What not to do on a weekend adventure in the South Burnett

South Burnett Times journalist's first time visiting the Bunya Mountains was not what she expected

South Burnett Times Journalist Laura Blackmore. Picture: Elaelah Harley

AS JOURNALISTS we spend our days researching a broad range of topics.

One minute you're filing an article about a miniature pony competition.

The next you're writing up a weather warning.

At the weekend I failed to apply these simple skills to my personal life, which nearly ended in a huge disaster.

My friend and I planned to go for a leisurely hike at the Bunya Mountains.

We set off on Saturday morning with our water bottles filled and sunscreen applied.

As we started making the 4.5km trek up to the cafe, the sky started grumbling.

The temptation of turning back did spring to mind but we were too determined to stop.

We finally made it to the top without a drop of water on us and sat down for a coffee and a chat.

After an hour had passed, we started getting ready to make the same journey back to the car.

The sky was looking pretty dark but we were optimistic it would hold out for us.

It was literally 500m into our walk that things went pear shaped.

The sky erupted with large bursts of thunder and lightning and then the rain followed.

We persisted even though it was such a torrential downpour we couldn't see what was in front of us.

I thought the rain was going to ease up at some stage but unfortunately not.

The only thing we could do was laugh at the absurdity of life.

With soggy shoes and sweaters, we finally made it to the end.

I cranked up the heat and the seat warmers to prevent us from getting hypothermia.

For our Sunday hike, I definitely checked the weather beforehand.