Why this ride
It goes by way of 'Palen Creek' State Forest, Lamington National Park, Amaroo Flora Reserve and back through Lamington National Park. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve and Amaroo Flora Reserve
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 566 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 15
- 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. Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
The Border Ranges are where Queensland leans against New South Wales, and Wilsons Peak, a rocky summit on the line between the two states, is part of that tumbled wall. The flora reserve around it protects a patch of high, cool forest on the old volcanic ranges, and it is one of those places that the wider world mostly forgets. The land here was shaped by the huge Tweed volcano, which erupted for millions of years, leaving behind a circle of mountains and deep valleys.
Read the complete Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve 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 79 km into the recorded legs. Next is Lamington National Park.
3. 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
about 176 km into the recorded legs you reach Lamington National Park. Next is Amaroo Flora Reserve.
4. Amaroo Flora Reserve
Behind the coast of northern New South Wales, the Tweed valley sits inside the remains of an enormous shield volcano that erupted some twenty-odd million years ago. Erosion has carved away the centre, leaving a huge caldera, one of the largest in the world, with the steep, forested walls of the Border Ranges and the McPherson Range curving around it and the volcanic plug of Wollumbin, also known as Mount Warning, rising in the middle. The Amaroo Flora Reserve lies on the slopes of this landscape, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO site of scattered reserves along the Great Dividing Range.
Read the complete Amaroo Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Amaroo Flora Reserve, about halfway. Next is back through Lamington National Park.
5. 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 sits at 168 km, about halfway. Next is back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest.
6. 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 comes up about 487 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve.
7. Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve closes the day.
Leg by leg
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve to 'Palen Creek' State Forest
Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve → 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
'Palen Creek' State Forest to Lamington National Park
'Palen Creek' State Forest → Lamington National Park is 97 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lamington National Park to Amaroo Flora Reserve
Lamington National Park → Amaroo Flora Reserve is 106 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Amaroo Flora Reserve to back through Lamington National Park
Amaroo Flora Reserve → back through Lamington National Park is 102 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lamington National Park to back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest
back through Lamington National Park → back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest is 103 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest to Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve
back through 'Palen Creek' State Forest → Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.