The tour starts with a pickup in Brisbane city center. The drive out to our ride start point is around 1 hour and 30 minutes. Setting up the bikes, we then pedal the Rail Trail. The railway that preceded the trail was removed in the nineties, but initially was built in the mid 1800’s, gradually extending up the valley, bringing economic opportunity to the various towns along with it. The trail is all off-road, but the surfaces and gradients are all tame and it is peaceful riding being away from any motorized traffic. The scenery is that of rolling hills and the trail often travels through cuttings where the rock face adds a dimension to the visuals of the ride.

We conclude our ride in the tiny town of Linville, population approx 500 where we check in to a classic country pub with a bit of flair, The Linville. These are modest digs for our first night with shared facilities, but our group generally occupies all the rooms. A wholesome meal and good banter bring the curtain down on our first day.

The sounds of the countryside will waft in through your window along with the smells of breakfast being prepared. An early start makes the most of another lovely day out on the trail where the scenery changes a little as we ride through a state forest and on towards the slightly larger town of Yarraman. The Hoop Pine is abundant through the Benarkin Forest. These pines can grow up to 60 meters in height and have a lifespan of up to 450 years. Of course, much of the older trees have been removed many years ago to feed the timber mill in Yarraman that operated through the early part of the 20th century.

We’ll stop for lunch in Yarraman, then pile into the van for a 1-hour transfer to the Bunya Mountains National Park. Here we will be staying in a collection of private houses that the owners let as vacation rentals through a cooperative. We have chosen a group of these with en-suite facilities, all located within shouting distance of one another.

11-24km / 7-15 mi  hiking

Options abound for our day exploring the Bunyas with a morning option, and then a long and short afternoon option. There will be a morning walk of the trails on the eastern side of the mountains where lush green forests and moist, dark groves create a beautifully cool atmosphere where we weave through the massive routes of giant fig trees. Then in the afternoon, we walk a trail along the western side of the mountains with a more open landscape along the cliff tops and with lots of visible Bunya Trees. This is a more challenging hike and concludes with a climb up to Mount Kiangarow for some really great views. There are various options where you can walk part or all of these trails, making use of a vehicle transfer.

The Bunya Mountains were the location of arguably the most important, regular, gathering of aboriginal tribes from areas as far away as present-day New South Wales. These gatherings centered around the 3 yearly bumper harvest of nuts from the Bunya Tree. The stories gleaned from research papers on this topic are fascinating and make this experience about so much more than some beautiful hikes.

Mid-morning, we farewell the Bunyas and take a drive of around 2.5 hours to traverse the range that separates the Brisbane and Mary Valleys. We arrive in the small town of Imbil at lunchtime and after a bite to eat, we set out on a ride to explore this fertile agricultural area. Part of this ride is on a recently extended rail-trail that formed part of the original Mary Valley Branch Line, now known as the heritage rail attraction The Mary Valley Rattler. That heritage line is still intact further up the line, but the section between Imbil and Brooloo has been turned into a lovely bikeway that we will enjoy riding.

The rest of the ride is on secondary or tertiary roads with some hills and beautiful views through the valley. We’ll stop off at a local painter’s studio for a chat and a cup of tea and time permitting will make a visit to a working timber mill to take a guided tour of the facility. We conclude our ride at the charming property that will be our accommodation for the next two nights, The Amamoor Lodge.

A short transfer back to Imbil in the morning and we are then out on the Yabba Creek, a tributary of the Mary River. We will need to paddle quietly and keep our eyes peeled if we are to see the star of the river show, the Platypus, but we have a good chance of seeing other wildlife, especially birds with the Kingfisher likely to make an appearance. Our kayaking session is around two hours and concludes just near town. From there, we will return to Amamoor Lodge detouring to visit a local farm where the owner will take us for a walk around the property and talk us through the produce that they supply to the surrounding region and how they are continually improving their sustainability practices.

The afternoon is free for you to relax and take stock of the adventure so far and what better place to do that than our comfortable lodge.

We set out on a ride today that takes us on a variety of roads and trails. Initially paved roads with a nice level gradient where we can get the legs moving again, then we encounter some rolling hills leading us to a stop at a winery. Given the time of day, a tasting may not be in order, but we can certainly consider some purchases to try at our destination. From there we push on and visit the rock pools at Mother Mountain where we will have time for a swim in these fresh, cool waters. The riding from that point onwards includes some distance on gravel roads and smaller trails, but nothing overly technical in terms of surface.

The scenery through this area is particularly beautiful and makes up the Noosa Trail, a network of trails in the hinterland just outside the famous coastal town that are being developed to encourage visitors to explore these areas. The trail passes through private properties and state forests and we can expect to encounter people on bikes, on foot and even on horseback.

We conclude the ride in the little town of Kin Kin where a tasty, but slightly late lunch awaits. We will stop in at a studio where the artist takes old Iron and steel items and turns them into sculptures that dot the lovely garden surrounding the studio. After that, it’s a short drive to the shores of Lake Cootharaba where we check into glamping tents for the evening.

We will be joined at dinner this evening by a member of the Noosa Biosphere project board. An expert in wild waterways, our speaker will open your eyes to the incredible natural resource that exists around Noosa area.

We are in for a real treat today as we set out on one of the most stunning waterways in Australia and one of only two Everglades systems in the world. Almost half of Australia’s bird species exist in this area and more than a thousand plant species. The first part of our adventures takes us across Lake Cootharaba and into the upper Noosa River, the river of mirrors. The day just gets better and better as we paddle through this stunning wilderness with the sounds of the birds and usually plenty of sightings. We stop for a packed lunch on the river bank, then return to camp.

The total kayaking today is around 3.5-4 hours, but with plenty of stops and taking it slowly to enjoy the scenery, we will finish up around 3 pm. Back at the camp, we will have access to showers and then it is a 30-minute transfer to Noosa Heads or just under an hour to the Sunshine Coast Airport where flight schedules permitting, you could be on your way back home. This is the conclusion of our tour.