Sunshine Coast Hinterland

Sunday morning, we checked out of our apartment in the Alexandra Headland (just north of Mooloolaba). We drove westward, away from the coast, and found the wonderful Blackall Range region just a short distance away. At Montville, we obtained several hiking suggestions from tourist information. Because it was closest, we picked the Baroon Lookout walk at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk. The guide sheet advertised "open woodland ridges and … bridges and boardwalks over palm and vine-forested streams." The reality was fantastic, much better than advertised. The round-trip was only 4.4 km, so at 2 PM we headed south for another destination, the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, an ancient forest that although inherently more special didn't provide as exciting a hike as the Baroon Lookout. (But the view south of the Glass House Mountains was extraordinary.) We left Mary Cairncross at 3:30 for what I thought would be a 90 minute drive north to Hervey Bay. Instead the drive took three hours (sketchy maps plus poor preparation on my part!) and included a harrowing final 90 minutes after dark on a rough two-lane road with only a thin double line separating us from the oncoming traffic that was rushing at us with a net speed of more than 130 miles per hour. (Their 100 km/h plus ours.) I had not intended to drive after dark in Australia, but it's winter here and with the sun setting just past 5 PM it's been tough to adhere to that plan!