Farewell Blogger

After being on the cards for quite a while I have decided to move Hiking in S.E. Qld to a new blogging platform. The other change you will notice is that I have brought together a few of my interests and combined them under the banner of High and Wide, my new business venture into the world of freelance writing, photography, publications and anything else I can think of.

The new links to know:

High and Wide: http://highandwide.com.au/

Hiking in S.E. Qld Blog: http://highandwide.com.au/hikinginseqld/

The current URL of www.hikinginseqld.com will now start redirecting to the above address.


The other news is that I have released a calendar for 2015 featuring photos from the blog from the last year. You can purchase this on the new website here.

I would like to thank all those who have taken an interest in the blog over the years and hope that you will continue to share my adventures with me into the future.

Artists Cascades (The Slow Way)

There are many ways to choose a bushwalk. Some of my methods include picking based on the destination, conditions, the challenge, the journey, or extra curricular activities including photography, swimming or rock climbing opportunities. As is often the case though, Maree and I picked our latest venture in Conondale National Park based on a combination of factors.

We started with the park. Chosen because Maree had never visited Conondale, and I knew that the type of walking would provide some relief from the rapidly approaching hot weather. Second was the journey and other activities. We wanted to walk up the creek for the opportunities that it would provide for photography and swimming. Finally, the destination of Artists Cascades was a worthy one and the walking track that also passes this spot would provide an alternate route back to the car.

Tick Season

It's that time of the year again when the temperatures are rising, the flowers are out and the wildlife is active. Unfortunately this also includes some more unwelcome critters including Ticks.

I've had my fair share of these nasties latch on over the years, but I have to admit that I've always been a bit blaze about the whole thing. However, a couple of events over the last couple of years have made me sit up and take a bit more notice.

In one case a friend developed a nasty allergic reaction and had a rash all up one arm. In the case of another friend, he developed a reaction to red meat after having one attach during an unplanned night in the bush.

A poster on the Qurank climbing forums recently posted a link to this thorough information sheet (PDF Download) about how to avoid getting them, how to remove them and plenty of other useful info.

The take home messages for me were:

• Take Ticks more seriously
• Wear insect repellent more often
• Purchase a Tick removing tool and some cooling spray (ended up finding a removal tool at a pet shop after trying 2 chemists that didn't have any)

Have fun, and stay safe in the bush.

The Falls Drive

View from Carrs Lookout

The Falls Drive takes you on a scenic route past Boonah to Killarney via Teviot Gap and has numerous short walks along the way. If you're after a more relaxing day out with some short walks this should definitely be high on your list.

Mt. Greville: Waterfall Gorge

Mt. Greville

Date: 21 Sep 2013

Here's a walk that I never got around to posting from last year. Directions for getting to the carpark of Mt. Greville and the start of the track can be found in my previous report about Palm Gorge here. Ever since completing that first walk Mt. Greville has been a bit of a favourite location of mine. I've since taken some family up Palm Gorge and have been back a couple of times rock climbing in Waterfall Gorge. However, until this point I still hadn't been all the way up via this route.

Mt. Maroon

Date: 13/08/2014

Mt. Maroon is part of the Mt. Barney N.P. and is located near Rathdowney, South of Brisbane. The Ekka holiday was once again upon us and, as usual, rather than deal with the hordes at the show I decided to head out for a walk. Mt. Maroon provides stunning views over the district and some of the most interesting geological formations in S.E. Queensland.

Weekend at Binna Burra

Back in May, Maree and I spent the weekend at Binna Burra. The weather wasn't that great, but we still managed to fit in the Cave's Circuit (highly recommended) and a small circuit out along the Border Track. These are a few images from the weekend.

Bush turkey posing in the light

Banff Mountain Film Festival: Radical Reels

Dates for the Banff Mountain Film Festival: Radical Reels Tour were announced last week.

"Designed to keep audiences on the edges of their seats, the films feature daring footage of some of the most accomplished climbers, paddlers, BASE jumpers, skiers, snowboarders and mountain-bike riders alive today. Each action-packed short has been hand-picked from more than 300 entries to the most recent Banff Mountain Festival (the largest and most prestigious mountain-adventure, -culture and -exploration festival in the world)."

We attended the standard Banff Mountain Film Festival Roadshow earlier in the year and had an amazing night. The quality of the films was stunning and anyone that enjoys outdoor activities will no-doubt be blown away.

The dates for Brisbane are:

• Tuesday 18 November
• Wednesday 19 November
• Thursday 20 November
• Friday 21 November

The Brisbane Powerhouse is a great venue so be sure not to miss out.

Winter Update

Mt. Greville

I hope everyone is making the most of the best time of year to get out bushwalking in S.E. Queensland? This time of year is particularly good to head out to the Main Range and Moogerah Peaks National Parks where the often exposed terrain can be draining in the summer heat.

Gwongoorool Pool

Date: 25 April 2014

Gwongoorool Pool is located on the Upper Coomera River within Lamington N.P. in the Gold Coast Hinterland. If you're after a swim in beautiful crystal clear pools with perfect stoney beds then this could be the walk for you. Just watch out for the eel!

Gap Creek Falls

Date: 13 April 2014

One of the last remaining track walks starting from Cunningham's Gap that Maree and I were yet to do was to Gap Creek Falls. I guess the thought of driving up the range only to walk back down again just never appealed to us. However, with overcast weather and cloud covering all the peaks we decided it was a good day to head down the range.

Blog Updates

Flinders Peaks at Dawn

You may have noticed a few changes to the blog recently. Firstly, the domain name has shed its blogspot wording and changed to just www.hikinginseqld.com. Second is a 'Find a Walk' page that you can see in the navigation bar above. Here you'll find a summary of the walks that I've mentioned throughout the blog. Hopefully this is a bit easier to navigate and can be used to find your next walk.

My plans for the year involve more of the same really. Climb, hike and camp as much as possible while taking photos and blogging about it along the way. Hopefully I can inspire you to get out and do the same, meanwhile increasing awareness and respect for the amazing corner of the world that we live in.

Cedar Creek Falls

Date: 2 Feb 2014

This past weekend we headed to the D'Aguilar National Park to do an off track walk along Cedar Creek. I say off track because there are no formal markings, however it is extremely hard to get lost while following the creek as it is wide and rocky for most of the way.

Purling Brook Falls

Date: 31/12/2013

Some bushwalks are popular for a reason. Often because the spectacular view to effort required to get there ratio is fairly high. The Purling Brook Falls walk in Springbrook N.P. definitely fills this quota. The falls themselves can be viewed from a lookout easily accessible from the carpark along a concrete path. However, things only get better as the walk progresses and to answer the question of one walker heading in the opposite direction as we were heading back up the hill... "Yes it is worth going down there".

No Excuses

There really is no excuse for not getting out in the bush in S.E. Queensland when it is just so damn easy. Well, except for maybe the odd hail storm or two that we've had lately.

This past weekend Maree and I decided to head to the J.C. Slaughter Falls picnic area to fit in a quick walk between other engagements. This is part of the Mt Coot-tha Reserve which is maintained by the Brisbane City Council (more information here). We decided to head up Ithaca Creek to try and get away from most of the crowds, so started on the summit track but headed up stream as soon as we hit the creek.

Spikey grass trees along the creek

A New Perspective on Girraween

Date: 5 - 8 September 2013

Those who have kept an eye on this blog will probably have realised by now that Girraween is a favourite place of mine. This time a birthday trip was on the cards so Maree and I took a couple of days off work to make it a super long weekend, invited a few friends and off we went.

Goolman Lookout

Hardings Paddock Picnic Area

Date: 14 Aug 2013
Having been very busy working on the house recently I was glad to get out for a leisurely walk on the Ekka public holiday. Maree gave me the idea of heading to the Hardings Paddock picnic area within the Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate as she was out there last week for work. We had previously done the Flinders Peak walk and at the time noted some of the other smaller peaks in the region but never had a chance to go back.

Another Day at Frog

An all too familiar scene for those heading to Frog on the weekend

Climbers, as would many people involved in a specialised hobby/sport, have their own language. Whether it's talking about gear, describing a route or simply talking about where they went on the weekend, it is part of what forms a community around an activity. My brother and I have to be careful at family gatherings as we will talk at length about anything climbing related, essentially excluding the rest of the table from the conversation. My Wife, despite not climbing herself, has also been forced to learn the language and these days is also quite fluent.

When answering the question of "what did you do on the weekend?", one response sure to baffle all but the dedicated climber (or climbers spouse...or the occasional bushwalker) is: "We had a great day at Frog on Saturday". Firstly, is Frog a place? If so, where is it and what do you do there?

Good Times at Urbenville

Date: 8 - 9 June 2013

As local readers are well aware, the weather in the South-East Corner (and no-doubt beyond) hasn't been the best lately. Apart from short cold spells, Winter hasn't really hit yet and the rain has stayed well past its welcome for this time of year. This has made climbing and walking opportunities few and far between. We were determined to get out and do something over the recent long weekend though, and the destination was Urbenville just south of the border.

Another Week in Tasmania

Date: 14 - 22 April 2013

As mentioned in my previous post, I managed to get down to Tassy twice this year and this would be my second trip. This time was for my honeymoon with my beautiful wife Maree and once again The Apple Isle didn't dissapoint. The itinerary for the trip included Freycinet Peninsular (again), Tasman Peninsular, Bruny Island and Hobart.