The Bundaberg Four Wheel Drive Club's latest activity saw the team combine with members of the Military Jeep Club of Queensland for a day out.
An eclectic mix of new and old vehicles tackled the terrain.
An area steeped in history, some tricky dry creek crossings, steep climbs and views from atop the Seaview Range were reasons enough to head out to Fairlies Knob National Park, an area criss-crossed with tracks that is accessed South of Childers and spans to approximately twenty kilometres Northeast of Maryborough.
Adjoining Wongi National Park, Fairlies Knob National Park supports significant areas of vine forest.
The tract of land was the third national park declared in Queensland, gazetted in 1910.
The park was expanded in December 2010 to include privately owned land inside the boundary of the national park.
Mount Doongul near the National Park is around 700 metres above sea level and offers amazing views to the sand blows of Fraser Island and north to Childers.
Rumour has it that the bushranger James McPherson, best known as the ‘Wild Scotchman’ spent time robbing mail coaches in the areas around Maryborough and Gayndah and had buried some of his loot in a cave in Mt Doongul.
The loot was never recovered.
The area is steeped in history with parts of the track carving its way through the hills.
Bridges and cuttings made by convicts , are still visible along the trails.
As the group traversed, we found ourselves on a section of the Bicentennial Trail, a multi-use recreational trekking route, stretching an extraordinary 5,330 kilometres from Cooktown in tropical far north Queensland to Healesville in Victoria.
In this section we passed one of the original signposts that guided travellers from the Port of Maryborough to either Gayndah or Port Curtis. Seeing the countryside these travellers had to pass through before the trail was properly marked is a testament to the navigational skills of those early explorers.
We thank the members of the Military Jeep Club for showing us around an area they frequent often, sharing their knowledge of the tracks and some of the history of the area.
To find out more on the Bundaberg Four Wheel Drive Club and activities we have on, contact us via email info@bundaberg4wdclub.com on the net at www.bundaberg4wdclub.com or catch us on
Facebook or Instagram where you can see photos from our activities.
Brad Praed
Bundaberg Four Wheel Drive Club
