Profile for Sarah - Aussie Bushwalking

This Year

Number of Walks Ticked

0.0m

Total Distance Ticked

All Time

Number of Walks Ticked

567.3km

Total Distance Ticked

Ticks

Name	Date	Difficulty	Distance/Duration
Donnelly’s Castle (Darling Downs South West)	8 Jun, 2019	Easy	800m return 45 mins
What an incredible place to explore! We took our 7 and 9 year olds and had an amazing time clambering over and around and underneath the rocks. Short little walk up to the lookout (an enormous large boulder, with steps, hand rail and fence for safety), with amazing views, and then we spent ages just exploring. No particular track to follow, but it's not difficult to find your way back to the carpark. We spotted signs of koalas in the form of droppings, but unfortunately did not actually see any of them (probably making too much noise..). Well worth a visit!
Hell Hole Falls (Mt Jerusalem National Park)	18 May, 2019	Medium	5.1km return 105 mins
Thoroughly enjoyed this walk with my husband and 7 year old son. Definitely wouldn't have found the place without the instructions on this site, so thanks for that! We ended up following the road all the way down to Sand Ridge Road on the left, although on the way back we took the little trail that others have mentioned having pink ribbons, although we only saw one ribbon and that was on the way back. Obviously the path less taken! Enjoyed it though. Got the heart going on the way up the steep section, but once it levelled out and we'd made it back to the road, the rest of the walk up to the car was easy. The walk down the creek was fun. Rocks were a bit slippery and I did land on my butt at one point (I've got to stop doing that! haha, wasn't the first time a slippery rock has gotten the better of me). The rock pools were stunning, although the water was too cold to swim! There's a good amount of water flowing down at the moment, so a lovely time to visit. We managed the walk fairly easily, even with the uphill parts, but then we do go walking most weekends at this time of year and I'd say our fitness level is moderate / active. My 7 year old set a great pace uphill (husband and I struggle to keep up with him sometimes!), although I think if we'd taken our 9 y/o as well she might've struggled on the uphills a bit (she's not quite as enthusiastic a bushwalker as her brother). So it was a good walk to do while she's away for the weekend (haha).
Araucaria Falls (Main Range National Park)	12 May, 2019	Medium	3.6km return 90 mins
Did this walk today with our 7 and 9 year olds, and really enjoyed it! Went on a bit of a detour on our way (make sure you follow the advice above and don't rely on google maps!! Positive was we got to see more of the countryside than we'd anticipated). The last creek crossing, just after Kurrajong Picnic area, was passable in our little Hyundai i30, although I certainly wouldn't want to attempt it any time after it'd been raining! The walk itself is easy to follow, a little steep in spots, although no problem for us today as it obviously hasn't rained recently. It was a perfect length for the kids, they managed really well (even the steep sections on the way back up), and exploring the falls was definitely the highlight for us all. We plan to head out another day and do some more exploring! With the detour on the way there, we sadly ran out of time, but we all agreed it would definitely be worth another visit!
Browns Falls (South East Queensland)	5 May, 2019	Medium	1.2km return 1 hr
Amazing walk with our 7 and 9 year olds. We had a lot of fun rock hopping and stream crossing our way to the base of the Falls. Difficult to spot the markers at times, but it's pretty easy to figure out - basically just follow the stream. We did this bushwalk after Queen Mary Falls, which I felt was a great way to do it - the kids (and us) found Brown's Falls much more interesting and exciting. Both kids ended up brushing against stinging nettle, so just keep a look out! Fortunately it didn't spoil the rest of the walk and they both said afterwards that they'd love to come back and do the walk again, which is definitely saying something!!
Queen Mary Falls Circuit (Main Range National Park)	5 May, 2019	Easy	2km return 45 mins
Nice easy walk with our 7 and 9 year olds. We did the circuit in anti-clockwise direction (forgetting the advice to walk clockwise), so ended up going up all the steps on the way back up, but we found this relatively easy going (and the kids didn't even complain! Unlike them....). If you're relatively fit and active, it wouldn't make much difference whether you walk clockwise or anti-clockwise. Perhaps if you had younger children, they'd find it easier going clockwise.
Cliff Circuit (Main Range National Park)	5 May, 2019	Easy	400m return 30 mins
Daves Creek Circuit (Lamington National Park)	25 Apr, 2019	Hard	12km return 4 hrs
Completed this walk with my husband and two kids (7 and 9 year olds). It took us around 4.5 hours all up, taking it at a very leisurely pace and many pit stops along the way. The kids struggled a bit towards the end, and needed a lot of encouragement and peptalks along the last 2-3km, but we made it! Track was quite muddy with all the recent rain, particularly along the section of Border Track that you have to walk until it branches off. The path along the clay cliffs were quite slippery and wet in spots too, although fortunately we all managed to stay upright (and by "we" I mean me, as I'm the most likely out of the 4 of us to land on my butt... speaking from experience!). The variety in vegetation along Daves Creek Circuit is amazing and was definitely a highlight. There was also a huge variety of fungi, many different colours and shapes and sizes. We saw a couple of little pademelons bouncing through the forest, and spotted a number of little birds flitting about, and heard many more. No snake sightings for us today, although there are plenty of snake friendly hiding spots along the way, especially when you reach the scrubby bushland along the cliffs. Maybe we just weren't looking hard enough. Other than that, my husband picked up a leech along the way, although we didn't notice until afterwards when he had blood running down his leg. All in all, I thought this walk was fantastic and would definitely do it again (not sure the kids will jump at the chance to go again, they found it slightly too long).
Morans Falls (Lamington National Park)	21 Apr, 2019	Easy	4.4km return 90 mins
Mt Cordeaux (Main Range National Park)	13 Apr, 2019	Medium	6.8km return 2.5 hrs
My husband and I and our kids (7 and 9) hiked up Mount Cordeaux yesterday afternoon. It was an absolutely amazing walk with incredible views! Well worth the hike. The majority of the track is through the rainforest, an easy track to follow with a gentle upward gradient and steps every now and then. Nothing too difficult or strenuous, other than the distance. It took us around 1.5 hours up (with quite a few rest breaks for the kids), and around an hour back. Saw a few snakes, a massive earthworm as thick as my fingers, and picked up a leech on the way back (icky!!). Lovely walk, I would definitely recommend it and I hope to be able to do it again soon.
Python Rock (Lamington National Park)	7 Apr, 2019	Easy	3.4km return 1 hr
Enjoyable little walk through the rainforest and stunning views from the lookout. Lovely view of Moran's Falls and Castle Crag directly opposite. The track is relatively flat, easy to follow, and well maintained. We saw a couple of land mullets sunning themselves just beside the track, and also the tail end of a snake as it slithered under a log. A large fallen tree about halfway along the track provided some interesting exploring, with all kinds of mushrooms and fungus growing on and around the tree. This is also where we spotted the snake on the way back, so just be wary. We have previously walked to Moran's Falls lookout with our two kids (7 and 9), but doing both tracks would be at once would make for a lovely outing. We had just left it too late on our previous visit to fit in both walks.
Twin Falls Circuit (Springbrook National Park)	31 Mar, 2019	Medium	4.6km return 90 mins
Both falls flowing after all the rain we've had recently. Very popular spot, best to go early in the morning to avoid the crowds.
Best Of All Lookout (Springbrook National Park)	31 Mar, 2019	Very Easy	700m return 30 mins
Easy little walk, worth it for the view, although it was very crowded on a Sunday afternoon. Enjoyed the view. Great for those with little kids, or less fit and mobile people.
Purling Brook Falls Circuit (Springbrook National Park)	23 Mar, 2019	Medium	4km return 2 hrs
Absolutely beautiful walk; my second time visiting Purling Brook Falls and first time since the full circuit reopened. We also tagged on the Warringa Pool track which branches off from the base of the falls, which was well worth doing. It took us 2.5 hours altogether. It's a perfect time to visit the Falls, with all the rain we've had recently - there was a decent amount of water flowing, and so much lush greenery and all kinds of fungus and mushrooms growing in the forest. We were fortunate enough to come across a tree snake right next to the track, and watched it slither away up the bank. Noticed a few leeches in a particularly muddy spot on the track down to Warringa Pool, so take care to check your shoes! This walk is very popular, so if you want to avoid the crowds, it's best to head out early morning. It was a shame to see so many people ignore the request not to swim in the pool at the base of the Falls, and we were glad we arrived early enough to get some beautiful photos before it filled up with people. Such a shame. Other than that though, this remains one of my favourite walks and waterfalls, and plan to return many times yet.
Witches Chase (Tamborine National Park)	9 Mar, 2019	Medium	2.6km return 2 hrs
Enjoyable walk to the Witches Falls via Witches Chase. I walked this with my 7 and 9 year olds this afternoon and it took us 90 minutes, which included a number of stops along the way. There is a carpark at the corner of Witches Chase and Colville Drive, which is not so well signposted, but you walk down a dirt track until you come to the Tamborine National Park sign, and go from there. There are some lovely views through the trees at the start of the track. You wind your way down the side of the mountain into the lush subtropical forest below. There's a section of boulders along the track, which makes for some fun rock hopping and gives the walk a little more interest. There are some impressively large boulders and trees through the forest until you reach the waterfall. The waterfall itself only had a trickle of water and wasn't anything greatly impressive to look at; however there is a lovely view from the lookout platform. From the waterfall, you can continue on to do the Witches Circuit, although as we had previously walked the Circuit before and it was late afternoon, we headed back along Witches Chase.
Rainforest Rail Trail (New South Wales)	13 Jan, 2019	Easy	6.2km return 2.5 hrs
A really interesting enjoyable walk with our 7 and 9 year olds today. We were able to find it pretty easily thanks to the photo someone posted of the bridge and arrow pointing to the steps opposite (Thank you!) The track is really overgrown in places, and we spotted a snake in the grass on the side of the track, which fortunately slithered away really fast. We saw bats in the tunnel, but unfortunately no glow worms. We also saw a lot of butterflies and insects and skinks along the track, which was great for keeping the kids interest. There's quite a lot of bush coverage along the track, so you're mostly walking in the shade, but there are a few sunny spots, so take a hat and sunscreen (and good walking shoes). All in all a fun outing. It took us 1 hour 40 minutes, we walked halfway along the tunnel and back again. Total distance 7km.
Caves Track (Lamington National Park)	4 Jan, 2019	Medium	5.2km return 90 mins
We did this track with our 7 and 9 year olds, and it was a really enjoyable walk. Plenty of things to keep the kids interested along the way - so many beautiful views, such a variety of different vegetation (mind the Gympie Gympie), we heard a Green Cat Bird, saw a pademelon, spotted plenty of skinks and butterflies, AND of course, the caves. We walked from the Information Centre and finished at the Lodge, then walked down the road to the car. It took us 2 hours with plenty of stops along the way for the kids.
Booyong Walk (Treetop Walk) (Lamington National Park)	30 Dec, 2018	Easy	800m return 30 mins
Nice short little walk, really enjoyable for younger children. Didn't see so many birds, as it was quite busy when we went, but heard a Green Cat Bird and a few other birds. The kids enjoyed wandering through the Mountain Garden, worth exploring while you're there. Saw some butterflies and lots of lovely flowers.
Warrie Circuit (Springbrook National Park)	1 Oct, 2018	Hard	17km return 5 hrs
Table Top Loop (Toowoomba)	29 Sep, 2018	Hard	2km return 2 hrs
A challenging hike for my husband and I (relatively inexperienced when it comes to climbing mountains, although we regularly do bushwalks with flatter terrain). The views from the top made it worth while, and there was enough wind to fly a kite. The initial section of the walk was steep and difficult clambering up the large rocks. We set out at 10am, but it was already quite hot and the lack of breeze made the climb over the Camel hump quite a struggle. Once we got to the main section of the climb, the breeze was amazing. The rest of the climb was slightly less of a challenge, although the rocks were smaller than at the start of the walk so it was slightly easier going - having said that, the smaller rocks were loose and if you're not confident on your feet it can get a little slippery in spots. 360 degree views at the top made the climb worthwhile, and we were able to have a bite to eat before heading down. No shade up top however, so make sure you take the sunscreen. It was certainly an amazing feeling having completed this climb, and we've made it our goal to go again.
Morans Falls (Lamington National Park)	23 Sep, 2018	Easy	4.4km return 90 mins
Beautiful walk. The scenery and views are amazing. The walk is easy going, nothing too strenuous. Our 7 and 8 year olds managed well and we completed the walk in 90 minutes, including time to explore the falls and take photos. Make sure you take some warm layers of clothing with you, as it's pretty cool underneath the trees and it's generally a few degrees cooler at O'Reilly's than down on the coast. One of the better waterfalls we've visited - well worth it!