Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk
Getting there
We suggest walking this Great Walk from west to east, commencing at Lamington National Park — Green Mountains section (O’Reilly), and finishing at Springbrook National Park. The directions below reflect this orientation.
Getting to Green Mountains (O’Reilly) — Lamington National Park
From Broadbeach
Drive 40km to Canungra via Nerang. From Canungra follow the Lamington National Park signs. The 36km narrow bitumen road is winding and takes at least 50 minutes. The road is unsuitable for caravans. Care must be taken when driving this road. Watch for wildlife.
From Brisbane
Drive south on the Pacific Motorway and take the Southport-Nerang exit. Turn right at the lights onto the Beaudesert-Nerang Road and follow this through Nerang. Turn right at a set of lights approximately 7.35km from Nerang and follow the road signs to Canungra. From Canungra follow the Lamington National Park signs. The 36km narrow bitumen road is winding and takes at least 50 minutes. The road is unsuitable for caravans. Care must be taken when driving this road. Watch for wildlife.
Getting to Binna Burra — Lamington National Park
From Broadbeach
Allow 70 minutes from Broadbeach. Drive 38km to Beechmont via Nerang. This is a narrow, winding road and care must be taken. At Beechmont turn left at the roundabout and follow the road for 10km to the park. This final section of road is very narrow. Watch for wildlife.
From Brisbane
Drive south on the Pacific Motorway and take the Southport-Nerang exit. Turn right at the lights onto the Beaudesert-Nerang Road and follow this through Nerang. Turn right at a set of lights approximately 7.35km from Nerang and follow the road signs to Canungra. At the T-junction on the Beaudesert-Nerang Road, turn left and follow the signs to Beechmont, located 18km from Canungra. Turn right at the Beechmont roundabout and follow the road for 10km to the park. The final section of road is very narrow. Watch for wildlife.
Getting to Springbrook plateau — Springbrook National Park
From Brisbane
Drive south on the Pacific Motorway and exit at Mudgeeraba (exit 79), and follow the Gold Coast-Springbrook Road. Springbrook plateau is 29km from Mudgeeraba.
Alternatively, exit the Pacific Motorway at Nerang (exit 69) and follow the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road for 42km then take the Springbrook turn-off at Pine Creek Road. This bitumen road is steep and narrow. Turn left off Springbrook Road into Carricks Road and look for the campground signs. Watch for wildlife.
From the Gold Coast
Drive north on the Pacific Motorway and exit at Mudgeeraba (exit 80), and follow the Gold Coast-Springbrook Road. Springbrook plateau is 29km from Mudgeeraba.
Alternatively, exit the Pacific Motorway at Nerang (exit 69) and follow the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road for 42km then take the Springbrook turn-off at Pine Creek Road. This bitumen road is steep and narrow. Turn left off Springbrook Road into Carricks Road and look for the campground signs. Watch for wildlife.
For information on commercial tour operators and public transport see the tourism information links below for details or go to www.translink.com.au.
Contact the Lamington and Springbrook National Park offices to enquire about local road conditions.
Weather forecasts are available from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Walk highlights
Discover beauty, mystery and history along the 54 kilometre Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk linking the species-rich, Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area of Lamington and Springbrook plateaus via the scenic Numinbah Valley. Walk through the ancient volcanic landscape of the Tweed Volcano, which is still being eroded by rushing streams and plummeting waterfalls, through lush rainforest with relicts of Gondwana flora and fauna.
The walk offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences — where else in Queensland can you walk along the rim of an ancient volcano?
The Great Walk passes through Woonoongoora, the place known to the Yugambeh as “Queen of the Mountains”, whose story tells of the formation of the rivers and valleys of this area. The Yugambeh are descendants of the traditional Aboriginal people whose ancestors walked this land a long, long time ago. They say to you now… Kulli bugoram dhagun nya nya yahngahla (This (is) special land — walk carefully).
Camping and accommodation
Camping
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EPA provides walkers’ camps at Green Mountains campground in Lamington National Park, the Woonoongoora walkers’ camp in the Gold Coast City Council’s Springbrook Conservation Area and The Settlement campground in Springbrook National Park. There are no EPA walkers’ camps at Binna Burra in Lamington National Park. Please call the privately owned Binna Burra campground on (07) 5533 3622 to book a campsite.
All campsites, except Woonoongoora, have water and toilets and are close to cafés or local shops for supplies. Woonoongoora walkers’ camp only has toilet facilities and is located 4.3km from a local shop in Numinbah.
You can stay at each campsite for a maximum of two consecutive nights and your group should have no more than eight people. Camping permits are required and fees apply.
- Find out more about walkers’ camps (or camping areas).
- Book your campsite online.
- If you cannot book online, book by phone on 13 13 04.
Other accommodation
There is a range of holiday accommodation in and around Springbrook, Lamington, Beechmont and Numinbah. For more information see the tourism information links below.
Short walks
Both Lamington and Springbrook national parks provide a number of short-walk options that can be added to the Great Walk. Please ensure you have a copy of either the Lamington National Park Visitor Guide or the Springbrook National Park Visitor Guide when you walk in these parks. For more information, follow the links to the Lamington National Park webpage or the Springbrook National Park webpage.
Long walks
Both Lamington and Springbrook national parks provide a number of long-walk options that can be added to the Great Walk. Please ensure you have a copy of either the Lamington National Park Visitor Guide or the Springbrook National Park Visitor Guide when you walk in these parks. For more information, follow the links to the Lamington National Park webpage or the Springbrook National Park webpage.
Allow three days to complete the 54km Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk. It is recommended that you walk west to east, commencing the walk from Lamington National Park — Green Mountains section (O’Reilly) and ending at The Settlement campground in Springbrook National Park. Please note that a temporary walkers’ camp has been constructed in Numinbah Forest Reserve while the planned Woonoongoora walkers’ camp, which is to be located on the Gold Coast City Council’s Springbrook Conservation Area, is being approved.
Green Mountains (O’Reilly) to Binna Burra — 21.4km (7 hours) Class 4 (Moderate)
Begin your walk from Green Mountains section of Lamington National Park along the well-known 21.4km Border Track, which links Green Mountains section of the national park to the Binna Burra section.
The Border Track traverses some of the highest remaining basalt lavas from the Tweed Volcano. With increasing elevation it passes from warm and cool subtropical rainforests into warm and cool temperate rainforests . Lookouts along the Border Track are on the rim of the Tweed Valley erosion caldera and on a clear day you can see Mount Warning, the distant Nightcap Range, the Lamington wilderness area and the Tweed Range.
Binna Burra to temporary Woonoongoora walkers’ camp — 19.5km (4–5 hours) Class 4 (Moderate)
Begin at the Ships Stern track and Lower Bellbird circuit entrance, below the Binna Burra campground. Follow the clearly marked Ships Stern circuit for 3.7km, descending through cliff lines of rhyolite and tuff (volcanic ash), before branching left on to the Lower Bellbird circuit track, which follows the base of the spectacular rhyolite cliff for 3km before turning right at the Great Walk track junction.
The track heads east into Kurraragin Valley where the track takes you past fine stands of piccabeen palm, large red cedar and majestic flooded gum.
The track follows Egg Rock Creek for 2.5km before branching left along Nixon Creek. Watch as the intrusive plug of Egg Rock (Kurraragin, meaning “very tall”) seems to rise sharply through the trees. The track then heads north-east for a further 2.4km through selectively cleared woodland before traversing a dirt road to emerge 4.5km south of Numinbah on the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road in Numinbah Valley.
Parts of this section of track follow an unfenced easement through a private grazing property and the Numinbah Correctional Centre’s boundary. This is private property — do not enter! Please stay on the track and observe all signs.
The Great Walk follows the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road for 4.8km. This can be a busy road — please observe road signs, cross where totem signs indicate and maintain a safe distance from the road. You can continue to the temporary Woonoongoora walkers’ camp or end your walk here. Please organise transport before you leave Lamington National Park, as there is no public transport from this point.
A steep incline begins shortly after leaving Numinbah. The temporary Woonoongoora walkers’ camp, shaded by eucalypts, nestles in the eastern side of Numinbah Valley and 4.3km from the township.
Temporary Woonoongoora walkers’ camp to The Settlement campground — 13km (5—6 hours) Class 4 (Moderate)
From your campsite continue uphill for 6km to Apple Tree Park located on the Springbrook plateau. The walk begins by descending into Waterfall Creek valley — a great amphitheatre walled by spectacular white cliffs. The cliffs are the result of a thick rhyolite flow from the ancient volcano. The following section of the track, up the rhyolite cliff line, is steep and arduous with over 900 steps to negotiate before reaching the plateau. The track climbs through a grove of cycads that cling to the steep slopes of the ridge. These are an ancient plant form with fossil records indicating they existed almost 300 million years ago. Despite the very high rainfall, the summit of the plateau supports only tall eucalypt forest primarily because of the poorer rhyolite soils.
From Apple Tree Park cross the Springbrook Road where Great Walk markers indicate, and drop down into the catchment of the Little Nerang Dam. This section of the track can be wet and slippery. Care should be taken when crossing Little Nerang Creek. The track then follows the west branch of Little Nerang Creek, up the side of a narrow gorge with pools and cascades cut into older rocks from beneath the volcano. After a kilometre, the track emerges at a basalt slab above Warringa Pool — a great place to stop and take in the sounds of the rainforest.
The track continues to Purling Brook Falls, where a massive cliff of cream-coloured rhyolite, 100m high, looms over a deep gorge of black basalt. After passing behind the falls, a steady climb brings you back to the top of the plateau. Just before crossing the top of Purling Brook, the track branches left to The Settlement campground.
Caution: The Warringa Pool section may be closed during floods or extreme fire danger.
Planning your walk
Essentials to bring
Walkers must be fully self-sufficient as facilities are limited. Pack for your safety and for your comfort. Your camping equipment should include the following:
- First-aid kit — know how to use it!
- Drinking water — no water is provided at the temporary Woonoongoora walkers’ camp — supply all your drinking water as water quality cannot be guaranteed. Treat all creek water before drinking. Boil water for approximately three minutes to kill most pathogens, otherwise use water treatment tablets.
- Water containers — ensure they are big enough to hold water for a day’s walk and organise water supplies for camping at Woonoongoora walkers’ camp.
- Nourishing lightweight food and high-energy snacks, but take extra food in case the walk takes longer than expected.
- Sealable containers for leftover and fresh foods.
- Strong, lightweight tent — this is essential! — no shelters are provided at walkers’ camps.
- Lightweight sleeping bag and sleeping mat.
- Pack for all seasons — warm clothes and raincoats.
- Wear a hat, sunscreen and insect repellent.
- Waterproof bags to keep clothing and bedding dry, and for storing rubbish — rubbish bins are not provided at walkers’ camps, so all rubbish must be carried out for disposal.
- Compass, torch and batteries and pocket knife.
- Lightweight cooking and eating utensils and washing up container.
- Fuel stove and fuel, lighter or waterproof matches — fires are not permitted in walkers’ camps.
- Small hand trowel or spade or human waste disposal kit and toilet paper.
- Mobile phone — coverage may be limited in places — and/or hand-held EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon).
Permits and fees
Camping permits are required and fees apply. A tag with your booking number must be displayed at your campsite.
- Book your campsite online.
- If you cannot book online, book by phone on 13 13 04.
Climate and weather
To make the best of your walk, choose a time when walking is pleasant. The best time to walk this Great Walk is between March and October.
Both Lamington and Springbrook plateaus are, on average, five degrees cooler than the adjacent lowland — even in summer. Even so, summer temperatures can reach a hot 36°C, especially on exposed ridges, so bring a hat and wear sunscreen even on cloudy days. In winter, these plateaus experience below 0°C. Nights are frosty and the days brisk. Temperatures within the rainforest can drop to a cool 4°C.
Weather conditions can change suddenly and it is advisable to carry a raincoat and warm clothing at all times of the year. Expect damp to wet track conditions if walking between December and March — the plateaus’ wet season. The average yearly rainfall for Springbrook is 3000mm and Lamington 1800mm.
Numinbah Valley ’s annual rainfall is around 1400mm, the majority of it falling during the hot, humid summer months. Temperatures in the valley can rise to a maximum of 38°C in summer, while during the clear, crisp winters they drop no lower than 4°C.
- To check weather conditions a day or two before leaving, weather forecasts are available from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Fuel and supplies
Fuel and supplies are available at Canungra and Nerang. On Lamington Plateau, unleaded petrol (but not diesel) and propane gas is available at Binna Burra Mountain Lodge and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat Restaurants, take-away and cafés are located on Lamington and Springbrook plateaus. A café is located at Numinbah.
Public pay phones are located at Green Mountains and Binna Burra and the townships of Springbrook and Numinbah.
Walk safely
Sections of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk are remote and isolated. Accidents have happened, even to experienced bushwalkers. You must be well prepared and responsible for your own safety, even on short walks.
General safety guidelines
By following the guidelines below, you will help ensure a safe and enjoyable trip for you and your group.
- Check weather conditions a day or two before leaving, by visiting www.bom.gov.au (weather bureau).
- Check for fire danger, track closure and other park news via www.epa.qld.gov.au before you leave.
- Never walk alone — small groups of about four are ideal.
- Don’t get lost! — know your location at all times and stay on marked tracks; take a compass and a copy of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk Topographic Map.
- Be surefooted — wear sturdy, enclosed boots or shoes — tracks are slippery when wet.
- Don’t overheat! — avoid walking in extreme heat or during periods of high fire danger.
- Watch your head! — high winds cause branches to fall.
- Camping is not advisable in extremely windy conditions, and walkers’ camps may be closed temporarily.
- Carry adequate drinking water, food and a first-aid kit. Treat all water taken from creeks — boil water for approximately three minutes to kill most pathogens or use water treatment tablets.
- For your safety, do not walk at night — plan to set up camp well before sunset; pack a torch and batteries.
- Have an emergency plan.
- Ensure experienced adults accompany children.
- Obey all safety and warning signs.
In an emergency
- Before you leave — always tell a responsible person where you are going and when you expect to return and have an emergency plan in place if you fail to contact them by an agreed time.
- While out on the track — know your location at all times.
- Carry a mobile phone and call 000 in an emergency. If you have difficulty getting reception, try dialling 112. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) may be the best emergency communication device in remote areas.
For more information, please read the guidelines on safety in parks and forests.
Fire safety
Bushfires can pose a threat to walkers. They can occur without warning so be aware of, and prepared for, the dangers.
- If there is a bushfire, follow the track to the nearest road, firebreak or waterway for refuge.
- Burnt ground, large logs or a ditch can also provide protection.
- Avoid areas of heavy fuel, such as deep leaf litter and stay low to the ground where the air is coolest and contains the least smoke.
- In extreme conditions, the walking track may be closed for your personal safety. Please observe all signs.
Rangers also carry out planned hazard reduction burning, so check the website at www.qld.gov.au/camping for updates on fire danger and scheduled burning before you go.
If you see a fire, please phone 000 (or try 112 if mobile coverage is poor) and speak to the fire service as soon as possible.
Flood safety
- Do not cross creeks during floods or after heavy rain.
- If caught during a flash flood, stay on higher ground and wait until the waters have receded.
- Continue your walk only when you can cross the creeks safely.
- In extreme wet conditions, the walking track will be closed for your personal safety. Please observe all signs.
For more information, please read the guidelines on safety in parks and forests.
Walk softly
Feel privileged — you are visiting an area recognised as one of the world’s most outstanding and valuable places. Lamington and Springbrook national parks are part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. With pride, we protect and present this heritage — the world’s heritage. Help ensure that we can all enjoy this wonderful area — tread softly and leave no trace!
Camping
- Only use existing sites at walkers’ camps.
- Do not dig trenches or flatten or break any vegetation.
- Leave your site in the same or better condition than when you found it, so others may enjoy the Great Walk too.
- Check your site thoroughly before leaving to ensure nothing is left behind.
Rubbish
- Reduce your rubbish by bringing as little packaging as possible. There are no rubbish bins on the Great Walk.
- All rubbish (including food scraps and bagged sanitary products) must be carried out.
- You can help the park by bringing out any other rubbish you find.
- Carry a small rubbish bag, so that even tiny scraps of tin foil, lolly papers, and cigarette butts can be carried out.
Use fuel stoves only
- No open fires are permitted along the Great Walk.
- Carry gas or liquid spirit stoves for cooking — test equipment before you go and never cook in your tent.
- Do not leave stoves unattended when lit.
Toilets
- Use toilets where provided.
- Where there are no toilets, bury human waste and toilet paper at least 100m from campsites, tracks and waterways and about 50cm deep.
- Take all sanitary items with you — they do not decompose. Clip seal bags are handy storage until you can dispose of the waste responsibly.
- Use a human waste disposal kit and pack it out. Kits are available from some camping stores. Please follow manufacturer’s directions on the packet and dispose of waste responsibly.
Pathogen control stations
Don’t let your walk destroy the forest — stop the spread of phytophthora (a root fungus that causes dieback in trees) and other pathogens
- Please clean and disinfect your footwear and camping equipment either at home using a disinfectant or at pathogen control stations before starting your walk.
- Keep to designated roads and walking tracks at all times.
- Start and finish your bushwalk with clean footwear and camping gear by removing soil from footwear, camping spade or trowel and tent pegs before leaving an area and keep all gear as clean and free from soil as possible during the walk.
- Clean your footwear, camping spade or trowel and camping gear at pathogen control stations where provided.
Be frog friendly
- Please do not disturb, handle or remove frogs, their eggs or tadpoles.
- Do not use or discard, soap, detergent, shampoo, sunscreen, insect repellent or any other potential pollutant in creeks or along the banks.
- Keep to walking tracks and cross directly where the track crosses the creek.
- Please do not disturb or remove rocks or trample vegetation in or directly adjacent to creeks.
See the guidelines on caring for parks for more information about protecting our environment and heritage in parks.
Tourism information links
General tourism information
- Gold Coast Tourism Bureau Ltd
-
- www.VeryGC.com
- 64 Ferny Avenue, Gold Coast Surfers Paradise
- ph (07) 5592 2699
- email info@verygc.com
For tourism information for all regions in Queensland see www.queenslandholidays.com.au.
Further information
- EPA West Burleigh Office
-
- Kabool Road, West Burleigh
- PO Box 3454, Burleigh Town LPO QLD 4220
- ph (07) 5520 9600
- fax (07) 5576 3975
- EPA Customer Service Centre
-
- 160 Ann Street, Brisbane
- PO Box 15155, City East QLD 4002
- ph (07) 3227 8185
- fax (07) 3227 8749
- email csc@epa.qld.gov.au
- Smart Service (for camping bookings)
-
- www.qld.gov.au/camping
- ph 13 13 04
- fax 1300 300 768
- email enquiries@smartservice.qld.gov.au
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Last updated: 04 March 2008
