We decided to take a country drive to Boonah, a small, old town in Southeast Queensland with stunning mountain scenery. We felt a bit iffy on our way there as the surroundings looked really deserted. When we eventually arrived at the “heart” of Boonah city, we felt like we had ventured into a ghost town. It wasn’t a public holiday there and yet you could count the number of people walking around town with your fingers.
It was fascinating when we walked into the local Lions club for lunch. It was like being taken back into time. The diner was buzzing with 70s tunes, the furniture was old and the lady in charge was the waitress, chef and cashier all at once. Funny enough, I personally thought WE were the tourist attraction instead of the town itself. It was probably not everyday the locals see Asians in the community.
How strange, I thought – how do people live here? On the surface, there doesn't seem like there's much to do. There’s no traffic lights and no street lamps anywhere, so I’m guessing people don’t really go out at night. Surely we didn’t drive all the way from Brisbane just to see a deserted town? We had to hold back from asking the locals where the famous Scenic Rim was for fear they might tell us we were staring right at it!
Our patience paid off after we finally found the visitors centre. And no, the Scenic Rim wasn’t that sleepy town we had lunch in – it is actually an arc of spectacular mountains lying on the boundaries of Boonah. We didn’t have time to see all the mountains and certainly didn’t have the right attire to bushwalk our way to the top. So we opted for a simple trail at Mount French and a drive to Lake Moogerah.
It was then that we realised just how beautifully untouched the place is. Pen and I thoroughly enjoyed our time off there. It was so good to escape from the bustling city and spend some quality time with each other in a true “return to nature” style. We’ll be back with our trackies and hiking shoes!
It's Hollywood! (almost)
Boonah City - parked cars aplenty, but where are the people?
A local diner
Boonah's petrol kiosk with only one pump
Local fruit shop
Pen considers moving to Boonah - I don't think so darling.
Setting out on our trail walk
Made it to the top of Mount French!
Considering there's not a single soul in sight, we had to take our own photo.
Do the Japanese thing, he said...
Which way back?
On the bush trail
Made it to Lake Moogerah
Pen attempting to indicate the water level in the dam
4 comments:
c'mon, boonah isn't that bad... unless a storm comes and you can almost get hit in the head by the massive hailstones that sometimes get formed around that neck of the woods...
It's not! I liked the place actually.
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