Limpinwood Nature Reserve and Goomburra State Forest

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Limpinwood Nature Reserve

   Twenty-odd million years ago, a huge shield volcano stood where the Tweed valley is now, on what became the border between New South Wales and Queensland. Erosion has since carved out its centre, leaving one of the largest erosion calderas in the world, a vast bowl of green farmland ringed by cliffs and ridges, with the volcano's old central plug, Wollumbin, also known as Mount Warning, standing in the middle. Limpinwood Nature Reserve, on the northern rim of the caldera, protects a stretch of subtropical rainforest that is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving forests whose lineage goes back to the ancient supercontinent.

   Read the complete Limpinwood Nature Reserve write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Limpinwood Nature Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Cronan Creek State Forest.

2. 2. Cronan Creek State Forest

   Cronan Creek runs off the slopes of Mount Barney, one of the great peaks of the Scenic Rim, the arc of mountains along the Queensland and New South Wales border southwest of Brisbane. Mount Barney rises to over thirteen hundred metres, a rugged mass of volcanic rock covered in eucalyptus forest, with rainforest in the gullies and heathland near the summit, and it is the most challenging climb in southeast Queensland. The creek valley below is quiet and lovely, with clear water running over rocks, tall gums and grassy flats where wallabies graze at dusk.

   Read the complete Cronan Creek State Forest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Cronan Creek State Forest comes up about 154 km into the recorded legs. Next is Goomburra State Forest.

3. 3. 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

   about 316 km into the recorded legs you reach Goomburra State Forest. Next is back through Cronan Creek State Forest.

4. 4. back through Cronan Creek State Forest

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Cronan Creek 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 Cronan Creek State Forest, late in the day. Next is Limpinwood Nature Reserve.

5. 5. Limpinwood Nature Reserve

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Limpinwood Nature Reserve write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Limpinwood Nature Reserve. That is the ride.