Why this ride
It goes by way of 'Palen Creek' State Forest, Mount Barney National Park, Mount Clunie Flora Reserve and Gambubal State Forest.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mount Chinghee National Park and Gambubal State Forest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 357 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 44
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mount Chinghee National Park
Mount Chinghee is one of those small national parks that most people drive past without noticing, which is a shame, because it guards a beautiful pocket of the border ranges. It lies near the head of the Albert River valley south of Beaudesert, close to the Queensland and New South Wales border, and like its neighbours it forms part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area. The trees here are the same subtropical rainforest types that once covered much of the old southern supercontinent, hanging on in the wetter folds of the ranges.
Read the complete Mount Chinghee National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mount Chinghee National Park is where the day begins. Next is 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
2. '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 comes up 20 km in. Next is Mount Barney National Park.
3. Mount Barney National Park
Mount Barney looks like it was put there to be argued about. The rugged double summit rises to around 1,350 metres, the second-highest peak in south-east Queensland, and its bare rhyolite crags stand out above the softer farmland of the Scenic Rim like a fortress somebody forgot to finish. Geologists will tell you it is the eroded core of an ancient volcanic system; locals will tell you it has humbled plenty of overconfident walkers. Either way, it is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area, which stretches along the border ranges between Queensland and New South Wales.
Read the complete Mount Barney National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
40 km in you reach Mount Barney National Park. Next is Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
4. Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
On the border between New South Wales and Queensland, the McPherson Range rises steeply from the farmland, its forested slopes and cliffs marking the rim of an ancient volcanic landscape. Mount Clunie Flora Reserve protects a patch of rainforest on these slopes near Woodenbong, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO site that preserves some of the oldest rainforests on earth. Here, in the cool upland forest, hoop pines and towering eucalypts mix with rainforest trees, and the forest floor is dense with ferns and mosses.
Read the complete Mount Clunie Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve, about halfway. Next is Gambubal State Forest.
5. 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 sits at 80 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve.
6. back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Clunie Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve comes up 100 km in. Next is back through Mount Barney National Park.
7. back through Mount Barney National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Barney National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
120 km in you reach back through Mount Barney National Park. Next is back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
8. back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest, late in the day. Next is Mount Chinghee National Park.
9. Mount Chinghee National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mount Chinghee National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 357 km.
Leg by leg
Mount Chinghee National Park to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Mount Chinghee National Park → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
'Palen Creek' State Forest to Mount Barney National Park
'Palen Creek' State Forest → Mount Barney National Park is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Barney National Park to Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Mount Barney National Park → Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to Gambubal State Forest
Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → Gambubal State Forest is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gambubal State Forest to back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve
Gambubal State Forest → back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve to back through Mount Barney National Park
back through Mount Clunie Flora Reserve → back through Mount Barney National Park is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mount Barney National Park to back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest
back through Mount Barney National Park → back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest to Mount Chinghee National Park
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest → Mount Chinghee National Park is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.