After breakfast, we packed a lunch bag and headed off to Kroombit Tops National Park. First stop was the Information Centre as we had not been able to find a lot of information on the park. This time we struck lucky. The lovely local lady not only knew something about the park, she had actually been there (but her husband was never going back that road). Apparently, they went up from the Biloela side (the Razorback Track) which is very steep and very rough. On her advice, we decided to go via Calliope and would decide, once we got there, whether we would come back the Razorback Track.
Kroombit Tops National Park
Kroombit Tops offers visitors the chance to get back to nature and camp without facilities, away from phones and technology, in small camping areas with fire-rings for a traditional bush cooking experience.
Take a bushwalk and explore forests on four-wheel-drive roads. Open forests dominated by Sydney blue gum, pink bloodwood and rough-barked apple trees flourish on the park’s eastern slopes. In the wetter south-eastern sandstone country, blackbutt forests dominate, and subtropical rainforests grow around some of the creeks. Many birds and animals in Kroombit Tops National Park are at the northern or southern limit of their distribution and it is the only known home to the endangered Kroombit tinkerfrog.
See the remains of a WWII Liberator bomber that crashed at Kroombit Tops in 1945 and remained hidden in the forest until it was discovered nearly 50 years later.
Quite a drive to Calliope (100km) where we stopped off for coffee and cake before heading up the mountain into the park along a steep and windy road. Drove to the lookout where we walked the 100m to an amazing view out over the Boyd Valley. You would be able to see the sea at Gladstone on a clear day.
Found a picnic table for lunch and then decided on the Razorback Track back to Biloela. A lot of people come to Kroombit to see the crash site of 'Beautiful Betsy", a Liberator Bomber which went missing in 1945 with the loss of 8 lives. As it was already afternoon and the wreck is on a 35km very rough loop track we decided we didn't want to be getting home in the dark so "not today". Backtracking to the start of the Razorback track we travelled through Griffiths Creek and past the camping area for the park. Quite a few brumbies making use of the grass in the cleared areas of the camp. The information lady was correct about the Razorback Track. It was very steep and very windy and I can imagine would be a challenge to come up. As the sign said "High clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle required: not suitable for inexperienced four-wheel-drivers" Jill thinks it should have read "Suitable only for VERY competent 4WD drivers who have DAC (downhill assist control) fitted to their vehicle and know how to use it", the final comment referring to the fact that we have never used DAC in the Prado and had to work out how to switch it on before the descent. Was quite impressed with how well it worked. Beats the old days when you put it in low 4WD and hoped that engine breaking was enough to slow your descent without having to use breaks which could result in sliding. "Aint technology marvellous".
Before dropping off the mountain you get some pretty commanding views of the surrounding countryside. You are certainly "on top of the world" up here.
Once on the flat, it was back to the Queensland Heritage Park and an amazing sunset.
