Introduction to today's journey
Today's journey starts at the scenic Wilson's Point overlooking Brisbane City, a fitting start to the northern loop which I plan to hike inland towards Rainbow Beach over 600 kilometres away and eventually return a similar distance along the coast to complete the northern loop at this lookout after 52 days. For the moment though, this journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I therefore leave Wilson's Point shortly before first light hiking through Brisbane City to the Roma Street Parklands before heading past Victoria Park to the mouth of Enoggera Creek, which I follow upstream to its source at Enoggera Reservior.
Distance hiked today: 28.7km
Total distance hiked: 28.7km
Today's Journey
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Starting the trek at Wilson Point, I pass under Storey Bridge and follow the walkway along the waterfront. Almost all the buildings are huge glass towers, the notable exception being the customs house built between 1886 and 1889, where people used to pass through customs having travelled around the world by ship in days long gone. It continued to be used by the Australian Customs Department until the mid 1980s. It is now a restaurant and function centre. |
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I head into the city centre, going through Queen Street Mall, very quiet in the early morning. The mall (and Queen Street as a whole) passes through the city centre from two parts of the Brisbane River, following the very first track the early European settlers cut through the dense rainforest to begin establishing Brisbane Town. |
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Climbing the hill above the city centre, I pass the Old Windmill Observatory, Brisbane's oldest surviving building. Built in 1828 by convict labour, it was initially a grain store before being converted to a ship signalling tower in 1955 with the timeball installed in 1861. |
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From the windmill I descend the hill into Roma Street Parkland where I pass through the beautiful botanical gardens. Originally an Aboriginal meeting place for thousands of years, this area became part of the Brisbane settlement when it was established in 1825. The land here became part of the rail yards of nearby Roma Street Station until it was redeveloped as parkland in 1995. |
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Continuing a couple of kilometres in a north easterly direction I pass between the city and Victoria Park, eventually reaching the mouth of Enoggera Creek just upstream from where it flows into Brisbane River (as Breakfast Creek). From here I spend the rest of today and much of tomorrow following Enoggera Creek upstream towards its source. |
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Much of the land on either side of Enoggera Creek is parkland, as is the case for most waterways in Brisbane. The city is prone to very high rainfall events causing major flooding. The parkland contains most of the flooding. Pathways pass through the parklands making very easy access as I hike upstream. |
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I continue upstream passing several suburbs before reaching The Gap, a suburb nestled in between Enoggera Hill and Mount Coot-tha. Here I pass a brightly coloured mural on a retaining wall under a shopping centre carpark. |
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Enoggera Creek is very different up here, mostly long pools with rapids over rocky sections as I continue heading upstream. The rain which has persisted for much of the day has stopped falling. |
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I pass another pool in the creek heading through more parkland as the sun now low in the sky has come out. |
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I reach the dam of Enoggera Reservoir, heading up to the lake under the Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre. From here I watch the sunset over the lake as several kayakers return following an afternoon on the water. |
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