Why this ride
629 km from Tallebudgera Valley to Tallebudgera Valley, about 10 h 52 of riding. It goes by way of Lamington National Park, Limpinwood Nature Reserve, Mount Chinghee National Park and back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Numinbah Nature Reserve and Mount Chinghee National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 629 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 52
- 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. Numinbah Nature Reserve
On the New South Wales side of the border range above the Gold Coast hinterland, the land rises into steep, forested ridges that are the eroded rim of the ancient Tweed Volcano. Numinbah Nature Reserve protects a slice of this country, a jumble of rainforest gullies, eucalypt slopes and rocky outcrops, looking south across the great green bowl of the Tweed valley towards the sharp peak of Wollumbin, also known as Mount Warning.
Read the complete Numinbah Nature Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Numinbah Nature Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Lamington National Park.
2. Lamington National Park
Ask anyone in Brisbane about Lamington and they will probably mention one of two roads, and both of them will make you work. The national park covers the high plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland side of the border, a huge expanse of rainforest, waterfalls and cliff-edged lookouts at the heart of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area. It was named after Lord Lamington, a governor of Queensland at the end of the nineteenth century, who is said to have been less than thrilled to have a park, and later a cake, named after him.
Read the complete Lamington National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lamington National Park comes up about 103 km into the recorded legs. Next is Limpinwood Nature Reserve.
3. 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
about 198 km into the recorded legs you reach Limpinwood Nature Reserve. Next is Mount Chinghee National Park.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve.
5. back through 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 through Limpinwood Nature Reserve sits at 419 km, about halfway. Next is back through Lamington National Park.
6. back through Lamington National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lamington 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 Lamington National Park comes up about 530 km into the recorded legs. Next is Numinbah Nature Reserve.
7. Numinbah Nature Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Numinbah Nature Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Numinbah Nature Reserve closes the day.
Leg by leg
Numinbah Nature Reserve to Lamington National Park
Numinbah Nature Reserve → Lamington National Park is 103 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lamington National Park to Limpinwood Nature Reserve
Lamington National Park → Limpinwood Nature Reserve is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limpinwood Nature Reserve to Mount Chinghee National Park
Limpinwood Nature Reserve → Mount Chinghee National Park is 118 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Chinghee National Park to back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve
Mount Chinghee National Park → back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve is 118 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve to back through Lamington National Park
back through Limpinwood Nature Reserve → back through Lamington National Park is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lamington National Park to Numinbah Nature Reserve
back through Lamington National Park → Numinbah Nature Reserve is 103 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.