Now let's see if i can't just manage to finish off a post in less than a week!
Even though it's obvious that approaching Yabba Gorge from the south isn't really feasible given the state of Sunday Creek Road, i still want to see how it's done. So with another look at the map, i set off early on Sunday morning to take the long way to Yielo.
With no traffic about i made good progress, and as i came over the range at Peachester there was still some fog clearing from the valleys below Bellthorpe.
Even though it's obvious that approaching Yabba Gorge from the south isn't really feasible given the state of Sunday Creek Road, i still want to see how it's done. So with another look at the map, i set off early on Sunday morning to take the long way to Yielo.
With no traffic about i made good progress, and as i came over the range at Peachester there was still some fog clearing from the valleys below Bellthorpe.
While i had a 5L fuel can on board as usual, i still wanted to fill up in Kilcoy just to be on the safe side, and i was looking forward to stopping at the familiar old BP servo on the corner. Slight hiccup there though...
Once i recovered from the initial shock i noticed the new timber (so it's obviously being prepared for reopening at some point) and popped up the road to the other servo, where i was served by a particularly nice lady.
With Yami fed, it was off through Sheepstation Creek towards Jimna-
And then out to Yielo again.
As with the first foray down Borgan Road, the plan of attack was simple, ride along Tungi Road and take the first right. So i rode along Tungi Road-
And then about 5kms down the road i reached a 4 way intersection and took the track on the right. Said track was extremely rocky, partly blocked by several fallen trees, and ended up here.
Clearly, that was not the road i was looking for, so i went back to Tungi Road to try again. Another right soon presented itself, but after just a few hundred metres it was blindingly obvious that this would be just another dead end and i turned around.
Of course, when i got home and uploaded the GPS track, the track that i was so certain would go nowhere turned out to be Borgan Road. My mistake had been to not zoom in close enough on the map to see the finer details that would have guided me better.
But back out at Yielo, i was still looking for the One True Right Hand Turn, and suddenly found myself on top of a mountain looking out over a huge expanse of recently harvested forestry. The road then hugged the side of the mountain down to a creek crossing, before weaving through some of the most beautiful pine forest i've ever seen. But you'll just have to imagine that because i didn't take a single picture of any of it because i'm an idiot! I have got to get it into my head that when i see something worth photographing, DO IT!
In due course i passed under some powerlines and came to a relatively substantial bridge over a large creek.
I had a sinking feeling as i immediately realised this was Yabba Creek, and i was on the outskirts of Jimna. For the first time that day my instincts were correct, which meant that the exploring was over and it was time to head home.
After clearing a cute traffic jam in the middle of the village-
I decided to try Bellthorpe Road as an alternative to sitting on the highway at 6,000rpm for 2 hours. This sign wasn't encouraging-
But i had seen a recent forum post that suggested it was still passable on a bike, so i optimistically kept going. This turned out to be an excellent decision, as Bellthorpe Road is one of the prettiest and most diverse i've ever been on. Both the road and the scenery were constantly changing, and always very pleasant.
Eventually i reached the site of the old Bellthorpe Sawmill (a very pretty spot well worth a return visit)-
before popping out from the forest at Booroobin.
I managed to do all of that and be home before midday, which kept Mrs LDR happy. That was the last opportunity to find a magic carpet route to Yabba Gorge though, so come Sunday we will just have to go through Bella Creek and see what the morning brings.
To be continued...
Fair Winds,
LDR.