Lamington National Park experience

[phan_TOM]

...One of the best guides is the “Take a walk in south-east Queensland” book by John and Lyn Daly...

Cheers Andrew, I'll try and get my hands on a copy of that one. I had a look for it in the local library but could only find take a walk - port macquarie to brisbane which, luckily, has 30 pages dedicated to Lamington, lots of good descriptions about walking in the park. Some of them sound pretty epic, like this one - Christmas Creek, the Stinson, Point Lookout, Rat-a-tat, O'reillys which is ~30k over 3 days, hard grade... plenty of easier ones to start off with though so I might save that one for later on

Does anyone know why they restrict bush camping during these months? Is it threat of lots of rain and leaches?

From the Lamington National Park Management Plan 2011 - "The closures allow for spelling of the sites during the wet season when they are most vulnerable to impacts from
camping, including soil being compacted or eroded, vegetation damaged and litter left in the park."

I recieved a list of bush camps and grid refs from QPWS (who were very helpful and suprisingly quick in their response especially seeing as I was expecting an automated response). There are three sites on the graded walking track system Bithongabel, Echo Point & Illinbah. The other seven are all off-track site (unmarked trails) Point Lookout, Rat-a-tat, Stinson, Lost world Creek, Lost world Saddle, Running Creek & Darlington.

however there is nowhere to set up a tent...which made me think of all the talk of hammocks on the forum and how perfect it would be to hang out down there

Rainforest type camping is one of the main reasons that I got mine Andrew, its just so hard to go back to the ground now!

[Pteropus]

Tom, would you mind sending me those camp site grid refs in a PM please?

[

however there is nowhere to set up a tent...which made me think of all the talk of hammocks on the forum and how perfect it would be to hang out down there

Rainforest type camping is one of the main reasons that I got mine Andrew, its just so hard to go back to the ground now!

My one reservation about trying a hammock is the fact I am a front sleeper who likes to spread out, so I am not sure if I could actually fall asleep in a hammock. I do like the flexibility of one though...

[phan_TOM]

pm sent Andrew

My one reservation about trying a hammock is the fact I am a front sleeper who likes to spread out, so I am not sure if I could actually fall asleep in a hammock. I do like the flexibility of one though...

I'm a front/side sleeper too but I fnd that I can get an almost flat lay in the hammock which allows me to sleep comfortably on my side or sometimes halfway between my side and back. Not on my stomach though... I spent last weekend down at Nymboida doing some swift water rescue training and had a full 9 hours sleep on the saturday night, more than I get at home!

[tas-man]

I was doing some searching in the TROVE digitised newspaper collection, and tried to see what a search for "Lamington National Park" would bring up. I found that the article I posted from "The Worker" was reproduced several times, but that a later article from 23rd October 1919 had some more interesting information about plans for the park, including a network of roads and accommodation facilities. Worth a read!
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article ... leid%3A191

[melot]

re books & track info :"Bushpeoples guide to Bushwalking in SE Qld" was the guide that opened my eyes about 15yrs ago to so many walks and hidden SE Qld gems. I understand it's out of print now but if you find a copy or can borrow one from a Bushwalking club library, this book helps to fit a few more pieces in the puzzle Its got a section on Albert R. North Branch including Black Canyon. This book helped us turn a family of three teenage boys who were very reluctant walkers into ones who now seek out walking holidays ... it gave us the info for our first off-track adventure,continuing on past Blue Pool & down to Stairway Falls. Although it was just a short distance, it felt like a REAL adventure and without reading in the Bushpeoples Guide that there was an old route there we would not have left the main track and so many great family walking experiences may never have happened.

[Pteropus]

I walked out to Mt Wagawn and looked for the “Bushranger’s Cave” down the cliff line today. I found a cliff line with some over hangs, but nothing too exciting to be called a cave. Notes in the Daly’s “take a walk in SEQ” book mention the cave is a “prominent overhang”. I suspect I never found the right overhang and I needed to go further down, however I had to return since it was mid afternoon and I still had quite a walk back. Has anyone been to the cave and is it worth a look at? And does anyone know if there was a bushranger who used the overhang?

[tomh]

Finding the 'Bushrangers Cave' from the top as you did is not the easiest. Next time take the Numinbah valley road (ie continue past the Beechmont/Binna Burra turnoff), and park at the NSW border gate. Follow the border fence west on the NSW side until it finishes at the base of a cliff. Cross to the Qld side and continue right (north) until you get to the cave- more a large overhang. The track to this point should be easy and well-worn. To find the route to Wagawn, continue past the cave and left up a steep slope when the cliffline finishes. Bypass more clifflines on the left until the ridge is reached, then continue up until Wagawn. This is the best way of discovering the Wagawn to Bushrangers route.

[Pteropus]

Thanks tomh. I suspect that the base of the cliff I got to was the cliff you mention to bypass on the left. This is still quite a way down from Wagawn Lookout, but obviously i needed to go further down to get to the Burshrangers cave. The track was easy to follow though, and also there was plenty of flagging tape left by previous walkers.

[Pteropus]

Though I did not quite reach the Bushrangers Cave below Mt Wagawn, my curiosity was piqued. The DERM Lamington NP Management Plan (http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks_and_fo ... n-2011.pdf) mentions that the cave is actually an indigenous cultural heritage site. The Wikipedia article on Lamington then mentions that the cave was an Aboriginal camp which was occupied for approximately 10 000 years.

Then I came across a report for the Anthropology and Sociology Society at the University of Queensland by Hiscock and Hall, titled “Technical Change at Bushrangers Cave, South-East Queensland” (http://www.atsis.uq.edu.au/qar/1988005090112.pdf). The first sentence states that “Bushrangers Cave is the oldest mainland archaeological site so far discovered in the Moreton Region of southeast Queensland. Occupation began approximately 6000 years ago...”. I think this is very interesting.

Finally, the most recent Hema map of the park have not included the cave and track as a landmark, and I imagine DERM is trying to discourage visits to the site.

[under10kg]

Went down to black canyon the other day. THe rocks were very very slippery. This included the rocks that were not wet.
I feel this trip is for later summer after some fine weather to dry out the rocks and to have more sunlight.
The track down is dangorous in regard to rock fall. A rock just missed me.

[tas-man]

Went down to black canyon the other day.

can you post some photos - PLEASE

[phan_TOM]

G'day tas-man, it looks like under10kg is giving you the cold shoulder (or more likely he's out walking) so I'll post a few shots up from my first Lamington experience. I may as well add them here rather than start a new thread unless someone thinks otherwise then I'll shift 'em to the gallery section.

I'm not too sure about this comment though under10kg

I really like the off track walk of bina burra to green mounain direct (the border track).
You need to know how to navigate, maps and compass although there are markers on most of the track.

I think one of us must have the wrong idea regarding 'off track', the Border Track seems a pretty decent one and could easily be done with no map or compass. Granted that a deviation from the track would require navigational competence, it's pretty hard to find your bearings in the jungle - unless you've been watching a lot of bear grylls that is

I've walked and camped in most of the other parks in and around this region over the years but for some unknown reason I've never made it to Lamington, but now that I have I can already see a return trip in my crystal ball, what a stunning place. I had planned a solo 2 day trip along the Border Track from Binna Burra to O'reillys and back but ended up doing the walk with fellow forum member Pteropus and the walk met all our expectations apart from the lack of booze when we set up camp at the other end and the excess of leeches (I counted roughly 70 bites on each ankle/leg & have the photos to prove it on request ). A moderate amount of both would have been a decent outcome, a surplus of alcohol and no leeches would have been perfection

Anyway I'll let the photos say the rest. Thesre is no rhyme or reason to the order of these shots apart from the fact that they are posted in the order that they were found on my memory card.

1 - border-track.jpg (333 KiB) Viewed 82164 times

2 - tullawallul.jpg (320.06 KiB) Viewed 82164 times

[phan_TOM]

6 - antarctic beech.jpg (298.14 KiB) Viewed 82162 times

[phan_TOM]

[phan_TOM]

17 - creek.jpg (278.82 KiB) Viewed 82143 times

19 - waterfall (I forget which one).jpg (303.26 KiB) Viewed 82143 times

20 - chalahn-falls.jpg (368.76 KiB) Viewed 82143 times

[Bluegum Mic]

Magic. Great photos. Love the crayfish. I can't wait to get back there in a couple of weeks. I love the weather you had. Nice and misty for the photos. My last two walks in the lamington were blazing sunny days

[tas-man]

Thanks phan_TOM for contributing these photos, and including my favourite picturesque waterfall in Lamington NP, Chalahn Falls.

[nq111]

028 Orchid.JPG

Yes it is. Actually quite common in some areas off-track.

[Pteropus]

Tom wasn't kidding about the leeches, which were out in biblical plague proportions! They were insane! But we were good hosts to them.... Despite the little vampires, the rainforest is a magic place in the rain. Here are some more photos from that trip.

Chalahn Falls

Chalahn Falls

Elabana Falls almost at a trickle

Most likely a fawn-footed melomys

017 Melomys.JPG (147 KiB) Viewed 81120 times

Aftermath of the relentless leech attacks

Oh and Tom, I think that under10kg might have actually been referring to the Middle Ridge Traverse, which is in a more direct route between Binna Burra and O'Reily's. It is very much off track and very rugged. That includes Fountain Falls, which I mentioned. Maybe do that next time!

[north-north-west]

Lovely set of shots (except the leech stuff)

[phan_TOM]

oh I don't know NNW, I think the arrangement of leech bites is quite artsy

[Pteropus]

That was the mildest leech bite photo...Tom will attest that it was like a horror movie for any walkers coming out of the forest that day! We saw another bloke head back in to walk back to O'Reilly's...he was never heard from again

[phan_TOM]

he was never heard from again

I wonder, he was setting off late and it gets dark early up there so I hope he had a torch...?

Yeah I've experienced bad leech days before but never quite like that. There was a few others who had emerged from the bush that day looking like a horror movie, especially that girl who had blood streaming down her legs. I had to chuckle at the looks and sounds emanating from a group of very well dressed asian tourists as we de-leeched and tried to clean ourselves up, I wonder if they got past the carpark after that. Lucky we didn't tell them about the drop bears

[cams]

Great photos guys. I like the crayfish and the melomy ones the best. Sounds like you had a good trip. I bet your legs are plastered in Calimine lotion now though. haha. I remember the worst I've been hit by leeches was doing the same trip. When there's that many you just give up pulling them off as you go.

[phan_TOM]

Thats pretty much it cams, every time we stopped to pull a few off five more would replace each one of those, plus it would have taken 10 hours instead of 5... You can't beat the rainforest in the rain though, the light wass so soft and atmospheric, thats the trade off I guess.

I think that under10kg might have actually been referring to the Middle Ridge Traverse, which is in a more direct route between Binna Burra and O'Reily's

That would make sense, I think I saw a 'track closed' sign at the start of that walk near the intersection of the border tack and the tullawallal circuit. It looked a bit overgrown but nothing too bad.

[tas-man]

I walked out to Mt Wagawn and looked for the “Bushranger’s Cave” down the cliff line today. I found a cliff line with some over hangs, but nothing too exciting to be called a cave. Notes in the Daly’s “take a walk in SEQ” book mention the cave is a “prominent overhang”. I suspect I never found the right overhang and I needed to go further down, however I had to return since it was mid afternoon and I still had quite a walk back. Has anyone been to the cave and is it worth a look at? And does anyone know if there was a bushranger who used the overhang?

I found my slides of a BBW trip to Mt Hobwee via Bushrangers Cave in February 1970 and finally got around to scanning them. We drove down from Brisbane on Friday night and camped with the cars. We walked up from the road in Numinbah Valley in the rain the next morning and set up camp in the cave for Saturday night, then did a day trip to the top of Mt Hobwee on Sunday. From the photos and my vague recollections, it was a very slow trip above the cave through lots of wait-a-while and Gympie groves. Probably more of a highway these days I'd imagine Anyway here are some photos that record this area forty three years ago!

In Bushrangers Cave

The waterfall over the overhang.

We lit a fire to dry our wet socks from the walk in in the rain.

[tas-man]

Campsite in the cave.

Campsite in the cave with clothes line!

The waterfall (running water supply)

[tas-man]

View from cave looking north into the Numinbah Valley.

Climbing through the wait-a-while above the cave.

View from Mt Hobwee looking south west to Mt Warning.

[tas-man]

Retracing our steps from Mt Hobwee to Bushrangers Cave

Following some of the border fence above the cave.

[tas-man]

Looking East to Springbrook as we descend to the Numinbah Vally Road along the border fence.

Looking back to the Wagawn ridge with Bushranger Cave a bit further to the right out of the picture.

It's weird to recall in this day of digital photography that for a whole weekend I used a single roll of 24 exposure Agfa CT18 colour slides, and had about half a dozen dud exposures in the low light of the rainforest which I only found out a fortnight later when the processed slides came back in the mail from Melbourne.