Three day Girraween adventure

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

The grandparents decided to take the daughter to Maroochydore for a night at their favourite caravan park, so Lisa and I decided to head to Girraween National Park for a couple of nights (as Lisa has a passion for photography). We headed off Thursday morning and arrived at our destination 3 hours later. Set up base, and before you know it we're off on the first bush walk.

The 1st destination was late morning along Granite Arch & Bald Rock Circuit. Having never seen large granite rock sculptures before, we were truly amazed. Lis was in a world of her own, taking plenty of photos of the bouldering landscapes. Thinking we might get lost and have to stay in the bush for the night I packed the survival necessities and even went to the extreme of taking the flares & the v sheet from the boat. However, the tracks were very easy to navigate and my supplies were not needed. Actually, we were very impressed by the easy navigation and upkeep of the paths.

Following our morning walk, we headed back to base for some lunch and planned the afternoon trip: The Sphinx, Turtle Rock and Castle Rock treks. Making blistering time through the well maintained tracks we made it to the The Sphinx and Turtle Rock, taking many happy snaps along the way. Then, as light rain started, we proceeded back down and headed to Castle Rock. As you near the top of Castle Rock it gets quite steep. I even managed a little slip close to the edge of the cliff, which scared the life out of Lis and I and could have meant game over for me. So we shuffled back to were we felt comfortable and never made it to the peek of Castle Rock. By this time the adrenaline was pumping and our hearts were pounding. With just a little water, it gets very slippery on the granite rock - lesson learned.

The next day we left base at 3:50am to make first light at The Pyramid for a photo opportunity. Lis was chasing the Balancing Rock on sunrise, which sits proudly on top of The Pyramid. Approximately 7 metres from the peak of The Pyramid, and with my little slip still vivid in our minds, we decided against climbing the summit. Lis was a bit devo'ed to miss her shot, but we still got to watch the roaring red sunrise. Then, back down we went, had Brekky, and off to The Junction we went - a breathtaking granite bed covered in small water holes. It was one of our favourite walks. After lunch we explored Underground Creek and Dr Roberts waterhole - again, magnificent scenes. We revisited The Junction on sunset for some more photo opportunities for Lis.

Exploring Girraween National Park and it's colourful rock slabs and boulders is a must for those seeking a twist in Australia's rural scene.

Thanks

Darren & Lis

[Funchy]

Thanks for sharing mate, great pics and well written

Oh, and glad you didn't go splat

[kingcray]

nice Darren. Have you guys done any of the walks up at O'reillys?

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

nice Darren. Have you guys done any of the walks up at O'reillys?

To tell you the truth we didn't even know about it. We just looked at it then and it's already putting ideas in our heads. Have you ventured out that way, if so what are some of your favorite spots there?

Thanks very much Kingcray for letting us know about this hidden gem.
Darren & lis

[kingcray]

lamington national park. There are craploads of walks.
http://www.oreillys.com.au/lamington...rk/water-falls

Weve done the elebana falls and running creek falls walks and a lot of the smallers ones. They have a tree top walk up there too now.
Great fun with the kids, they can feed the local king parrots and the cafe is great for a feed.
We often just go out there for the drive, feed the birds and have lunch. Lamington national park road out of Canungra