Exploring some local roads around Tweed, Part 1

 

Recently I have been exploring local roads in the Tweed area on my bike to see if they are sealed. I cant cross the border due to the lockdowns between states, but now would be a great time to check these roads out that I have not been along for quite some time. The reason I am sticking with sealed roads is that my bike is belt driven, so would get stones easily

The back roads tend to be missed as you take the main roads like the Coast road between Kingscliff and Pottsville, or the Motorway.

 

Hogans Road,

Between Bilambil and North Tumbulgum. Sealed road that winds through the bush and farmlands. Can be narrow in parts. There is a causeway that could flood in wet weather.

 

Carool Road, Blissetts Road

 

Sealed roads that takes you up into Carool from Bilambil. Some potholes in the road towards Bilambil. Blissetts is a no through road and ends before a property. Has good views of the Gold Coast from the hills and nearby coffee plantation. I didn’t go up Glengarrie Road.

 

Clothiers Creek Road

Sealed between Condong and Cabarita. Has some bendy roads between Tweed Valley Way and the Motorway on / off ramps.

 

Watty Bischop Road

 

Sealed. A great road that links you to Clothiers Creek Road and Round Mountain Road just off the On off ramp for the highway. A local road that runs opposite the highway. Nice little short cut to avoid the towns.

 

Round Mountain Road

 

Mostly sealed, but havnt gotten further than the highway overpass bridge. Further down the road it is meant to be unsealed. From the bridge to the Hastings Point exit sealed. I will have to check this out. Signs about being aware of cane trucks depending on the time of year. Some narrow windy parts and opens up closer to the coast road.

 

Kanes Road, Reserve Creek Road

Between Round Mountain Road and Cudgera Creek Road. Cudgera Creek Road leads to Pottsville. Reserve Creek Road unsealed from the turn off to Kanes Road. Kanes is narrow in parts and windy.

 

Tomewin Road

 

Sealed between Murwillumbah and the border. It is sealed into Currumbin, but no access when the border has been closed.

 

McAuleys Road

Just off Dulgulgen Road near the Tumbulgum bridge. Sealed for at least one kilometre before becoming unsealed just beyond Rayes Lane. Short ride along the river that would take you to Terranora.

 

Cudgen Road

 

Sealed. Road is between Tweed Valley Way and the Cudgen lights on the Tweed Coast Road. Some windy bitsTakes you to Tropical Fruit World. Havnt explored Duranbah Road yet.

 

Queensland Wandering Boots: Day 14 Heading home

 

 

By the numbers

1 plane

1 train

17 kilo main bag

 

Today was going to be hopefully a very easy day in returning home from Cairns to the Gold Coast with borders being uncertain, and a whole time of uncertainty with crossing borders. It was a nice Saturday morning and I was already packed and ready to head to the Cairns airport. I headed to the shopping centre for breakfast with the really chipper and energetic server. I needed something filling and a coffee. I had sorted my room out for leaving as it’s a hostel that wants you to strip the bedsheets before leaving, not that it was really that bad.

 

The YHA said I could checkout remotely without any contact at all, which would be great if they were closed, but they were open. I had a shuttle bus booked for 10 am and I was outside waiting around 10 mins before it arrived. Standing out by the steps to the entrance to the hostel, I wondered if they would turn up as the time ticked by. I really did not want to be late for my flight. I had checked in with the app and had a boarding pass, but I needed a bag tag. 20 mins later after waiting, I was getting a little annoyed and angry that the bus had not arrived, so I rang the company to ask where it was. I was polite as they checked, and as it always happens the bus turns up while I am on the phone. We did pick up some people along the way to the airport, but it did seem like I was the only person who got off the bus at the airport.

 

The Cairns airport was surrounded by mangroves and there was no footpath, but a shared on road path with bikes, not that I would really like to walk what with the crocodile issue up that way. I was happy to be in the airport and soon found there were no touch screens to print off a physical boarding pass, or a bag tag. I literally had to wait in line before getting to the front, where I showed the boarding pass on my phone. No ID checks or asking where I had been, though I did get asked about my powerbank and I did say its in my backpack. Off I go with a piece of paper that gave the gate and boarding time. I was using the app boarding pass for the airline to get onto the plane. Security this time around was no problem and I was wondering where I was meant to check in on the Qld check in app into the airport as there was only QR codes for the individual shops past security. I snagged a drink and sandwich for the plane and there wasn’t much to see just like in the Gold Coast airport. I was flying to Brisbane, so there was that. There were several other flights heading to Brisbane around the same time and when boarding for certain rows were called, I just wandered into line without really listening.

 

Once on board, I was the backseat rebel as I was in the very back of the plane in the aisle seat, which I had booked for myself. The row next to me was actually vacant, and I had two elderly people looking at me as I stashed my sandwich in the seat pocket. Music on, I was happy. I heard a flight attendant talking about asking the man if he wanted to move, and they asked me if I wanted to have a row to myself. I jumped at the chance to get a whole three seats to myself. A book and music, I was happier still with my sandwich transferred over. My corned beef sandwich, I was going to happily eat. It did take around 2 hours for the plane to land at Brisbane and it did mean a walk from one part of the airport to the baggage collection. I am glad to be wearing a mask as I was laughing at several kids, one little girl pulling a face at her mum after being told to take her foot off the bag conveyor. She was not happy with mum, and her dad had chased after one of the sisters who went wandering behind a roped off area. I was looking at the board behind me that was ticking off the minutes before the airport train left and I could see it from where I was standing. My bag arrived and I walked towards the train with less that 5 mins remaining. At the station I had 1 minute remaining and the driver seen me trying to run towards him. I think I made the train less than a minute left as the doors did close. It would mean I would be on the train until around 430pm as I had just made it at 230pm. Not the best of plans in getting to the airport when I live closer to the Gold Coast Airport.

 

I did enjoy myself on the trip and the train to Varsity was the last part of my journey and I was a little confused over the wearing of the masks, but I kept it on until I got off the train and picked up. I had border passes for NSW and Queensland, although no one asked when I was up north where I was from apart from museums asking for postcodes that I was worried about giving out. I do like using the apps to get a boarding pass for flights and think I should use them more next time as it is pretty convenient. Another trip well done, although the last blog always takes several days to write out as there are other things to get done like

Queensland wandering boots: Day 13 Wandering Cairns

 

By the numbers

13.63 kms

17844 steps

 

Today I thought I would take it easy and not go too far within Cairns. I did think the Botanic Gardens might be nice, but that was a touch too far on foot. By bus it wouldn’t be too bad, but there are places that can be left for another visit and that is what I have done. Keeps life interesting it does. I had breakfast and was ready to take the walk. . I had two jobs to do before I left the hostel for my wander. There was the border pass to return to NSW and the phone call to confirm my pick up on Saturday morning for the airport. The closest place I wanted to head for was the historic cemetery. The cemetery was not very far up the road from where I was staying. Actually it was on the same street, so it wouldn’t be very hard to find if I was going in the one direction.

 

I had been told the day before that the McLeod Street Pioneer cemetery was where some of the workers for the railway were located. There had been another cemetery that failed in Cairns at an earlier date, but this one was not in the most ideal location either as it was a touch swampy. The information went on to say that not everyone could cope with the weather as there were quite a few children there. The cemetery is on the heritage register and you cannot clean the headstones without getting permission first. I took a wander around the cemetery and many of the headstones were faded that you couldn’t read the inscriptions.

 

There were mozzies and sandflies in the cemetery and I went to wander off to walk along the promenade along the beach. There were plenty of animal life to see from the beach like crabs doing their crab things, birds eating and other things crawling along the mudflats. There were information panels about the history of Cairns and even directing you to visit the Outback towns even though some no longer exist due to the mines running out of resources. It was actually a cloudy day until the sun came out when I was wandering around the pier area, and planning on heading back towards the hostel as I was thinking this was meant to be an easy day. Once I returned to the hostel, I offloaded some things I had and headed over to the shopping centre to see a movie as there wasn’t a point in trying to get myself worn out and sunburnt again like I had earlier in the week. I knew I needed to pack my bag before leaving the next day and wanted to be ready. I think I know that I would return to where I have been to, but not in summer as winter would be the best time to come.