Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

[Sunday Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sunday]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Have spoken to the Park today 25-03-2010 to be informed the park will most likely be closed for the easter break because of the rain (1000mm ) over the last month or so. Also some 4wders have been through the park and caused a lot of damage to the tracks. The park will reopen after the tracks have dried out enough to be be worked on.
Rats as we were booked to go this easter and will now need somewhere else to go.

That's a real shame. I'm increasingly losing tolerance for the latest wave of 4WD "enthusiasts" to come along in recent years. Their idea of a fun 4WD experience is to unleash a bunch of bogans in 5" lifted 4WDs with the largest muddies it's possible to fit on our tracks & chop the crap out of them. This of course means they've left their "tag" for everyone to see (just like graffiti vandals), including families who can't then access some great spots & the ever watchful greenies who use such evidence to lock everything away. Save your over-the-top mud action for comp days you idiots. Rant over.

I really hope you get to see the site some time soon: it's an unforgettable experience.

Sunday

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Will try again for the May long weekend. When we visited the park at christmas our time was to short to enjoy the area. Lets hope the bogans find someting else to do before then.

[DaveZ Member Find all posts View Profile Close DaveZ]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

There is also a track in to the park from Monto that travels through the local cattle farms, a nice drive if you're not in too much of a hurry and don't mind opening and closing a few gates. We couldn't find the track marked on any maps at the time, but happened to be staying at the Cania Gorge Caravan Park and someone there new the track and drew us a mud map. It was fairly easy to follow and an easy, relaxing drive.

On the way out of the park we took the old forestry track that brings you out at Ubobo. It was reasonably steep downhill in places and a little rough, but would be doable in most four wheel drives I think. We didn't use the main road in/out of the park at all, due mainly to the fact that there was a Corolla buzzing around the park at the time so figured that road would not be much fun. It was dry when we visited so the tracks might be a bit harder after rain.

I'll see if I can dig up some pics.

Cheers,
Dave.

[middojnr Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close middojnr]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

As a "local" to the area (3 hrs away counting the trek in to the crash site from the eastern escarpment of Kroombit), I've been up there many times. It's quite a moving experience, especially if you take in the circumstances of the crash (including the fact that 2 British Spitfire pilots were hitching a ride with the B24 Yankee crew. One Brit was on his way to get married, the other was to be his best man :cry: ). It's certainly one of the most accessible warbird crash sites around. I've actually spoken to the guy who discovered the wreck (in 1994 from memory). Up until that point it was one of the most enduring missing warbird mysteries from WW2.

The alternate trek back to the eastern side can be a bit treacherous (there's a sheer drop of 70 metres or so in places if you slide off the left hand side) , especially if badly cut up by boofheads....

Sunday

I'm hoping to visit the site "one day" but thought about camping (with my camper trailer) in Cania Gorge NP and making it around in a day. Is this a comfortable day, or would it take longer?

Or, alternatively, can you tow off-road camper trailers in there (and get them home in reasonable shape)?

[Sunday Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sunday]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

It's a long day round-trip from Cania Gorge to Kroombit (especially across to the western escarpment where Beutiful Betsy is located) & back to Cania. To make the most of your time up there it's pretty much a dawn to dusk affair.

Alternatively you can tow your (off road) camper trailer in & camp at the nearby "The Wall" camping ground. It is a bit rough but do-able if you have a true off road camper & good tyres & clearance on the vehicle. Just remember there are no facilities (e.g. toilets, water, tables etc.) in any of the camping areas in Kroombit Tops so so need to take everything in (& out) yourself.

Either way, you won't regret taking the trouble to visit this destination. In my opinion, it's a must-see.

Cheers,
Sunday

[middojnr Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close middojnr]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Alternatively you can tow your (off road) camper trailer in & camp at the nearby "The Wall" camping ground. It is a bit rough but do-able if you have a true off road camper & good tyres & clearance on the vehicle. Just remember there are no facilities (e.g. toilets, water, tables etc.) in any of the camping areas in Kroombit Tops so so need to take everything in (& out) yourself.

Sunday,

Thanks for this information. The camper is (will be) a Lifestyle Extenda Elite and my Prado has had the Bilstein/King uplifting experience, so I should think that this isn't going to be a problem. Apart from that, we are completely self-sufficient, including chemical toilet, and can remain so for extended periods of time. Over two nights isn't going to be a problem. Actually, it should be a good 'shake down' for the Cape and I don't think we've been anywhere where we've needed total self-sufficiency... (I am competing with names like Mantra, Hilton, Sheraton and the like, after all)

The plan (now) would be to leave Cania at the end of our time, travel into The Wall, camp overnight, then go to the wreck and back to base camp. The following day would see us exfil to either Rockhampton or back towards home in Brisbane, depending on how much time we are taking off.

Cheers,
Peter
MiddoJnr

[bilo33prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilo33prado]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Here is a link to a map of how to get there and a map with the lookout and 4wd loop. I'm heading up there again this Saturday with a couple other cars. Doing the loop from Biloela to Cania Dam (if you pull into the Big 4 camp grounds at Cania dam they have a good map of the roads to kroombit and Monal gold fields)then onto the Monal Gold fields then onto kroombit tops and Betsy. Home via tablelands road past the old barracks.
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/kro...ap-jan2010.pdf
http://www.cgba.com.au/?p=4x4_off_road_tours

[middojnr Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close middojnr]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Here is a link to a map of how to get there and a map with the lookout and 4wd loop. I'm heading up there again this Saturday with a couple other cars. Doing the loop from Biloela to Cania Dam (if you pull into the Big 4 camp grounds at Cania dam they have a good map of the roads to kroombit and Monal gold fields)then onto the Monal Gold fields then onto kroombit tops and Betsy. Home via tablelands road past the old barracks.
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/kro...ap-jan2010.pdf
http://www.cgba.com.au/?p=4x4_off_road_tours

Any chance of posting a GPS Plot of this drive somewhere? Or emailing it to me? PM Me and I can give you an email address.

I would think that my contact in Forestry in ROckhampton would have a significant amount of information about it and would likely want to join us for the time we;re there anyway, but it'd be nice to look over it.

Cheers,
Peter.

[bilo33prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilo33prado]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Here is a link to a map of how to get there and a map with the lookout and 4wd loop. I'm heading up there again this Saturday with a couple other cars. Doing the loop from Biloela to Cania Dam (if you pull into the Big 4 camp grounds at Cania dam they have a good map of the roads to kroombit and Monal gold fields)then onto the Monal Gold fields then onto kroombit tops and Betsy. Home via tablelands road past the old barracks.
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/kro...ap-jan2010.pdf
http://www.cgba.com.au/?p=4x4_off_road_tours

Any chance of posting a GPS Plot of this drive somewhere? Or emailing it to me? PM Me and I can give you an email address.

I would think that my contact in Forestry in ROckhampton would have a significant amount of information about it and would likely want to join us for the time we;re there anyway, but it'd be nice to look over it.

Cheers,
Peter.

Hi Peter, I just follow a map. My GPS doesn't work on the back roads. and i'm not sure how to get GPS marks for plotting. Sorry.

[4wd26 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 4wd26]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

PM sent regarding plot file.

[middojnr Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close middojnr]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

PM sent regarding plot file.

I'll thank you publically, also, 4wd26. This kind of sharing reminds me of the old sense of community that people actually shared information, tips, ideas and dreams. Something that seems to be a bit lacking in today's society, with the exceptions of pockets, such as this one.

[bilo33prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilo33prado]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Download the Regional Map in this web link http://northburnett.qld.gov.au/?id=137

Then zoom in on Cania/Biloela/Kroombit tops.

[Strider Member Find all posts View Profile Close Strider]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

That is now on my list of Must Do destinations.

Cheers
Alan.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

On the plan to stay at The Wall between christmas and return to brisvegas before new years. Hope it doesn't rain (ha, ha).

[Doctor Dog Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Doctor Dog]

Re: Kroombit Tops - "Beautiful Betsy" B24 Crash site

Will try again for the May long weekend. When we visited the park at christmas our time was to short to enjoy the area. Lets hope the bogans find someting else to do before then.

My spouse and I visited Kroombit this past weekend on a day trip from our camp at Boynedale bush camp on Awoonga Dam. Fantastic day trip . I probably would not take the camper ( Kimberly ) any further than the Barracks . It was very wet up in the eastern section not anything like the pics seen hereabouts . The trip down to the wall and back out again is well and truly chewed up in parts.
Would love to go back sometime and do the escarpment walk . The Beautiful Betsy site is a great tribute to the dead airmen.