SPICERS GAP - CONDAMINE GORGE - 

LIONS TOURIST ROAD

January 1998

Here are eight good reasons not to leave your last month's club magazine laying around in the work lunch room.

That is how all this got started. Several of my work mates would sit and read back issues of the club magazine and remark about how good a time we had. So after about six months of requests, it was decided that we would organise a trip to Queen Mary Falls via Spicers Gap for a weekend run.

Our meeting place was the Jimboomba Roadhouse for breakfast, during which I managed to give them some lessons on convoy rules - CB usage (truckies, you can't trust them), etc. I let them know that there would be some exploring gust in case I made a wrong turn), about an hour of 4wdriving, some dirt roads and best of all, the beaut scenery.

Leaving the roadhouse we ventured over to and along Wild Pig Creek road only to find after a 14 km drive that it did not meet with the Boonah road as the map had shown, so that was the exploring done. A lovely scenic drive for anyone interested in a bit of country dirt driving.

As time had elapsed during our "exploring" it was back to the tar and over to Mount French National Park for lunch. The views of the Fassifern Valley from here are really something else.

After lunch it was on the Spicers Gap for the 4WD side of things but first they had to get some exercise by walking to Governor's Chair to see the first class views to Mt Moogerah and beyond. Spicers Gap road was a little damp from rain the previous week but it was quite stable to drive along. The guys found this a little testing at times as they were all lacking experience in this sort of driving.

To put you in the picture, Shaun bought his Cruiser Trayback to pull a horse float, Brett our mechanic uses his Crew Cab as a mobile tool box and Darren has a seven seater Pajero for his four kids - never before seen a dirt road. All very capable drivers but their experiences are for a different surface.

With them all safely through Spicers Gap it was a scenic drive to Queen Mary Falls via some dirt roads through the back of Maryvale etc.

The falls camping ground was for the overnight stay where we were greeted by the birds for a few hours feeding and giggling by the kids. We also had a couple of very friendly possums come down the tree for a bit of attention during the night. The campfire hilarity continued until quite late so there were a few who did not wish to rise too early on Sunday.

Dobbs Falls near Queen Mary Falls

Sunday, after a walk to the falls it was off to Condamine Gorge, a bit more water in the crossings on this trip due to the recent rains, down to the Head and over to Clunies State Forest to Urbenville for lunch.

Queen Mary ..... the walk ..... the falls ..... the Kookaburra

From here we turned to Woodenbong, down the lions Tourist road for a very welcome swim in the rock pools at Gladys Creek before heading for home. This particular spot is very nice for an overnight stay, with the added interest of the train track being so close - quite an experience when the trains roar through there in the early hours of the morning but that was on another trip.

Some of the locals .... Butcherbird, Crimson Rosella, Pied Currawong and Female Satin Bowerbird

With everyone still high by the end of the week, I have been talked into doing another camping weekend- this time to Emu Creek near Blackbutt, taking in the Nanango Stage Coach road - a glutton for punishment.

Ralph Condon SC372