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I quietly reassured him that I'd understand if he'd rather give this trip a miss, adding that he might not be that comfortable if this rain keeps up. Dad pondered my suggestion for a few seconds then agreed saying, "OK, maybe next time then".
I'd been looking forward to finally having the opportunity to share my love of motor cycling with my Father. So as I removed his overnight bag from the pannier, I had to resolve myself to the fact I'd be going solo this trip.
I quickly finished off packing the last few items before taking the final pit stop before leaving. In that time the rain had stopped and blue patches of sky had begun to appear again. Dad had apparently had second thoughts, as by the time I got back to the bike, his kit bag was back in the pannier and he was donning the wet weather gear I'd got out for him.
Right on time Laurie Green, Ross and Julie Slade, myself and Dad hit the road for the short run to the arranged meeting point on the Gateway arterial road. After the short 20-minute ride, we only had to wait a few more minutes, before Lionel Hayes and Rob and Gaye Black turned up on their ST's, with Chris and Anne Foden on their ST with trailer in tow. A few minutes later Peter Rowe and Judi Reid rolled up on their BMW R1100RT. After we all introduced ourselves, it was time to get rolling on the first leg of the run to Maleny.
The run up the Bruce Hwy to Beerwah was a pleasant rain free hour and a bit cruise. I'd planned a route that took us up the range through Peachester to Maleny along some of the finest scenic rural roads there are in SouthEast Qld. As we climbed the range we encountered fog that was thick enough to eat. Visibility was so poor at times, I found myself going for the brakes while I tried to regain my perspective on where the road went in the next 50 feet. Consequently we crawled our way up the range at no more than 30kph, breaching the fog at times to capture infrequent glimpses of what we were really missing scenery wise.
Maleny was our first planned coffee stop, and we relished the opportunity to enjoy a warm cuppa with a pie or cake and taking some time to get more acquainted with each other and discuss the route ahead. After about 40 minutes we headed north along the Mary Valley way towards Gympie, via Kenilworth and Imbil. The Mary Valley way is quite a nice ride providing a variety of road conditions, from smooth flowing corners, to narrow one-lane sections that require extra care with on coming traffic, but still a very pleasant ride.
We encountered several brief showers along this section of the ride, not enough to get really wet, but sufficient to offer some cooling relief from the heat of the day. Although it was only around 10:30am the mercury had already reached a level that made it uncomfortably hot and humid for anyone dressed in full bike gear.
After an hour or so of meandering through the scenic countryside that makes up the Marry Valley area, we arrived in Gympie for our second rest stop at a little roadside rest area just south of town. We chatted about the road ahead and what the plans for lunch were while snacking on the odd Muesli bar. Since only an hour had past since we'd last eaten we decided that we'd head onto Murgon for lunch.
We headed north out of Gympie for about 12k's before turning west onto the Wide Bay hwy and entering uncharted territory for all of us on this trip. The road from Gympie to Kilkivan is excellent on a bike. The surface is good, again plenty of long sweeping corners as the road snakes its way through rolling hills that offer panoramic views over the local countryside.
As we rolled through Kilkivan the local pub looked a good spot to grab a feed. The fact that there were no cars parked out front puzzled me since it was right on 12:30, so the place should have been at the peek of the lunchtime rush.
My first thoughts were perhaps the food has a reputation that keeps the locals away, but I figured since there was no crowd at least we'll get served quickly and continue on.
As it turned out I was wrong on both counts. The food was great, but the service resembled Noah loading the ark two animals at a time. Our meals came the same way, as apparently the kitchen hot plate was only big enough to handle two meals at once, so lunch took about an hour and a half. This provided ample opportunity to quench our thirsts, as well as air the feet on the verandah while watching the traffic pass by.
A guy rolled past on a Gold Anniversary model ST and we couldn't figure out why he didn't stop to say Hi. With so many ST's lined up at the pub, we all thought protocol would ensure that a stop should have been mandatory.
Having consumed the biggest steak sandwich & chips I've had for many years it was time to roll on. As had become the pattern for this ride, another shower of rain heralded our departure. So we left Kilkivan and headed for Kingaroy through Murgon and Wondai.
A brief stop in Murgon was had to remove the remnants of a Kamikaze butterfly that managed to get past the high screen on my ST, fly under my slightly opened helmet visor and impact on the bridge of my nose with what felt like the force of a house brick. Thankfully my sunny's took the brunt of the impact and prevented any damage to my eyes. But the resulting mess neither smelt nor tasted that good, so a clean up was in order.
After leaving Murgon we rolled on into Kingaroy chasing some ominous dark clouds, that thankfully we never really caught up too. Quick fuel stop, then onto the local bottle shop to pick up some drinks for the night before starting the final 65 kilometre leg into the Bunya Mountains.
The ride out of Kingaroy along the Bunya hwy winds it's way through the peanut growing fields south of Kingaroy, before turning off the highway onto the narrow and twisty road that leads you up the mountains through thickly wooded forest, and tall strands of Bunya Pines from which the local area takes it's name.
Having reached our destination we set about freshening up with a shower, before settling into our accommodation and enjoying a few hearty laughs over a drink or two on the front deck, while enjoying the views of the surrounding area and wildlife.
Our plans for an evening BBQ were cancelled when we found the campers in the local camp ground had brought all the meat the general store had in stock, and short of feeding the hungry masses with a loaf of bread and some fishes, or some other feat of biblical proportion, we opted to have dinner at Rosella's the only restaurant in town.
Saturday night was one of those great nights that make motorcycling in a group so much fun. Good atmosphere, good food and good company make for a good night. Even having to walk the kilometer or so home through rain and an electrical storm couldn't dampen the spirit. While most went off to bed early, a few of us stayed up discussing motor cycles past and present over a beer, and clarifying the fact that peanuts grow under ground, not on trees as I had thought.
The rain Saturday night was torrential, and we awoke Sunday morning fog bound again. Having said good bye to Ross and Julie who were taking a different route home than the rest of us. We headed back to Kingaroy for breakfast at McDonalds. While we all went straight to Macca's, Peter and Judi searched for the legendary peanut van to buy some of the local produce.
We left Kingaroy as it started to rain (on queue for our departure) and headed east to Nanango and Yarraman, before turning south and heading for Crows Nest. The roads through this part of Qld make for enjoyable motor cycling with a mixture of hills and open plains riding.
Again brief showers that didn't require full wet weather gear punctuated our journey. Unfortunately this ended just north of Crows Nest when we rode into what I thought was going to be another rain shower like the others encountered before. This one turned out to be a storm complete with heavy rain, lightning and thunder, and we all got suitably soaked as there was nowhere suitable to pull up and put the wet gear on without getting soaked doing so. Peter & Judi and Rob & Gaye braved the elements and pulled up to put the wet gear on, while the rest pushed on and got thoroughly soaked.
We regrouped in Crows Nest and sampled some of Peter and Judi's Kingaroy peanuts before tracking down the local coffee shop and enjoying our favorite caffeine based beverage and cake.
From Crows Nest it was a short run down the New England hwy to Hampton where we turned left and headed for Esk. The fog in the distance signaled it was time to put the wet gear on again, this time we stopped well short of the rain band to change. Again the road from Hampton to Esk was very scenic and windy. The road was wet much of the time, so we could only dream of how much fun the road could have been.
Esk was the point where the group parted company, as Laurie, Rob and Gaye were heading north for Kilcoy and Bribie Island, while the remainder of us headed south back to Brisbane via the Brisbane Valley way. After saying our good byes, again the thunder and rain signaled it was once again time to press on.
Around Wivenhoe Dam we rode into another thunderstorm. This time the rain was heavy and felt like small stones hitting you. The road was completely covered with water, and I could feel the ST starting to aquaplane in a few places. As there was no where to pull over and shelter we pressed on at very low speed, while watching the lightning strike at the hills surrounding us. Once we got ahead of the storm front it was an easy run back along the Ipswich Motorway to home to end what had been a very enjoyable weekend ride.
Despite the heat, the buffeting winds, the showers and the storms Dad said he felt relaxed on the back of the ST, and enjoyed every bit of the weekend, and would gladly do it over again.
My thanks to all who came along to make this a very enjoyable trip.
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©2004 Craig Sinclair.