Boombana to Brookfield   Tenison woods to Maiala via Love Creek Falls   England Ck   South Kobble Ck   Branch Ck   Northbrook Ck   Chert ridge  

Brisbane Forest Park

Mt Cootha Eastern circuit S 44 ~6km

Start and Finish at J.C. Slaughter Falls Car Park. Walk to the amenities block closest to Sir Samuel Griffith Drive and a path begins to the west going up the hill. Follow this track where city views become aparant as you reach an altitude above Stuartholme College. The climb to the pinnacle is about 90m but there are nice views amongst the trees of much of the city. The ascent reaches over 200m before changing direction from South West to North West. Soon the management vehicle access track is reached, follow this for 200m until the track dips a little. Leave the track and head south into East Ithaca Creek.

The creek is surprisingly pretty here but contains slippery rocky slabs. Follow these downstream until a major tributary appears to the south. Follow this upstream for a little while and a track will become apparant on the left side. Get on the track and follow it up to the main road and walk about 1km to the kiosk for a well deserved refreshment. Finally follow the marked trail back to J.C. Slaughter Falls and the Car Park.

I found this a pretty walk that was surprisingly good for the proximity to Brisbane. Nice for a few hours break from suburbia! There were an abundance of purple Hovea's in flower in September 2002.

Boombana to Brookfield via Cabbage Tree Ck and Mermaid Mountain - L45

This 19 km walk takes in some spectacular scenery. There is only one hardship with the 350 m ascent of Mermaid Mountain. It is also largely open forest and hence can get hot in warmer months.

From Boombana, follow the track to Jolly's Lookout. There is some nice rainforest here but is the only real rainforest to be seen all day. Turn right on to South Boundary Road (the first intersection with the track) and ignore the sign that says you need a permit and duck at every vehicle sound or contact BFP to get a permit to cross the water catchment section. About 1 km further on turn right onto Augies Road where some nice mountain scenery becomes obvious after a while.

After several knolls, the road heads down until a water tank on the right is passed. This marks the turn off point to Cabbage Tree Ck. Several km's can be avoided and less strenuous hills are avoided by turning sharp left and then following the road to Mermaid mountain. To have a decent day though, it is better to walk down Cabbage Tree Ck where shady casuarina's and a nice creek are there to be enjoyed. Three left hand turns at track junctions will lead to the Mermaid Mountain ascent. Lovely views of Lake Manchester and Ipswich become obvious near the top of the ridge. Mermaid Mountain is about 300m North West of here. Be sure to turn off the track before it heads down to reach lovely views and an interesting rocky outcrop marking Mermaid Mountain (396 m). This is a great place to have lunch.

Back-track to your ascent point and continue along this track for several km's staying on the ridge until a gate is reached. Continue through the gate but take the track that turns right when the mountain divides into 2 ridges. You will soon be heading south and then up and over a large knoll. The track soon divides in two again and this time turn left towards Pacey Road where hopefully you left a second car.

Tenison Woods to Miala via Love Creek Falls

Turn off the Lepidozamia track after 50m or so on to the Mt D`aguilar road and follow this to an uphill section where the old road turns south. Keep ascending to the top of the knoll and the remains of an old trig station. Head South-West and locate a ridge that runs parallel to love creek making sure that you ascend upstream of the falls. Rock hop down to the falls and drop packs up the top. Locate a track from the top of the north side of the falls and follow this to the base where a nice swimming hole and view of the falls is obvious. Love Ck Falls

To continue on, from the top of the falls, follow the creek west then north, then east around a u-shaped bend. At the point where upstream becomes north-west, locate the path that begins with green tape around a tree. Follow the path steeply uphill ascending over 250 m to the top of a knoll. Locate a path at the south end of this knoll marked by green paint (2003) that will lead down a ridge to just above Greenes Falls and folow the graded track to Miala.

England Creek

Right Branch - L76

Park the car at Maiala National Park - there are always a lot of picnicers here so less chance of car tampering. Walk along the track running parallel to the road towards the summit. This 2km track takes you to Lawton Rd (giving access to Northbrook Mountain). At the locked gate, descend into the creek. We tried descending from near the rangers residence and were thwarted by wait-a-while and lots of lantana.

Be prepared for a stacks of scrambling over slippery rock. I would regard this creek one of the most challenging in terms of waterfalls and staying dry is a virtually impossible task. A 20m rope came in handy in several locations. The creek is very interesting and scenic with small narrow gorges and waterfall after waterfall after cascades.

The most spectacular waterfall in the region is named "England Creek Falls". It is spectacular and bypassed on the east of the creek. The location of these falls is grid location 738761 on the Kipper Ck 1:25 000 map. For a quick ascent of Northbrook mountain, ascend on to the knoll at 733760. An obvious pad leads up the ridge north to Northbrook mountain.

Follw the ridge east to the east summit of Northbrook Mountain but be careful to take a bearing north east and not to follow the main ridge back to the creek. This bearing (north east) will shortly lead to the main track and then to Lawton road.

Left Branch - M75

This section although not as spectacular as right branch is a nice summer alternative as it is shorter, has some lovely rocky pools and an exit point can be made at any time by climbing up to the main road which follows the ridge to the east of this branch of England Ck. If time allows, descent will eventually lead to a fire break which can be followed east to the Mt Glorious road.

Kobble Ck South

There are many alternatives on this walk but a favourite is to follow the lepidozamia track to the top of the knoll just before it becomes a ring road and turn south east along a fire trail. Follow this fire trail until it begins heading north and climb the knoll on the right.

From the top of the knoll follow the ridge with a track almost due south into Kobble Ck. You should arrive about 30 m above a lovely waterfall and swimming hole. A rough track descends the north side of the falls. After a swim (this is where I blew an eardrum jumping off the escarpment on the south side into the waterhole), follow the creek to a major tributary entering from the south at a big shallow waterhole. A few camping spots exist around here.

Folow the south tributary - there are some lovely overhung gorge sections in here - until you reach a major waterfall (Martin Fingland calls this D'Aguilar Falls). A rough track on the north side leads up above the falls.

About 10m up the right tributary above the falls is a ridge on the right that can be followed to a track that exits out onto the Piper Commanche track.

Branch Creek

A fairly long day to walk from Dundas road down past the gravel pit at 767712 all the way to Taylors break. The upper reaches until 766697 are fairly waterfall free, with thick rainforest including some wait-a-while. The gravelly substrate makes for quicker walking if there are no vegetation impediments.

From 766698 the going gets much slower due to an interesting series of waterfalls, cascades and slippery rocky slabs. Care must be taken but the area here is well worth a visit. At one point there are great views of the valley ahead and a large ridge.

The rocky slabs and waterfalls give way to more level easier creek walking from 764676. At times some great rocky outcrops are encountered between this point and Taylors break. It may save time by ascending a rocky ridge to get to the break.

Northbrook Creek

The Gorge

For quick access (about 20 minutes) leave the car at the apiary site above a hair pin turn. The track begins behind the guard rail at this bend. The upper gorge is a 15 minute rockhop beyond the first gorge.

NorthBrook Ridges

Starting from White Cedar it is possible to follow the band of rock marking a series of lovely ridges all the way to Northbrook mountain. Email me at [email protected] for more information. There are some lovely sections of this walk but as it isn't along clear landmarks all the way it is better to see me with a map!

Chert Ridge

ALthough this could describe any number of places on the south side of Mt Nebo Mt Glorious Rd I would specifically identify the longest and richest chert ridge in the park connecting Lawnton and Joyners Ridge Rd. From Maila National park, cross the main road and walk down the hill 50 m to the track that takes you to Joyners Rd. Follow Joyners Ridge Rd over several knolls. TBC 1