Goodnight Here I come. Day 2.

The morning started with the sun trying it's hardest to break through the thick fog and heavy dew that had settled through the night. I poked my head out though the fly of the tent and thought to myself, "Five more minutes".

7:45 am was more than five minutes later. I had dozed again and was only woken by a small cricket that was excitedly jumping around the inside of the tent. I knew this time I had to get started. You see, when I travel I have all these great intentions of getting up and hitting the road early. Ah well, it is a restful recharge and break after all.

Up and at it the billy was on, the Aeropress charged with some of my home roasted finest and the porridge was simmering away. I steadily stripped the tent down, hanging the fly over a railing nearby to dry in the now shining sun. Bedding was packed, panniers were packed as much as I could and all was ready to  make a move after breakfast and coffee was finished.

The Aeropress is a marvelous invention

I suppose it was around 9:45 am when I finally departed, much later than I intended. The plan for today was to make my way up to Goodnight Scrub National Park via Bullyard and Wallaville.

Down over the weir and out onto Bucca Road and south west for Bullyard which is a small village with a schools and a few houses. I used to work at the school as a cleaner, so iut was a very familiar sight to me.
From here I decided to head down Delan Road and then onto Wallaville Road. I was able to find a few good stealth camping sites along here. The things you miss when driving, or racing along this section of road. This area is a regular racing loop for Bundaberg Cycling Club throughout their road season. It was actually good to travel along this section and take it in stopping along the way for the odd photo or drink.

The Bucca Weir

It was around lunch time when I made it into Wallaville. It was time for a needed coffee and something to eat. I decided t buy a coffee from the local coffee shop and eat an olive and cheese focaccia that I had bought along with me. It was a restful stop, the sleepy little township was at it's usual low hum, the people friendly and the coffee reasonable.

Delan Hall

Wallaville Hotel

After about an hour I decided it was time to move on and after a quick check on Google Maps I thought I had only another thirty one kilometers to go...thought being the operative word here.

Heading out of Wallaville for the Bruce Hwy, a road I din't want to be on for long, I opted for the service roads that run along either side of it. Much quieter and safer from the speeding cars. Although I have to say that the short times I did travel on the Bruce motorists were more than generous in regards to distance. A thankful and appreciated bonus.

I didn't have far to go along this stretch before I was on Walla Road  heading for Goodnight Scrub. Now I thought I would share a little history here.

Turning onto Walla Road. Glad the logging trucks don't work Saturdays

Why is it called Goodnight Scrub you may ask?
Well back in the day before it was a National park, it was cattle country. It is reported that the scrub was so thick that if your cattle got loose and went into it, it was goodnight for those head of cattle. Goodnight meaning that they'd never be seen again; and hence the name Goodnight Scrub.

The scrub thickets only remain in sections now and have been replaced mainly by State Forestry plantations, with logging trucks running instead of cattle drovers. There is still cattle bred in the area but not as significantly as in the past.

Walla Road was awesomely quiet, hardly a car to be seen. I think in the afternoon's travels I was doing well to see four cars, all slowing down with a friendly wave. Not to mention the strange look from one or two. They must have been thinking to themselves, "What the ....".

I had earlier estimated that it was around sixty-five kilometers from Bucca to Goodnight. Although this was correct, it was entirely true. It was sixty-five kilometers to the border, or start, of the national park. I still had another twenty-three to pedal to my intended camp.

The many hills were now wearing out the legs and walking the bike became a much more viable option for many of them. Now I was on a gravel road I was worried about slipping like I did on my attempted Brisbane trip. But this didn't happen, the road was in really good condition. It was well graded and rolled with very little loose gravel on the sides. The perfect gravel experience...lol.

After checking Google maps several times I decided that it might be better to head down a road call River Road. This would take me down to the banks of the Burnett River were I could camp by and draw water from the river. My intended spot was a lookout/picnic area overlooking the back of the Paradise Dam wall.

Once I got to River Road this option was canned as it was a private access road only, so onward I pursued. After checking Maps again I noticed a lookout called One Tree Hill Lookout about half way in. It was only a couple of hundred meters off the main road so it was worth checking it out. Well wallah, not two hundred meters in was the perfect camping spot. It wasn't all the way up to the lookout but it was flat, sheltered and with a water tank...just perfect.

This was it, I had pedaled enough for today and the afternoon sun was setting fast. I set up the tent and found some good sized rocks to make a fire ring. after scavenging a short time for some wood the fire was going, all just in time for darkness to set in.

With the fire ablaze and keeping the light chill at bay, and a wash, it was time to just sit and relax. Even though I was starving and the worms were biting, I just needed some "ahhhh" time. Just some time to sit, relax, reflect and let the quietness of the bush set in. To me I had found the perfect spot for this, just crickets, some night birds and the odd howl from a dingo in the distance. At least I hoped they were dingoes and not wild dogs.

Ok, time for some grub and a much needed coffee. On the menu tonight was some packet Alfredo pasta with a tin of chicken added. The powdered milk I carry gives me a great substitute for cream. A serving of three per packet didn't last long at all, time to finish off the left over focaccia.

By now a stiff chill was settling in with a dampness to it. I knew I was going to be in for another foggy and dewy morning. On this particular night I decided to set up my hiking tarp over my tent just to give me a little extra cover from the dew. By finding an old branch I was able to drape the tarp over the tent and open at the front giving me an awning.

After eats and a clean up, another coffee was on and it was more relaxing time. Just sitting there under the stars with an open fire crackling in the night's silence, it's just what my soul and mind needed. It was a shame this was only a weekend's trip, I could have easily had this last longer.

As I lay there on my seating mat I started to doze off as another spine tingling howl opened up the silence once again. These howls in the distance had a way of standing up the hairs on the back of my neck. But they didn't appear to be getting closer, so that was a bonus.

Spreading the fire out it was time to hit the sack, and sleep didn't wait long to cover me.

So ended day two of my brief weekend away, I couldn't believe that I was heading for home the next day. But that was tomorrow, for now sleep...