jim’s ninjas

29.6.2007

A new branch of the well-known “Jim’s” franchise. Coming soon to a location near you.

brisbane – kangaroo point

20.6.2007

And then we returned to Brisbane – cold, miserable and windy, like the rest of the east coast of Australia, thanks to the dirty great big low sitting just off the coast.

View from Kangaroo Point across Brisbane River to the CBD.

glasshouse mountains

19.6.2007

Pineapple farms! The Glasshouse Mountains were surrounded by the bloody things.

Pineapple farms with Mt Tibrogargan in the background

 

Mum on the summit of Mt Ngungun

 

Scribblygum. No really. The zigzags are from tunnels made by larvae of the Scribbly Gum Moth – they lay eggs between layers of old and new bark, the larvae burrow into the new bark, and as the old bark falls away, the trails are revealed. The tunnel diameters increase as the larvae grow, and the ends of the tracks show where the larvae stopped to pupate.

 

View of the Glasshouse Mountains from Wild Horse Lookout (L-R: Mt Beerburrum, Tunbubudla, Tibrogargan, Mt Beerwah, Coonowrin and Ngungan). Click for a bigger view.

 

great sandy national park and surrounds

18.6.2007

Wandering around the mainland section of Great Sandy National Park and surrounds, below Fraser Island.

Boat at Tin Can Bay
 
 

Rainbow Beach
 
 

Dawn at Great Sandy National Park (mainland)
 
 

Lake Cootharaba, Great Sandy National Park
 

albert river circuit

16.6.2007

The overnight hike of the trip – the Albert River Circuit in Lamington National Park, from Green Mountain out to Echo Point and back.

Albert River was that way apparently. We followed the arrow, the sign seemed to know what it was talking about.

 

The walk goes past many waterfalls. Thanks to the drought (Brisbane is in Stage 5 water restrictions) most of them were not particularly vigorous about the whole falling thing. Trickle would have been more accurate.

 

The view from Echo Point, from the Lamington National Park up in Queensland, down to the hills of New South Wales. None of the photos could do it justice. Here Mt Warning is visible in the light of the setting sun – it was first to be lit up by the sunrise as well. To the left of it the Cape Byron lighthouse could be seen at night, and to the far left the Gold Coast was visible. And in the valley below us – lots of tiny little moving dots that were possibly cattle.

 

Our little dark rainforest campground, just by Echo Point

 

excerpts from lamington national park

15.6.2007

Lamington NP has its fair share of brush turkeys (who stole our dinner carrot), and pademelons (shy, small, fat, round, furry hoppy things). There were also hoards of other birds; robins, finches, lorikeets, pigeons, bowerbirds, cockatoos. And the alpacas I met on the way in.

Here are Henry the Alpaca, and some of the fighting rosellas near the main tourist centre in the Green Mountain section.

 

byron bay – the lighthouse

14.6.2007

The Cape Byron lighthouse. From these photos you’d almost think it wasn’t thronged with tourists. Situated on the most easterly point of the Australian mainland, it’s also Australia’s most powerful lighthouse (which I would concur with, after seeing it beaming up to the Queensland border from the lookout at Echo Point in Lamington NP).

 

 

 

byron bay – the beach and ocean

13.6.2007

Beach views as the sun sinks low over the land

 

Russell the Moose waits on the beach, arms open

 

Blandfordia grandiflora (Christmas Bells – I think) and Pacific Ocean

 

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