More hike-a-bike

For a $7 fee, Polleys coaches takes cyclists and their bikes on the morning school run to Kilkivan departing at 6:30am. Our accommodation was just over a kilometre from the bus station and it was a cold, dark and foggy ride as we left around 6am.

We were warmly welcomed inside and offered a cup of tea whilst we waited.  We chatted to the manager, who told us a little about Gympie and the growth it had enjoyed since the bypass was completed.  

Our driver soon arrived and we loaded the bikes under the bus for the 40-minute ride to Kilkivan.  The fog was lifting and it promised to be a beautiful day as the driver showed us the street where she lived and then deposited us outside the general store which she promised had the best coffee in town.  

It was pretty good coffee and went well with our bacon and egg rolls for breakfast which we ate in the sun.  The start of the rail trail was very promising with some friendly scarecrows waving us on our way. 

According to the Rail Trail website, the Kilkivan to Murgon trail is very basic and should be viewed as an “adventure” trail with rough and steep gullies and 50 gates to open and shut.  We soon reached the first one, and it was slow going manoeuvring the bikes through.  Only 49 to go!  

The trail was a constant uphill and the surface was rough, with patches of loose sand or the original ballast which made for very slow going.  The trail clearly received little maintenance and it would be impassable after rain.  There was water in many of the gullies and we appreciated our river shoes as we pushed the bikes through the shallow water. 

A few kilometres before Goolmeri we took a welcome turn off the trail and a pleasant back road into town.  There were lots of caravans passing through the little town and we enjoyed our second coffee and bread rolls in the sun outside the Goomeri Café and Restaurant.  I had a quick wander through the town whilst Simon stayed with the bikes. There were a few nice stores, including a popular book shop. Goomeri is famous for its Pumpkin Festival held at the end of May each year. The festival includes pumpkin races where pumpkins are rolled down a hill, the winner is the pumpkin that rolls the furthest and stays in one piece.

Back on the trail, we passed through more gates and pushed the bikes in and out of more gullies before leaving the trail to take the Moffatdale Winery Route, a 20 km trail linking the wineries of the South Burnett Valley. 

Our Airbnb was located near the Dusty Hill vineyard, and I had taken our hostess’s advice to book a table at the Prendergast Irish Tavern for dinner. Jo gave us a warm welcome and showed us through our accommodation, explaining that there were lots of caravans in the region due to a weekend music festival in the Dusty Hill Vineyard.

It seemed that most of the caravaners were having dinner in the tavern, which was extremely busy when we arrived, with live music playing.  The food was excellent, and we enjoyed our dinner, though it was all a little chaotic.  Soon after we left I noticed a couple of missed calls and realised that we had left without paying.  We ordered and paid for drinks at the bar, but they had taken our food order at the table.  Simon backtracked quickly to resolve the issue.