Buttresses, Pademelons and Glass Houses - Ken Boddie - Australia

Ken Boddie

7 years ago · 3 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Buttresses, Pademelons and Glass Houses

A lazy Sunday afternoon in the countryside unexpectedly turned into a memorable lesson on South-East Queensland's amazing natural history. My wife and I often take a drive north of Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast hinterland plateau lands, where we can see magnificent views of the coastal plains below us, and the unique Glass House Mountains, named by Captain James Cook in 1770, while sailing up the coast aboard the Endeavour. Their shape reportedly reminded him of the huge glass furnaces, or glasshouses, back in his native Yorkshire. They are, in reality, a gathering of volcanic plugs, some 26 or 27 million years old, stripped of their pyroclastic exteriors with the passage of geological time.

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On this particular Sunday, a quick check on line produced a reference to Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, an apparently popular conservation park, near one of our most favourite country towns, Maleny. This reserve, the entrance to which is directly across from the above Glass House Mountains view, is indeed so popular that we have managed to completely miss the turn-off (from the main road servicing the area) countless times during the 14 years or so we have been based in Brisbane (an hour and a half's drive away).

As we ambled along the walking trail, it soon became apparent that this was no mere collection of mature eucalypts (gum trees to you) haphazardly displayed in one of Joni Mitchell's 'Tree Museums'. Here was an impressive living slice of subtropical rainforest, once common throughout the north-eastern parts of Australia, but now mostly removed as a consequence of the spread of European settlers, who cleared the land for farming and picked out the tallest and straightest timbers for building houses and furniture and a variety of aids to over two hundred years of development.

Here we saw countless varieties of now rare rainforest giants, such as 'blue quandong' and 'red cedar', reaching up to the canopy some 30 m plus (approximately 100 feet) above us. Their roots were buttressed at ground level like the abutments supporting some medieval cathedral tower.

Then there were parasitical strangler figs, which grow up the host tree, crush the life from it, then remain as hollow sentinels long after their prop has passed on.

We saw countless impressive vines, many thicker than your arm, hanging down to the ground from way above us in the canopy; some swinging loosely, perhaps waiting for Tarzan or his jungle apes to swing on by; others spiralling strangely around trees and branches; many thicker than your arm, or your leg.

After every bend in the track, we looked up, half expecting to see Treebeard's forlorn Ent face looking down on us, just as Tolkien imagined in his fictional Fangorn Forest. Then there were fungi clinging to felled timber off-cuts, beautiful to behold, but as curiously and uselessly ornamental as an ashtray on a motorbike.

Every now and then we would hear strange thumping noises and soft clucking, in between the more familiar bird calls. Then, magically, as we had almost completed our stroll around the walking track, we saw this small creature foraging for food only three metres away, partly camouflaged in the undergrowth. We were so lucky to encounter the red-legged Pademelon (pronounced as in the Irish Paddy) a tiny relative of the Kangaroo and Wallaby, which we later found out is relatively common here in the reserve, provided you keep you eyes open and are relatively quiet.

Wise in hindsight, the reserve's on line link later informed us that the soft clucking noise is indeed typical of the Pademelon and that they make thumping noises with their hind legs to warn others when disturbed.

Now back in the car park, surrounded by more familiar sights and sounds, and with the afternoon sun now low in the sky, we ambled across the service road and soaked in our farewell panorama of the Glass House Mountains (Cook's furnaces).

Hope you enjoyed our Sunday escape. Come along with us next time!

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When not researching the weird or the wonderful, the comical or the cultured, the sinful or the serious, I chase my creative side, the results of which can be seen as selected photographs of my travels on my website at:

http://ken-boddie.squarespace.com

The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a sometime poet and occasional writer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded people with diverse interests.

Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.

#Brisbane #Sunday #Glass House Mountains #Glass Houses #Pademelons

Comments

Kevin Pashuk

7 years ago #42

#31
Thanks for the compliment Ken... (I think...)

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #41

#50
You're welcome, Mohd

Dean Owen

7 years ago #40

#49
Not banned in Singapore, just banned on public transport

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #39

#48
You are a bold person, Claire Cardwell. My earlier post may, however, put you off durian. https://www.bebee.com/producer/@ken-boddie/durian-heaven-or-hell

mohammed khalaf

7 years ago #38

I imagine more is possible when we remember our human nature and keep our connection with nature,thank you for pick Ken Boddie

Lada 🏡 Prkic

7 years ago #37

#31
Then at least the Live Buzz next time you see something so exceptional. 🎥

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #36

#45
rut OH!

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #35

#43
careful what you wish for, Lisa! We have friends in DHL. 😄

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #34

#39
LOLOL Ken Boddie, still laughing! Sorry Dean.

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #33

#34
I will do a challenge buzz Dean Owen but I don't have access to vegimite or durian, darn!

Dean Owen

7 years ago #32

#41
😹😭😝😂👻😆😭💦 you made me wet myself!

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #31

#40
somehow a VD sandwich lacks appeal, or is it just me? 😝

Dean Owen

7 years ago #30

#39
who knows? It could be amazing! It could be the next BLT !

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #29

#34
yeah but nobody wants to throw up on video, Dean-San.

Dean Owen

7 years ago #28

#35
I'd do it, but too bad I don't have the Live Buzz feature yet! :)

Dean Owen

7 years ago #27

#30
Vegemite and Durian sandwiches? Now there is a challenge! That is a Live Buzz with viral potential! Any takers?

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #26

#29
Hard to find both, Claire, so I felt like a kid in a candy store that Sunday afternoon. 😮

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #25

#28
Just like hobbits, Lada, pademelons are quite rare in Oz, which makes the seeing of one (and in this case two) all the more rewarding. As for video, Lada, I have no expertise or inclination at the moment. I get my photographic kicks from taking stills with my Canon and fine tuning on Photoshop, and also from Nikon bashing Kevin Pashuk. 😂

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #24

#27
There's only one cure for your yearning for Vegemite, Praveen, and that's to get your tail over here and try some. Personally, though, I would put Vegemite as a second to 'durian' in my 'tried it once and don't like it' category for non-essential foods. For the seriously taste challenged, perhaps Vegemite durian sandwiches?

Lada 🏡 Prkic

7 years ago #23

Just beautiful! It looks like real Tolkien’s Fangorn Forest but with little cute inhabitants, pademelons. Ken, have you ever thought of making documentary film about your journeys?

don kerr

7 years ago #22

#24
Very kind offer Ken Boddie

Gert Scholtz

7 years ago #21

#23
Ken Boddie I am in Perth from next week on. Will definitely go to see Rottnest Island - thank you Ken.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #20

Can't get much closer to the 'Red Centre' of Oz that Alice Springs, Don. Not many Australians have been there and I've only transitted at the airport there a couple of times. Just remember, if you really want something there's always a way! We can be very hospitable down under and, these days, we let you leave the penal colony after your visit. 🙃

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #19

#21
Lots of 'charming' animals and people here in Oz, Gert, as you are very soon about to find out. All the best in your longggggggg jump comp! Lots of us are rooting for you, mate. Incidentally, if you have any free time planned in Perth, think about taking a day trip to Rottnest Island. There you'll see the quokka which is a distant cousin to the pademelon and about the same petite size. The island was named by a Dutch navel captain, back in 17 hundred and oatcake, who thought the quokkas were large rats. Interesting that Dean Owen in his earlier comment also though that cousin pademelon might be a rodent.

don kerr

7 years ago #18

When I graduated from university, I was presented with an opportunity to manage a racquets club in Alice Springs. Circumstances at the time (young love doncha know) precluded my taking it up. There have been many moments when I have pondered how life would have evolved had I made the trip down under. Your post Ken Boddie brought all of this racing back to the top of my mind and right now I am kinda wishing I could have had the experience. You really brought the atmosphere and ambience to life for me. Thanks.

Gert Scholtz

7 years ago #17

Ken Boddie A scenic stroll in your "neck of the woods". The expanses remind me of another country in the southern hemisphere :) Never knew the Pademelon - what a charming little animal! Thanks for the travel post Ken.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #16

#17
Time to book your next overseas holiday, Irene? Thanks for the share.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #15

Time to book your next overseas holiday, Irene? Thanks for the share.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #14

#14
Agreed, Pascal! Hopefully these trees will still be around for my grandchildren's grandchildren to see, way after I'm kicking up the daisies.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #13

#13
"There's nowt queerer than folk", Dean-san. I guess these girls graduate from face painting to Ganguro? Looks harmless and potentially entertaining.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #12

Those trees are truly impressive !!!!

Dean Owen

7 years ago #11

#10
Jinibara sounds positively Japanese, like Akihabara, and looking at their images on the net, I can see a resemblance with the native aborigines and the ganguro girls that hang out on street corners decked in what appears to be shoe polish. Are you familiar with ganguro?

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #10

#6
The grass is always greener, Lisa. Just remember we're all from somewhere else on beBee, although I must admit to having been to a lot of somewhere elses. Glad you came along for the walk. 😃

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #9

#5
Bondi to Coogee is one of my favourite walks also, Vincent, although I don't often get a chance for a spot of relaxation in Sydney these days. That particular trail is very busy at the weekends so not a great place to get a way from it, although the views are great.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #8

#4
No unruly rodents in this reserve, Dean-san. The pademelons, I'm advised, are loosely related to the kangaroo and wallaby, with stomachs similar to ruminants (e.g. cattle), all being macropod marsupials. These mini-Skippys hop along like their bigger cousy bros. I estimated that the two pademelons we saw in the reserve were less than about 0.5m tall. As for your homogeny, I have it on good authority that, in 2012, the Jinibara People were recognised by the Federal Court as the 'traditional owners' of the general area which includes Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. Only took the former penal/colonial system a couple of hundred years to make this magnanimous gesture, after almost eradicating the Aboriginal species.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #7

#3
All the happier for being unexpected, Oscar. Glad you took time out to explore with me.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #6

From Sleepless in Seattle to Breathless in Brissie? Thanks, Paul. Incidentally, how's the Bicycling in Bali going? Did you get the bits all back together again or have you graduated to executive hammock swinging? 😃

Paul Walters

7 years ago #5

Ken Boddie One of my favourite parts of Australia. never fails to take one's breath away ! Thanks

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #4

The photos are so cool Ken Boddie and your description pulled me in so much, I almost felt like I was there! Thanks for sharing this story, so interesting to read about places I've never seen!

Dean Owen

7 years ago #3

The Land that Time (thankfully) Forgot! You certainly destroyed my image of Australia with this piece Ken-san. Are these lands host to any homogenous Aborigines? And if not, why not? Seems a far more hospitable climate than the Outback. And one final question. I heard Kangaroos and Wallabies referred to as large rodents. The Pademelon certainly looks ratty judging from your pictures. Are they rodents?

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #2

#1
... or teets on a bull?

Kevin Pashuk

7 years ago #1

...useless as an ashtray on a motorbike. I may borrow that one to go along with the screen door on a submarine.

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