Larapinta Falls

GPS Tracks

This walk is an extension of the hike to Westray's Grave (see https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/lamington/westray-s-grave-from-christmas-creek) along Christmas Creek. The other known walk on this route is to the Stinson crash site.

Without a word of hesitation I would recommend that if you go to Christmas Creek you must check out Larapinta Falls as they are absolutely spectacular and made even more special by the fact that you can swim right under the cascade which is over 30 metres high.

Absolutely worth doing, the falls are spectacular and there is nothing like swimming under such a large waterfall. Beautiful scenery though it is fairly well out in the sticks so be prepared.

Waterfalls

Swimming

Heritage Sites

Scrambling or Climbing

Navigation Required

Rainforest

600m

Maximum Elevation

300m

Total Climb

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Getting there:

Follow Christmas Creek Road (south of Beaudesert, 1hr from Brisbane) almost all the way to the end. The end of the road becomes narrow and unsealed so drive carefully, it is accessible for a 2WD. After the first concrete causeway/bridge there is a signed car park (with a limit of 10 vehicles). There is some Telstra mobile reception at the car park.

Maps:

QTopo online

QTopo 1:10,000 PDF (~16MB)

OpenStreetMap

Route/Trail notes

The trip to Westray's Grave takes about an hour at a good pace, and is a nice walk in itself that follows Christmas Creek fairly closely. Start walking from the car park and follow Christmas Creek Rd until arriving at a closed gate which is signed as okay for walkers to pass through. Be respectful as you pass through here, close the gate again. Walk another ~100m along the gravel road until you arrive at the trailhead which is well signed and trodden. From here rock or log hop across the creek and continue on following the track to the grave.

This section is easy and features some great scrub/rainforest accompanied by the sound of the flowing creek. The track is sporadically marked the whole way with hiking tape. Fallen trees and vague tracks may hinder progress, keep in mind that the track follows the direction of the creek.

From Westray's Grave it takes approximately 1-1.5 hours to reach the falls. The idea is to keep following the creek, generally on the left hand side but sometimes crossing back and forth. The creek becomes wide and forks at one point not far from the grave, take the left (north) branch and keep following the creek until you arrive at the falls. The route is sporadically marked with hiking tape and does not always indicate an optimal route. There are some vague tracks on either side of the creek which can be faster than rock/log hopping at times, keep in mind to follow the creek and you'll be fine.

The return journey is simply retracing your steps and following the creek.

Several days after heavy rain it is ill advised to take this route because of slippery rocks, high creek level and unstable debris.

Definitely a good walk for spring/summer as there are plenty of swimming holes but is still nice in the colder months. Leeches are not overly prolific in the area. Lawyer vines are fairly common along the route and will dig into skin & clothes. Keep an eye out for stinging plants, snakes and insects. Allow a good 4-5 hours for the entire trek, more if it has rained recently. Don't forget to account for lunch. A GPS device and topo maps are recommended, but not required.

Permits/Costs:

Nil

Other References:

https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/se-qld/lamington-np/westray-s-grave-from-christmas-creek

https://www.weekendnotes.com/larapinta-falls-lamington-national-park/

https://www.kokodachallenge.com/blog/larapinta-falls

https://www.theverticaladventurer.com/single-post/larapinta-falls-an-amazing-waterfall-hike-with-some-historic-value-along-the-way

GPS Tracks

Comments

Gruelling hike in very slippery conditions. Awesome waterfall after the recent rains. So many leeches. Well marked track on both sides of the creek past Westgrays grave. Definitely need good footwear as it would be so easy to turn a ankle.
ian parker on 16 Nov, 2024

Overgrown from recent rain and recent treefall about 1-2km past Westrays Grave. Tough bush bash and got lost multiple times! Awesome and so fun though - many places for a refreshing dip!!!
Pip on 19 Apr, 2024

Did this hike today. Glad we went early as car park was full on returning. Bit of a scramble come rock hopping hike. Need to watch your feet on the tree roots and rocks and your head on the many trees and branches accross the track. Bit hard to get lost if you follow the creek. Did cross back and forth a few times. Surprised at the end on how spectacular larapinta falls are. We did it in 6.5 hours and my sat nav watch said 18klm.
ian parker on 21 Oct, 2023

Nice walk, spectacular waterfall. Takes a bit over 3h return in the dry. It's just under 11km in total.
samkramer on 14 Oct, 2023

Great hike, not too arduous but plenty of rock and root scrambling to keep things lively. Beautiful waterfall. Worth reading up on the history of the Stinson crash and rescue before going on the hike.
Tara on 9 Sep, 2023

My tracker showed me 12.5 kms return, but it took 5 hrs. the last bit from Westray's grave to the falls is probably the most difficult. The track is well marked with pink ribbons, so if you can't see a ribbon, this means you've lost the direction. Though on the way back sometimes I just preferred to rock hop over the creek rather than climbing through muddy landslips. The falls are gorgeous! Must visit! probably one of the most bueaitfulls falls i've seen in SE QLD.
ovel on 3 Sep, 2023

This hike will have you hiking through the glorious rainforest of Lamington National Park and rock hopping up Christmas Creek.

You will pass Westray Grave where Jim Westray is remembered who after surviving the Stinson plane crash, set off into the dense rainforest to find help, unfortunately died while trying to do so.

From this spot you will continue rock hopping over moss covered slippery boulders, sliding down muddy slopes, crawling under and over fallen giant tree's, trying to dodge Gympie-Gympie while finding leeches have found your blood delicious to drink until you reach this absolutely breathtaking waterfall right in front of you through the lush green rainforest.

This hike is not easy and not for the faint hearted.

Larapinta Fall's is nothing but stunningly breathtaking and has you bursting with sheer awe and gratitude at our spectacular backyard
💕🙏

Insta:- hikes_boots_dustytracks
Mel on 31 Dec, 2022

The creek was higher due to recent rain..lots of rock hopping and trail had trees over so had to go around. Lots of gympie gympie and waitowhile..Waterfall was stunning
TrinaAtley on 13 Mar, 2022

You now have to walk 500 metres to get to the gate at the park entrance. From here it is a short walk down to Christmas Creek. At the point of entry, you can rock hop across the creek. You don't have to go up to the big log or further down the creek. Look carefully and you'll see a sign on the other side. From here the track is fairly clear though there are a few spots where fallen logs make navigation difficult. The secret is to push ahead and keep close to the creek. It took us one hour twenty-five to get to Westray's Grave. There is a huge sign at the grave so you can't miss it. Not far from Westray's we crossed to the left side of the creek and followed small trails till we had to cross to the right. We crossed to the left again about 100 metres before the falls. We didn't do any rock hopping and didn't even get our socks wet the whole trip despite it having rained heavily 3 days before. It took us about an hour fifteen to get to the falls. Larapinta Falls were truly spectacular. We spent half an hour there taking pictures and having lunch, but decided to skip on a swim. Coming back only took us 2 hours 15 mins (not including the 500 metre walk back to the cars. All in all it was a great day- the weather was perfect, the falls were amazing and the track not too difficult.
Jeff on 14 Nov, 2021

Did this walk yesterday and it was great. Had attempted it once before but didn't give ourselves enough time for how overgrown it was after covid shutdowns. This time we started from the new and only carpark (after the first causeway/bridge, limited to 10 cars) at 9:30am and made it back to westrays grave at about 12:30 before doing Stinson wreck. The track is fairly well trodden at the moment so moving is quite easy, there's a bit of landslide and fallen trees around.

It hadn't rained in a couple of weeks but the falls were still full and spectacular. Just follow the south Branch of the creek up and down and you'll have no dramas, just keep in mind there is a major fork in it heading up, and keep left, bring a GPS if you're unsure. If you can't find a track just rock hop your way up.
asherbasher on 21 May, 2021

A lovely walk, although a bit muddy and slippery after the rain.
I definitely recommend this walk to those who are reasonably fit and are sure on there feet.
The walk take longer than expected due to the navigational requirements required, there are many fallen trees and you will more than likely lose the track many times
Olly on 16 Jan, 2021

Enjoyable walk on a perfect spring day to the amazing waterfall. Lost the track a couple of times on the way to the falls, but managed to pick it up by walking back to the creek and hunting for the tape. Was a 6.9km/2.5hr walk in (thanks to off trail parts) and a 4.4km/1.75hr efficient walk back. Still a bit too chilly to swim under the falls, but enjoyed watching the yabbies and eels in the little rock pools surrounding. Wore running shoes rather than hiking boots to help with rock-hopping agility.
Geo Kat on 5 Sep, 2020

The falls are truly spectacular, well worth the walk. We were keeping a good eye out for the Gympie Gympie.
JFoss on 5 Jun, 2020

did this by joining the Swiss Club for a sunday walk. made a new acquitance Gympie-Gympie!
great spot!
Linus Nyqvist on 8 Mar, 2020

Amazing hike to the falls. Lots of rocks and tree roots. Not recommended unless you are an experienced hiker. Complete early to avoid heat in summer. Follow trail markers fluro tape tied to trees along the path as it is easy to loose the trail.
Jimcar on 3 Jan, 2020

Stunning waterfall definitely put this one on your list!
Korina Meagher on 30 Dec, 2019

Super fun hike. You get to do a whole lot of rock hopping. Plenty of waterfalls to swim in along the way if it's a nice day for it. The return hike took me about 3.5hrs.
Kate on 18 Apr, 2019

This was the second time we did this track. All of palm tree leaves vovering the track and extra navigation to find trail markers. Keep close to the creek will always put you back on track
Dino the Explorer on 30 Mar, 2019

Rough afternoon in extra wet conditions, definitely worth it in hindsight, once my legs worked again. Pulled off 9 leeches, judging from the bites about that many again had released by themselves.
heezy on 28 Mar, 2019