Why this ride
On the way it passes Spicers Gap State Forest, Main Range National Park, 'Palen Creek' State Forest and back through Main Range National Park. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gambubal State Forest and 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 817 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 14 h 06
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Gambubal State Forest
Gambubal State Forest clings to the western side of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, close to the New South Wales border, in country that drops from rainforest-clad ridges down to the grazing land around Killarney and Warwick. The forest adjoins Main Range National Park and belongs to the wider belt of subtropical and temperate rainforest protected as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. Hoop pine, ancient Antarctic beech on the highest ridges, tree ferns and strangler figs give it a feel of deep time, and it is one of the cooler corners of Queensland in summer.
Read the complete Gambubal State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gambubal State Forest is where the day begins. Next is Spicers Gap State Forest.
2. Spicers Gap State Forest
Allan Cunningham, the botanist and explorer, found a way through the Main Range in 1827, and the gap that bears his name now carries the busy highway from Brisbane to the Darling Downs. A few kilometres to the south, Spicers Gap was the route that early drays and coaches used instead, because it offered an easier climb up the escarpment. The old road, built in the mid nineteenth century with stone retaining walls and drains that can still be seen, is now part of the Main Range National Park and the neighbouring state forest, and it is a fascinating relic of the pioneer days, with a historic cemetery and the remains of an old camping ground for teamsters.
Read the complete Spicers Gap State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Spicers Gap State Forest comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Main Range National Park.
3. Main Range National Park
The Main Range is the wall behind the Scenic Rim, a long line of old volcanic cliffs and ridges that runs along the border between south-east Queensland and New South Wales. It is what remains of a huge volcano that erupted more than twenty million years ago, and the rocks have been eroded into steep escarpments, gorges and waterfalls, with the high points, such as Mount Superbus, reaching nearly fourteen hundred metres. The national park protects dry eucalypt forest on the lower slopes and cool, damp rainforest higher up, with ancient Antarctic beech trees and giant tree ferns that belong to the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, listed by UNESCO in 1986.
Read the complete Main Range National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 159 km into the recorded legs you reach Main Range National Park. Next is 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
4. 'Palen Creek' State Forest
State forests in Queensland do not always sound romantic, but Palen Creek earns a second look. It sits in the hills south of Rathdowney in the Scenic Rim, between the Logan River country and the border ranges, a mix of eucalypt forest, old timber land and gullies of rainforest that run up toward the New South Wales border. The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, which are listed by UNESCO, begin a few ridges away, and the wildlife does not care much about the boundary.
Read the complete 'Palen Creek' State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
'Palen Creek' State Forest, about halfway. Next is back through Main Range National Park.
5. back through Main Range National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Main Range National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Main Range National Park sits at 544 km, about halfway. Next is back through Spicers Gap State Forest.
6. back through Spicers Gap State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Spicers Gap State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Spicers Gap State Forest comes up about 749 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gambubal State Forest.
7. Gambubal State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gambubal State Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gambubal State Forest closes the day.
Leg by leg
Gambubal State Forest to Spicers Gap State Forest
Gambubal State Forest → Spicers Gap State Forest is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spicers Gap State Forest to Main Range National Park
Spicers Gap State Forest → Main Range National Park is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Main Range National Park to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Main Range National Park → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 253 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
'Palen Creek' State Forest to back through Main Range National Park
'Palen Creek' State Forest → back through Main Range National Park is 253 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Main Range National Park to back through Spicers Gap State Forest
back through Main Range National Park → back through Spicers Gap State Forest is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Spicers Gap State Forest to Gambubal State Forest
back through Spicers Gap State Forest → Gambubal State Forest is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.