Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail: Day 4: Grassdale Section is a 13.3km, grade 5 One way hike located in Flinders Chase National Park South Australia. The hike should take approximately 5hrs to complete.

Summary

Spend 5 days hiking the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail along the spectacular coastline of south-west Kangaroo Island.

We’ve listed each of the 5 sections on a separate entry:

6.5 hours, 13.5km (extra 700m return sidetrip to Hanson Bay Beach)

From the campsite the trail returns to the coastal cliffs, walking past Cape Younghusband before heading inland. This section is through cooler mallee and tea trees, and is across private property as it sneaks past the million-dollar South Ocean Lodge. Crossing the road into Hanson Bay, there is an ingenious boat set up to cross the South West River. Take an optional short sidetrip to be rewarded with views of the idyllic Hanson Bay Beach. Returning to the main trail, the trail follows the Hanson Bay Hike along the river, before reaching the quiet sanctuary of Tea Tree Campsite, with the South West River splitting the campsite in two.

GPX file courtesy of Walking SA. File may not contain elevation data and may only represent half the length on return hikes.

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Walking SA

Baroota Hike, Mambray Creek is a 6km, grade 3 One way hike located in Mount Remarkable National Park South Australia. The hike should take approximately 2hrs to complete.

Summary

Follow the Mambray Creek Walk then continue along a natural trail to visit Baroota Ruins, the Old Baroota Cemetery and the Baroota Ruins Campground.

Start and finish from either Mambray Creek campground/Day Visitor Carpark, or Baroota Ruins.

This walk takes in the Wirra Water Loop.

GPX file courtesy of Walking SA. File may not contain elevation data and may only represent half the length on return hikes.

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Walking SA

Spion Kop Track is a 4.2km, grade 3 One Way hike located in Whitsunday Islands National Park Queensland. The hike should take approximately 2hrs to complete.

Summary

If you visit South Molle Island you should make time to walk some or all of the Spion Kop Track. This is one of the most scenic Whitsunday trails and you’ll be rewarded with stunning vistas, from the saddle of the mountain to when you reach the lookout. Enjoy the magic 360-degree view.

About the region

Whitsunday Islands is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 920 kilometres (570 mi) northwest of Brisbane. It contains Whitsunday Island and 31 others.

The Whitsunday Islands lie midway along Australia’s Queensland coast and are bordered by the Great Barrier Reef and the waters of the Coral Sea. Migrating humpback whales favour the waters around the Whitsunday Islands as a calving ground between May and September each year. Marine stingers are found in the waters of the islands between October and May.

The region spans from the beaches of Bowen in the north and Laguna Whitsundays in the south. All 74 of the islands are surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef and only eight of them are inhabited.

On Whitsunday Island is the six km long Whitehaven Beach. The beach has camping and picnic facilities in its foredunes. A walking track links to Chance Bay.

Access is by private or commercial boat from Airlie Beach or Shute Harbour.

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Queensland.com

Heritage Walk is a 1.5km, grade 2 Circuit hike located in Flinders Chase National Park South Australia. The hike should take approximately 20 mins to complete.

Summary

With interpretive signs along the trail, learn about the life of the early settlers at Rocky River and the formation of the park as South Australia’s second national park as an island sanctuary for threatened species. The walk skirts around the edge of Black Swamp and passes two heritage buildings – Mays Homestead and Postmans Cottage. A great walk for viewing koalas and other wildlife. The trail includes the Walking Trail Information Shelter overlooking Black Swamp.

The walk is easy and generally shady and can be enjoyed by all.

The hike can be accessed from the main walking trails trailhead at Flinders Chase Visitor Centre.

GPX file courtesy of Walking SA. File may not contain elevation data and may only represent half the length on return hikes.

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Walking SA

Ironbark Ridge and Spotted Gum Walking Trails is a 2.3km, grade 2 Return hike located in Sheepstation Creek Conservation Park Queensland. The hike should take approximately 1hrs to complete.

Summary

Ironbark Ridge and Spotted Gum Walking Trails are set amongst the tranquil grassy open forest of Sheepstation Creek Conservation Park in Upper Caboolture and can be accessed from the Grey Gum Circuit. Both short walking trails cross the middle of the park and connect to the Grey Gum Circuit at each end.

About the region

3 Main Entry Points to the Sheep Station Bushwalks around Brisbane North:

The park is located in Morayfield, approximately 7 kilometres south-west of Caboolture and 40 kilometres from Brisbane CBD.

Park your vehicle towards the end of any of these 4 roads to access the bushwalking Brisbane North trails on foot:

• Phelps Road (from the West)
• McLoughlin Road (from the East)
• Williamson Road (from the South)
• Mackney Rd (from the North-West)

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Queensland.com

Six Mile Creek, Bluff and Little White Rock Trails is a 2.7km, grade 3 Return hike located in White Rock-Spring Mountain Conservation Estate Queensland. The hike should take approximately 1.5hrs to complete.

Summary

See koalas in the wild on these easy to moderate walking trails through White Rock-Spring Mountain Conservation Estate. The Six Mile Creek, Bluff Lookout and Little White Rock Trails can be done together or in sections. Along these trails you will see large swamp box and blue gums, and if you are lucky you might spot a shy lace monitor. Keep an eye out for scratches and droppings at the base of large gums which indicate that a koala may be resting in the branches.

About the region

Located just 20 minutes from the Ipswich central business district and 35 minutes from Brisbane central business district, White Rock – Spring Mountain Conservation Estate features the distinctive sculptured rocky outcrops of White Rock and Spring Mountain.
Covering over 2,500ha of regionally significant bushland, the estate also features extensive forested ridges, escarpments and valleys that are home to an amazing array of plant and wildlife species. Visitors can enjoy the full gamut of outdoor activities, including hiking, bird-watching, horse riding (bring your own horses), mountain bike riding and nature study. For the bushwalker, there’s everything from a leisurely 200-metre walk to the more challenging 19-kilometre round-trip trail. To see the spectacular White Rock allow up to three-hours return trip to tackle the moderate 6.5 kilometre round-trip trail. Most of the trails are suitable for hiking and mountain bike riding and if you’re on horseback, the Yaddamun Trail is perfect.
The entry to the estate is the Paperbark Flats picnic area at the end of School Road in Redbank Plains. Amenities on site include toilets, picnic facilities and horse float parking. Don’t forget to take a hat, sunscreen and drinking water. Visit the website for trail updates and more details and view/download the trail guide for more detailed information on each trail.

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Queensland.com

Castle Rock Flinders Island is a 6.4km, grade 2 Return hike located in Emita Nature Recreation Area Tasmania. The hike should take approximately 2.5hrs to complete.

Summary

The Castle Rock Walk, one of Tasmania’s Great Short Walks, meanders along the shoreline of Marshall Bay, crossing stunning beaches and coastal hinterlands on its way to Castle Rock, a massive granite boulder.

Highlights

The 2.5 hour return beach walk begins just before Allports Beach, watch out for the blue ‘Castle Rock track and car park’ sign approximately 2km from the Allports Beach turn off. Walkers can also begin at the Marshall Bay end via the Marshall Bay Access Track left off Palana Road just after the sealed road becomes gravel if your coming from Whitemark. Park on the hill overlooking the Bay and a 5 minute walk along the dirt 4WD track on your left will bring you to the Castle Rock.

Region

The East Coast and Flinders Island

Getting there

From the town of Whitemark travel north (towards Palana) on road B85. Turn left to Allports Beach at a junction 17km north of Whitemark. Watch for ‘Castle Rock track and car park’ sign approximately 2km from this junction.

Tips

Toilets, picnic table, wood barbecues and tank water are available at nearby Allports Beach.

Moderate grade with no steep sections.

Supervise children, unpatrolled beached, subject to large waves

Mountain bikes are not permitted along the beaches.

For more information about this hiking trail please visit Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania

Historic Childers is a 2km, grade 2 One Way hike located in Childers Queensland. The hike should take approximately 2hrs to complete.

Summary

The township of Childers is set on top of rolling hills of red soil framed by green fields on sugar cane, avocados and macadamias. This walk will take you through the variety of architectural styles from past to present that Childers township has to offer reflecting its many food production industries.

About the region

Childers is a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia.

Childers is in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, situated on the Bruce Highway and lies 325 kilometres (202 mi) north of the state capital Brisbane and 52 kilometres (32 mi) south-west of Bundaberg.

The township is set on a ridge overlooking fields of rich volcanic soil.

For more information on this hiking trail, please visit Queensland.com

Montezuma Falls Walking Track is a 18.6km, grade 3 One Way hike located in Zeehan Montagu Tasmania. The hike should take approximately 6hrs to complete.

Summary

An easy walk, through rainforest, along the route of the historic North East Dundas Tramway. At 104m, Montezuma Falls are one of the highest waterfalls in Tasmania and the track takes you right to the base of the falls.

Highlights

Walking from Williamsford, the track is almost entirely through pleasant and open park-like rainforest. This includes leatherwood, myrtle, sassafras, giant tree ferns and eye-catching fungi.

You’re sure to get close to several different birds along the way, notably White’s thrush, which is a medium-sized and speckled brown and white ground dwelling bird. It forages quietly on the rainforest floor and, when disturbed, flies only a short distance before settling again, enabling you to get a second look.

An 1890 mineral survey showed the falls marked as Osbourne Falls. Montezuma was the name of the last Aztec emperor of Mexico (1466-1520). In Tasmania, his name appears to have originally been applied to a mining company — the Montezuma Silver Mining Company, which was formed in 1891 and held leases on the northern slopes of Mt. Dundas.

The creek immediately below the falls was once spanned by a wooden trestle bridge that was 160 ft. long and 50 ft. high and took five months to build. Today derelict pieces of timber, moss-covered concrete piers and rusty bolts are the only remains of this bridge.

The North East Dundas Tramway that ran from Zeehan to Deep Lead (now Williamsford) was constructed to facilitate access to mining sites in the Mt. Dundas and Mt. Read areas.

Surveying of the line commenced in 1895, and the ceremony to mark the ‘turning of the first sod’ was performed on 17 January 1896 before a crowd of 500 people. By January 1897 the first five miles of the line were in use and the official opening of the line through to Williamford was held in June 1898.

The gauge was 2 ft., which was a relatively narrow gauge and explains why the line was known as a tramway rather than a railway. The narrowness of the gauge was chosen to suit the winding hillsides and also to assist in lowering the cost of construction.

The line continued to operate infrequently until 1925 and was officially closed on 4 July 1932 and the rails were removed in the early 1940s.

Region

The Western Wilderness

Getting there

Follow the signs to Williamsford and Montezuma Falls 2km south of Rosebery on the Murchison Highway (A10).

Tips

Picnic, toilet facilities and shops in Rosebery.

Level track suitable for all age groups.

Supervise children, flowing waters, unprotected track edges, weather may change quickly.

Dogs are welcome if kept on a leash. Bicycles are permitted and this track is well-suited for mountain bikes.

For more information about this hiking trail please visit Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania