Brandy Creek Trail Head to Blackwood Camp, Whitsundays Great Walk, Conway National Park - May 2022

One of the few views that I got today was actually 100 metres from my nights camp.

Now straight up on this post I've got to mention the name of this walk. I've gone with the Whitsundays Great Walk - which indeed was (and still is on a lot of signage and information) the original nomenclature for the walk. It looks like the Queensland Parks folk are slowly changing the name over to the Conway Circuit (how they came up with the 'circuit' bit is a bit beyond me as the start and finish points are around 15 kilometres apart?). I'm guessing that they are doing this because after this track was formalised with camps, toilets and signage the bureaucrats decided that they would create a water based walk that involves day walks on the nearby islands out in the Whitsundays, and called it the Whitsundays Ngaro Sea Trail. Without access to a sea kayak or a boat the walks on the island were off my agenda on this trip - although it might be a good option in the future if I have a bit of time.

This walk now seems to be known as the Conway Range Circuit - although the signage hasn't caught up yet.

Brandy Creek Trail Head has plenty of parking - there is no parking at the other end of the track where it spits you out into Airley Beach.

Alright... I'm off.

With us staying in Airlie Beach for a few days I decided this was my chance to do this walk. I've been up to the Conway National Park here before to do a day walk called the Kingfisher Walk, however this would be the first time that I've walked the full walk. Sam was staying in town and kindly dropped me off at the Brandy Creek Trail Head mid morning today. Jumping out of the ute under grey, but still dry skies I re-set the GPS, said goodbye to Sam and set off down the wide 4wd track. The initial part of this walk is along a gently descending 4wd track through beautiful rainforest and it makes for a very easy (some might say deceptively easy) start to the walk. This section of the walk is actually used by a local company running Segway tours and I amused myself this morning spotting the markers that the tour leader had placed on the bigger rocks so the punters don't go arse over.

The walking was very easy initially.

The local Segway operator was leaving plastic cones on some of the bigger rocks, no doubt to help stop the punters from going over head first.

There had been a lot of unseasonal rain up here recently so there was water flowing down the hillsides in numerous spots this morning.

I'm thinking that I was walking an old forestry road as I dropped down towards Impulse Creek.

After passing the turn offs for the Kingfisher Walk and then the Wompoo Way I crossed the bridge over the headwaters of Impulse Creek, and then after another 15 minutes or so I arrived at another tributary of Impulse Creek. The second crossing of Impulse Creek was a ford (which is possibly why the Segways stopped here) and with a long walk ahead of me I decided to take the time to take my shoes off and cross the mid shin deep water in bare feet. Once across the ford the easy rainforest walking continued along the 4wd track, the going now slightly more rougher, although still very easy. After another forty minutes or so I arrived at the turn off for Repulse Creek and dropped down to check it out.

I'm never sure whether these distance markers are a good thing...?

Feral Pigs seem to be a big problem up here.

I had the occasional opening in the canopy where I could see the sky - these openings are also the spots where you need to be keeping an eye out for Gympie Trees - a very, very nasty plant.

Impulse Creek.

The first crossing of Impulse Creek had a low level bridge.

Conway National Park.

 

Repulse Creek (not to be confused with Impulse Creek) is a fairly substantial creek and was flowing well today, I'm guessing that this creek would flow for most of the dry season and the swimming looked good here. Retracing my way back out to the main track I almost immediately arrived at the Repulse Creek Camp, this camp is in a wide open grassy area in the rainforest and has toilets, a tank and camping tables -although the ground had a fair slope on it so it might be a better option to check out some rainforest camps that I'd passed a few metres before arriving at the Repulse Creek Camp. After leaving Repulse Creek Camp my 4wd track continued although once again things got a little rougher, although the going was still very easy, just a little more scrub and mud to deal with.

The second crossing of Impulse Creek...

... was a ford. This is where the Segways turned back.

After the ford the track started to get progressively rougher.

Just before arriving at the Repulse Creek Camp I picked up this side track...

... down to check out Repulse Creek. This spot looks to be the best swimming option on the whole walk.

Repulse Camp.

Repulse Camp - there didn't appear to be a lot of flat ground here.

Arriving at Little Repulse Creek I crossed the bridge and the degree of difficulty ramped up a fair bit. This track is a shared use walking / mountain biking track and from what I saw of the conditions today you'd be doing a fair bit of hike-a-bike up here. The 4wd track now was more of a quad bike track and it was rough, with plenty of mud holes and pumpkin sized rocks to negotiate on what was now a fairly solid climb. I haven't mentioned the feral pigs yet, well the reason for the worst of the mud was that the large population of feral pigs were creating mud wallows on the track, and some of these stinking wallows were bathtub sized and blocked the width of the track.

If you can ride a bike on the track from here to Airley Beach then you are way beyond my skill level (and fitness) on a bike.

After crossing Little Repulse Creek the track started a fairly long climb.

The feral pigs had made a real mess of this section of the track.

I was now making my way up to Mt Hayward Lookout and which involved around a 300 metre climb (from the Repulse Creek Camp) and apart from the grade, the mud and the rocks making me work a bit I also had a couple of other things to deal with. The first issue was just the typical Queensland rainforest issue of Lawyer Vines overhanging the track, not a big issue although a little frustrating when I felt the vines tearing at my clothes or skin and realised that I'd have to back up, down the hill to untangle myself. The other issue that I had now was that every time I came to a bit of an opening in the canopy I was encountering Red Bellied Black Snakes out doing a bit of sunbathing, I lost count at around ten snakes today (which is more snakes than I normally encounter in a year out in the bush). Mostly the snakes weren't keen to hang around to get their photo taken although there were a couple that held their ground for a fair while.

Climbing towards Hayward Lookout.

I had some downed trees to negotiate... complete with lawyer vines.

It was on the climb up to Haywood Lookout where I started to see a lot of snakes...

... although they were all pretty mellow.

I wasn't just sharing the track with snakes.

After around two hours of fairly hard walking the track started to level out a little and a few minutes later I arrived at the Mt Hayward Lookout. This lookout is a couple of metres off the track and allowed for a nice view through and opening in the rainforest canopy down towards Shute Harbour and the Molle Islands. The lookout also provided a place to park my arse on a rock for awhile and have a break, although the leeches meant that I didn't linger for too long. Resuming my journey I now started a long section of undulating ridge walking, although apart from the occasional glimpses through the canopy there were no real long reaching views along here. I'd been lucky with the weather so far today however the forecast had been for late afternoon rain, so I was pretty keen to get to Blackwood Camp now while I was still relatively dry. 

I'm still climbing towards Mt Hayward.

Mt Hayward Lookout. 

After passing the Segway riders about 4 kilometres in I only shared the track with the local fauna for the rest of the day.

Shortly after leaving Mt Hayward I passed by some water tanks in a large grassy opening (and in hindsight I should of topped up here as there is no tank at Blackwood Camp). The track now got a little bit better, although there is no way I'd have the ability to ride most of it on a mountain bike, as I slowly made my way along the broad ridge down to Blackwood Camp. By the time I arrived at camp tonight it was around 5pm so after checking out the view down to Airlie Beach I quickly found a spot to pitch the tent in the rainforest. With the tent up I had a bit of an unsuccessful poke around to see if I could find some water (luckily I had enough, although I certainly wouldn't be splurging tonight) before scoffing down some dinner and crawling into the tent before the nightly squadrons of mozzies arrived. 

In hindsight I should of topped up my water at these tanks near Mt Hayward - there is no water at Blackwood Camp. 

I was lucky to get a bit of late afternoon sun.

I was walking an undulating ridge line now. 

Another Red Bellied Black Snake.

Late afternoon walking in Conway National Park.

The view from the lookout near Blackwood Camp.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 22.6 kilometres and climbed about 647 metres on what I'd call a medium - hard grade day's walking. This is a strange walk in that the first ten kilometres or so is very easy, from then on the going is fairly hard. I'm wondering if the conditions have deteriorated due the the recent heavy rain and the amount of pigs around - whatever the case the second half today was a lot harder than the first ten kilometres. Swimming was an option down at Impulse and Repulse and Little Repulse Creeks - although Repulse Creek looks to be the most reliable for a late dry season walk. One important aspect of the walk as I did it is that there is no water at Blackwood Camp (the first Great Walks camp that I've ever stayed at that didn't have easy access to water). There are around 3 (of what look like 20,000 litre) tanks shortly after leaving Mt Haywood and then there are another couple of tanks around 800 metres on the Airlie Beach side of Blackwood Camp (it's not a flat 800 metres though!) I used my AllTrails App and my GPS topos today. 

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Alva to Cape Bowling Green, 2022.

Sam was down in the building at the head of the marina enjoying our nice apartment...

... however I had the Duplex!

Settling in for a long and comfortable night. 

Darling River Walk, Bourke - April 2022

The Darling River flowing past the old wharf. 

Sam and I spent a couple of nights in Bourke on our April road trip up to North Queensland. While our days were spent out in Gundabooka National Park on the second night that we were in town I thought that I'd check out this little walk. This walk starts at the historic Bourke Wharf on the Darling River and it basically follows a shared path up river for a kilometre and a half before returning via the same path. The old port precinct made for a good spot to head off as there is plenty of parking, toilets, picnic facilities, cafés and pubs all close by. After checking out the old wharf (actually a replica of the original built back in 1898) and getting my first look for today at the fast flowing brown water of the Darling River I set off upstream.

I started this walk at the old wharf precinct.

The old wharf is actually a replica of the original wharf.

The Darling River was flowing a banka on this visit. 

Initially I followed a concrete shared path so the walking was pretty easy going, the warm early evening meaning that there was pretty well no one else around tonight. The main interest along here was the low sun shinning a golden light through the River Red Gums - and the river gauge which was showing the Darling River still running at over 7 metres after all the rain that has fallen recently up in northern NSW and southern QLD.

I followed a sealed shared path initially this afternoon.

The Darling River was running at about 7 metres this afternoon.

I did a bit of a dog leg through town at one point. 

After a short dog leg through some quite Bourke streets the shared path re-joined the riverside levee bank, although now I was on a gravel path mostly. This walk passes along the back fences of a lot of houses and businesses that line the Darling River in Bourke and it seemed to me as though every property had a huge dog that was itching to get out and introduce itself to me - teeth first! Never have I done a walk where I was so concerned about being mauled by an animal as I was on this stroll, and to put that into perspective I'm a dog kind guy and never really feel threatened when I'm on foot (being on a bike is a different kettle of fish though). 

Once back on the levee bank I was on a gravel shared path.

My turn around spot.

I was able to get down near water level on the outskirts of Bourke. 

With the levee starting to veer away from the Darling River on the outskirts of Bourke in an industrial area the track abruptly finished so it was time to start heading back. After a short detour down to water level I retraced my steps back to the old wharf, although instead of jumping into the ute and heading back to the hotel I took at bit of time to check out the port precinct which features an old Crossley Steam Engine. Wandering down Mitchell Street a few metres I then checked out the site of the historic Telegraph Hotel (now the Bourke Riverside Motel). This old building dates back to 1875 and no doubt would of been a rambunctious place when the wharfies turned up after a day of lumping wool bales in the heat. 

Passing by a light industrial area on the outskirts of Bourke. 

Late afternoon light on the Darling River.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 3.5 kilometres and climbed about 24 metres on this easy stroll. This walk would be suitable for wheelchairs and prams I'm thinking. If anyone contemplating this walk is scared of dogs then maybe reconsider the stroll (or take a trekking pole!). This walk also goes far enough out of Bourke that it starts to pass through some light industrial areas so I'm thinking that it would be a good idea to make sure that you get back to the wharf well before dark - Bourke is currently (April 2022) going through some serious social issues and meandering around after dark wouldn't be a good idea (in my humble opinion). I found this walk on the Alltrails website and used that map along with my GPS topos this afternoon.

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Little Mountain Walk, Gundabooka National Park, 2022.

After getting back to the wharf I checked out the historic Crossley Steam Engine...

... before passing by the EV charging station (in Bourke - who knew!)...

... and finishing up my stroll by checking out the historic Telegraph Hotel (1875). 

Little Mountain Walk, Gundabooka National Park - April 2022

The Gundabooka Range from the lookout. 

It was around 11am when I set off from Dry Tank Camp to walk up to the Little Mountain Lookout and even though summer was long gone the temperature was still pushing 30˚ this morning. With the prospect of a trudge through the midday heat along with a hill climb in the middle of the walk Sam decided to stay in the ute, which was parked in a nice shady spot in a copse of Mulga Trees. So setting off solo I wasn't planning on mucking around too much on this stroll, however before I'd even walked out of sight of the ute that plan was out the window when I again tweaked my left calf muscle - yes the same injury that had me taking pain killers on my Seven Dials Walk in the Grampians a week ago...fuck!

The trail head at Dry Tank Camp.

Leaving the camp things started off fairly low key. 

Weaving my way through the Mulga. 

So now it was more of a matter of shuffling along slowly trying not to stretch my calf muscle too much. The good news for me was that the track crossed a large flat plain for the first couple of kilometres and with the track meandering along beneath a canopy of Mulga and occasionally Kurrajong Trees I had a bit of shade to take the edge off the midday heat. This walking track looks like it's graded by a small ditch witch towing a grader blade or something similar so it made for pretty easy strolling (which was just as well).

There is a bit of pastural history here.

I think the bridge might be a little on the optimistic side!

There are some nice Kurrajong Trees scattered around. 

There's even a convenient bench (you can just see it in the shot) halfway up the climb. 

When the sandy country started to get a little stony it meant that the track was starting the climb up Little Mountain. While this climb is less than 60 metres and it pretty well has steps all the way up (there is even a bench halfway) it was still enough to stretch my calf muscle. Arriving at the small lookout and picnic table at the end of the track I dropped my pack for awhile whilst I took in the view. The view here features the Gundabooka Range looming above another Mulga covered plain and while the view was pretty sweet I'm thinking sunset would be the go here - it would be easily possible to walk back to Dry Tank Camp by torch light I think. For me though it was time to once again grab my pack and shuffle back to the ute, interestingly my calf hurts when I'm going up or down hill so the descent back off Little Mountain was as painful as the climb. 

Little Mountain Lookout.

The Gundabooka Range.

The Gundabooka Range from Little Mountain Lookout. 

I'm thinking off piste walking is a real possibility here. 

Dropping off Little Mountain and heading back down to the Dry Tank Camp. 

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 5.6 kilometres and climbed about 59 metres on this easy stroll. Gundabooka National Park would generally be a bit hot for walking over summer I think and if anyone reading this wants to visit then maybe plan for the cooler months - even this visit in mid April was a little marginal. Dry Camp is one of the designated camps in Gundabooka National Park as well as being the starting spot for this stroll - there are great facilities out here (considering it's in the middle of nowhere!) which include toilets, bbq's, tanks and picnic shelters and tables. I found this walk on the NSW Parks site and then downloaded a map from Alltrails, I also used my GPS topos on this stroll. 

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We had some company on our way back up to Bourke. 

This bloke was pretty intent on keeping us behind him - I'm in the spoon drain here trying to get past after following him for around 3 kilometres.