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.