The Wild GeeseLinville Well Almost
June 2006
Dave had a warm up run through the dirt back roads via the Muster site to Imbil then over the gap to Kenilworth where he met up with Steve Pike, Sean O Cillin, Peter Jones and Mac Wilson (who had also had fun getting to Kenilworth, taking the dirt road from Yandina up to Mapleton and the Obi Obi back down again).
We headed off towards Kenilworth Forestry through that nice quick little bit of windy bitumen prior to turning into Sunday Creek Road. On the dirt and a quick squirt saw us at Charlie Moreland Park - a few campers there, so nice and slow was the order of the day. Off up the road again with conditions really good, moist enough to keep the dust down and yet not too sloppy or greasy (although there were a few "interesting" patches). We all missed the 4WD + caravan and the Hilux on our way up to the top of the range. Stopped here to re-group and Dave foolishly let his bike have a little rest in the mud when he put his foot down while stopped and the ground was a lot further away than he thought and slippery. After cresting the range and heading past Sunday Ck Education Centre the road had dried out pretty well and we made good time getting to the Kilcoy-Jimna Road. Sean left us there and the 3 GS's and the KTM headed on towards the elusive Linville.
Steve took the lead with the trusty GPS pointing the way, down a forestry road and around the edge of the plantation before turning right and heading towards our destination. Road became more rutted and eroded, requiring a bit more care, especially on the KTM while the GS's, of course, had no problems at all (sorry Steve - couldn't resist). After wending our way through the forest, we came out on some more open grazing country. We should have guessed that the sign we'd passed saying "No Through Road" was actually the truth - but no - we had faith in the mighty GPS and followed Steve until we hit the gate with the big sign saying "Road Closed". (But see below for more on that.) As we were pondering the truth of the sign, some terse (unfriendly would probably be unkind) farmers came along and informed us that we couldn't get through and that the gate on the other end was locked, quoting "shooting problems". Turning around, we headed back and eventually found our way to Kilcoy for some well earned sustenance. Mac left us here, having other business to attend to and the GS:KTM ratio was getting much worse.
Deciding that the Upper Kandanga Road was the best bet for an interesting run home, we headed back up the Jimna road and through the twisties (even touched a footpeg on the GS) and along the top, avoiding the 4WD's coming from Landcruiser Mountain Park. Found the turn off (signposted this time but confirmed by the GPS), stopped to put a jumper on since it was quite cool and headed down off the range through a great windy track (which we rode the other weekend - see Non Overlanders Not To Cania Gorge) that seemed steeper coming down than it was the other weekend going up. Easy run through the flats along Kandanga Creek, where Dave left Steve and Peter to head home through the back roads which, apart from a minor disagreement with a small dog (he had to ride off the road to avoid it) and a wallaby, was a nice run to finish the day. Wouldn't have wanted to be much further, since he ended up riding the last 20km with the fuel light on.
All round another great day out.
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| Mac and Peter bound for Linville | |
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| End of the line - no Linville today | Dave nears Kandanga |
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| Note to Dave: these GSes are all behind the mighty KTM! |
Interesting addendum to our closed-road episode near Linville: I found some posts on the Oz Adventure Riders group relating to the closure. Reproduced here for those of you that don't have access to that list.
- I took a group of 20+ GS's through this road last September. When I did the recce for the ride I came from the Jimma end of Louisavale Rd (this is the track that runs from Monsildale Rd towards Linville with the 9 gates). I came to gates with road closed signs on them and then the track seemed to lead straight up to a homestead. I was not feeling comfortable about using the track so I back tracked to Monsildale Rd to see if I could find another way across to Linville without going to far north or south. After unsuccessfully exporing a number of old tracks we gave up and went home to Brissy. Later I decided to check with Kilcoy Shire to see if Louisavale Rd was a public road. I was advised by the shire that the road was a public road but the shire had not maintained it for many years, apparently it was badly damaged years ago in some floods and the shire decided it was not economical to repair and maintain. The only reason people can get through now is that land owners have carried out basic maintenance on the track so they can get access to their property/stock. I was told the shire was turning a blind eye to the road closed signs the land owners have placed on gates because the land owners were getting sick of having to assist people getting stuck on the track, having their stock spooked by idiots and having stock stray due to people leaving gates open. After being advised of this I returned to Louisavale Rd and visited the land owners. I explained what I was planning and that all riders would be fully briefed on gate/stock/privacy etiquette. The land owners were initially a little wary but listened to what I was saying and in the end were quite pleasant to deal with. The ride went well and as far as I know the land owners were happy with us using the road.
- I was at Linville recently for a DVD ride/shoot. The locals at the pub are VERY annoyed at the Jimna-Linville gates which have been illegally locked. They have taken matters into their own hands, equipped with boltcutters, and actually cut the fence. That's the way they do things there (they are not bike riders, just locals who use the road). As they said, what if someone is hurt and a public road is locked? Apparently, it was a couple of a**hole landowners, and they have since removed the locks. Better than cut fences and a hostile pub when you need a beer I suppose. So the latest on that road (the Monsildale Rd I think) is that it is (or should be) open. Please though, shut the gates if you pass through and don't spook cattle. There are something like 9 gates on the road now.
And: "you can have a great weekend in that forest! Mt Kilcoy, Mt Buggery, Postman's Track, Bellthorpe, Monsildale Valley etc. Consider also the run from Linville Pub to Yedna, it's a beaut 12 gates, 6 creeks." Who's for a weekend exploring sometime soon, and camping at Peach Trees?
~ Steve
| Links |
- Here is a Garmin-produced track log of Steve's day.
Category Rides ~ Category Dirt Rides
