LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK (the hike)

LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK
THREE DAY HIKE
18-20 Oct 2008
Living in suburbia Brisbane, we, my wife Yasmine and I, John, feel very privileged as we have about 80 km to the North the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and 120 km to the South the Gold Coast Hinterland. Both with beautiful rainforests, well maintained walking tracks and an abundance of birdlife.

On this day (18th October 2008) we arrived at the Binna Burra information centre and although the hut was open, it was unattended. Alright we were a bit early. Around the back was a house where the ranger spend his or her time, some people were chatting in the front yard . One of them was a ranger, a friendly girl who, after we laid out our plan to have a three day hike in the forest, told us that the camping sites were no longer in use as such (there are no longer any facilities) but if we don’t leave any waste it was alright to use. Our information about the hike was derived from a Lonely Planet guide called bushwalking in Australia. It was the newest edition when we bought it in 1997, o.k. in the past eleven years some minor details might have changed. But the essence remained the same. (we thought)

Bushpath

She directed us to the start of the track and promised she would keep an eye on our car while we were out and about.
Despite the rainy weather we’ve experienced the last couple of days, on this weekend the gods were with us. The sun welcomed us to this wonderful part of our planet and the temperature was coolish but perfect for a long walk. Backpacks and camelbacks filled to the brim we commenced our journey.
According to the description from the guide, we had to walk a few hundred meters back over the road and the ranger showed us the same way and so, after a couple of hundred meters, the Lower Bellbird Track start was there. After about half an hour on the track we discovered that the starting points of our guide and that of the ranger differ. Where the guide was talking about walking back from the camping, the ranger had her origin from the information centre.

The Trunk

We were on the wrong track but, according to our map, that was not a problem. The two tracks joined a bit further up. It meant however that we missed some nice lookouts but saw some otherwise missed waterfalls. About 4 km in our walk the track divides and we followed the Ships Stern track . Another half a kilometre the next junction arrived and we took a side trip that led us to the foot of the Ballanjui Falls. A set of high falls and some people looked down on us from the top. Having walked for about two hours we were starting to feel a bit peckish and felt like having a cuppa. This was the place to have one.

Kurragin Valley

We are well trained to do these walks but taking a rest at regular intervals helps us to enjoy our trips more and don’t get exhausted. 9.8 km from Ballanjui Falls and following the track up and up we arrived at a junction and followed the side track to Charraboomba Rock where we inhaled the views of the Kurraragin Valley with the outstanding Egg Rock (Kurraragin 425m) in the middle.
Kooloobano Point was the next stop. Here we were presented with glorious views of the Numinbah valley.

Numbinbah Valley

According to the wonderful green pastures, the rains have done a lot of good to the farmers down below. We followed the Ships Stern Track and arrived at the Nagarigoon clearing next to the Nagarigoon Falls. The water is crystal clear and we filled our camelbacks.
Following the Border Track South, we reached Joalah lookout where the views towards the Gold Coast were a bit surprising. The weather was beautiful and the air was clear. Photo’s, photo’s

Gold Coast View

The track was good and we followed it until the Neerigomindalala Falls. here too, the water was clear and the camelbacks were reaching point empty so this water was very welcome. The Border Track changes names or is part of the Coomera cicuit which we now were following. This part is absolutely the pinnacle of the Binna Burra section of Lamington National Park with numerous waterfalls as there is the Chigigunya Falls, the Moolgoolong Cascades, the Gwongarragong Falls, Kagoonya Falls, Bahnamboola Falls and the Coomera Falls to name a few.

Chigigunya Falls

However, there was a landslide on our way but it was not too hard to get around. To view the Coomera Falls, a platform was built to invite you to have a good view on the Falls as well as over the Coomera Gorge. At the end of the Coomera circuit the track merges with the Border Track and we walked back to the spot we started from. We immensely enjoyed this walk with it’s fantastic sceneries.
Bushwalking is not only about being one with nature. It strenghtens the bond between us.

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johnvriesekolk and lamington