Why this ride
The stops in between: 'Palen Creek' State Forest, Numinbah Nature Reserve and back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Spicers Gap State Forest and Numinbah Nature Reserve
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 420 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 19
- 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: 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. 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 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 about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Numinbah Nature Reserve.
3. 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
about 210 km into the recorded legs you reach Numinbah Nature Reserve. Next is back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
4. 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 Spicers Gap State Forest.
5. 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 at Spicers Gap State Forest. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Spicers Gap State Forest to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Spicers Gap State Forest → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
'Palen Creek' State Forest to Numinbah Nature Reserve
'Palen Creek' State Forest → Numinbah Nature Reserve is 136 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Numinbah Nature Reserve to back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Numinbah Nature Reserve → back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 127 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest to Spicers Gap State Forest
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest → Spicers Gap State Forest is 83 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.