Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve

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RAIN and low cloud greeted the day as I headed away at sunrise, heading up to Landsborough and up onto the Blackall Range. Rain was falling and thick cloud enveloped the area as I started gaining altitude.

I stopped at Skipper Musk Teahouse Lookout most of the way up Bald Knob. From here I explored the nearby Old Maleny Road winding its way around the hill. I didn't get very far though as rain was now falling and a large slip had closed the middle of the road.

I returned to the lookout and headed to the other end of the road which I walked along back to the slip.

Upon returning to the main road, I continued up the hill through thick cloud until reaching the junction to the Mary Cairncross Reserve. I followed the footpath along the road through the thick fog and rain until reaching the reserve. I entered the reserve and followed the gravel track through the dense rainforest. The thick fog made for some very interesting layering in the dark forest. A few small forest wallabies were scrambling around on the forest undergrowth, but otherwise the forest was quiet.

Rain started falling when I was at the far end of the forest near the large fruit bat colony. The fog had cleared but rain was falling. I continued around the circuit to where the reserve reached the road again. The rain had stopped falling now, so I continued following the footpath along the side of the road coming out onto farmland along the top of the exposed range.

Thick fog once more enveloped the top of the range, covering the bright grassy fields as I continued following the path through intermittent rain. Eventually I reached a junction where the footpath followed another road heading towads Maleny and descending to a gully passing the Maleny dairy factory. I continued following the path up the other side of the valley until reaching Maleny School and continuing along Centennial Road until reaching the showground.

From here I returned along the path through continuing patchy fog and the occasional rain back to where I had started earlier on the other side of the Mary Cairncross Reserve, from where I returned home. The camera had worked very hard this day and got very wet causing it to malfunction towards the end, but fortunately I managed to dry it out overnight and restore it back to full working order.