G'day guys,
Mz Robin and I have just embarked upon a little holliday. Sort of, a second honeymoon - again.
With the current financial problems, we decided that rather than just co somewhere and stay for a few weeks, the plan is to do a series of road and paddling trips around our beloved South East Queensland. Explore the place properly and visit our own back yard, going to close places that we have allways wanted to but never bothered with, just because they were so handy. In the process, we hope to combine our several great passions, paddling, bushwalking and discovering some really nice, out of the way places.
South East Queensland encompasses the tourist meccas of our Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast with al the usual B.S. high rise, theme parks and other associated crap but there are still plenty of places that remain relatively un-developed and still retain their rustic, rural charm. They are rarely visited by the jet setting mob and are more geared towards what we like to do - getting away from the crowds..
If anybody here is interested, we would like to share with you some images and stories of our little adventure as we explore what we think of as being The Goddesses Country.
We just got back from a couple of days in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland - Blackall Ranges and Mary River Valley (two of our favourite places ) We have had a genuine wet season here this year, for the first time in decades and the way the country has sprung back to life, after so long being dry and brown just takes my breath away every time I look.
There are a couple of shots of our Glass House Mountains, taken from Mary Cairncross Park looking south east at the southern end of the Blackall Ranges.
Mount Beerwah
Mount Coonowrin
The Glasshouse Mountains are of great historical, cultural and geological significance. Standing just north of Caboolture these weird rock formations are like sentinels. They were named by Captain James Cook during his epic voyage up the east coast of Australia in 1770. Geologically they are massive hunks of trachyte left behind after the overlying softer rock was worn away by the forces of nature. Their names - Beerwah, Tibrogargan, Coonowrin, Tunbubudla, Beerburrum, Ngungun, Tibberoowuccum and Coochin - reflect the Aboriginal culture surrounding the mountains
The legend of the Glasshouse Mountains in Aborigine told Dreamtime stories runs: Now Tibrogargan was the father of all the tribes and Beerwah was his wife, and they had many children.
Coonowrin, the eldest; the twins, Tunbubudla; Miketeebumulgrai; Elimbah whose shoulders were bent because she carried many cares; the little one called Round because she was so fat and small; and the one called Wild Horse since he always strayed away from the others to paddle out to sea. (Ngungun, Beerburrum and Coochin do not seem to be mentioned in the legend).
One day when Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea, he perceived a great rising of the waters. He knew then that there was to be a very great flood and he became worried for Beerwah, who had borne him many children and was again pregnant and would not be able to reach the safety of the mountains in the west without assistance.
So he called to his eldest son, Coonowrin, and told him of the flood which was coming and said, "Take your mother, Beerwah, to the safety of the mountains while I gather your brothers and sisters who are at play and I will bring them along."
When Tibrogargan looked back to see how Coonowrin was tending to his mother he was dismayed to see him running off alone. Now this was a spiritless thing for Coonowrin to do, and as he had shown himself to be a coward he was to be despised.
Tibrogargan became very angry and he picked up his nulla nulla and chased Coonowrin and cracked him over the head with a mighty blow with such force that it dislocated Coonowrin's neck, and he has never been able to straighten it since.
By and by, the floods subsided and, when the plains dried out the family was able to return to the place where they lived before. Then, when the other children saw Coonowrin they teased him and called "How did you get your wry neck - How did you get your wry neck?" and this made Coonowrin feel ashamed.
So Coonowrin went to Tibrogargan and asked for forgiveness, but the law of the tribe would not permit this. And he wept, for his son had disgraced him. Now the shame of this was very great and Tibrogargan's tears were many and, as they trickled down they formed a stream which wended its way to the sea.
So Coonowrin went then to his mother, Beerwah, but she also cried, and her tears became a stream and flowed away to the sea. Then, one by one, he went to his brothers and sisters, but they all cried at their brother's shame.
Then Tibrogargan called to Coonowrin and asked why he had deserted his mother and Coonowrin replied, "She is the biggest of us all and should be able to take care of herself." But Coonowrin did not know that his mother was again with child, which was the reason for her grossness. Then Tibrogargan put his son behind him and vowed he would never look at him again.
Even to this day Tibrogargan gazes far, far out to sea and never looks at Coonowrin. Coonowrin hangs his head in shame and cries, and his tears run off to the sea, and his mother, Beerwah, is still pregnant, for, you see, it takes many years to give birth to a mountain."
Mz Robin and I have just embarked upon a little holliday. Sort of, a second honeymoon - again.
With the current financial problems, we decided that rather than just co somewhere and stay for a few weeks, the plan is to do a series of road and paddling trips around our beloved South East Queensland. Explore the place properly and visit our own back yard, going to close places that we have allways wanted to but never bothered with, just because they were so handy. In the process, we hope to combine our several great passions, paddling, bushwalking and discovering some really nice, out of the way places.South East Queensland encompasses the tourist meccas of our Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast with al the usual B.S. high rise, theme parks and other associated crap but there are still plenty of places that remain relatively un-developed and still retain their rustic, rural charm. They are rarely visited by the jet setting mob and are more geared towards what we like to do - getting away from the crowds.
.If anybody here is interested, we would like to share with you some images and stories of our little adventure as we explore what we think of as being The Goddesses Country.
We just got back from a couple of days in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland - Blackall Ranges and Mary River Valley (two of our favourite places
) We have had a genuine wet season here this year, for the first time in decades and the way the country has sprung back to life, after so long being dry and brown just takes my breath away every time I look.There are a couple of shots of our Glass House Mountains, taken from Mary Cairncross Park looking south east at the southern end of the Blackall Ranges.
Mount Beerwah
Mount Coonowrin
The Glasshouse Mountains are of great historical, cultural and geological significance. Standing just north of Caboolture these weird rock formations are like sentinels. They were named by Captain James Cook during his epic voyage up the east coast of Australia in 1770. Geologically they are massive hunks of trachyte left behind after the overlying softer rock was worn away by the forces of nature. Their names - Beerwah, Tibrogargan, Coonowrin, Tunbubudla, Beerburrum, Ngungun, Tibberoowuccum and Coochin - reflect the Aboriginal culture surrounding the mountains
The legend of the Glasshouse Mountains in Aborigine told Dreamtime stories runs: Now Tibrogargan was the father of all the tribes and Beerwah was his wife, and they had many children.
Coonowrin, the eldest; the twins, Tunbubudla; Miketeebumulgrai; Elimbah whose shoulders were bent because she carried many cares; the little one called Round because she was so fat and small; and the one called Wild Horse since he always strayed away from the others to paddle out to sea. (Ngungun, Beerburrum and Coochin do not seem to be mentioned in the legend).
One day when Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea, he perceived a great rising of the waters. He knew then that there was to be a very great flood and he became worried for Beerwah, who had borne him many children and was again pregnant and would not be able to reach the safety of the mountains in the west without assistance.
So he called to his eldest son, Coonowrin, and told him of the flood which was coming and said, "Take your mother, Beerwah, to the safety of the mountains while I gather your brothers and sisters who are at play and I will bring them along."
When Tibrogargan looked back to see how Coonowrin was tending to his mother he was dismayed to see him running off alone. Now this was a spiritless thing for Coonowrin to do, and as he had shown himself to be a coward he was to be despised.
Tibrogargan became very angry and he picked up his nulla nulla and chased Coonowrin and cracked him over the head with a mighty blow with such force that it dislocated Coonowrin's neck, and he has never been able to straighten it since.
By and by, the floods subsided and, when the plains dried out the family was able to return to the place where they lived before. Then, when the other children saw Coonowrin they teased him and called "How did you get your wry neck - How did you get your wry neck?" and this made Coonowrin feel ashamed.
So Coonowrin went to Tibrogargan and asked for forgiveness, but the law of the tribe would not permit this. And he wept, for his son had disgraced him. Now the shame of this was very great and Tibrogargan's tears were many and, as they trickled down they formed a stream which wended its way to the sea.
So Coonowrin went then to his mother, Beerwah, but she also cried, and her tears became a stream and flowed away to the sea. Then, one by one, he went to his brothers and sisters, but they all cried at their brother's shame.
Then Tibrogargan called to Coonowrin and asked why he had deserted his mother and Coonowrin replied, "She is the biggest of us all and should be able to take care of herself." But Coonowrin did not know that his mother was again with child, which was the reason for her grossness. Then Tibrogargan put his son behind him and vowed he would never look at him again.
Even to this day Tibrogargan gazes far, far out to sea and never looks at Coonowrin. Coonowrin hangs his head in shame and cries, and his tears run off to the sea, and his mother, Beerwah, is still pregnant, for, you see, it takes many years to give birth to a mountain."
