Yarraman to Blackbutt
A few months ago, I walked a couple of days on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail with my bushwalking group. On that trip, we stayed in Linville and walked from Linville to Moore return on the first day, and Benarkin to Linville on the second day with a car shuffle. I stayed in the Linville hotel that trip but decided to camp this time. I wrote about that walk
here.
Blackbutt campsite at showgrounds
Campsite in Blackbutt
We planned to go back and do some more sections about a month ago but had to postpone it because of the Brisbane COVID-19 lockdown.
Blackbutt
A few of us finally got to get back there recently. The plan this time was to camp two nights at Blackbutt and walk the first day from Blackbutt to Benarkin return, and the second day from Yarraman to Blackbutt.
Bernarkin to Blackbutt
We camped at the Blackbutt showgrounds, which was great, very open and spacious with hot showers. It was cold at night. I was prepared though because I had brought my thermals and two sleeping bags. Some of the others froze. It was very warm during the day and freezing at night. The campsite was only $8 each per night. Our friends, who were there in their caravans, only had to pay $10 per night each for a powered site.
Blackbutt to Bernarkin
Blackbutt is a lovely small town. It is known as the "Timber Town" of the South Burnett. Blackbutt is a type of timber "
eucalyptus pilularis".
Roy Emerson Museum
It is also an agricultural town with avocado crops and olive and macadamia farms. They also have wood chopping events in the town.
Woodchoping in Blackbutt
Unfortunately, the local pub didn't provide meals on the Monday and Tuesday nights we were there, but we got delicious meals at the restaurant next door where they also sold alcohol. We also bought some food from the famous Blackbutt bakery, which was excellent.
Blackbutt also holds an Avocado Festival in September.
Benarkin Station
On the first day, three of us did the Blackbutt to Benarkin return walk, a total of 10 kilometres, 5 kilometres each way.
BVRT marker
It was a flat, easy walk that we all enjoyed. We only passed one bike rider who said he had been swooped by a magpie. We got a cold drink from the Benarkin General Store, before having a short rest and heading back to Blackbutt.
Benarkin General Store
We got back to Blackbutt early, had lunch, then drove to Nanango to have a look around. Nanango was a very interesting town with colourful murals on buildings around town depicting the town's interesting history.
Nanango is Queensland's fourth oldest town and the second largest in the South Burnett. It has a very interesting South Burnett Energy and Visitor Information Centre, on the Burnett Highway, where you can learn about energy generation and see original 1933 motors. We had fun riding the power-generating bike to get a gobstopper reward. The town had 3,599 people recorded in the 2016 census.
Nanango mural
The power bike
The next morning we got up early, had breakfast and our friend Ali drove four of us to Yarraman to start the trail back to Blackbutt. Just as we were getting ready to set off, we met up with a group of young cyclists who had just ridden from Blackbutt. We had met them briefly in the café the night before. They said they were making a documentary of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail and asked us if they could film us. We forgot to ask them where their film was going to be shown, so I guess we won't get to see it. They must have been interested in seeing older women walking the rail trail.
Bea with her umbrella
The walk from Yarraman to Blackbutt was 19 kilometres. A lot of the walk was out in the open and it was a hot day. Bea was well prepared with her super lightweight hands-free umbrella. I might have to get one! We have all had sun cancers removed. I've just found out the sunscreen I have been using has carcinogens in it. My niece in Tasmania sent me this
article.
Old bridge
There were some interesting highlights along the way. We passed under bridges and through the town where Roy Emerson grew up. We had learned a lot about him from our visit to the Roy Emerson Museum in Blackbutt. I saw my first brown quail bird and we saw some kangaroos with joeys.
Brown Quail
A couple of times we stopped for a rest when we found a shady spot only to come across a proper picnic spot with seats and a table around the next corner, so if you walk this section, hang on until you come to the rest tables.
Nice shelters along the way
A few cyclists passed us going both ways. One Canadian man stopped and had a chat. He said he had been diagnosed with diabetes but had started exercising and eating healthily and had lost a lot of weight and reversed his diabetes.
Bridge
After we got back to Blackbutt, we packed up our tents and headed home. We have now done the Trail from Yarraman to Moore, a distance of 48 kilometres. We will have to go back and finish the rest of the 161-kilometre Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. We only have 113 kilometres to go from Moore to Wulkuraka, although we did do two sections there and back from Linville to Moore return and from Blackbutt to Benarkin return.
Grass trees
Nice grass trees
