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!

Binna Burra: Lower Belbird Circuit

Looking across to Ships Stern

Date: 28 Nov 2011


After having our Girraween trip cut short by rain the week before we wanted to get out for another walk while we were still on holidays. Trying to avoid the heat somewhat we headed for higher altitude and shady rainforest at Binna Burra. We decided on the Lower Belbird Circuit which I remembered as a highlight of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk.

Albert River Circuit

Date: 5 March 2011

Walkers: Kurt, Tom, Mary, Myself

Walk Description:
Now that Summer is finished, the heat is easing up (supposedly) and bush camping at Lamington NP is re-opened we thought it was about time to get out for an overnight walk again. This would be Kurt's friend Mary's first bushwalk so we decided to make it a completely on-track walk leaving from O'Reillys, walking the Albert River Circuit anti-clockwise, camping at Bithongabel and returning via the Tooloona Creek circuit or taking the shorter way back along the border track depending on how we felt.

The weather leading up to the weekend wasn't looking too promising with rain for most of the week. The forecast for the weekend indicated that the rain would ease on Saturday and probably clear up on Sunday. We also decided to call the ranger on Friday afternoon to see what the weather was like up on the plateau. Taking all this into account and checking the forecast one more time on Saturday morning we decided to go ahead with the walk. Tom and I arrived later than we had planned at around 9:40AM to see Kurt and Mary waiting for us. So we quickly geared up and headed off.

This was going to be a great opportunity for Tom and I to test some new gear. I was using my 36L Golite Peak which Tom had kindly retrofitted some hip belts from another pack on the car ride there in the morning. Tom was using his new BackPacking Light Absaroka Pack and it was the first time out using the Tarptent Scarp 2 tent. Combined with various other bits and by scrutinising our gear list Tom and I's total pack weights came in at 10KG and 8KG respectively.

As we set off along the border track there was a very fine misting of rain which was mostly blocked out by the thick rainforest canopy. After following the well trodden path for roughly 5KM we arrived at the first track junction for the Albert River Circuit. This lead us up and eventually over the ridge to the East before decending down the gully to the edge of Black Canyon where the Albert river runs. The rain had picked up during this time and each time we crossed a creek or came out from under the canopy it was heavy enough to warrant getting out our wet weather gear. For myself this was an opportunity to test out a new Golite Poncho Tarp.

By the time we got to the first waterfall along the Albert River it was time to stop for lunch. This was a reasonably stressful stop with no where dry to sit and no 2 seconds passing by without a leech reaching some section of unprotected skin. The falls however, had plenty of water and made for a good photo opportunity.


For the next couple of kilometres the track criss-crossed the river which, despite the amount of water, was negotiated without too many hassles. Eventually the track climbs up the other side of the gully towards Echo Point. As we approached Echo Point from the camp site it became abundantly clear that there wasn't going to be much of a view; which was confirmed upon arrival. On top of the cloud and rain we were exposed to the very strong Southerly wind, so we took a few photos and kept moving.
 



The next section of the track skirts along the top of the cliffs before heading back up towards the border track. By this stage the rain had most definitely set in and was not letting up. The poncho was working better that I had hoped. It was keeping my top half nice and dry while also providing plenty of ventilation to minimise discomfort from sweating. The bottom half wasn't kept as dry as it could have been though and the loose nature of the item meant that I was collecting leaches around my arms and neck.


By 4PM we had once again rejoined the border track and the decision was made to call it a day and head back the last 5KM to the cars. The campsite was going to be exposed to similar windy conditions as Echo Point and the rain wasn't looking like it would let up, so basically we chickened out. By the time we arrived back at the cars we were all fairly glad that we had made that decision. We pulled off the remaining leaches, got changed into whatever dry clothes we had, cranked the car heaters and headed for home.

As usual, the walking at O'reillys was beautiful despite the conditions and we were still glad we made the effort. We covered just under 21KM with overnight packs and it was great to get back out after the Summer break.

Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk

Date: 12 - 14 February 2010

Walkers: Myself, Tom

Photo Album

Walk Description:
This was the second attempt that Tom and I had made at this walk. The first time ended after one day. It poured rain all day and we were soaked through. The final straw was when we discovered that the lid had come loose on Toms water bladder and leaked about 2 - 3L of water all through his clothes, tent and sleeping bag.

Day 1:
Day 1 of the walk involves walking the boarder track from O'reilly's to Binna Burra. This track is well marked and graded. This would be my 4th time walking this track so there wasn't too many surprises. There had been some work along the track to clear some of the lookouts which was good. A few snakes were encountered including one red bellied black which took some convincing to get off the track. This stretch took around 7 hours.

View South from the border track

Red Bellied Black snake on the track

 
Day 2:

Setting off from Binna Burra Day 2 starts along the Ships Stern track and eventually turns onto the Lower Bellbird Circuit. This is one of the best parts of the entire three day walk. Some very picturesque views. The photo to the right shows the view to the East and the path ahead. The photo below is of a beautiful waterfall where we stopped for morning tea.





Eventually the great walk turns off this circuit and heads down off the main plateau. This section of the track follows a fire trail and is very steep and ungraded. This continues for quite a while and is hard on the knees. Eventually the trail crosses a creek and levels out. The track leaves the fire trail at another creek crossing and heads up through some swampy scrub. This section can be fairly overgrown and one section was completely submerged by a pond. We were able to bush bash around this without getting our feet wet while dodging the giant spiders.

Eventually the track meets up with the fencline of the jail and mainly follows this down to the Numinbah Valley where it meets the road. The track then follows the main road into the Numinbah township. This section of the track was horrible. It was completely out in the open and simply followed the side of the road. Was very hot and took alot out of us. An hour or so later we arrived at the Numinbah Cafe. This is where we stopped for lunch and filled up our water. They were nice enough to fill up our water behind the counter at the cafe.

Soon after leaving the cafe the track heads off on some more fire trails.The track heads up and over a ridge and down into the valley next to the main Springbrook Plateau. The track follows some farmland and crosses over quite a large flowing creek. This required getting feet wet. The creek ran next to a cow paddock so we collected water here but only for boiling. The final stint followed the creek upstream for a while before crossing it again and starting the trek up Springbrook. This section followed a road and was ungraded and reasonably steep. At least it felt steep at the end of the days walk.

We were very pleased to see the campsite. It has a toilet block and some very nice grassy campsites with an amazing view out over the Numinbah Valley.

Campsite for day 2

Day 3:

Day 3 started off up hill straight away.The track climbs the Springbrook Plateau with over 900 steps. Despite this being a very tiring climb there was some amazing views out over the valley with a really nice breeze to help cool us off. Eventually the track comes out at Apple Tree Park. There was no potable water here when we went through despite being back in civilisation.

The track then crosses the main road and then continues back down to Little Nerang Creek. We stopped and filled up water at the creek and had a snack. The creek had quite a lot of water in it. Tom as usual skipped across the nearly completely submerged rocks while I blundered my way across using a stick to help keep my balance. The track then follows the creek up to Warringa Pool where it meets the day walk track system.

Small waterfall beside the crossing mentioned above

Despite another steep ascent up to the top of Purling Brook Falls this is one of the other more enjoyable sections of track. The track first stops at the base of the falls where you can walk behind them and get thoroughly drenched. This was awesome after the past 2 days. Eventually it comes out at the top of the falls before continuing on to The Settlement campground.

It wasn't long after we finished lunch when Maree showed up to take us home to a nice shower.

Purling Brook Falls

O'reilly's to Lost World

Date: 20 - 21 March 2010

Walkers: Myself, Tom, Kurt, Craig

Photo Album

Walk Description:
Day 1
After meeting early on Saturday morning at Beaudesert we travelled in convoy to the Lost World Crossing along Kerry Rd. Having sketchy details about where to leave the car it was good to find a fairly obvious spot just before the crossing in a grassy patch. We then took the other car up to O'reilly's via Duck Creek Rd. and were ready to start walking at around 9am.

The first section of the trail was a familiar one following the border track for roughly 5km before turning off on the Albert River circuit to Echo Point. After taking a short break and taking a compass bearing at the Echo Point camp site we headed off the maintained track system on the Stinson Track. The track instantly heads up hill and becomes a lot narrower and overgrown. This makes for much slower progress.




After walking for roughly an hour the track passes near the peak of Mt. Worrendo. We weren't exactly sure where to turn off the Stinson track so in the end headed for the peak of Mt. Worrendo. From here we picked up a track marked with occasional pink ribbons. This track mainly followed the ridge down toward the Lost World Saddle becoming harder to follow and steeper. Eventually we relied mainly on following the terrain and compass bearings.




We arrived at the Lost World Saddle camp site at roughly 4pm. As we are getting used to, the GPS coordinates given by EPA were off by about 100m. The site easily had enough room for our 3 tents and was fairly flat and sheltered by trees all around. Only dramas were the discovery of some fairly giant ants that came out after dark and the rain that fell for most of the night.

First view of the Lost World Plateau through the trees on the way to the saddle

Lost World Saddle Campsite

Giant ants came out to play just as we were preparing for bed

 Day 2

We packed up camp and managed to set off by around 7:45am. Having not found any creeks so far we divided up the remaining water. We were hoping to find water on the plateau near the camp site. The track heading out of the camp was easy to follow and started up hill immediately. The ridge quickly became very narrow and exposed with large sheer drops on both sides. The way up involved a lot of very steep rock scrambling. Definitely tested your stomach for heights.

Very narrow ridge leading up to the Lost World

Progress was very slow all morning and once we had reached the plateau the track was virtually non-existant. We eventually reached what looked like the highest point of The Lost World at about 11am. This was marked by a pile of rocks and there was a big enough clearing to set up a few tents here if need be.
We set our sites on the opposite side of the plateau where we hoped would be the way down. The route we took was fairly direct and was very overgrown and involved alot of bush bashing. Eventually we decided to head for the Northern cliff face to see if this was more open. Indeed it was and we eventually found some sort of track through the long grass. This eventually led to the other camp site and the small creek. There wasn't much water in it but it was flowing. Everyone filled up using a filter and steri pen just in case.

Western Spur

After a short up hill section we ended up at the western spur of The Lost World. Not being able to find much information about how to descend this side meant we walked out to the tip of the spur and began investigating how to get down this very rocky section. Eventually deciding this wasn't the way down we started heading back off the very narrow spur.

Track we found down the Western side

On the way back we spotted what looked like a track on the northern, not quite as cliff like, side. After further investigation we found a definite track and some pink ribbons. This track skirted around the tops of cliffs and zigg-zagged down the steep slope until it ended up at the bottom of the spur.

From this point we mainly followed the top of the ridge down until we hit a fence line. There were a few more rocky outcrops along the way which required detouring off the ridgeline slightly to get around them. Mostly on the northern side. Once reaching the fence line we followed this until we got to the remains of a road and followed this down to the paddocks below.

Razorback ridge leading back down to the farmland below

Posing where we left the car. Lost World in the background