camp on the riverbank

Day 90 Tenningering Creek

Finally the right hand bend

 Thursday 15th July, 2021 23.5km

2170.8 / 2928.1km

The bus taking the early morning shift to the mine woke me up, then I was on my way again looking for the diversion arrows.

It's important I suppose

A mine worker did stop and asked me why I was walking up the road as there was only a mine there but after a conversation he did indicate I hadn't missed the turn off.

So I go past a billboard telling me it's a criminal offence to be on the access road or minesite. I can hear the dozer working when I finally see the sign leaving the bitumen. So the directions of "be careful of the mine site leaving Mt Perry, just follow the signs on the right hand bend", actually mean leave the road on the last bend before the mine 20 kilometres south of Mt Perry.

Lovley to walk through here

But it doesn't end there, if its so important for us to keep to the trail then it should be clearly marked. I went through 3 intersections , none of them marked, I must have guessed wrong on one as I ended up in the wrong spot, but I fixed it on the run and no one is the wiser.

The trail across farmland

The trail, after the mine diversion, wanders across farm lands, and is a pleasant walk. I filled up at a cattle trough and found a spot beside the road with a bunch of calves as an audience to me setting up the tent.

A different trail sign

My afternoon company

Day 89 Mt Perry

Wednesday 14th July, 2021 14.4km

2147.3 / 2951.6km

I talked to the coordinator for the trail down to Biggenden. Nothing much to report he said just before careful at the mine site when leaving Mt Perry. With that in mind you could imagine I was on the lookout for the diversion as I walked out of Mt Perry. After finishing the day without coming across this minesite almost 15km south of Mt Perry I pictured this.

National Trail write up man(NTM) " Hello. I'm having trouble with my horse,"

Vet " OK. Where abouts?"

NTM "It's down the back"

Vet "you mean on its back"

NTM " Yeh, under the long hairy thing"

Vet "The mane?"

NTM " NAH further back"

Vet " The taaaiiil,??????"

NTM " Yeh, those long things under the tail"

Vet "The legs!"

NTM "Yeh, at the end of those"

Vet "So. Your talking about the hooves!"

NTM "YEH, As I said before, I was having trouble with me horse. He kicked me with his hooves and I'm having trouble breathing.

VET Hangs up

Mt Perry Museum

This is how the trail is described to us by these people. 30 year old descriptions of things long past, tracks that are now roads with names and so much of the vital decision points and intersections not marked. Every day becomes an adventure unto itself with my plotting in Google Earth and downloaded to my watch more reliable than the books.

No I didn't see the light

Old machiner

Mt Perry

So the actual walk was an uneventful walk looking for a diversion around a mine site but never finding one. But overall a pleasant start to the next phase. I kept it short to less than 20 kilometres and camped close to a creek with water holes. The road is busy but as it only goes to the mine it all tapers off after dark.

Mt Perry has a community park with toilets and showers and a washing machine costing $2 . Couldn't work out the dryer but it might be $3. You could buy all the items in the grocery store for about $200 and still not have enough for a resupply.

One serious hills hoist

and some serious chains

The road out of Mt Perry

Now this is a hat!

Thataway

Day 84 to Day 88 - Hervey Bay - resupply

 Friday 9th to Tuesday 13th July, 2021

I got up in the morning and said goodbye to the other campers and walked the 4 or so kilometres into Mt Perry.

The boots with a repair goop building the worn heel.

The phone died and my only communication was the inreach device. Of course Belinda demands sleep and does not answer my call until 6.30am Perth time, how slack she has got without me to

drive her.

I had enough time to have a bacon and egg burger and a coffee for breakfast before Belindas father, Fred rolled up to take me back to Hervey Bay.

The repair goop

The plan was to clean up and get the plan for the next section done. Do a few repairs to some things and then return to Mt Perry and keep going till, Covid willing, Belinda can come over.

So Friday afternoon I went looking for a bootmaker. The boots are doing OK but I'm wearing the sole unevenly. The only boot person in Hervey Bay is a Mr Minute man and as soon as he opens his mouth I knew he was not going to be any help. Most of the sole is good it's just the rear heel outside edge I have worn nearly through.

The stick repair

There are people that will replace the whole sole but I need to get it organised. One mob is in South Australia and I think there may be one in Brisbane. They buy a sole that is the same from the manufacturer of the boot. In the meantime I tried a temporary solution with Fred's knowledge and help. We will see if it works in the interim. The boots have done about 1400 kilometres so I can't complain. Would like another 1400 though.

Food box prep

My walking poles are fairly old but I've walked with them many a year. I lost the tungsten tip on one up near Mutchilba and the other one later. I put on a rubber tip but have worn them both down and have been wearing the aluminium bits down. Belinda could only find replacement parts for another brand so I cut some of the pole end off to make them fit.

My pack belt has reached the end of its adjustment so Belinda bought a new belt medium size. They are easily replaceable. Osprey packs are good for that. et some of the stale smell out.

Mt Perry has a Leopard Tank

Also I did a shop for gas and such then went for a drive to scope out the next stage. I really only needed to drop a box at Kilkivan as they do not have a good shop for resupply. Lesley Simpkins happily helped me out and promised me a feed and a bed when I get there. Something to look forward to.

Food box prep

In the other towns, I will resupply from local stores and if I need something else Belinda can post for collection from local post office.

Mt Perry

Other times were spent eating, drinking and being merry. Fred looked after me well and we had a good dinner at the RSL Piabla. He then drove me back to Mt Perry to start again. I stopped there at the caravan park for the night and will start walking in the morning. Hopefully Belinda can visit before I need to cross into NSW in about 6 weeks or so.

Mt Perry Post Office

The old picture theatre in Mt Perry now a restaurant
and accomodation. For sale but needs repair.