Springbrook National Park and Spicers Gap State Forest

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Springbrook National Park

   South of the Gold Coast, the land rises suddenly into a plateau of ancient rainforest, waterfalls and cliffs, and this is Springbrook. The plateau is about nine hundred metres high, and it is what remains of the huge Tweed shield volcano, which erupted some twenty-three million years ago and left a vast eroded caldera, with Mount Warning as its central plug. The rim of the caldera forms the Scenic Rim around it, and Springbrook's cliffs and gorges are part of that rim. It is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a World Heritage area, and its cool, wet forest is a startling contrast to the beaches and high-rises thirty minutes away.

   Read the complete Springbrook National Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Springbrook National Park is where the day begins. Next is 'Palen Creek' State Forest.

2. 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 125 km into the recorded legs. Next is Spicers Gap State Forest.

3. 3. 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

   about 208 km into the recorded legs you reach Spicers Gap State Forest. Next is back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest.

4. 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 Springbrook National Park.

5. 5. Springbrook National Park

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Springbrook National Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Springbrook National Park. That is the ride.