Day 1
Emu Creek Road (South Branch) to Lizard Point Camp (via Lincoln Bomber Wreck and Mt Superbus)
Fairly early start with Jase arriving at mine for 620am. We loaded up his pack and set off to meet the rest who were parking at Janes. Interrupting her breakfast Gaz soon arrived and we started the 2.5 hour drive to the start of the hike at the end of Emu Creek Road (South Branch.)
They had some recent rain so the 4wd track in was quite a bit sloppy and the back end of the Dmax flicked out once or twice... All safe at the parking lot we began our hike at 1020. The track was spotty at parts but mostly had a good footpad to follow with the occasional pink flagging tape marking the way.
By 1140 we had reached the Falls and stopped for morning tea. Decent flow over the falls, but I wouldn't call it strong. With the impending climb (very steep up to the wreckage) and the 'usually reliable' creek at camp I decided not to collect more water. Packs already heavy enough! There was a really good view off the ~60m drop. Plenty of
Elkhorn plans and orchids growing in the trees near the falls. Good branch to relax on for the break too.
After the break we started off again and quickly started ascending. It got pretty steep and with the slightly damp soil made some areas a bit slippery. Lots of loose soil causing feet to slip back down the hill, expending a lot of effort to gain little ground. As we were mostly following up along a gully it was very easy to navigate this section. After a lot of heavy heart beats and heavy breathing we made it to the first part of the wreckage, the engine block.
Continuing further up the steel slope we must have got into the zone and completely missed any signs of the second block. It was slightly off trail and we were so focused on making that next step up the hill it was hard to spend time looking through the overgrown forest looking for metal. It wasn't too much longer though where we reached more of the wreckage to explore.
Huge chunks of metal and pipes and various other bits we tried to identify. After exploring a little and having a quick snack we set off again. Within 10min we had reached the main segments of the
Lincoln Bomber crash site. Both wings, a huge chunk of the fuselage and lots of other metal strewn over the mountain side. We took a bit more time here to explore the remains and read the various plaques erected in memory.
Once we set off again we reached Bomber camp (and the end of the steep uphill) pretty quickly. While there was plenty of pink tape still marking the way a few blown down trees and lack of footpad to follow sometimes had us spreading out before one called out "I think I have the path over here" and then shortly followed by "yep, definitely looks like it." Overall navigation wasn't too bad and in this area there was only 2-3 times where we lost the path and never fore more than 5 or so min before reconnecting with it.
Along the way to the 'Superbus Rock Carn' we also took a detour off trail, for ~400m, to reached the previous official named peak of Mt Superbus, which is a few meters lower than the rock cairn now marking the QTOPO peak. There was meant to be a survey mark in the area, but with the trees obscuring GPS accuracy on my phone and everything being very overgrown there was little hope of finding it today.
After returning to the 'main' track we followed along a cliff line for a while before reaching the Cairn and Cache at the marked summit. Continuing along a ridge line with some pretty good drops off to the right hand side up and down, through and over vines, we kept going until we reached the saddle between Superbus and Mt Roberts. It was getting a bit later in the day and looked like we might not quite make Lizard Camp before dark so we briefly considered staying in this saddle before deciding to push on.
After reaching Mt Roberts it definitely looked like we wouldn't reach camp before dark so we stopped to get out our torches in preparation. We had a recent dust storm in SE-QLD which allowed the sun to paint an awesome orange glow across the sky, you could only see it through gaps in the trees making it hard to get a clear picture. As we descended the forest got a little thicker, cutting the already fading light in half, necessitating the torches to come on. Before we made it to camp there was also a small scramble, not a big down climb but enough that some took packs off to navigate down without slipping.
When we were getting close to camp we noticed some voices and then eventually saw some light ahead. I had thought I booked the site out with 2 camps '4 people max', but the 'sites' must have been 4 people each so we had some company. It was a tight squeeze with everyone, but enough space for 8 tents with some creative placements. Matt went off in search of the 'usually reliable' creek but returned shortly after. He and I then went back, and a little further, but to no avail. We took stock of our water and for 3 of us it was going to be a little tight. Lucking Jase and Gaz had packed a little extra and with their generosity we decided we had enough water, without having to explore further downstream for water.
DO NOT rely on there being water at Lizard Point Camp. At least not easily accessible water. It had rained the night before our hike, creek bed was damp, but there was no water to collect. Unless there was significant rain in the area, or you're willing to traverse significantly down the creek, carry the water you'll need at camp and the next day. After setup we got down for dinner and started cooking. While getting my tent pegs out I realised I had been 'Rocked' (that is when a fellow hiker, someone who you thought was a friend, stealthily places a not-so-light rock in your pack...) Likely placed there at the falls when we stopped for morning tea. Jealousy I suspect, as even with the rock my pack weight was still a few kg lighter than the others :p Dinner was ok and was topped off nicely by some of the Scotch Matt had packed in.
Campsite video Jason captured; https://youtu.be/3rvykwT3Lgk
Day 2
Lizard Camp to Emu Creek (South Branch) (via Steamer Range)
Woke early to the sounds of our neighbours getting up early to watch the sunrise at Lizard point, a few hundred meters from camp. Out group, after the later entry the afternoon before, decided to stay in the warm embrace of our sleeping bags. It had reached 7°c last night, so not too cold though Jase had some condensation inside his tent making it feel a touch colder.
After breakfast, and some further discussion on if we should venture off down the creek in search of water, we decided to push on. Before we left camp Matt discovered the first Tick of the hike. With tweezers in hand it was removed easily, but the thought of more definitely creeped into our minds... First stop after setting off was Lizard Point. Beautiful ~260° views from the end of the point. Dust seems to have cleared a bit too so we had awesome views of Mt Barney NP and Moogerah dam.
The trail between Lizard Point and the Steamer Range was really easy to follow. Basically; Stick to the ridge line. It was an immediate ~100m drop off to the right, kind of hard to miss, and a steep slope off to the left. Not much option but to push on ahead. Again sections were pretty overgrown with vines or just general scrub getting in the way, but nothing too serious. Lots of Grass trees along the ridge too, including probably the biggest I have ever seen.
The ridge line became a razorback ridge in parts and despite having nothing on yesterdays climb to the Bomber the little uphill sections were still fairly steep and got the heart pumping. At one point there was a small up scramble, but the rocks were formed in such a say that it felt like a steep staircase, with larger step gaps, not difficult at all. We eventually made it to Mt Steamer where we stopped for morning tea and a rest.
Coming down Mt Steamer the trail had all but disappeared in the thicker forested section. In the 5km since camp this morning we had only seen 1 piece of flagging tape marking the way. The ridge widened out, making it a little harder to also keep on the right line. There were sporadically broken tree branches and sections of footpad you could identify as the trail however it was only when Gaz spotted a tiny piece of tape that had fallen on the ground we could confirm we were at least in the right location.
Eventually the denser, vine covered, subtropical rainforest gave way into classic Australian bush. Gum trees and grass became the norm and we no longer had spiky vines scraping up our shins. Which, 4 days later, you can clearly still see the evidence of...
As we dropped down onto the Steamer Ranges we heard a few day hikers and said hello via a dstant Coo-eee (only later to find that one group we passed, on opposite sides of the ridge, were friends I knew) and made our way around the Stern and Mast. We decided to skip the lookout on top of the Stern (which would have added an extra 1.2km and some elevation gain) but it's sometimes good to leave something to make it worth going back for, right? The Rock formations themselves, even from the base, were pretty awesome. There are also a few shallow caves you can poke your heads in and have a look at.
The trail back down to Emu Creek (and eventually our car) was non-existent. Most trails taken for the Steamer ranges come up the northern side, while we were dropping down to the south. We knew where we needed to turn off though and a wide creek is a pretty easy feature to use for navigation. Basically keep heading down hill until your feet get wet.
I shot off a little ahead about halfway down the hill as I was starting to get thirsty and wanted to get out the water filter and have a drink. After chugging almost half a litre I filled up my dirty water bottle and started heading back up to the group. I had barely made it 100m back up the hill before meeting them and giving some water to Jane and Matt. Lunch at the creek and collecting enough water for the remaining 2.5km to the car. As we were doing quite a bit of bush bashing down the hill I also managed to pick up a few hitchhikers. Seeing at least 2 ticks before they had the chance to latch on.
Following along the creek is easy navigation again and rock hopping down the creek is fun... for some... When on the creek banks you definitely had to watch out for the stinging nettle. It was fairly easy to avoid if you were on the lookout for it. There were some big patches here and there, but a lot of sneaky single bushes too. I know I got hit a few times, as did the others.
Before we knew it we could see the car. Still another creek (and some more long grass/spiky vines) to cross before we got there, but there was a (mostly) cold beer waiting to commend the completion of our 'Very Hard' "Experts only" hike. Despite some steeper sections and trail navigation skills required it wasn't too difficult for anyone with moderate experience in hiking. Definitely allow for a slower pace though our average speed was barely 2kmph, about a 3rd of the speed I normally go on a maintained hiking trail with all my gear. All those little times you lose the trail and get caught up on a vine (of which there were many many vines) add up pretty quickly.
Everyone still seemed pretty happy with what we accomplished, there was even talk of new gear wanted/needed both during the hike and on the way home. Everyone, including me, always has the opportunity to tweak and improve their load out. It'll start getting a little hotter now, so I think the next hike is probably going to be a bit easier and definitely going to have to be somewhere with a nice swimming hole!
P.s. In total between the 5 of us we had 8 ticks latch on, one finding its way under my beard >.>. Most were found after we got home, so make sure when you are pushing through Australian bush to do your tick checks!
