Mindfulness in March (06.03.2021)
Sometimes it is necessary to take yourself away from the rat race and experience the quieter country air, the cooler mountain temperatures and the appreciation of restored grandeur and the efforts that our forebears went to in order to push what are now the highways through the mountain ranges.
It never ceases to cause me to marvel at the fortitude and curiosity of those who came before – not to say we don’t have those qualities today however today we have the benefit of technology. Looking at the size of tree stumps that were cut down, there was some amazing forestry that covered this land. Whilst the early pioneers were hard-working and industrious, then as now we are wasteful and not truly appreciative of the beauty of the age-old trees who have stood since long before the Crusades in Europe.
Having said this, we would not have the life we have today without those early pioneers and the hard work and effort they went through. We are quite blessed.
The weekend of 6 and 7 March 2021 was a quiet one, appreciating nature, the recent rains and the life it brings to creeks (which was truly beautiful to see), the energy and effort of restoration, the majesty of this vast land. It was an attempt to re-set.
Our journey took us out through Boonah, after breakfast at Kalbar and a late addition to the itinerary. We moseyed along parts of scenic routes 16, 21, 1 and 4 over the course of about 530km and found our way to Queen Mary Falls. The road out is narrow and windy. It would be a delight for motorbike riders whilst at the same time a challenge for all. The views across the never ending valley are spectacular for the passenger.
It never ceases to amaze me that people cannot read signs. There were clean indications that from this side of the road, it was not appropriate to take a caravan however, intrepid idiots decide that they are going to wind out through this range with their caravan. There is a reason for the signs – they shouldn’t really be ignored just because you want to go from A to B but not via the safer route. Anyways, I suspect that they are still coming through the range as I write this a week later as we certainly hadn’t seen them at various times after we passed them at roadworks, and had stopped for various scenic options.
The Head Road is the provider of magnificent scenery. The cockatoos and corella screech and squawk in the trees, the insects are tuning up and the forest noises are so different. We skirt along the border at times, we feel the drop in temperature of about 10 degrees to a delightful 16 or so. It is verdant country at the moment, so much so that there is water running across the roads at the low lying passes over creeks.
We ooh and aah at Queen Mary Falls then Dags Falls (I think that’s the name) then head through Killarney and come out at the back of Warwick (via Junabee Road), oohing and aahing some more, this time at the magnificent sunflower fields with their vibrant yellow faces. We are each playing with new photographic equipment, one of us a Canon 200D SLR camera with interchangeable lenses, the other a drone. We each have a delightful time experimenting.
Our next destination is Glengallan Homestead. What a magnificent building this truly would have been if the original concept had been fulfilled – doubling, at least, the size of the existing building, which has been recovered from decrepitude and lack of love, by mirroring what is there now. It is a one-room deep property but in its day, it was the house in the region. It has a presence. It is nothing in size compared to the British and European great houses, but this great house is ours and even though the plans don’t exist, for whatever reason, it was clearly a great house.
A stop here for Devonshire tea is worthwhile as is the $10 fee to look at the property. It is a beautiful appreciation of the old and the recovered. It is not all recovered, it is preserved. The wattle and daub of the walls is exposed and you can see the old building styles. It is a magnificent, and one let’s her imagination loose as to what it would have been like to come down the grand staircase, whilst also appreciating the hard work that went with being a lady of such a property.
Our last stop for this Saturday journey is our camp site – Manna Gum in Main Range National Park. The roads are typically country and the last 5.5km in is dirt with potholes for the unwary driver. There are plenty of other retreats and camping set ups along the way but we prefer to go with National Park where we can. This one did not disappoint. I love not having designated spaces, fire pits and space.
We tried out the stretcher for under the swag – great success and much relief for knees that are telling us we are not in our 20’s anymore. We have a simple camp, under the awning of the car. Before this though, we walked one of the three trails in the adjoining national park. We weren’t up for great exploration and hadn’t actually prepared a proper kit to go for the 6km hike so the 1.5km walk was absolutely beautiful with the creek burbling along here and there.
Sunday morning was an earlier start, packing up and heading into Warwick, wandering through the heritage trial. Back through Cunningham’s Gap where again, I am forever blown away at the majesty of the landscape, the enormity of the mountains and the valleys, the forces of nature.
The Condamine River is beautiful and flowing again. Last time through, a few months ago, it was stagnant and generally yucky looking algae-fest. For now, it is flowing. The country is so fickle. Not a 100km away, it is dry and brown and the grass looks like it would snap rather than bend. It is, however, a green drought as there has not been consistent rain and the dams are not full. The ground is however not so parched for the moment and the vegetation is deceptively intensely alive and populous.
Occasions like this help re-set the stress levels, remind us of the simplicity of life and that we have this at a doorstep. Places that are out of mobile phone range still exist and it truly is wonderful. The plan is to venture out to another site, hopefully still without mobile coverage, at Easter. Not counting weekends but I think it is only 3 until then – I don’t want to wish time past but I do look forward to comping home smelling smoky, having sustained the odd splinter from playing with split firewood, having watched wildlife go about its activities without seemingly having a care in the world. This is what makes it all worthwhile.
