Mooloolah & the Glass House Mountains
Farm life! Our first introduction to Workaway! We were drawn in by the close proximity to the Glass House mountains and the farm animals. You tell us cows, sheep, goats, chickens…we’re in! Cynthia and John first asked us if we would come house/animal sit for a night so they could go pick up alpacas. They had been having a fox problem, and alpacas are known to be guardians.
We had one night and one morning of training and then suddenly we were in charge! Luckily, it was pretty easy. We spent our week feeding the animals in the morning and evening, with some weeding and fence work around the farm in between.
I fell in love with a goat named Adam, Jo fell in love with a dog named Bindi. I don’t know that I’d be cut out for a large farm, I have a friend who was working on a cattle ranch with 16,000 cows. But, small country farm life was pretty nice!
Australia Zoo
Crikey! Home of the crocodile hunter - Steve Irwin and his family are EVERYWHERE. The zoo had an odd mix of a clear focus on conservation but also on commercialism. A giant sign announcing “Australia Zoo” with Steve’s image popping out from the back welcome you to the zoo. Walking around felt a bit like the Disney World of zoos.
We were very impressed by how much space each animal had - very large enclosures and the focus on research clear. We saw a Binturong which neither of us had ever heard of - also known as a bearcat, the animal is native to South and Southeast Asia. Othewise, the zoo has a lot of native Australian animals, from crocodiles galore to kangaroo heaven and a koala stroll. I also loved seeing the tigers and rhinos. It was a fun afternoon but I would say not worth the cost of admission.
Hiking the Blue Mountains
Yul-yan-man Hike: Our original plan to hike Mt. Ngungun quickly changed when we arrived at the visitor center and saw the path was closed. We chatted with a ranger and decided to do a new hike just opened earlier this year. The walk starts at the Mt Beerburrum trailhead and provides a couple lookouts with views of the mountains, minor rock scrambling challenges, and ends with an easy walk through eucalypt forest.
Mt Beerwah Summit Hike: The first section of the hike is a sheer rock face climb, very similar to bouldering, so Jo was in heaven. If I thought our previous hike involved rock scrambling, this was a whole different ball park. I panicked and froze about 3/4 of the way up and needed Jo to guide me both up and down, telling me where to put my hands and feet. Similar to my time in Zion and Angel’s Landing, I knew my fear of going down would strike and that it’s better to know yourself then to lose focus and freak out — no fun to be had. I spent the afternoon writing and reading while Jo finished the hike.
Maleny to Montville, Blackwell Tourist Drive
A few people had recommended these small towns - describing them as off the beaten track but growing more touristy, slightly European, and hippie. As all these descriptions are pretty contradictory, we knew we wanted to go to see for ourselves.
We started off at the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve with stunning views of the Glass House Mountains. The Dreamtime Creation story of these mountains is one of my favorites I’ve heard . Tibrogargan and Beerwah had many children, 13 to be exact. Each hill is shaped by the children’s personality, from Coonowrin’s crooked neck from when he was struck for misbehaving to Wild Horse Mountain, the baby of the family. The rivers and streams were created from the tears of the family after conflict. I love the stories, how they tell the story of the land and explain geographical features.
We then drove on to Manley, stopping at the Maleny Cheese Shop to taste some feta and cheddar, a market where I bought a few handmade cards, and lunch at Maleny World Alley, the smell of souvlaki and sounds of a live musician seducing us to stay.
We drove past Montville to a hike to Kondalilla waterfall. The walk provided landscape views of the valley which reminded Jo of his home back in France. Back in town, we walked around the shops and stopped at the German Clock shop and bought chocolate frogs at the neighboring chocolate store.