The bubble has burst!

Bubbleshare has finally pulled the plug on my slideshows and I'll be uploading them to Slide when I have half a chance.
The priority was to do the same for the CNLCtalks slideshows and you can view these at cnlctalks. The only problem is that its a closed wiki now and you can email me for the ID and password if interested.

Photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemisti/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Jill loves Mary

Now that I've got your attention, this post is really about the highlights of our recent trip to Queensland such as the Mary River and surrounds. I'm going to use another Bubble Slider to feature some of the places we visited.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

The first day in the Sunshine Coast hinterland was spent at Great Sandy National Park on the way to Fraser Island. We attempted to follow in the footsteps (or rather tyre tracks) of most Queenslanders with four-wheel drive vehicles and drive along the beach to Inskip. The car didn't behave well and the Victorians felt uncomfortable about the whole thing so we soon turned back and spent the rest of the day exploring the rainforest: admiring the buttressed tree species, keeping our food away from the goanna and swimming in the creek with the catfish.

Our trip to the Conandales was again characterised by verdant habitat and flowing streams (a novelty for Victorians). We bought up cheeses and other local produce from the Kenilworth Cheese factory before heading for the Bolloumba Falls to cool off.

The next day we paid our respects to the mighty Mary River, stopping first at the Information Centre, traversing the undulating hills above the proposed dam and finally pausing at a crossing downstream from the dam. The Traveston Dam would indeed be a travesty: flooding the rich dairy farming lands above it and robbing the river of water below it - both threatening the future of the local endemic species such as the lungfish and the Mary River turtle. And, sure enough, on cue we spotted a Mary river turtle in the water, which, from its profile, could be identified as a male (due to its long tail).

[Not my photo, but from the Care2 petition site - closed 31/12/08]

Storm chasin'

When you're driving for three days, it can get a bit boring: the road stretches out ahead and it helps to have some interesting clouds, road signs or tree species to observe and share. After a pleasant camp at Mt Kaputar National Park, we had a brief downpour which necessitated a hasty retreat to the tent for breakfast. The clouds dispersed as quickly as they had formed. Apparently the sub-alpine habitat of  the park enjoys its rain mostly in the Summer.

We set off  for the NSW-Queensland border, stopping only for the most essential rest breaks and fuel-ups. Early afternoon we spotted the storm clouds and could clearly see the front of the storm. I photographed it as we were driving - largely for self-amusement as I didn't expect the photos to work out. By the time we got to the border we knew we had caught up with the storm, having followed it for at least 40 kms (or had it followed us?). The rain started hammering down as we drove through Goondiwindi and on a rather confusing roundabout (the first of many in Qld) we realised we had taken the wrong turn to Boggabilla (its twin border town).



With windscreen wipers on the maximum speed and still not coping with the downpour, we quickly decided to pull off the road and wait out the storm. We watched as the other traffic slowed, and small bushes and tree branches blew across the road into the paddocks. Albert manoeuvred the car so that its rear faced the brunt of the storm and it rocked with the force of the tempest for about half an hour. What an experience for drought-stricken Victorians!

For the next 50 kms we drove very carefully to avoid the trees that had fallen into the road, blocking one or the other lane. The Gold Coast experienced the worst of the storm with much damage to properties and power blackouts.