Last day in the Hinterland

We tried to sleep in this morning but nature conspired against us. Ross headed out to the hammock while I tried to get a bit more sleep. Once I finally surfaced, we showered and got organized to leave the resort.

We headed into Montville again and this time we had breakfast at a cafe next to the bakery. It definitely didn't match up to yesterday's brekky! From there we headed out and left the hinterland behind us. Once back down on the flat we thought we might stop into Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. As we drove close, we could see the traffic was nuts so we decided to drive on. A good decision considering the traffic was backed up for 5 kilometers coming the other way and all of them were going to the zoo!

Instead we turned off and went to the Mt Beerburrum lookout. We thought it would be good to have a walk so we headed out of the car. We read the board which said the walk was 700m to the top and steep. We were suprised it said 1.5 hr return journey for 700m - we should have known better!

We started up the trail and after about 50m of steep walking we looked at each other and asked if we should continue. How hard could it be? So we kept going. It was honestly the steepest trail I have ever walked up without steps. About 100m into the walk, our calves were killing us so we switched and walked up backwards for a while before our quads hurt too much and we had to switch back.

By this time I was swearing and muttering. I had worked up such a sweat. Each time I thought we were there, the trail simply turned and continued even steeper! But we finally made it and climbed the landing for a fantastic view over the Glasshouse Mountains. We took our time getting our breath back before heading back down which was just as painful as going up!

Once we were back in the airconditioned car, we were glad we had made the effort although I don't think we would have if we had known how hard it was going to be. From there we drove straight back to Ann's place to spend the night there.

We arrived about 12 to find Dad by himself as Ann was at work. Ross' foster brother Dennis and his wife Rhonda arrived not long afterwards. It was nice to catch up with them again as we hadn't seen them for 2 1/2 years since John's wedding. Ann came home from work about 1.30 and we had cold chicken and salad for lunch.

As usual for this time of the year, we continued to watch the cricket. I headed off for a nap in the afternoon and then we headed out to the Runcorn Tavern for dinner. On Tuesdays, they had a deal going - 2 meals for $25 including the salad bar - a bargain. We enjoyed dinner and a couple of bottles of wine while telling traveling stories.

About 9 we headed home and cracked the liquers we had bought for Ann and Dad. Ann broke open the Ferraro Rocher's which didn't last too long. We all headed to bed at 10 after a great night.