McAfee's Lookout to Enoggera Reservoir over Mt Arum

McAfee's Lookout to Enoggera Reservoir over Mt Arum

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Posted 2022-05-11 by Roz Glazebrookfollow

It was my ninth bushwalking trip from McAfee's Lookout to Enoggera Reservoir over Mount Arum in the Southern Section of D'Aguilar National Park.



I still wouldn't try doing it on my own, as it would be very easy to get lost there. The track is often overgrown and hard to follow.

It is a great walk with lots of interesting features. The walk begins at McAfee's Lookout, which turns off from the left of Mount Nebo Road between the Bellbird Grove and Camp Mountain turnoffs. There used to be a sign but it wasn't there last Sunday. You need to leave a car at the lookout and one back at Walkabout Creek where the walk finishes to bring drivers back to the lookout to pick up their cars.



McAfees Lookout and Enoggera Reservoir are in the Southern section of D'Aguilar National Park near Brisbane - about 11 to 16 km north-west of Brisbane CBD.



Some people just walk down to the creek and back to the lookout on the same track but we walked all the way over the Mountain to Enoggera Reservoir.

The track leads down through the rainforest to Enoggera Creek. The creek was the highest I had ever seen it. There were even rapids in the creek The track is very rough and indistinct and easy to lose. After having a look at the creek, we turned back and followed the track alongside the creek to the Mt Arum Mines trail.



There were a few creek crossings and climbs up over slippery rocks. Someone had cleared the track a bit and cut through some of the lantana, so it wasn't as bad as we were expecting.



I was very excited on the way down to see my first Red Triangle Slug. I have often seen other people's photos of these beautiful slugs on bushwalking sites but I had never seen one before. I saw four of them on this trip.



The red triangle slug is a species of large air-breathing land slug. The slug is Australia's largest native land slug and is found in Eastern Australia.

They can be relatively transparent, bright red or yellow in colour, all depending on their diet. They are nocturnal and can grow up to 14 centimetres long.

They can produce a special kind of mucus when threatened which is very sticky and can glue their predators to a spot for days. John Gould from the University of Newcastle, made the discovery when he spotted a green tree frog stuck to a branch right next to a red triangle slug in the Watagans Mountain Range in New South Wales.



About halfway into the walk, we came out onto a dirt road where we stopped for morning tea. Every other time I've done this walk, we sit on the concrete causeway over the creek but this time it was completely covered in water, and we had to move up the road to sit down.



After morning tea, we headed off on the Mt Arum Mines trail. We stopped along the way to admire a large tree with huge buttress roots before heading up the short, steep track to the top of Mt Arum.



We always stop and admire the huge tree with its amazing long buttress roots, before getting to the bottom of the track up and over Mount Arum. On the way up we passed the old gold mine. Gold was discovered in the area in the mid-1800s. There are many old mines throughout the D'Aguilar National Park, Jolly's Lookout National Park, Maiala National Park, Boombana and Manorina National Parks.



The area was declared a national park in 1977 with an approximate size of 28 500 hectares. It is the second-largest park in South East Queensland.



On the top of Mt Arum, there is a hidden Geocache. It's the fourth one I've come across on bushwalks in Queensland and Tasmania. We also passed a large round concrete water reservoir. I'm not sure what it was used for, but may have been a water source for horses??





After another snack, we headed off down the track, which linked up, with the track to Walkabout Creek where we finished a great walk with coffee before heading home.



If you plan to do this walk, make sure you are good at navigation or go with someone who knows the area very well. I have seen people lose the track. It is one of my favourite walks.





#daguilar
#health_fitness
#mines
#national_parks
#walks
%wnbrisbane
171563 - 2023-06-15 09:08:23

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