Shared Walks in Glen Rock State Forest, QLD.

Before arriving at Glen Rock State Forest we printed out a shared trail map. It turned out to be a good thing that we brought our own map because we couldn't find any information about walks at the campground or in the information hut. Even with the map we had a great deal of trouble finding the starting point for Christies Loop. We walked back along the entry road and eventually noticed a new shinny gate in a fence. We could just make out another new gate on the other side of the paddock which was flanked by a couple of green posts of a type commonly used in national parks. Throughout the walk we came upon several green posts whenever there was a choice in direction to be made but unfortunately they were all new and none of them had any arrows or other information on them. As we climbed we had phone reception so we ended up using Google Earth to guide us. We had to backtrack a couple of times but there wasn't much chance of getting completely lost as there were fantastic views of the valley below. We were more concerned about adding too many extra kilometers to the walk as the going was pretty tough. Later, a ranger told us that 4WD clubs had helped the rangers by installing the green posts. As we packed up to leave the campground, members from a couple of 4WD clubs were arriving for the weekend to continue helping with the establishment of the trails. 

Christies Loop, 5.2 km return. Shared walking, horse and mountain bike trail. Good fitness is required because the trail has a very steep ascent and a very steep descent. 

The starting point of Christies Loop. Only a few cow pats to negotiate!

The walk crosses the valley floor and climbs to the top of the ridge before descending again. The only answer to "Why did we do it?" is "Because it was there!".

The creek crossing was completely dry.

At the top of the ridge looking back at Glen Rock.

Our destination.

From here we walked on the most pleasant part of the trail to another peak only to discover, when we looked at Google Earth, that this wasn't part of Christies Loop and we had to back track.

The pleasant part of the trail that wasn't part of the trail after all.

Rufous Whistler, female.

We didn't see a great variety of birds on this walk but there were quite a few Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Rufous Whistlers and Fairy Wrens.

The descent required a bit of concentration as it is quite steep but before long we were back walking along the creek bed. We saw a few cows on the walk but they seemed quite shy. In our absence a herd of cows had moved into the paddock, even though we tried not to disturb them, they quickly left when we showed up.

Blackfellow Creek Trail, 16 km return. Shared walking, horse and mountain bike trail. 

Blackfellow Creek Trail

This trail heads along the valley floor towards Main Range National Park. The walk is easy and pleasant. We didn't see any other people but we could see wildlife footprints along the track. The trail went past Glen Rock and we were able to view it from a different angle.

Dingo and Eastern Grey Kangaroo footprints.

Glen Rock

We noticed that large numbers of Double-barred Finch were sheltering in lantana alongside the track. Thankfully some of them emerged enough for us to get photos.

Spot the Double-barred Finch.

There were also plenty of Silvereyes feeding alongside the track.

Silvereye.

Soon we came to a waterhole and after that the creek was flowing and we saw a greater variety of birds.

The first waterhole that hadn't completely dried out.

White-necked Heron

White-faced Heron.

Rosellas

Rufous Whistler, male.

We arrived at a creek crossing and startled a magnificent adult Brown Goshawk. We spent the next 20 minutes playing hide and seek with the goshawk in the hope of getting a usable photo but goshawks are very intelligent and it had no intention of giving us a good view. 

Coming up to the creek crossing where we startled a brown Goshawk.

We found several pupal cases emerging from the ground but we didn't see any Rain Moths. We did see lots of Monarch butterflies.

Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus and Pupal Case of the Rain Moth Trictena atripalpis

We had spent so much time taking photos that we ran out of time to complete the walk and we reluctantly decided to return to the campground. We will definitely be back.