Packed my gear away Friday evening after a very welcome distraction in the afternoon to clear my mind after the long days. When checking the weather it was for nice sunny days however an 'Arctic Blast' of cold strong winds were due to hit so I packed my warmer sleeping bag.
Day 1 - 17.2km
https://www.strava.com/activities/2612030340
Drive out started off rather exciting, it looked like a tree loppers had left the hand brake on for his trailer/mulcher which got to the point where it caught on fire and already had spread to the wood chips in the back. Everyone was safe and there were plenty of people there so I headed on. Grabbed a quick bite in Montville and then got going on the trail.
The trail starts along a beautiful creek. Heaps of rock pools, water falls and great vegetation. Quite a few short popular walks from the carpark too so nice bridges and boardwalks to keep you moving.
I continued on for a while and eventually came across people going the other way. You can park at Kondalilla Falls and have someone pick you up at the other end. When I eventually reached the main circuit it got very busy. Lots of people, young kids and grandparents all giving inquisitive looks at the silly person with trekking poles and a decent pack.
I stopped at the base of the falls for a short lunch break and a few people asked about the pack and were amazed that there was such a thing as a 60k hike (80k for me to get back to the car) here. Despite them having to have walked past at least a dozen 'Great Walk'sign posts by this point...
Lots of stairs, and groups that don't seem to understand what single file is, later and I was at the car park. There must have been 75 ish mountain bikes layed out all with map readers. There must be an adventure race going on in the area, but I didn't cross paths with any participants. (Confirmed Adventure Race, my cousin was even a participant)
The next stretch was... less scenic. Can't really give props to QLD NP here but I'm not sure how 'great' a walk can be when you're doing ~3.5km of it along the side of an 80kph road.
Still, it's a connection to get you where you need to be. Theres another shorter 2k road sting tomorrow as well. Past the road it was only a short 1.2k aong a forestry road (at least no cars on this one...) to camp 1, Flaxon. Despite the later start I was still at camp by 130pm. Which is good as it means I might miss work traffic on the way home.
There were a few midges at camp but surprisingly no mozzies. The faint BRAPP of the occasional Dirt bike far off in the distance, mostly drowned out by the wind in the trees. I had a good scout at camp before deciding where to sent my tent, quite a few window makers, especially with this wind.
Day 2 - 27.4km
https://www.strava.com/activities/2612030322
Slept in and had a rather late packup not getting away from camp until after 8am. Easy start to the hiking too, all down hill until I reached the bottom of Baxter Falls. While not quite as tall as Kondalilla these falls were really good and had a much better swimming hole, that would definitely catch the midday sun.
Far too cold for me to go for a dip I moved on. To get over the creek just near the falls is a pretty cool little suspension bridge. Apparently can hold 2 adults... though I'm not sure I would trust it with that...
Back up the other side of the gorge all the way to the top and then another stint of road walking. Much quieter road so not quite as bad as the day before. During the road walk too these was a few honesty boxes. Would have been good to have a little cash on me to buy some fresh fruit. At the other end was the Mapleton Falls carpark and then back on trail. The falls were good, but no great vantage point for them.
Passed a few hikers heading in various directions. Mapleton seems to have a spider network of trails so you could plot out some good routes in here.
Into Ubajee camp just past 11 to stop for lunch. According to the great walk planning map, this should have been night 2. Pro tip, about 200m past camp is a much better spot for lunch. Didn't discover that until I got moving again...
A few more hikers on the way out and a surprisingly large amount of trail runners. Back down to the bottom of a valley and a few creek crossings that mostly had little concrete causeways to use. Some really beautiful spots.
Past yet another entey/exit point and then up Mt Thilba Thalba. A few day hikers in for the mountain were on their way out but I had the peak to myself before eventually moving on to an also empty camp just on 1515. It's funny some other hikes I wouldn't dream of stopping at 3 in the arvo, but I was happy for the seat and the cool breeze today.
Day 3 - 25.1 km
https://www.strava.com/activities/2612029177
Another late-ish pack up from camp rolling out just on 8 today. Considering I cleared the highest point of the hike yesterday there was a bit more up and down in the morning. The trail follows adjacent to a dirt road for a while, only heard 2 cars go past. The road was about 50m away and you can barely make out cars through the vegetation.
After turning away from the road it was time to head back down into the valley to reach Gheerulla falls. Another great waterfall with a decent swimming hole. This one was a little murky though so I'm not sure how deep it is.
A few hundred meters later I was at 'The Junction' and the official end of the ~51.5k Sunshine Coast Hinterlands Great Walk. Even with a shuttle car though it's still a few k (up out of the valley) to the nearest road. Approx 30km back to my car though...
Overall there are some really great bits on trail but there isn't a single inch you can't get to with a moderate day hike instead.
I made it back to Mapelton Falls before 12 and stopped for a long lunch. Only 5 k to camp... 21k to my car. I was looking at times and thought if I pushed I could probably make it there before dark.... While I couldn't see the falls it was really relaxing just listening to them cascade over the cliff.
Day 3 (part 2) - 16.1km (41.2km total)
https://www.strava.com/activities/2612029177
Covering ground (including the stupid road walk) that I had already been over made me feel better about breezing through. I made it to the Kondalilla car park rather quickly.
Was still surprisingly busy which held me up a little as people were strolling hand and hand stretching across the path. One lady gave me a rather unpleasant look after she wasn't paying attention and ended up face to face with me. Track is well wide enough for two people so if you're walking in a group of three I'm not hoping into the scrub for you.
I decided to take the other half of the falls circuit this time, just to change it up a bit. Rock pools near the top of the falls are really nice but too cold for any punters this late in the day. I can see why it's a really popular spot in summer though.
Once off the circuit I didnt see anyone else until I was 200m from Lake Baroon dam, where my car was parked. Theres a good lookout not too far up trail which they were heading to for sunset. Back to the car just on 5pm but I sat and rested a little while before the "2 hour with usual traffic" drive home. Figured sitting in the trees was better than brisbane peak hour...
See you on the next trail!
