Goomburra State Forest and Teviot State Forest

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Goomburra State Forest

   Goomburra is the northern gateway to Main Range National Park, a section of the Great Dividing Range west of Brisbane where the mountains rise steeply from the Darling Downs and the Fassifern valley. Like its neighbours on the range it belongs to the Gondwana Rainforests, and it is a place of mountain forest, rainforest gullies and dramatic lookouts. Dalrymple Creek flows through the valley, lined with tall eucalypts and rainforest, and the camping area beside it is a favourite of families and walkers.

   Read the complete Goomburra State Forest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Goomburra State Forest is where the day begins. Next is Spicers Gap State Forest.

2. 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 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Teviot State Forest.

3. 3. Teviot State Forest

   The Scenic Rim is the name given to the arc of rugged mountains that curves around the south-east corner of Queensland, along the New South Wales border, and Teviot State Forest sits on its western side. It is dry eucalypt country of ironbark and spotted gum, quite different from the rainforest on the wetter slopes nearby, with open woodland, grassy slopes and rocky creek beds. The area is part of the wider Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a World Heritage area that preserves the largest subtropical rainforest in the world and the remnants of the ancient forests that once covered the supercontinent Gondwana.

   Read the complete Teviot State Forest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 146 km into the recorded legs you reach Teviot State Forest. Next is back through Spicers Gap State Forest.

4. 4. 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, late in the day. Next is Goomburra State Forest.

5. 5. Goomburra State Forest

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Goomburra State Forest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Goomburra State Forest. That is the ride.