Westray's Grave from Christmas Creek

GPS Tracks

Westray's Grave from Christmas Creek (GPX)

Hike from Christmas Creek to Westray's Grave along the South Branch of Christmas Creek. An enjoyable hike with obstacles to traverse to reach Westray's Grave. A chance for a swim on a hot day! Return trip is approximately 3-4 hours depending on conditions.

Waterfalls

Swimming

Heritage Sites

Navigation Required

Rainforest

502m

Maximum Elevation

195m

Total Climb

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Getting there

Drive along Christmas Creek Road from Laravale until it ends in a parking area near a closed gate (the last few kilometres are single-lane gravel, suitable for a 2WD vehicle in dry conditions). Go through the gate then turn right towards the creek before a second gate. Cross the creek, looking out for a National Park sign on the opposite bank that marks the beginning of the track.

Maps

Lamington National Park

Route/Trail notes

This is an engaging walk along the Southern Branch of Christmas Creek. There are obstacles to navigate (gully/creek crossings, trees across the track to pass over / under, etc.). The track is marked with pink and orange flags tied to trees which are sometimes challenging to spot. A keen eye and ocasional track back and forth to find next marker may be required. The track to the Stinson Crash Site track (which is quite a bit more difficult) branches off this track just before you reach Westray's Grave. There are a couple of rock pools in the creek which are suitable for swimming. Leaches may be present on this hike.

Permits/Costs

None.

Other References

N/A

GPS Tracks

Westray's Grave from Christmas Creek (GPX)

Comments

Pretty solid walk, track is ill defined in places, took around 4 hours with a 1 hour break at the gravesite. Lovely walk mostly well shaded & pleasant with the sound of the creek always close by.
Bribie 61 on 14 Mar, 2023

We did this walk with another family. Our kids age ranges from 8 to 13. We were 4 adultes and 5 kids. It was challenging at times for all of us. We absolutely loved this walk. It was a real adventure and kids thought it was lots of fun. It is easy to find your way following the rubans. The kids had lots of swims along the way. It took us 5 hours to complete the walk but it is because we stopped a lot for swimming and taking picture. Finding the grave was like finding a treasure for our kids. I highly recommend it to fit family who want to go for an adventure
Ama on 25 Sep, 2021

A lovely walk through beautiful rainforest next to a burbling stream. It was nice to visit a less trafficked portion of Lamington. The walk took me about 3 hours in total.
Andy Seward on 28 Aug, 2021

Nice walk. Did Larapinta and Stinson in the same day, 2 fit young blokes, started at 9:30am, back to car at 4pm. Some awesome swimming holes along here, good to wake you up on the way back in winter. Hikers tape is sporadic so just stick to the creek's direction if lost. Beware of stinging plants and lawyer vine
asherbasher on 21 May, 2021

Completed hike as part of Larapinta Falls track.
Geo Kat on 5 Sep, 2020

Definitely an adventurous hike following along the creek pretty much the entire way. Definitely some nice spots for some creek photos.
Only issue is so many different paths as the trek goes on, tags do exist, however by the time you see them, you realise your back on track anyways. Felt like I was getting lost all the time, but as long as your going upstream, then your going in the right direction.
Wouldn't recommend after rain, as it's all muddy tracks and slippery rocks for creek crossings
Maverick on 12 Jul, 2020

Wet and slippery in parts.
Dave Jay on 11 Jul, 2020

The trail is well marked except for one spot - when you've passed the long section with the palm trees, the track appears to go up and the the right of a large fig tree. This leads you to some steep gullies and a lot of lawyer vine. The correct trail goes down to the left just before the fig tree.
Sophie P on 4 Jul, 2020

Post-lockdown walk to Westray's grave. We loved this rock-hopping, tree-root hanging, slip-sliding adventure.
gabbawocky on 17 May, 2020

This is a very enjoyable walk, never boring with a few navigational challenges, especially when crossing gullies (it can be difficult to find the track on the other side). As others have commented, don't rely on the pink/orange tape. If you lose the track, walk back towards the creek, not uphill. Take your togs. Regrettably, I didn't and there were some very inviting looking rock pools. Who would have believed we'd get a 34 degree day in mid-April?!
Michael D on 17 Apr, 2020

Completed as part of Larapinta Falls hike. Beautiful and secluded. Not recommended for beginners. Lots of rocks and roots.
Jimcar on 3 Jan, 2020

Slight detour off the Stinson wreck track. Must do if you are doing the wreck.
Rock Wallaby on 13 Oct, 2019

Arrived at the parking area at the end of Christmas Creek Road at noon, made my way through the private property easement to the National Park sign. Made my way to the massive fallen tree and walked across to the other side of the creek. Would be quite easy to slip the shoes and socks off and cross the creek if you don’t want to do the balancing act across the log, but it really is quite easy. From then the track was quite distinct. Plenty of tape marks the way. There was one spot about 950m from the grave that I made a mental note of a direction change in the trail that I thought might trip me up on the way back.

The walk is quite easy, a few minor scrambles through small gullies near the creek, but nothing difficult. Saw the start of the ascent to the Stinson – wow. That’s a whole lot of up hill. I wouldn’t do that one by myself though. Then before I knew it, I was at Westray’s Grave. A beautiful area.

One hour out and one hour back. Navigation is easy enough with a reasonable trail to follow, and plenty of tape, but if you really got lost you could follow the creek back to your car.
MattyRx on 13 Aug, 2019