(The Allora Goomburra Queen Mary Falls Warwick section of the route was not verified.)
Ipswich is the most suitable starting point, however, Toowoobma or Warwick are also suitable. Brisbane trains will carry bicycles to Ipswich, free of charge, outside of peak hour. For this reason, the cuesheet distances start at the Ipswich Central railway station.
Cuesheets and a map for the route are provided. Also larger scale maps of Ipswich, Warwick, Clifon-Allora Rd and Toowoomba which show the route are provided. A commercial Sunmap map of South East Queensland is recommenced. City maps of Warwick and Toowoomba can be obtained free of charge from their visitor information centres.
Most of the scenery is agricultural, however there is good quality rain forest at Goomburra State Forest Park and some very attractive stone buildings in Toowoomba and Warwick.
A cuesheet and a map are provided for travelling out of Ipswich. The Ipswich motorway is followed for approximately 4 km. There is an adequate shoulder on this road. After this the road to Gatton usually carries only light traffic. Most of the route is undulating with a range between Rosewood and Laidley.
Ipswich is a city with all facilities except
a decent caravan park in the city. There is a large shopping
centre, with a Woolworths supermarket, on the route out of the
city. It is just before the motorway.
Rosewood has food stores, a bakery, and most
facilities except a caravan park. It suffers from being close to
Ipswich. Camping in the show ground after telephoning 07 5464 1414.
I have not camped there, but there appears to be a few permanent
residents, thus a shower can probably be obtained. The Brisbane
rail network extends to Rosewood and this is probably the most
viable campsite for visiting Brisbane from the west.
Laidley is a mid size town and has most facilities
except for the large retail chain stores. It has a caravan park.
It is not located on major traffic routes, thus is quiet and bike
friendly.
Forest Hill is a small town with a small general
store, hotel etc.
Gatton is a large town with most facilities, including
large retail chain stores. The caravan park is located between
a busy road and the train line and tends to be noisy.
This day involves most of the climbing onto the downs. The first 30 km is lightly undulating. After this, there is constant climbing for 25 km. The gradients are not steep. After this, the route is lightly undulating. Food and water is not available and must be carried from Gatton. There is a caravan park at Spring Creek, approximately 3 km after the turn onto the New England Highway. It is beside a busy truck route and is expensive. I have camped at no cost in the Allora show ground. If lucky, the hot water system in the showers may be turned on and a hot shower can be obtained. Traffic can be annoying for the first 7 km out of Gatton and on the New England Highway. Other than this, traffic is usually light.
Allora is a mid sized town with hotels, a general store and cafes. It does not have a caravan park but camping is permitted at the show grounds. (Telephone 07 4666 3394.) The town is tourist oriented and a small tourist information kit can be obtained free from the cafe with a blue Information sign outside it.
Allora through Goomburra State Forest Park and Queen Mary Falls to WarwickAfter the first 5 km on the New England Highway, traffic is light and the topography is undulating to Goomburra State Forest Park. The last 5 km is gravel road. This can be a harder ride than it appears as the road is climbing slightly and there is often a headwind. Food or water are not available enroute. Goomburra State Forest Park has good camp sites, drinking water and toilets only. There are good walking tracks and a challenging ride up to Sylvester Lookout in the park. Self registration costs $3.50/person per night. There is a map of the walking tracks on the back of the registration hut. The Cascades walk is recommenced. It is worth camping two nights in the park to allow time to ride to Sylvester Lookout and do a walk.
The ride between Goomburra State Forest Park and Queen Mary Falls is hard. The topography is undulating to hilly with the last 5 km being a constant climb up to the falls. Water can be obtained at 43 km and food and water can be obtained at Yangan (57 km) and Killarney (80 km) and Queen Mary Falls.
Yangan is a small town with a general store and
a hotel. It has a park with drinking water and toilets.
Killarney is a mid size town with a hotel, a reasonable
general store, cafe and butcher. There is a bank in the coop general
store, but it does not have an ATM. There is a caravan park, but it
is a few kilometres from the shops and is not very desirable.
Queen Mary Falls has a kiosk and caravan park.
The kiosk sells takeaway food and light meals. The van park is
pleasant for camping with abundant bird life which is fed daily.
There is a 1 km circuit walk which passes by the bottom of the falls.
Queen Mary Falls to Warwick is a reasonably easy ride. A map is provided of the route through Warwick and the location of the most suitable caravan park. Traffic on the Killarney to Warwick road is usually light.
Warwick is a small city with most facilities including supermarkets, banks and a bike shop. It has some attractive stone buildings and is generally an attractive, bike friendly city. The Information Centre is marked on my map. It is recommenced that it be visited and a map of the city obtained. It usually stocks maps of Toowoomba. If possible, obtain one to help with navigation into that city.
Warwick to ToowoombaThe route between Warwick and Allora is mostly undulating and carries light traffic. A detailed map of the back road between Allora and Clifton is provided. Navigation is easy as most of the secondary roads are not paved and for most of the route, the paved road only needs to be followed. The topography is gently undulating and traffic is very light.
The road between Clifton, Nobby, Greenmount, Cambooya and Wyreema is well marked and generally follows the railway line. Between Cambooya and Wyreema, the paved road is on the eastern side of the railway line. It is gently undulating.
Clifton is a mid sized towns with a good general store and hotels. It is slightly bigger than Allora. Camping is permitted at the show grounds. Permission should be obtained from the Clifton Shire Council.
Nobby and Cambooya have hotels and small general stores. Greenmount has a hotel but nowhere to obtain food. Wyreema has a small general store which is slightly off the route. Turn left instead of right at the tee intersection and it is approximately 200 metres from the intersection.
Wyreema to ToowoombaToowoomba traffic will be encountered from here onwards. The route follows the Gore Highway for a short distance. A map of the first section of the route into Toowoomba is provided. In general, the topography is hilly and traffic can be heavy. Fortunately, most streets in Toowoomba are wide and are bike friendly.
Toowoomba is a city with most facilities. It has a web page. It is arguably Queensland's most attractive city with wide tree lined streets, attractive stone buildings, and distinctive Queensland architecture in some of the old houses.
Some facilities on interest to bike tourists include:
The Herries, West and Bridge Street route avoids James Street which is not suitable for bikes, as the lanes are narrow and it carries heavy truck traffic. The highway section to Kingsthorpe mostly has an adequate shoulder. Heavy truck traffic can be expected. If the truck traffic is too annoying, exit the highway at Gowrie Junction and use a back road to get to Kingsthorpe. The back road is paved. Traffic is usually light between Kingsthorpe and Pechey, which is 5 km before Crows Nest. The topography between Toowoomba and Goombungee is undulating, then the remaining section to Crows Nest is hilly.
Kingsthorpe is a small town with a small general store,
and hotel
Goombungee is a mid sized town and is the location of the
Rosalie Shire Council office. It has a hotel, good general
store and butcher. It does not have a caravan park. The toilets in the
show ground are usually locked. It may be possible to camp there after
obtaining permission from the Rosalie Shire Council.
Crows Nest is a mid sized town with a hotel, caravan park,
good general store, butcher and bakery. There is a bank but it does not
have an ATM. The caravan park is one km from the shops and is exposed to
south east winds.
This section is only 20 km and is well signposted in Crows Nest. Water is available at Lake Perseverance (7 km). The topography is generally hilly. The last 5 km is down hill to the Lake Creesbrook boat ramp.
Lake Creesbrook is the water supply for Toowoomba and is controlled by the Toowoomba City Council. It has a camping area which costs $5.50 by self registration. (Ensure that you have the correct change.) Registration is enforced by a ranger who lives onsite and checks both at night and in the morning. The campground is well maintained and has a covered, lighted food preparation and eating area with gas barbecues, hot showers and a million dollar view of the lake. All the campsites have a view of the lake and sunrises and sunsets are spectacular.Lake Creesbrook to Esk
The first 12 km is uphill with some steep gradients. The section of the route through the National Park and State Forest consists of narrow bitumen. (This was being widened in June 2001). Sand trucks use this road, thus be prepared to exit onto the shoulder at short notice. It is mostly down hill to Esk. There is no food or water enroute.
Ravensbourne National Park is on the Hampton side of the Hampton-Esk road. It contains walking tracks through rain forest and is generally scenic.
Esk is a small to mid sized town. It has hotels, a van park, a good general store, butcher, takeaway stores and a bakery. The takeaway stores are limited in their range of foods. The van park is excellent. It is located close to the shops and is quiet. The tent sites are well grassed. There is a camp kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, hot water urn and a sink. It contains a covered lit eating area.
Esk to Ipswich
The route is on highways until Ipswich traffic is encountered. It is undulating. There is a good shoulder on the road for the first 35 km. After this there is an inadequate or no shoulder until the Warrego Highway is encountered at 55 km. The remainder of the route has a good shoulder.
The package contains a map and cuesheet for an alternate route between Fernvale and Ipswich. The route is scenic but is longer, contains 2 km of gravel road and is hilly. It avoids a nasty section of the Brisbane Valley Highway and simplifies the Warrego Highway crossing.
The turnoff from the Warrego Highway into Ipswich is confusing, as it involves a left turn off Pine Mountain Rd onto a roundabout and then negotiating the roundabout until an Ipswich sign is encountered. Remember that the objective is to cross the Warrego Highway.
After crossing the river, exit at the "TRANSIT CENTRE" sign. From here keep veering left. The railway station is at the back of the Transit Centre. A map is provided but relying on a sense of direction is also advisable.
Fernvale is a small to mid sized town. It has a good cafe and bakery and is the only food and water point on the route.
Daily distances vary greatly with the aspirations and fitness of the bike tourist. Those below should be regarded only as a guide.
| Suggested Itinerary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Route | Distance (km) | Rating |
| 1 | Ipswich to Gatton | 69 | Medium |
| 2 | Gatton to Allora | 75 | Medium-Hard |
| 3 | Allora to Goomburra State Forest Park | 42 | Easy |
| 3 | Explore State Forest Park | ||
| 4 | Goomburra State Forest Park to Queen Mary Falls | 90 | Hard |
| 5 | Queen Mary Falls to Clifton | 95 | Hard |
| 6 | Clifton to Toowoomba | 55 | Medium |
| 7 | Rest Day | ||
| 8 | Toowoomba to Crows Nest | 70 | Medium |
| 9 | Crows Nest to Lake Creesbrook | 20 | Very Easy |
| 10 | Lake Creesbrook to Esk | 42 | Hard |
| 11 | Esk to Ipswich | 65 | Medium |
Discussion of Itinerary
On day 2, there exists a choice of overnight accommodation. Possibilities are
Day 4 is the hardest of the tour. The route is hilly and headwinds are likely to be encountered. Possible alternatives are
Queen Mary Falls to Clifton is a long day, as Warwick is enroute and should be explored. An overnight stop at Warwick could make this into two easy days and give time to explore and replenish supplies in Warwick.
From Toowoomba, the New England Highway could be ridden to Pechey and then travel from there direct to Lake Creesbrook. The New England Highway, north of Toowoomba, does not carry much truck traffic and is enjoyable riding. This deletes an overnight stop in Crows Nest which doesn't matter much, but the ride from Kingsthorpe, through Goombungee is enjoyable on quiet roads. The option of riding through Goombungee and then onto Lake Creesbrook is hard but possible.