Girraween Fire Trails

[QldHike]

I'm planning a short overnighter to Girraween and was hoping to check a few details. Is the fire trail that connects underground creek to Mt Norman in good condition or am I better off taking the 4wd track from Mt Norman picnic area?

What is the camping like at underground creek? Is it very rocky and would it be hard to pitch a non free standing tent?

I was thinking of going from the info center to underground creek via Mt Norman and then returning either the same way or via Dr Roberts waterhole however the latter option requires a bit of road walking.

Thanks for any suggestions/info

Michael

[phan_TOM]

Hi Michael,

I was out there not to long ago and the road from underground creek to Mt Norman was fine. The camp site at Underground Creek is a top spot, a nice grassy site amongst the slabs and creek, you shouldn't have any problem pitching a tent there.

I was thinking of going from the info center to underground creek via Mt Norman and then returning either the same way or via Dr Roberts waterhole however the latter option requires a bit of road walking

Do you mean go from the info centre past Castle Rock to Mt Norman and then back up to Undeground Creek? Easily doable in a day and depending on how fast you are I would recommend the side trip heading south from Castle Rock to Sphinx Rock & Turtle Rock, well worth it. I'd also skip walking along the road from Dr Roberts carpark back to the info centre and spend the day going back the way you came, much nicer!

As well as Underground Creek theres a decent campsite just to the east of Mt Norman, at 996 062 (I think its called the Mt Norman Firebreak) or a few k's south at the Stone Cottage which also has a small stream not too far away. Heres a photo to give you an idea of the track condition and one of the campsites

Mt Norman Firebreak

[QldHike]

Thanks for the reply.

Yep plan on going from info centre/castle rock camping ground to mt norman and then take the fire trail to underground creek before you reach mt norman day use area. I'm taking my wife for her first overnight hike so something nice and easy with lots of nice scenery is the plan. Will come back along the same path as you suggest, sure beats road walking.

Thanks again for the info.

Michael

[gidge12374]

or a few k's south at the Stone Cottage which also has a small stream not too far away.

Hi There
Im planning this walk in 2 weeks time....is the Old stone cottage a nice place to camp ie good scenery...grassy area for pitching. We also plan to get to underground creek in the one day and camp there but I dont like rushing so to give us more choice I'd like a couple of different options

thanks in advance
Rob

[QldHike]

The bush camping site near underground creek is really good. You'll need a smallish footprint for your tent thought as you don't have a huge amount of space to camp in. Great scenery and plenty to explore with all the boulders.

[gidge12374]

Do you know what the old stone cottage site is like?

[tomh]

Old stone cottage is on near flat ground, no 'scenery' - i.e. no distant vistas; surrounded by dry eucalypt forest. Camp site is hard ground, minimum grass when I was last there more than two years ago and the camp site looked like this. The sign says camping prohibited inside 'the residence' (!). There's a ~100m track behind the cottage leading to small dams which were dry.

stonecottage.jpg (56.08 KiB) Viewed 19847 times

[gidge12374]

Thanks for that. We'll probably go for the spot near to Mount Norman (fire break) if we cant manage to get over to Underground creek in the one day.

[phan_TOM]

Hi Gidge,
I'd have to agree with the advice already given, theres better places to camp than the stone cottage. I think water may be scarce there (was last time I went earlier in the year) and its not particularly scenic.
If you follow the tracks east there is a nice campsite at South Bald Rock (less than 5k's from the stone cottage as the crow flies) with a decent creek nearby and nice scenery. Camp at the base of South Bald Rock where its sheltered and an easy climb up for the sunrise/sunset...
Otherwise try for Underground Creek, theres plenty of sites to choose from, a reliable creek and great scenery...
If you choose to keep walking until its time to set up camp there are lots of possible sites (but the options arent endless as I found out a couple of nights where I had to do my best in the fairly thick scrub )

Underground-Creek.jpg (156.25 KiB) Viewed 19823 times

You'll need a smallish footprint for your tent thought as you don't have a huge amount of space to camp in

I'm not sure where you camped Michael but there is ample room and a variety of possible spots that I know of at or near Underground Creek. If you are in small groups you can camp almost anywhere you want (with exceptions, some on this page http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=9680&p=130347&hilit=girraween#p130347)

[gidge12374]

Thanks for this. We're probably just going to get over to Underground creek. South Bald Rock sounds great but is probably a bit out of the way for our first visit to Girraween. We're going to stay the first night on Castle rock campsite and do The Sphinx and Turtle rock in the afternoon we get there. Then set off the next day to underground creek via mount Norman. Then on the last day head back to Castle Rock Campground via the granite arch and Pyramid. This will involve a road walk we know, but not a big fan of retracing old routes!

[phan_TOM]

I hate back-tracking and make a circuit of it whenever I can too.
Sounds like a good plan, you'll have to let us know how it went, I'd love to know how the spring flowers are looking.

[QldHike]

Maybe I went past it. There was a larger open area but it was too rocky for my non free standing tent.

I didn't mind the road walk from underground creek back to castle rock campground to be honest. It wasn't all bitumen and we left early in the morning so didn't have to worry about much traffic. We saw a few mobs of kangaroos in the fields next to the road also.

[gidge12374]

Just got back from Girraween. Really enjoyed it. Managed to get over to Underground Creek in the one day. Didn't camp there as the water quality wasn't the best. It was more like stagnant pools than running creek but I guess we have struggled of late with rain.We also had a 'run in' with a Red Bellied Black as we were coming off the fire trail. If it wasn't for the wife's eagle eye, I'd have copped a hit for sure. Will probably leave our next visit for the cooler months as Saturday and Sunday were baking hot!!! Didn't notice an abundance of nice flowers while we were there. Again this could well be down to the lack of rain. All in all its a good spot and well worth the 3+ hours drive from the Gold Coast. Thanks again for the advise.

[phan_TOM]

Sounds like a good weekend, pity the flowers weren't doing there thing for you though. Last year I went around this time and it was magic, I guess there was more rain leading up to last sping which always helps. The cooler months are my favourite time to go, it gets too hot from here on in, easy -5 in winter and 40 in summer, definitely worth aiming for the shoulders... Its a top spot and I'm sure there are more things on your list to see for next time, I can't wait to get back there and do some more exploring either.

[SHD]

Hi All

Any idea how long it takes to follow the fire trail loop to Underground Creek as mentioned above? 6 hours ? Looking to do this in the next couple of weeks. Cheers

[SHD]

Further to my previous post I completed this circuit last week and had a great walk. It took me 2 hrs 42 mins including heaps of time to take photos and hauling the kitchen sink I had lunch on Mt Norman and then arrived at Underground Creek after another 2 hrs walking. Plenty of excellent camp sites to choose from at Underground Creek. Watched the full moon rise and awoke to 5 degrees in the morning. It took another 1 hr 45 mins to return to the information centre.

[Art]

Wow, been to Girraween a few times and never saw the cottage.
Is it known what it was originally built for?