Chester Road Survey

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Posted 2023-12-22 by Roz Glazebrook ⇒ follow

I usually like to go on Survey walks with my bushwalking club, because they go to new, interesting areas, but this one turned out to be more than I expected.

The plan was to explore the area around the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk. I had done parts of this walk before as day walks, including the start of the Great Walk from O’Reilly’s to Binna Burra, and walks around Springbrook where it ends, but I hadn’t been to the area around the Numinbah Valley before.

The Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk is 54 km in length starting at Green Mountains [O'Reilly's] and finishing at the Settlement campground at Springbrook.

The walk uses part of Chesters Road on the way up to Springbrook from the Numinbah Valley, and this was the area we were going to explore.

We parked our cars at Numinbah Valley School of the Arts Hall. And did a car shuffle to leave some cars where we planned to finish the walk. We then set out on the GCH Great Walk trail into the Numinbah Conservation Area and Springbrook National Park. This went up a forestry road, which was easy. It was a very hot day and I think we all suffered from the heat.

At the end of Chesters Road, there was an offshoot to a network of tracks, which we explored. After a quick rest stop to repair Rachel’s boots, we headed off into the scrub, climbing over and under logs and even walking across a log going uphill. The bush looked very ticky and snaky.

Eventually, we got back onto the track and followed it down to Waterfall Creek where we had lunch. We then either rock-hopped or walked on the track to the end of the trail. We had hoped to get back onto the track at this point but were confronted with a private property sign, complete with cows and bulls in the paddocks at the side of the creek.

We never go on private property without the owner’s permission so we had to decide whether to return the way we had come or walk along the fence line until we could get around it.

After much discussion, we decided to push on and hope the fence didn’t go for kilometres before we could get past it.

With some good navigation by our leaders, we did eventually get back onto the track, which headed to the Woonoongoora Walker’s Camp. The camp has good campsites and facilities including a toilet and is operated by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service at the bottom of the Springbrook Plateau.

I was really happy to get there, as there was a sign saying it was only 5 kilometres back to our cars. At least that’s what I thought!

It was very pleasant at first walking down the main walking track through the forest. We then reached a turn off which I later discovered was called “Red Hill Break”.

I know the suburb Red Hill in Brisbane is pretty hilly and maybe that is why this hill got its name. I’ve decided to call it “Killer Hill”. It just kept going up and up. I’d run out of water by this time and just wanted it to finish. After climbing for ages I sat down for a rest and asked Ryan how much further the hill went for. I was a bit dismayed when he said we were only about a third of the way up.

Our fearless leader did apologise and said he wouldn’t go that way again. Next time he will go in and out on the main track. It may have been easier on a cooler day.

He told us the purpose of the survey was to look at establishing an add-on when doing the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk. Our objective was achieved in that it worked out to be too much elevation up and down to add this part to the walk. He was also looking at a way up to the campsite beside the great walk track. This objective, he mentioned will be explored further another time.

At one stage of our walk there was some discussion about climbing to the top of Wullu-Eerie, as this was not part of the plan, we decided to leave it until next time. I’m so glad we didn’t do it as it would have been a harder, longer day. I’m sure some of the other more intrepid walkers will go back and head up Wullu-Eerie, but I won’t be going on that one.

After I got home I received an email from one of our walkers with a list of the highest hills in Brisbane. Apparently, the highest hill is in Toowong, but Red Hill comes second. Things may have changed but in 2011 Brisbane’s steepest street was Gower Street in Toowong followed closely by Stoneleigh Street in Red Hill. Jeannette said she lives one street over from Gower Street and gets a good morning work out there.

We walked around 16 kilometres. It was certainly an adventure. Whilst I may not revisit some of this territory, I would like to go back and do the whole Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk sometime though.