Day 71 Biloela

I go over, the pack goes under

Saturday 26th June, 2021 50.3km (6.5walking)

1876.6 / 3222.3km

The morning comes and it's drizzling, I'm in the clouds, it's cold but the wind isn't causing an issue.

I pack up and then over the many locked gate. I know I have to drop some elevation and checking the satellite it's really just a walk down the Speciman Hill Road to Coal Road. There is a couple of weather systems converging and it's expected that up to 25 mm of rain is due today.

The track down

When it's not drizzling the fog moves in. I'm looking for a pretty faced wallaby which is supposed to be in this area and I think I spy one through the fog.

The track has been graded in the worst bits and I can hear machinery working further down. It appears there was a crew working on the gas pipeline area putting in some water management berms. I then spy a familiar truck across the road when I get to Coal Road. Is Don Is Good (old Don commercial). Maybe I can get my hat back.

I cross the road and sit under a tree which diverts a lot of rain and boil the billy and eat an orange and wait to hear some movement from the van.

Fog rolling in. I took the picture because the
sign says please shut the gate but they were
open and I didn't want to wear any blame.

I finally hear movement and knock on the door and Don greets me happily, more probably that he had guessed right about where I might appear rather than my seeing my rugged good looks.

We discuss the walk down and what I couldn't see and I look in the truck for my hat but have no luck. So it seems I've lost it somewhere else.

As a steady drizzle settles in I decide to accompany Don again down Coal Road. I have checked into the Callide Retreat Caravan Park where my next food drop is so I just need to he there sometime after lunch.

I found an old brick

We act like a couple of old tourists and end up going up the lookout over the power station and coal mine. I offer to pay for a pub lunch if he wants to drive into Biloela and Don doesn't seem like a man that passes up many free lunches.

That I believe is a pretty face wallaby

We have a very mediocre parmigiana at the hotel but a lot more interesting conversation. Biloela is putting on a multi cultural festival after lunch today. The rain might make it uncomfortable and after a coffee which was much better than the parmigiana, we head back out to the retreat.

Once more Don and myself part. I don't think we will meet again until I get to Victoria as it's cold here and Don is not heading any further south. It's been a pleasant diversion from the trudging and the discussions we have had have covered many topics. Don was a lecturer for 25 years or so he says. I reckon he is still going just needs a another couple of ears occasionally.

The cabin is ready and I'm ready to get in out of the rain and cold and the first thing on is the heater. Matt the manager of the retreat has picked up some groceries and a 6 pack of beer for me and I pick up the box of food I left. It means I can cook some food over the next couple of days and not raid my walking food. I've run out of everything by the time I get here except the dehydrated stuff.

Don

I spend the afternoon cleaning and washing. The more I get done today the more relaxing day I get tomorrow. I wash everything including boots and pack to get some of the stink off. The clothes I put in for a heavy duty soak and the colour of that water even shocked me. I made those lovely white socks a light shade of blue though. All the ladies will shake their head but a separate wash for two socks just isn't on my radar. I was able to sit down and watch some mindless television. The phone charger blew up altogether here and I have to come up with a plan until I can get another one.

Callide Power Station

Callide Dam

Day 71 only 6.5km walking and a lot of driving, into Biloela and back.

Day 70 Collard Creek - Don

Friday 25th June, 2021 47.6km

All I found of the ruins mentioned in the guidebook

1865 / 3233.9km

Even though I thought I slept in I was still packed and ready by 7am. Onto my second cup of tea as Don emerged ready to go and we discussed his search for the river source and the information we have both come up with.

My walk today was to be down Mt Alma Road to the second crossing of the Calliope River. In the end Don asks me to join him for his drive so I hoist the pack into his truck and we go searching for the river source. I did mention that I thought the road came out on the Dawson but Don was convinced it was not so, until we hit the river, now a puddle, then the rail line then the highway.

This was a right fork I took that went nowhere

That threw his spatial awareness a little awry and now he had to readjust his thinking. I pointed at Mt Redshirt and said I thought that was the point the Caliope started. So our adventure had ended about 40 minutes after it had started but now I was on the Dawson Highway trying to reorient myself back to the trail. A 10 kilometre walk down a busy highway is never something to look forward to and we continued in the truck down the highway.

A thunderbox...but I think it was newish

We had a look up the old road where another camper was set up. A Don, like minded person. In the end we go up a side road hoping to cross the trail and I could start off again. Don was excited by the track as it showed a lot of country and geology he is interested in. I have learnt little snippets here and there, hope I retain just a little.

We end up bypassing a few properties and get to gate that even Don thinks his and the truck's abilities end. I try and make sense of the trail notes and the country we are in. My trail digitisation on my Garmin showed we were right spot. I was walking around when the householder came out to lend a hand. The ruins mentioned used to be a little further, about 100 metres, apparently was an old hotel but have long gone and the camp spot mentioned is a dry creek.

Up on the ridge with the weather closing in

So no chance of water at this spot on Collard Creek. It was funny but by this stage Don and myself had not introduced ourselves and still did not know each others name. So we introduce ourselves, shake hands and say our goodbyes and me and Don assumed our adventures had finished. He happily drove off to find another spot to sit and read and now has another track he can mark off his list as seen. That might be me in my 80's.

The rain clouds are moving in and I haven't been able to charge anything for a couple of days and the battery pack is getting low. I find my way to Collards creek, no water, and the suggested ruin with a water tank is no more so I continue up the range. It was at this stage I found I had lost my hat somewhere. I assumed I left it in Don's truck. It's overcast and I haven't been wearing the thing. Bugger.

I used fixomul to repair a split in the tent

The notes and the ground aren't telling with what I'm looking at as I climb. There's a right track I take that goes nowhere and middle tracks that looked to be going down not up. Not a trail sign to be seen by me to give me a clue but I get to a ridge line and decide to stop and camp. Dinner is light as I'm short on water and I use some of the battery power to find out exactly where I am. It seems I'm on a track to a Telstra tower and a little scouting down the track I find a locked gate with about 7 locks on it. Looking at the satellite, if I follow this down I get to Coal Road and back on track. I do see another track across a valley on another Ridge line and wonder whether that is where I should be.

the gate of many locks

The spot I camped at, new poos in the foreground

A jump on the trail I hadn't planned, but walking the Dawson highway was never going to be exciting so that's about 10 kilometres I won't miss. The rain front is getting thicker here, but glad the worst is south. I found a sheltered spot on the ridge, it's a spot the cows have flattened a little and I pay for that later in the night when they roll up and find a big orange tent where they obviously like to sit. A couple of poos plop out and in the tent it sounds like it's right beside me. Then something comes through, I assumed another cow that gave a loud snort and a bit of a huff and puff which continued while it moved away. Your mind can play tricks when your in the tent, it's not exactly a secure dwelling.

Any way the wind blew all night there was rain in patches but the spot was good and I was protected. I was listening to an Audio book but fell asleep in the final chapter so I still don't know whodunit?

Day 69 Calliope River

Thursday 24th June, 2021 17km

The road this morning, a bit of traffic and I
had to jump into the grass a few times

1817.4 / 3281.5km

Today was a short day to Calliope River. The road is a narrow country road that is busier and I have to pretty quickly get off the side when traffic passes.

Not much to show for the effort, a tunnel of spear grass to walk through. Only 17 kilometres and I'm almost there when a lady in a Ute stops and starts a conversation. She is a horse person and knows about the trail. She offers me a lift and I automatically decline. She continues talking and continues to offer. I've only a couple of kilometres to go and in the end I say ok drop the pack into the Ute and we drive about 3 kilometres to the Calliope River crossing.

Twinings Australian Afternoon Tea, just the shot
after a hard day walking and talking

Calliope River crossing

It's amazing how much information people are willing to part with in a short space of time. I knew within 10 minutes that she had horses, her sister in law was a "bitch" who had made her and her partner leave and find somewhere else to live and they were working hard to get their place up to scratch, the dual cab ute should probably be scrapped as it was falling to bits. All the while the baby slept in the back seat. She pulled up at the river crossing behind a large camper shakes my hand and disappears in a cloud of dust. I was exhausted.

As I drop the pack on the ground the camper in the truck appears and I go to assure him that I was just another camper. What followed was a couple of hours of discussion.

The river was just running

Don is a retired University lecturer who came over from the USA in 1973 and settled here. He travels the winter months from Victoria and this time is looking at the Fitzroy and Don River catchment areas which he says is the second largest in Australia. He drives and camps and stops in towns occasionally to fill supplies. Never in a hurry by the sound of it.

The windmill being made redundant with solar

We have a good yarn on just about every subject that naturally follows when two old farts get together including our health. He is looking for the source point of the Calliope and Dee Rivers some of the maps and notes I have may help him. Tomorrow was going to be another short day but myself and Don arranged to have a chat in the morning on the offer of a lift to make up for the time I might lose. I've decided to relax in the morning, he is not an early mover. I'm normally on my way by first light but I can breakfast first and see what happens.

The Calliope is still running at this point and the water is much better than what I had so I load up and filter to cook and have a couple of cups of tea. One being a tea from Don called Australian Afternoon Tea. It's not a bad brew. Very smooth not bitter (wish that was a paid endorsement)

I can hear the Dawson Highway from my tent. Busy traffic noise in the background makes me homesick,...........not really.

An old grain silo

The old gates that were in line with the old crossing

Day 68 Dee River to Centre Creek

More of these type of fig planting

 Wednesday 23rd June, 2021 25km

1800.4 / 3298.5

The walk continued through this valley and then turned down a fence line that takes you across to another road leading over a range.

A line of figs down the fence line

The walk is steady and not all that inspiring. Civilisation is much closer and the houses are more numerous and the private property signs prolific. Wonder what makes people think they need these signs? I'm pretty sure it's evident if I'm on a road between fences and there's a gate with a track leading to a humpy its a private property.

The track turns down a cleared fence line

The day is supposed to end at a waterhole. But when I get there I find a lot of cattle carcasses. One still at the smelly stage. I don't know whether someone's using the place as a butchering zone or these are animals that have fallen in the waterhole and have been dragged out, anyway I move on. Which is to say back the way I come as this camp was a 900 metre diversion off the track. In the end I find a spot about 3 metres off the road near a fence. I was having dinner and watched 3 cars pass and not one driver glanced over and saw me. Quiet night with a few drops of rain.

The track climbs over a range

all the way down that road

Day 67 The Marble Quarry

Camping amongst the speargrass

Tuesday 22nd June, 2021 25.2km

1775.4 / 3298.5km

The quarry had something going to nearly midnight and the notes said the trucks start early. I expected 6am early but it's 4.30am early when the first truck rattled its way past. Oh well all I can do is wait for daylight and move on.

The road continues past the quarry and then becomes much quieter. After that it's an amble through a valley which is very open and fairly treeless. There is a cold wind blowing and I stay rugged up for a fair while.

The quarry

I meet a lady driving a tractor with a large bail of hay. She stops and we chat for a bit. She is 74 and while the rest of the crew are up the other property near Nebo she is getting things ready for when the cattle arrive back. She also works as a nurse in the disability sector three times a week in Rockhampton. I'm feeling a little lazy at this stage.

I said goodbye and continued the day. Towards the end I meet Cedric Creed and his two sons 11 and 8 working in some yards. He is one of the section coordinators for book 4. The valley here and Creeds seem to go a long way back, with a cemetery I walked past and roads named after them.

grass and few trees

Cedric's wife Therese, another coordinator, as the story goes, was a school teacher in Melbourne who was fed up with the job, read about the trail and went and bought a horse, even though she had never ridden one before. Eventually got it together and rode the trail and met Cedric in this area where she stopped for a while.

Cedric joined her on the ride through to Cooktown and eventually married and settled in the area. I asked Cedric if the story was true and he confirmed it. The best thing he did for me today was gift me some oranges. I forgot to ask him about the fig trees in this area that are planted in old hollow logs. He has some on his property and all along the road. Must be Creed thing.

the fig planting

Camp for the night with 5 oranges

 

Langmorn Station. A station stay place. Looks flash

Day 66 Upper Ulam Reserve to Eight Mile Creek

This morning's camp

Monday 21st June 27.4km

1750.2 / 3348.7km

Not much to talk about today. It's the winter solstice, so shortest day, that's the problem with winter walking . I've got 10 hours of good daylight and I like to have a couple of hours at the end of the day to relax have a cup of tea and cook dinner. So that gives me 8 hours to get the walking I need doing done, today that's 28 kilometres and even though it's flat I have to keep moving and not have the rest breaks I like. After a crap sleep last night the body battery is low to start with.

A lot of this

Anyway, the road is long and tedious and my main companions today are tip trucks going to and from a marble quarry up the road. I think I will pass it tomorrow.

I get to the designated camp spot by 4, sunset is at 5.30pm. The permanent water hole has no water in it, so it's a drier dinnertime. I will go to bed early and hope for a better sleep tonight.

Much the same tomorrow.

A tree eating a letter box

5.30pm

I'm buggeered and need to sleep

Day 65 Bouldercombe to Upper Ulam Reserve

The Royal Hotel now closed (Bouldercombe)

Sunday 20th June, 2021 19.9km

1722.8 / 3376.1km

I was up early as I didn't know how I would handle the climb. A zero day followed by a half day, 2 chicko rolls and a Pepsi was not good preparation.

The walk up to the hill is interesting when looking at the different houses and their letterboxes. I found a blues supporter, his house wasn't damaged in any way so I'd say they tolerate him.

The climb up the range turned into a bit of an anti climax. I turned up an old 4wd trail that I hoped would overlook Bouldercome Gorge which I think it did. I got to the top no trouble so on a good day I still have a bit of fitness, or it was the chicko rolls?

A NSW supporter

The trail then wanders across the range through small rural blocks and a mining lease. The wind kept the day cool. Not that cold I had to don the thermals but cold enough I didn't want to stop. So moving along to keep warm, I come to a gate I have to climb over as someone has put a lock on it.

I have to climb that

Then it's back down the range. The walk goes through more small acreages, most with horses it seems, then a short 900m walk up to the Upper Ulam Recreation Grounds which is the designated camp spot. The area is full of cars and people having a community get together.

I sit in a sunny spot across the road and read a book. They break up and when I move across I speak to one of the committee members who points out the facilities and asks I make sure the gate is shut. Then I'm on my own. I set up the tent under a roof so I don't get dew in the morning. The power is on so I charge up the battery bank albeit slow as the charger is definitely playing up in the cold.

The track up

On sunset someone's shooting but nothing's coming my way so I settle down for the night. Dogs barking continually all night with one dog visiting but obviously getting a fright when I roll over in the tent. It sets him off. I growl at it and it retreats barking all the way till it hits the road.

The last dog shut up about 4 am.

Looking back towards Rockhampton

An old dozer before airconditioned cabins

The track back down

Waiting for the party to finish

My neighhhhbor