Kroombit Tops - Day 4 And 5

 

With the goal of visiting Beautiful Betsy ticked off the list it was time to head for home today. I turned south on Tableland road, past The Lookout and headed for Mahoon Creek rd and Monto.

The drop off the Tops was quite steep and very loose in places as it was in the process of being graded. Once I hit the national park boundary and got into private property paddocks the road surface improved greatly. I didn't take many photos along here but did shoot some GoPro footage which is lower down in this post.

There were plenty of gates to open and close along Mahoon Ck Rd. 

A major intersection!

I did think about going for a look at Cania Gorge but decided I wanted to make some progress towards home today instead. So, I just rode through Moonford and along the main highway back to Monto. The roads were lined with lush green crops and lucerne which was in stark contrast to the mostly grey look of the countryside this trip. After a couple of wet years when everything was beautifully green we are now seeing tall, dead, grey grass covering the countryside. Perfect fire fodder........

I had to make do with a gas station sandwich today as Monto was absolutely DEAD! Being a public holiday all that was open were the service station and the pubs...but even the pubs looked dead. This is the same busy main street I took the next photo down the page in on Friday, just looking up the street rather than down it.

Just out of Monto is the Three Moon painted silo. They certainly have a moon theme going on up here.

Not far after passing through Mulgildie I took the road toward Mungy State forest and Mt Perry. There was a nice mix of dirt and new sealed road along here through rolling farmland. I passed my first highway patrol car for the trip here in the middle of nowhere but was safe as 100km/h feels fast on an ADV bike.

I turned down Mungy road towards Gayndah ,(not really knowing where it went) but happy just to be heading south on dirt. The countryside was just soo damn dry everywhere!

Apparently the cattle aren't right smart in these here parts either! 

After quite a while on Mungy road I eventually popped out in Gayndah. Gayndah was actually quite busy and I stopped outside the courthouse near a cafe' for a sandwich and a cold drink. It looks like Gayndah's claim to fame is growing oranges. They even had a big orange. 

Pressing on, I stopped briefly for a photo at the pub in Wondai, as a mtbing mate grew up here.

Then on south to Kingaroy for fuel. Here I needed to make a decision - it was about 2pm - home was 3 hours ride away....or do I veer off slightly and camp for one last night. I was on holidays for another week.....

Veering sounded good, as did the name of the next little hamlet along the road, Kumbia. I decided that as I only had about fifty kilometres more to ride for the day I'd grab a beer at the pub. Chatting to the young guy behind the bar I discovered he and his mum had taken over the lease recently. He was a really nice young guy, a mechanic by trade but now a jack of all trades trying to keep this old pub humming along smoothly. I ended up having two beers and a long chat before wishing him well and heading around the corner, onto the Kumbia road towards Brooklands and Tarong. 

The road was a little ripper, especially with the late afternoon sun behind me. I soon arrived at my impromptu digs for the night, the Maidenwell pub. I have ridden past here before and thought it looked a great little pub to stay at and now I had the perfect excuse to stay - just because I could!

I set up the tent on the grass behind the pub then wandered over to the shower block for the first shower in a few days. It was hot and free. The perfect combination!

 Back to the pub I enjoyed a couple of beers and a chicken parmy as I watched one of the womens soccer world cup games unfold on the television. I even got accosted by a couple of local "women" looking to set their friend up with me. No thank you, time for this little black duck to leave.....

Next morning I took my time to dry the tent out properly and air my sleeping bag so that they could be packed away when I got home.

I didn't have far to ride to get home, maybe three hours so I wandered down to the beautiful little town of Crows Nest for a cooked breakfast and a nice coffee.

Then it was a lap around Ravensbourne dam as I dropped off the range down into Esk, then along the Brisabane Valley Highway toward home. I love NOT riding in peak hour traffic so it actually was a pleasant trip home at midday.

I did notice while sitting looking at my bike at home  that I had picked up a nasty looking bit of wire in my new rear tyre! Eek. Grabbing pliers I reefed it out, expecting to hear the dreaded hissing of air escaping but was pleasantly surprised not to. It has since held up, so must not have gone right through. 

While I haven't done any wet pavement riding on it yet, I am super impressed with the Ranger's dry tarmac and dirt prowess. It doesn't seem at all noisy on the blacktop either.

This was my Spot tracker's take on the trip. It doesn't ping very well under tree canopy but this is a close enough approximation. I didn't check my odometer but the whole trip was approximately 1500 kilometres, give or take a hundred or so.

I recently discovered I actually have a basic video editor on the work iPad so I took a couple of the GoPro and drone videos to work last week and sort of taught myself to use iMovie. This isn't great (hopefully I'll get better) but it gives you an idea of what days 1 to 4 looked like. Unfortunately the GoPro was flat for the ride into and out of the bomber crash. 

Anyway, let me know what you think, crap or otherwise....

Cheers.....