Tag Archives: National Park

Burleigh Head National Park

July 29, 2012 Keyman Leave a comment

It’s my first weekend back after my Kingdom of Tonga trip and the weather is beautiful, so I decided to get out and do a mild walk. Today I chose Burleigh Head National Park.

Map is owned by and used with courtesy of Queensland Government. Please visit that site for more detailed information on hiking in this region.

The Burleigh Heads are a section of beach at the southern end of Queensland’s Gold Coast. The national park is nestled alongside the creek.

From the Gold Coast Highway, I walked along the trail at the side of the Tallebudgera Creek with people fishing on my side and sun baking on the other.

The ‘trail’ is more of a sealed path and is suitable for wheelchair access, which makes it a class 2 track.

The path either continues around the base of the national park or cuts into it. I cut in and began climbing a fairly steep hill. While much of the national park is rainforest, I liked the great rocky outcrops and boulders alongside the path. After a fair climb up the steepish path, I arrived at Tumgun Lookout and peered out along the coast to the south.

The climb down from the lookout heads down to the beach and contains several sets of short stairs until it emerges at the end of Burleigh Heads Beach and a view along the Gold Coast.

I headed back up along the path to a junction and headed around the back of the national park, which is not as picturesque as the other way.

Arriving back at the creek, I followed the lower walk around the base of the national park for another, lower, view of the beach before heading back to the car and home.

I was only looking for a short walk today and even though the drive to and from this national park combined was longer than the time I spent there, it was still worth the effort and the sweat.

Next week, a real track.

The Trail Wanderer.

Hike, Pacific

‘Eua – Day 2 – ‘Eua National Park again

July 9, 2012 Keyman 1 Comment

While I walked in the National Park yesterday, hiking was the major reason I came to ‘Eua (ay-oh-a). So today I asked to do a guided hike. Which one? I was asked…The hardest one, of course!

So, after breakfast, the owner of the resort set me up with the guide that was to lead me on a harder trek across the Island. And along with me were two other walkers… An English chap and his pre-teen son.

We were dropped off further into the National Park than I was yesterday and headed through bush and forest similar to yesterday. About a km in, our first stop was the Lookout at the end of yesterday’s hike with the same great views over the ocean and beach below.

The second stop was the Rats Cave. I chose not to go down the hole today. I got covered in dirt enough yesterday… We continued along the path and instead heading back along the one that had brought me to these sights yesterday, we took a different path. Our guide told us of some leaves not to touch that causes rashes similar to nettles. The path led us to the edge of the cliff and our way down. Now this is what I was looking for, a semi difficult climb down a steep earthy hill covered in trees.

At the bottom we emerged though some trees on the beach covered in shells and rocks. There was even some sand, just a little mind you.

We stopped for lunch under the cliffs.

After lunch, our guide – who had been wearing thongs this entire time – climbed a coconut palm tree and dropped a bunch of green coconuts down for us. He then spent some time skinning then by smashing them against some rocks. We drank and feasted on the coconuts until we’d had our fill.

We set off along the beach, climbing the rocks until we found an entrance up the cliff face. Climbing through a small gap in some large rocks, we made our way up the via sometimes slippery earthy slopes and some rock scaling.

We came to a short plateau and ended up walking in circles as our guide managed to get lost. We did find out way to the right path eventually, up some very steep banks and more rock scaling.

We reached the top and continued through the bush. My guide and I were rearing to go while the English chap and his son were exhausted. After a couple of kilometres through the bush we reached the road and were picked up another kilometre along.

A good day’s hiking. Tomorrow I fly back to Tongatapu for the night, then fly north to the Ha’apai islands for the next stage of my holiday adventure in the Kingdom of Tonga!

The Trail Wanderer.

Hike, Pacific

‘Eua – Day 1 – ‘Eua National Park

July 8, 2012 Keyman Leave a comment

Of all the islands in the Kingdom of Tonga, ‘Eua is the one with the big national park you can walk around. This was one of the main reasons for coming here, so today I arranged to go on one of the unguided walks through this natural paradise.

Everything is closed on Sunday in Tonga, so this is the perfect day for a hike. There are several hikes on the island, some guided and some unguided. While I am pretty confident with hiking unguided, after several incidents of travellers getting lost and falling into sink holes, the resort prefers that the guided tours are guided. Also, since the guides do not work on Sunday, I arranged to be dropped off for one of the unguided ones.

I was driven to the edge of ‘Eua National Park and Forest plantation and given a roughly hand drawn map. My driver – the owner of the accommodation – highlighted the path I should take, and some of the points. I then headed off on my way.

The initial part of the walk is along a gravel road to and old forest nursery. It’s a disused house, but it’s hard to tell as many of the homes on the island look in worse condition. The path splits off and heads to a place called the Hafu Pool. Hafu Pool is a mini dam made with a concrete wall. A small stream runs down the hill in the pool and then beyond via a couple of channels. This would be a good place for swimming.

Beyond the pool the trail continues for a hundred metres to Big ‘Ovava – a giant Banya tree. The tree grows out of sink hole and you can follow a path down to the bottom where there is a cave. The cave is fairly large with a hole in the ceiling.

There is a crack in the wall at the base where you can follow the cave in further, but I decided not to follow it, as it was rather slippery and I had a while to go. To exit the cave, you can climb up the Bunya tree and out.

I was told the path to the west from the Banya tree was overgrown, but I went that way anyway and yes, it’s overgrown, about half way up, I turned back. No point getting lost. I headed back to the old forest nursery and along a 4×4 track that lead up a steady climb into the forest. I followed the designated ribbons and cut through some over grown but obvious paths until I came to the cliff tops at a place called the rats cave. It’s a small, waist high hole in the rock.

I crawled in and it goes for ten metres before dropping down into a cave. The cave is small, but it opens out onto the cliff face and the views out into the Pacific. Climbing out of the cave is not the cleanest. It’s more of a scramble on your stomach. I emerged covered in dirt.

Walking through the forest again, I quickly came to the Lokupo lookout, a wooden platform looking out to see. Brilliant views of the Pacific, the beaches and the forest at the base of the cliffs. I walked along to the Louua lookout, a similar platform looking out more to the north. I hung out here for lunch and a rest in the sun.

I walked back to the start point, mostly downhill, and instead of ringing for a lift back to the resort, I decided to walk – it’s only an extra 3-4km and I’ve been walking anyway, so what’s another 45 minutes?

Dinner at the resort is a Umu – like a Hangi but more Tongan. I was joined by a couple of girls I’d met at Toni’s Guest house for dinner and beers.

Tomorrow, a guided tour.

The Trail Wanderer.

Australia, Hike, Queensland

The Cougals – Cougals National Park

July 1, 2012 Keyman 1 Comment

The Cougals National Park is a section of the Springbrook National Park on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. It’s a pair of peaks that rise out of the rainforest, rocky and beautiful. Note, this is different to the Mount Cougal Cascades, which is not connected to the peaks hike.

The East Peak is the most commonly climbed and is a 8.5km return trip with a moderate grade. The West Peak has a hard grade and is a further 750m across a saddle, giving the total hike of both peaks 10km return.

There is no formal trailhead for the Cougals walk. To get to the beginning of the trail from the Gold Coast cross the border into NSW and then back again along a dirt road named Garden Of Eden Road to a gate where there is room for several cars to park. There are local’s driveways nearby, along with a handmade sign announcing the beginning of the walk and demanding hikers to stay on the track.

The trail heads west along the fence line between QLD and NSW. The fence has barbed wire along it, but whether it is designed to keep the New South Welsh out of Queensland is unknown. The trail climbs uphill through brush with low branches.

It had rained this last week, so the dirt here was a little slippery. The brush gave way to tall grasses along the trail, which in turn gave way to thin bamboo growths. The grass overhanging the trail sometimes contained thorny branches. I probably should have worn long pants as I sustained many small scratches by the end of the day.

The grassy path explodes into rainforest with tall trees and the typical Strangler Figs everywhere. The trail follows the fence line, climbing and descending gentle hills. It’s fairly obvious when you reach the first of the Cougals, the trail climbs steeply with dirt and tree root steps making it slippery after the recent rains. While slipping is the ever-present danger, being snagged on the barbed wire makes climbing even more dangerous. Caution is suggested.

Atop the steep climb, rocky outcrops stand tall above you with dark brooding caves along its face. We walked along the base of the major outcrop until we found our way to a path that climbed through it. The trail up the rocks was obvious as someone had tied a rope to aid with handholds.

Once above the rope line, it was an easy climb to the top of the East Cougal and fantastic views of Mt Warning to the South,

…the rocky face of West Cougal to the West, out to the coast towards the city of Tweed Heads out to the East and Springbrook National Park to the North. On this sunny day, the climb was well worth the effort.

My companion and I did not stay long, however, deciding to push on before lunch. We climbed down to the saddle between the peaks with only one steep troublesome and slightly precarious climb. The trail crossed the saddle, but unable to find a suitable place to stop we proceeded around the great rocky outcrop known as the West peak, looking for an easy path up.

The West peak looks to be a hard climb with its many rocky faces. We skirted around it passing a couple of rocky climbing places marked with pink ribbons until we found a dirt path through the undergrowth. It was a little slippery but surrounded by plants that gave plentiful handholds. While finding the route up was not the easiest, climbing up it was fairly straight forward.

Unlike the summit of the East peak, which is small, the West Peak has a large area with meandering pathways and what appeared to be a camp site. We stopped for lunch at the fire pit.

The descent passed quickly, as it always seems to, and before we knew it we were slogging our way through the tall grasses and back to the car.

The Cougals is an awesome hike and I would recommend it to any fit and capable walker. It’s going down as one of my favourites in this region.

The Trail Wanderer.

Australia, Hike, Queensland

Mount Mitchell Peaks – Main Range

June 24, 2012 Keyman Leave a comment

The Main Range National Park is a section of South East Queensland’s Scenic Rim – a quarter circle of mountains attributed to the prehistoric Tweed volcano that existed here over 23 million years ago. The Main Range is about 115km inland from Brisbane and has plentiful walking tracks along its length.

This last weekend, while passing through the Main Range, I had a free morning so stopped at Cunningham’s Gap – the location where Cunningham Highway cuts through the mountains. Cunningham’s Gap is the starting point of several well-defined and more casual walks.

The Major Mitchell Peaks is a 10.2km, 3.5 hour walk, perfect for the time I had. The beginning of the trail starts opposite the car park and meanders its way up the side of the mountain along a forest path.

The closeness of the forest gives the illusion that the trail is fairly flat, but it’s not. It’s only the last few hundred metres that the trail begins to climb more steeply, with steps cut into the rock.

The views to the east are fantastic with the road winding through the forest. Lake Moogera can be seen between Mt Greville on the right and Mt Edwards.

To the north, Mt Cordeaux.

The trail heads back into the forest as it rounds the Western peak and emerges at the top of the Eastern peak, a short pinnacle of rock that’s been paved to prevent further erosion. I basked in the winter sunshine eating lunch with views in both directions.

I would have stayed longer but the occasional icy gust quickly chilled me. The return walk passed quickly and the tranquillity of the trail was broken by the harsh sounds of trucks going past on the Cunningham Highway. On reaching the highway, I returned to my car and continued on my trip.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Australia, Hike, Queensland

Mount Tunbubudla East

June 17, 2012 Keyman 1 Comment

Glass House Mountains National Park – again.

After spending 3 days wandering the trail of the Glass House Mountains, I’m back to climb one that doesn’t have one. This time I’m walking with my hiking group and the mountain is Mount Tunbubudla East, a 300m tall, off track climb and is rated hard, mainly due to it being trackless.

Getting to the mountain is a mission in of itself. The old ‘major road’ that it’s off is actually a boggy dirt road and is untraversable without an off-road vehicle. We parked at the entrance and as a group walked about a kilometre to the muddy starting point. We waited for others to arrive and find us before we headed off into the untracked grass at the base of the mountain.

I led the way, pushing a path through the long grass for the others to follow. At the beginning there was a vague track, but this soon disappeared. The initial portion of the climb was up tree laden, broken ground. With no track, I had to evaluate each step and find suitable gaps between tree branches.

The climb became steeper before flattening out the higher we got, but because of the thick tree cover we were unable to see the views. As we approached the top we came to a large rocky area which did allow us a better view, north across the other Glass House Mountains.

We reached the top and sat for lunch at the rocky cairn. I surveyed the route leading towards the West peak but found it too steep to descend. Alone it would have been fine, but with a large group in tow I made the call to return the way we’d come. This disappointed some, as the climbing down in that direction would have led to the climbing of the smaller, steeper twin.

The climb down held the same issues as the climb up – a lack of trail – and it’s also harder to see where you’re putting your feet. I again led, picking our way down the side of the mountain. We arrived at the base in short order and walked across the needle covered grass until we reached the muddy road. We could have climbed the other peak, but the mutual decision was not to. A kilometre later we were at the cars and headed off for a well-deserved beer at the Beerwah Hotel.

Trail Wanderer

Australia, Hike, Queensland

D’aguilar National Park

June 16, 2012 Keyman Leave a comment

16 June 2012

Rainforest Circuit, Cypress Grove and Greenes Falls.

Maps on this page are owned by and used with courtesy of Queensland Government. Please visit that site for more detailed information on hiking in this region.

While I much prefer harder and rockier walks, there were several walks in the D’aguilar National Park that I had on my list to do. D’aguilar National Park is mainly forest, so it’s trees, trees, trees, and the tracks are well-defined and not terribly difficult.

To cross them off my list, I headed out with a friend to the Mt Glorious section and walked into the rainforest. It was an entertaining walk in the cool morning air, with large strangler figs in many places.

The Rainforest Circuit and Cypress Groves were fairly standard fare. Greenes Falls was a great place for a sit down and a chat.

The falls are fenced off, but this didn’t stop me from climbing the fence and rock hopping down to the edge of the falls.

Western Window Track

Across the road from the Cypress Grove walks is another tree laden walk along the side of a steeply sloping cliff.

Morelia Walking Track and Atrax Circuit

Another slow meander through the forest, climbing fallen giant eucalypts and walking through great burnt out trunks.

The trail eventually led to the Mount Nebo lookout, and while there is only a limited viewing area, Moreton Bay is visible in the distance.

Overall, the trails in the D’aguilar National Park aren’t very taxing, but if you enjoy walking in the woods, this is a good place to spend a few hours on a warm sunday afternoon.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Australia, Hike, Queensland

Mooloorah River NP, Dularcha NP, Tibrogargan Circuit

May 29, 2012 Keyman Leave a comment

Today was my third day walking in Glass House Mountains. On Day One I climbed Mt Ngungun and Mt Beerburrum, while on Day Two I climbed Mt Tibrogargan and Wild Horse Mountain. Today I won’t be climbing any of the mountains, instead walking several of the other short walks in and around the Glass House Mountains.

Mooloolah River National Park, Jowarra Section 1.5km

Map is owned by and used with courtesy of Queensland Government. Please visit that site for more detailed information on hiking in this region.

There are two short tracks in the tiny Jowarra Section of the Mooloolah River National Park and together they are only 1.5km long. They are both only class 2 with concrete tracks and no climbing at all. It was a cool morning when we arrived and much of the beauty was in the mists that hung about trees. The two simple loops took little time to walk and before we knew it we were back in the car and off to Dularcha National Park.

Dularcha National Park – 4km

The main draw card for the Dularcha National Park is an old railway tunnel about half way along the trail.

The trail is wide and easy to follow as it runs alongside the new railway tracks. Horses and cyclists regularly ride along the trail and while here we saw two different families on their bikes. This class 3 trail rose and fell slightly as we walked but remained fairly flat. While not a difficult walk I did break a sweat but more from the direct sunlight than how strenuous the trail was.

The train tunnel was pretty cool, although was only fairly short. There are reportedly micro bats living in this tunnel which I was keen to see, but we didn’t find any.

Map is owned by and used with courtesy of Queensland Government. Please visit that site for more detailed information on hiking in this region.

The track is linear and after 2km you’re required to walk back along the same trail to the beginning. On reaching the car, my companion waved the white flag, so I dropped him home and set off alone to do the last couple of more difficult tracks.

Tibrogargan Circuit and Trachyte Circuit – 7.3km

I climbed Mt Tibrogargan on a previous foray into the Glass House Mountains, but around the base of the mountain are a pair of tracks that when joined together are over 7km long.

Map is owned by and used with courtesy of Queensland Government. Please visit that site for more detailed information on hiking in this region.

The Tibrogargan circuit (‘a’ on the above map) leads around the mountain to a T-junction where one branch heads back to the car park, the other is where Trachyte Circuit (‘b’ on the above map) begins, cutting across the valley towards Mt Tibberoowuccum to a lookout before returning to the car park. The trails are class 3 and class 4 respectively with a short climb to the lookout on the Trachyte Circuit.

The views from the trail consist mainly of trees with the occasional creek crossing. I stopped in several places to peer through the trees at one of the neighbouring mountains, but most did not give clear enough views to take photos.

The most difficult part of the walk was the 100m section up to a Tibrogargan Circuit, where I chatted to some English tourists about New Zealand.

The remainder of the track was fairly gentle and after a total of about an hour and a quarter I returned to the car park.

It was a good day of walks on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and while I hadn’t planned any further walks in the Glass House Mountains National Park, my hiking group had other ideas. In a month they plan to climb the Tunbubudla Twins, a pair of small peaks at the southern end of the National Park.

Next I head to The Cougals for something more difficult hard to dig my teeth – or feet – into.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Australia, Hike, Queensland

D’Aguilar National Park – Mt Coot-tha section

May 29, 2012 Keyman Leave a comment

Mt Coot-tha is the tallest ‘mountain’ in Brisbane and is popular with tourists as its top lookout gives great views of the city and surrounding land.

Map is owned by and used with courtesy of Brisbane City Council. Please visit that site for more detailed information on walking in this region.

I’ve been to the lookout numerous times and have walked the lookout trail a couple of times also. On the northern slopes of Mt Coot-tha there are several less popular and less scenic walks I decided to explore.

Powerful Owl Track – 2.8km

Powerful Owl Trail is a short track that climbs the north side of Mt Coot-tha. Initially I was expecting a fairly straightforward walk in the woods, but shortly after beginning I got quite a surprise. Not far after the beginning the trail turns quickly upwards and climbs fairly steeply. It certainly gets your muscles working and my calves felt it when I arrived at the top of the ridge.

At the top of the ridge I followed the trail around to the left, through the forest until it began to descend down mud and roots steps. After the steady downhill it didn’t take me long to emerge at a grassy reserve just around from the car park.

Overall a good short walk although beyond the trees, not much to look at.

Simpson Falls and Eugenia Circuit – 4.1km

Beyond the Lookout Walk, the Simpson Falls circuit is one of the more popular on Mt Coot-tha. It’s for this reason the trail leading to the falls is well presented and designed for casual walkers. The trail climbs in switchbacks up the north-east side of the Mt Coot-tha with plentiful steps.

Simpson Falls is a quaint little rocky area that during a wetter season would likely be more than just a trickle with small rock pools at the top and bottom of the rocky outcrop. This was to be expected as it had been plentifully dry around the time I walked here.

The Eugenia Circuit continues another 2.8km up the mountain from the Simpson Falls. The path turns rockier and is less walked, crossing the stream twice on stepping-stones. At a couple of points on the track I could make out suburbia over the trees, but no grand views.

There was one other track I did not make it to – the Kokoda Trail, named after one of the men who walked the actual Kokoda trail.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Australia, Hike, Queensland

West Canungra Creek Circuit – Green Mountains

May 21, 2012 Keyman 1 Comment

Map is owned by and used with courtesy of Queensland Government. Please visit that site for more detailed information on hiking in this region.

Today I’m out with my hiking group from meetup.com. Meetup.com is a great way to find hiking groups in your area and they often go to many interesting places. The downside of meetup.com groups is they tend to attract larger groups of walkers and can be more about being social than the experience of being out in nature.

This time we headed into the Green Mountains section of the Lamington National Park to do one of the many circuits. This is also where I began the Gold Coast Hinterland Great! Walk only three weeks earlier. The hikes start at the same location and use about a kilometre of the same trail before splitting off and going their respective directions.

The West Canungra Creek circuit has a Class 4 rating but I believe this is only when it is wetter. Because it was pretty dry and the streams were down, the crossings were easier and the rating should only be a Class 3.

The circuit is 13.9km long and meanders down towards Canunga Creek. It then heads along the stream, with several crossings towards to “Yerralahla” (blue pool). There were plentiful small waterfalls, downed trees, rocky outcrops and stream beds along the way.

About half way around the circuit, the track forks, eventually meeting up again a couple of kilometres along. At the fork I decided to take my leave of the group to get a bit of time to myself in nature. As I walked I came across a pair of large waterfalls.

Yanbacoochie Falls…

Elabana Falls…

I met up with the group again when the trails reconnected. We continued our way back along towards the end of the circuit, crossing a treetop walk on the way back.

Overall an interesting walk and talk, I got to speak at length to a guy from Chile about South America, the starting place of my big adventure next year…

Next week, I wrap up the Glass House Mountains and do a couple of short walks at Mount Coot-tha.

The Trail Wanderer.

Cutting a trail around the world, one country at a time…