DATE CHANGE Straddie - Mt Bippo -DW M T2F3

DATE CHANGE TO 16 September
A great day of walking and exploring. Come along and see a part of Queensland we rarely visit.

The first walk is up along a nice new track to Mt Bippo. It is a gentle uphill track to a raised viewing platform. It is no surprise to say that the track is along a sandhill but the surface is relatively firm and not soft, well it was last year. Great views and there is a lovely vibe to this quaint and very isolated part of Straddie

The Mount Bippo track is a 6.6 km return hike (approx. 2 hours) located in Naree Budjong Djara National Park on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). The trailhead is about 10 km north-east of Dunwich along East Coast Road. It offers spectacular 360-degree views, (please note for the purists the full name of the peak is Mt Bippo Penbean).

 Also there should be a great wildflower display to see. (I know about 50 wildflower names of the wildflowers we should see and I need to keep my knowledge current or my memory of all the botanical names will start to fade very quickly. I will have a plant species list for those who are interested and a few books to confirm the wildflower identification suggested) So plenty of time to catch your breath while we identify and name the wildflowers. We then retrace our steps back to the East Coast Road. 

 We then catch the bus out to Point Lookout for a lunch. Then a quick loop around the Gorge walk. Great views once again. Then get the bus and water taxi car trip back home.

 Not a huge amount of walking but a few different transport modes, with cars, water taxis and bus to make for longish travel time and therefore a longish day, but a great day. A day not to be missed as next year the plan is to do Mt Vane and the year after do the walk from Amity Point to PT Lookout. So it could be a long time before we come back. There are lots of logistical milestones to meet on this trip so we have to follow the logistics schedule as set out below so the schedule is included so members know what the timetable is.

Logistics

1.              Meet: at Nerang Station Carpark at 7.00 am sharp

2.              Leave Carpark by 7.05 am

3.              Drive to Emmett drive Cleveland by 8.30 am

4.              ( I am allowing only 25 minutes buffer for traffic delays, so hopefully no traffic accidents)

5.              (distance according to Google GPS is 69 km 54 minutes off peak)

6.              park cars and walk to jetty and ticket office by 8.40 am (please note parking can be difficult to find and we may need to walk 10 minutes to get to the jetty)

7.              Buy water taxi tickets by 8.45 am for the Straddie Flyer

8.              Cost of water taxi is $11.50 for seniors

9.              Water Taxi (Ferry) leaves at 9.00 am 

10.           Water Taxi arrives at the One Mile about 9,25 am 

11.           (for those new to Straddie the name "One Mile" is the name of a locality or place.) 

12.           bus from One Mile leaves at 9.37 am

13.           ( the price of the bus tickets should be $1 for a daily ticket. Please note Go Cards don’t apply here)

14.           hop off bus at 10 km spot at 9.45  ish

15.           Start walk at 9.50 am.

16.           Finish Mt Bippo Walk by  12.30 ish

17.           Catch bus to Pt Lookout by 12.40 pm

18.           Have lunch 12.40 to 1.30 ish

19.           Do Gorge Walk  about 60 to 90 minutes

20.           (but if a nice day may do walk down to beach) 

21.           Catch Bus at 3.20 pm

22.           bus arrives at the One Mile by 3.53

23.           if time allows we will have Coffee at the yacht Club called the Little Ship Club.

24.           Catch Water Taxi by 4.15 pm

25.           Arrive back at Cleveland by 4.45 pm

26.           Drive back to Nerang by 6.00 pm 

Websites

The Straddie Flyer - https://www.flyer.com.au/

The Straddie bus - https://www.stradbrokebus.com.au/timetablesandtickets

All trails – Mt Bippo -  https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/queensland/mount-bippo-penbean-walking-trail

All trails – Gorge walk https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/queensland/north-gorge-walk

 NPWS – Mt Bippo walk  https://www.dtis.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1631594/recreation-links.pdf

NPWS – Gorge walk – https://stradbrokeisland.com/gorge-walk/

The Little Ship Club -  https://littleshipclub.com.au/on-the-water/the-one-mile/

Limit on Numbers

The limit will be 16 but I expect to only to get about 4 to 6 people on the walk due to the logistical issues involved and the longish time involved, but do yourself a favour and come along.

Costs

$15 fuel contribution

Water Taxi $11.50 

Bus $1.00 for daily ticket (not part of Go Card system) bring cash.

Meeting Location

Nerang Train Station Carpark (Western Side)