Hikes and walks in Sheepstation Creek Conservation Park

Open Forest and Creek Country on Caboolture’s Edge

Overview

Sheepstation Creek Conservation Park protects a 231ha patch of open forest in the Moreton Bay region, about 7km south-west of Caboolture and roughly 40km north of Brisbane. What makes it stand out is its role as the largest remaining area of natural forest in the Sheep Station Creek catchment, holding onto bushland and creek habitats in a part of South East Queensland that has changed quickly around it.

The country here is gently undulating rather than steep or dramatic, with tributaries cutting through the park and shaping a mix of drier forest on ridges and slopes and moister vegetation along the watercourses. That combination gives the park a quiet, local feel, but it also explains why it is such an important refuge for native plants and animals.

Highlights

The character of the park comes from its open forest and its creek system. Sheep Station Creek and its tributaries form chains of deep pools linked by shallow reed beds, creating a more varied landscape than first impressions suggest. Those creek lines break up the forest and add pockets of cooler, greener country through the park.

On the slopes and ridges, the scenery is shaped by ironbark, spotted gum, pink bloodwood and white mahogany, while the watercourses carry a different texture again with brush box and paper-barked tea-tree. It is not a place of big mountain scenery, but of subtle changes in landform, vegetation and light.

Best Time to Visit

Any time from the cooler months through to the drier parts of the year tends to suit a visit best, when the open forest is more comfortable for walking and the creek flats are usually easier to appreciate. Spring can be especially pleasant for seeing the park’s mix of grasses, herbs and flowering understory plants.

Because the park’s appeal is tied to its bushland and creek country rather than a single seasonal event, it can be rewarding across the year. The feel of the place changes with rainfall, light and growth along the watercourses more than with any one headline season.

Plants and Animals

Despite its modest size, the park supports a high diversity of native animals, especially birds and arboreal mammals. Records for the park include koala, southern greater glider, yellow-footed antechinus and powerful owl, along with glossy black-cockatoo, square-tailed kite and grey goshawk. Grey-headed flying foxes also feed here, and platypus may use the waterways when conditions are suitable.

The plant life is just as varied across the different parts of the park. Gum topped box is common through much of the forest, with narrow-leaved and grey ironbark on the ridge tops, and spotted gum, pink bloodwood and white mahogany across the upper slopes. Along the creeks, species such as brush box, forest red gum, hard quandong and paper-barked tea-tree reflect the shift to wetter ground. A small area of endangered regional ecosystem survives in the north-east corner, adding to the park’s conservation value.

Culture and Heritage

The bushland here is part of an Aboriginal cultural landscape, with native plants and animals traditionally used for food and other needs, and the country itself holding spiritual significance. The park contains a number of tree markings thought to be of Aboriginal origin, including two scar trees that have been positively identified.

There is also evidence of more recent land use. Before becoming protected area, this country was used as a timber and gravel reserve, and it still contains part of the original Brisbane to Gympie road, including remnants of an old wooden bridge.