Profile for Jeff - Aussie Bushwalking

This Year

Number of Walks Ticked

66.0km

Total Distance Ticked

All Time

Number of Walks Ticked

272.8km

Total Distance Ticked

Ticks

Name	Date	Difficulty	Distance/Duration
Spring Mt Caldera (Thornbill Drv trail head) (White Rock - Spring Mountain Conservation Estate)	22 Sep, 2024	Hard	14km return 5 hrs
I did this track again, this time doing the circuit around the caldera. A couple of hundred metres, after passing the little track that leads up to Spring Mountain you'll see a track leading off to the right. You'll also see the 'lonely boulder'. I found the track around the caldera to be a small, but fairly obvious track, and I'm no aboriginal bushtracker. I have done a lot of bushwalking though. And I didn't see all those dinosaurs the Aussie Bushwalker guy was talking about. Think he needs to go to Specsavers. By the way, you DO come across a pile of boulders and at the end of these boulders is the Balancing Rock. Now while the caldera trail was easy, once you get down to the fire trails and bike tracks its a different story. This is where I got lost. The small caldera track eventually comes out on the wide Yaddamun track. This track circuits right. After a while it seems to circuit left but you should just keep going straight and you'll eventually cross a creek. A couple of hundred metres after the creek is the first gate. TAKE THIS GATE AND NOT THE SECOND GATE. Save yourself walking up a steep hill and then back down a long circuitous route. Anyway I found the second gate. It's 30 or 40 metres off to the right of the main track. The only reason I could spot it is because a fire has been there recently. I walked up the steep track and then it split 3 ways I went right down the Monarch trail which seemed to go on forever and ever, so I made the mistake of going back. It actually comes out on the first gate trail. Anyway the first gate trail is nice and flat and follows the creek. It does eventually rise quite steeply and becomes the Mountain River break. Finally at the top youll see Leigh's Break and then Eagle's Ridge Break. I thought I'm home and hosed now, but after Eagle's Ridge I went straight instead of turning right. I was on a different rim trail to the one that leads to Thornbill Drive. I eventually retraced my steps and got back to my car 6 and a half hours later!
Spring Mt Caldera (Thornbill Drv trail head) (White Rock - Spring Mountain Conservation Estate)	8 Sep, 2024	Hard	14km return 5 hrs
I did this walk going to the right of the water tank and proceeding along the Rim Walk. I took a left at Leigh's and Eagle Ridge. You should see a tree with a red x on it 20 metres down the track. Follow that track and you will come to a gate. Here the track narrows and goes up a hill, goes down, and up another hill. There are good views of the city from the ridge. The track suddenly comes out on a gravel road. Take the road to the right and bypass a mountain. Next mountain is Spring Mountain. You'll see a track on the left. There is a little scrambling near the top and small cave a few metres to the right. You will know you're on Spring Mountain as there are 4 metal structures on the top. Went back the same way. One and a quarter hours to get back.
Blackfellow Creek Glen Rock (South East Queensland)	11 Aug, 2024	Easy	16km return 4 hrs
A pleasant enough walk for a winters day. Not much to see actually. Easy to follow. About 8 shallow creek crossings. A wide, unshaded, grassy track all the way. Two main features are Abbots Yards and Top Yards. The historic Top Yards mark the end of the trail. There is no sign or indication to say it is the end of the trail. Track just keeps going.
Gheerulla Valley Circuit (Mapleton National Park)	9 Jun, 2024	Hard	22km 6 hrs
The walk took us 6 hrs 10 min. This included a 20 min lunch break and short stops at the lookouts. The walk is well trodden and clearly marked. The Gheerulla Falls are reached quite quickly. The track then follows the creek for about 2hours. There are 5 or so creek crossings, incuding 2 bridges. We were able to rock hop over the creek crossings without getting our feet wet. After 1 hr 40 min we reached the Little Gheerulla Hump. At 2 hours we reached the beginning of the climb, and a turn off to Sam Kelly Rd. The climb up the mountain is fairly gradual. There are steps further up the mountain usually one or two every couple of metres, sometimes more. This proved to be the most difficult part of the hike. Thilba Thalba campsite, where we had lunch, was reached after 4 hours. It took us just under 2 hours to get back to the cars.
Mt Blaine Summit Trail (Ipswich - Flinders Goolman Conservation Estate)	9 Jul, 2023	Hard	5km return 3 hrs
You start on the Sandy Creek Track which is about 20 metres from the track to Flinders Peak. After a few metres a sign then directs you to turn left over a dry creek bed. The Sandy Creek walk keeps going. From here it's a reasonably steep 4WD track up the mountain. We veered off to Mt Catherine (signposted), a 600 m return track. On returning, we continued up the slope till we came to the saddle. Here we turned right. This track takes you to some scree and a bit of a rock climb. After the rocks a dirt foot pad appears and takes you to the top of the mountain There are clear 360 views at the top. The way down the eastern side is surprisingly easy to navigate. The track begins about 20 m down from the summit. You should see a orange triangle indicating the direction. Orange triangles will guide you to the base of the mountain. The track has been cleared and is fairly well defined. No problems with Lantana. Halfway down you encounter the slip and slide scree for about 150 metres. After that it becomes a walk in the park through the Eucalypts and Hoop Pines along Sandy Creek. Took us just over 3 hours all up. Distance is about 5.5 km
Mt Blaine Base Trail (Ipswich - Flinders Goolman Conservation Estate)	9 Jul, 2023	Medium	2km return 90 mins
The heading says Mt Blaine Base Trail, but actually the description is all about the Mt Blaine Summit trail
Mt Blaine Base Trail (Ipswich - Flinders Goolman Conservation Estate)	9 Jul, 2023	Medium	2km return 90 mins
This should be about the walk to the saddle, not the walk to the summit.
Mount May (Mt Barney National Park)	11 Jun, 2023	Hard	9km return 5.5 hrs
It's easy to miss the start of the track but it winds its way up the mountain just before you get to the creek. It's a steep, demanding hike but is easy to follow for the most part. There is one section where you come to a rock face that you need to keep going straight up rather than veering right. After that the track flattens out and you eventually come to a pile of rocks on a rock slab. Keep going straight up past the pile of rocks. You are not far from the top. We reached the top of the north peak in about 90 mins. From the summit the track veers left hugging the cliff face for about 40 metres. You then go right, down a ridge to a saddle, where there is a campsite. From here you follow the track up the hill till you reach another rock slab. Go straight up the rock slab. Don't go further right along the base of the slab. It only takes about 30 mins to reach south peak. From here there is a steep, well defined track that leads down to Waterfall Creek road. There used to be an alternative track down but we couldn't find it. All up with breaks it took 4.5 hours
Branch Creek (Bellthorpe National Park)	26 Mar, 2023	Hard	4.42km return 5 hrs
Went to the fall at the landslide and 3 falls past there, then up to a small cave. Took about 4 and a half hours return, including an enjoyable swim and a tea break. This is a tough, gruelling walk because of all the rock hopping. Some of the climbs up the falls are a little dangerous.
Bare Rock track and Morgan's Walk (Main Range National Park)	4 Dec, 2022	Medium	13km 4.5 hrs
We left about 9.45 am and did Palm Grove before reaching Mt Cordeaux at 11.52 am. After lunch we decided to do Morgans walk and Bare Mountain. Had a great day with clear views to Lake Moogerah and even Brisbane city. Got back to the car park at 3.07 pm. About 5 hours 25 mins all up.
Gap Creek Falls (Main Range National Park)	19 Nov, 2022	Medium	9.5km return 3.5 hrs
Looks like National Parks have put the maintenance of this track in the too hard basket. They keep changing the closed until date. The latest update states, 'Closed until 31 Dec 2024'.
Mt Blaine Base Trail (Ipswich - Flinders Goolman Conservation Estate)	8 Oct, 2022	Medium	2km return 90 mins
According to the Council website this track is closed as of May 2022 but some who have been there recently say it's open. I would also say the 2.5 km and 90 mins just refers to the hike to the saddle. More like 6 km and 3.5 hrs. to the summit.
Mount May (Mt Barney National Park)	21 Aug, 2022	Hard	9km return 5.5 hrs
I found this to be a really tough hike. It took us 6 hours all up, including breaks for lunch and morning tea. You basically have to walk up and down 2 mountains. The walk begins at the end of the camping area just before the creek. It is a steep. but fairly clearly defined path up to the north peak(500m). It took us just 95 minutes. We then searched for a route to the south peak. There was a steep track facing the south peak going down the side of the mountain. We decided not to choose this path but to go back to a pink ribbon at least a kilometer downhill, but we didn't see a rock cairn or a gum tree here. At the pink ribbon we turned right and followed a flattened grass track for some time, but this path was leading us up to an eastern peak. Before reaching the base of the peak we decided to go back along the ridge we had been following and were able to find a track going southwest. This track led us to the gully just before the 10m cliff/waterfall described here.. From this point we headed up the south peak with no real track to follow. About halfway up, the track became a little clearer. We finally reached the top of south peak (750 m)and had lunch 4 hours after starting out. From here we headed south west down the side of the mountain on a very steep but clearly defined track till we reached Waterfall Creek Rd and turned right. We arrived at the camping area 2 hours later.
Wilson's Peak (Main Range National Park)	19 Jun, 2022	Very Hard	12km 5 hrs
The entrance to this walk is about 30 or 40 metres up Hardcastle Rd where there is a turnabout parking area. The rabbit fence is clearly visible from here. A new rabbit fence is currently being built, so it's easy to follow the track for the first 4 undulating kilometers. For the last 2 kilometers the track thins out and pretty much rises straight up. When the rabbit fence ends you have to go RIGHT and skirt halfway round a cliff face till you see a rock access to the top. Do a short rock scramble, then follow a foot pad to the summit which is marked by a cairn. Twenty metres from the cairn is a great place to have lunch and view the scenery. Total time to do the hike was 5 hrs 15 min incl. a 30 min lunch break.
Larapinta Falls (Lamington National Park)	14 Nov, 2021	Hard	15km return 5 hrs
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.
Mt Roberts + Lizard Point (Main Range National Park)	5 Sep, 2021	Hard	12.2km return 8 hrs
It was a foggy day. We managed to follow the steep track up to the Superbus junction without too much difficulty, although it was physically challenging. From here the track was a bit sketchy going over rocks and through thick rainforest nevertheless it was still traceable till we reached the Steamers Lookout. The lookout can be accessed by a little track on the left about 20 metres from the cliff face. The track then winds its way up to Mt Roberts which is identified by a stone cairn. From here the track hugs the right side of the cliff face. which on the day was covered by a dense blanket of fog. There is one spot where the track emerges onto a rocky outcrop with lots of Spear Lilies. Rather than going straight ahead and having to do some rock climbing, there is a track that goes around these rocks. Eventually, you reach the Lizard Point campsite and Lizard Point itself seems not that far away. It had taken us 4 hours to get there. We had views to the west but fog covered the east side. We stopped for a 15 min lunch break then it started to rain all the way back. We were sliding and slipping down the mountainside from Superbus junction on and we were soaked and cold. On the way back in the bushfire and regrowth section we lost the track twice. The main track was either 10 metres to the left of us, or 20 metres to the right . It could do with a few more pink ribbons in this area. I saw no more than 5 or 6 on the whole track. We eventually got back to the cars around 3.40 pm. It was an interesting adventure, despite being a miserable day. We all vowed we would definitely do the walk again, but on a nice, sunny day!
Mt. Mathieson Circuit (Main Range National Park)	12 Jul, 2021	Medium	10.5km 3 hrs
This was an enjoyable walk and offered great views of Mt Mitchell and Mt Cordeaux. The track was clearly delineated and easy to follow. I wouldn't describe it as a physically challenging walk, but rather a moderately or slightly difficult one- certainly no problem for the average fit person. Governor's Chair just 80 m off the track also offers fantastic views and is a great place to have lunch.
The Cream Track (Springbrook National Park)	8 Nov, 2020	Hard	11.5km return 4.5 hrs
This is an easy track to follow, now that National Parks have erected convenient signposts. It starts off nice and flat with 4 creek crossings then it's uphill all the way. You start with some new steps, and after the steps, the track just keeps heading up, past the banana plantations, and then into more rainforest. There was only one spot near the top that could have done with a sign. The track seems to keep going uphill but actually, you have to turn right and cross a small stream. Once you reach the top there is a park and some lookouts. The day we went, It was freezing cold at the top. The thermometer on the tea house read 12^C, so a hot chocolate was more than welcome. I was surprised It only took us about 2 hours 10 mins to get there, and that's with 5 or 6 stops to wait for slower walkers.
Northbrook Mtn bush camp walk (D'Aguilar National Park)	23 Aug, 2020	Hard	10.4km 4.5 hrs
Certainly doesn't take 4.5 hrs. We did it in 3hrs 10 mins return. That included a meal break at the top. The bush camp is easy to find. Just take a left at the water tank, and another left at the camping sign. Keep going straight ahead to the summit. Can't miss it.
Mount Superbus (Main Range National Park)	18 May, 2020	Hard	10km return 3 hrs
On weekends there will be cars parked at Teviot Lookout and Brett Rd entrance, a hundred yards away. Enter thru the steel gate, head up the road 100 metres, and then turn right just before the second gate. From here head thru a space in the lantana, cross the bridge, go around a fallen tree, then, 75 metres past the bridge, turn left. You'll see an arrow made of rocks on the ground. Follow this track up the ridge. As there has been a fire here recently, there are hardly any pink ribbons so you have to follow very faint trails for a while. A bit tricky in this area, Then it heads steeply uphill and the track becomes clearer and stays that way to the top. Near the top, you can turn right to Mt Roberts and LIzard Point. Fantastic views I am told. Mt Superbus is the left trail, about 10 mins away. There is a bit of a view on the way to the summit but not much. At the summit, there is a small cairn and a tin box with notebooks and pens.