Panorama

Another beautiful panorama of the Glasshouse Mountains.

Volcanic Plug

A most beautifully framed volcanic plug, Coonowrin.

Festive Merry Lichen

Merry Christmas from me at the Outback Rover blogsite to you, the reader, wherever you may be.

Conjunction

Another shot of the December 21 conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn.

Solstice Moon

The Moon on the southern Summer Solstice, live on video, swimming in atmospheric refraction.

Conjunction

The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21, 2020. The apparent position of Jupiter and Saturn next to each other (conjunction) in the sky has not been seen this close for approximately 400 years. This was a truly once in a lifetime event. And this photo captures it almost exactly as it looked to the eye through the eyepiece. Taken with a TeleVue 101is at 540mm, with 4x Powermate.

Sign

A sign at a rest stop just south of Tambo. Apparenlty this is the highest point of any main road highway in Queensland. I wish I had my GPS to find out the altitude.

Dinosaur

The most amazing dinosaur you will ever see, Banjo the Australovenator at the AAOD near Winton.

Jump-Up Sanctuary

And finally the destination is reached after two days of driving. The Australian Age Of Dinosaurs Natural History Museam and International Dark Sky Sanctuary. A literal oasis of dinosaurs and stars in the desert.

Flying Defender

Maybe I should paint a Flying Kangaroo on the tail of the Defender and it would go places more quickly.

QANTAS Museum

The QANTAS Founders Museum in Longreach now has a roof over the planes to help preserve their life a little longer.

Tambo Dam

Breakfast on day two of the road trip to Winton was at Tambo. This dam is usually full of water, but dry this year, as with most of western Queensland.

Camp Out

Camped out at a rest area near Augathella. Day one of driving done.

Muckadilla

An overcast afternoon in Muckadilla, still on the way to Winton. This is the old railway station building for Muckadilla.

Dalby Rainy Defender

A rainy day in Dalby at the start of a road trip to Winton.

Ocean Views

Morning ocean views at The Spit, Mooloolaba.

Glasshouse Framed

A spectacular panoramic view of eight of the Glasshouse Mountains, framed by Coochin.

Coonowrin And Beerwah

Mount Coonowrin and Beerwah next to the West Peak of the Coochin Twins.

Blue Cotton Tree

The blue lamps, blue water and blue sky at Cotton Tree on the Sunshine Coast.

Beerwah

The ever spectacular Mount Beerwah, framed by Coochin.

Glasshouse Mountains

A landscape shot of the spectacular Glasshouse Mountains.

Summits

In the foreground is the West Summit and in the background the East Summit of Mount Coochin, followed by the Pacific Ocean on the horizon.

Coochin Saddle

The saddle between the two peaks on Mount Coochin is a nice shady spot for a quick rest.

Orchid

A bright flower grabbed my attention from the ground. I think it is an orchid of some kind.

Coonowrin, Beerwah, Coochin

A shot of Coonowrin, Beerwah and Coochin summits from the East Coochin Ridge.

Inskip Point

A quiet afternoon spent sitting by the water at Inskip Point does wonders for the soul.

Native Bees

A hive of busy bees brings home the pollen in my newly established tiny native bee hive on my tiny house deck.

Rock Pools

The Mount Mothar rock pools just south of Gympie in Woondum National Park.

Woondum National Park

A drive through Woondum National Park on a cool drizzly day.

Liquefaction

A photo from Rainbow Beach coloured sands section taken by a guest photographer (my brother, Wade). This unusual formation was most likely caused by some recent rains which have caused some sections of the sand to reach liquefaction and literally run down the hill like some form of non-newtonian fluid.

Piece De Resistance

The piece-de-resistance of the Yul-yan-man walk. A stunning panoramic view of the Glasshouse Mountains.

Beerburrum Cemetery

The Beerburrum Cemetery near the end of the Yul-yan-man loop. There was a 104 year old lady in one of the graves, that's quite an innings.

Tibrogargan

The powerful Tibrogargan stands lookout for incoming floodwaters to keep his family of mountains safe from harm.

Beerwah to Ngungun

The view from Beerwah to Ngungun, with Coonowrin and Tibberoowuccum included.

Yul-yan-man Trail

A track marker on the Yul-yan-man Trail in the Glasshouse Mountains. This track starts at the base of Mount Beerburrum and heads north-west to meet the Trachyte trail and a return fire a fire break trail. Well worth the time to walk this 10km loop, great views and a tranquil forest with few other walkers.

Poona Lake

This might just be my favourite photo from Lake Poona. Taken with my trusty old iPhone 5c, it turned out beautifully.

Kauri Trunk

A large Kauri Pine trunk reaches to the sky to get its solar gathering leaves above the rest in a competition for life.

Gear

A shot of the gear I took on my Cooloola Great! Walk. All packed up it was just over 15.5kg including the pack and full water load.

Directions

After the walk was over I dropped in to visit the National Parks and Wildlife Service Office in Rainbow Beach to plan my next hike. This sign was pleasantly showing the way to adventures that may await the curious.

Rainbow Beach

The view from Rainbow Beach at the end of the Great! Walk Cooloola.

Carlo Sandblow

The Carlo Sandblow at the northern end of the Great Cooloola Walk. This sandblow is a slightly sad reminder that the walk to Rainbow Beach from Tewantin is near to an end.

Track Marker

One of the familiar track markers along the Great Cooloola Walk. These little orange triangles become a trusty companion on a long hike.

Poona Reflection

A tranquil reflection in the spectacular Lake Poona. This is one of the most beautiful sights to see after a few hours of walking on the last day of the Cooloola Great Walk.

Alien Tensegrity Fig

A fig builds its root system around a tree trunk as it engulfs its host in a slow fight for life and death.

Fungi Party House

The Fungi Party House trunk. This really is a metropolis of high density housing in the forest.

Kauri Camp

The final fourth night's camp setup at the Kauri Walker's camp underneath a large Kauri Pine in my trusty Mont Moondance tent.

Python

A neatly coiled python awaits its next unsuspecting meal to come wandering happily by.

Spiky Fungus

A spiky fungus on a eucalypt leaf, kind of like a rebellious plug piercing leaf going out on its own. If anyone knows what fungus this is, please let me know in the comments.

Cycad

A stand of cycads in a section of subtropical rainforest along the Great Walk of Cooloola.

Scribbles

A scribby scence from day four of walking along the Cooloola Great Walk, a Scribbly Bark Gum.