Springbrook National Park, QLD. Revisit in April 2015: Day 4.

Day 4 was an easy day with a cooked breakfast and time to relax watching the campsite birds before starting a leisurely pack up.

Morning view from our tent, The Settlement Campground.

We had another early morning visit from the local Buff-banded Rail. 

Buff-banded Rail

Variegated Fairy-wrens are a common sight. This one was so small that the Cobblers Pegs (our American friends call them Hitchhikers) look quite large.

Variegated Fairy-wren 

The numbered campsites at The Settlement campground each have an individual car park and a grassed tent area separated by bollards. Sites 1 - 4 are designated for camper trailers and have fewer bollards.The local bird life seems to enjoy observing the campers from the vantage point of the bollards.

Eastern Yellow Robin

Pied Currawong

After packing up we called in at the old Information Centre where there is a short boardwalk through the forest and beautiful views of the Gold Coast. I believe that the new Information Centre is opposite Wunburra Lookout.

Tree stump at the old Information Centre

We drove past Advancetown Lake, which is commonly referred to as Hinze Dam, and stopped at the Western Boat Ramp for a look around. There is a large parking area, picnic tables and toilets. No camping, pets or swimming is allowed. It was quiet when we were there during the week. It looks like a great place to put the kayaks in.

We thoroughly enjoyed our third visit to Springbrook National Park and no doubt we will be back again.

Springbrook National Park: revisit in April 2015, Day 2.

One of our greatest pleasures is waking up in a tent as the sun is just beginning to rise. This was our morning view at The Settlement campground, Springbrook National Park. This Buff-banded Rail seemed to like the early mornings to inspect our campsite.

Sunrise from our tent.

Buff-banded Rail

We headed off early to walk the Purling Brook Circuit, a 4 km, Class 3 walk. 

Purling Brook Falls

It isn't long before the decent to the falls starts. We saw several Wonder Brown butterflies perching on the cliff faces. 

Wonder Brown Heteronnympha mirifica, female

At the bottom we passed Tanninaba Falls and got a quick view of Purling Brook Falls before turning away on a detour to Warringa Pool (2 km return). 

Tanninaba Falls

Purling Brook Falls

The walk to Warringa Pool is a beautiful rainforest walk. We saw two pairs of Logrunners scratching around in the undergrowth.

Mind your step, buttress over the trail to Warringa Pool.

Staghorn Ferns Platycerium superbum, native epiphytes

Logrunner, male

A Pale-yellow Robin welcomed us to the pools and was still there when we returned. We were blown away by the colour of its feet and the length of its toes.

Pale-yellow Robin

Warringa Pool is popular with swimmers in the warmer months of the year. This area of the track is part of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk which continues on to Apple Tree Park and beyond after crossing the stream.

Warringa Pool

Cross here to continue on the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk

After having a look around we retraced our steps to Purling Brook Falls.

Purling Brook Falls

We didn't realise until we had returned to the falls that it is no longer possible to walk right under the falls. Of course that was our favourite part of the walk on our previous visits. However, this area was prone to landslips which closed the trail going forward, forcing walkers to retrace their steps and climb back up the hard way. The newly opened trail now leads directly to the suspension bridge and gradually climbs out of the gorge. The suspension bridge is of very solid construction and was quite a challenge to build in such formidable terrain; necessitating the use of helicopters to help with some of the heavy lifting. The bridge is named after the late John Stacey, a local QPWS ranger known for his building projects and work in the area's parks. 

Looking back after crossing the John Stacey Suspension Bridge

On the walk out we came across this beautiful Spotted Pardalote which seemed to be just as interested in us as we were in him.

Spotted Pardalote, male

This Meadow Argus was in a lot better shape than the one we saw yesterday.

Meadow Argus Junonia villida

We soon arrived back at the campsite after an enjoyable morning. 

In the afternoon we took a wander around the campground and discovered that there were quite a few birds about.

Golden Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, White-browed Scrubwren and Brown Thornbill.

Eastern Yellow Robin

Every time we have stayed at The Settlement campground there have been lots of Variegated Fairy-wrens flitting around the campsite.

Variegated Fairy-wren, non-breeding male.

We went for a walk along the roadside to the Springbrook Community Hall. On the way we saw lots of Eastern Whipbirds, a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. There are also lots of Red-browed Finches in the other direction where Carricks Creek and Carricks Road intersect. We heard many frogs there as well.

Springbrook Community Hall.

War Memorial next to the hall.

Vintage milk urns on Springbrook Road.

We enjoyed another clear night sky full of stars and a native animal, which looked like a small type of bandicoot, pottered around our campsite under the cover of darkness.

Springbrook National Park, QLD. Revisit in April 2015, Day 1.

This is the third time we have camped at the Settlement Campground in Springbrook National Park. For more details on the campground and how to get there please read our previous blogs, starting here: Springbrook National Park: Part 1. 

This trip we were keen to return and check out the reopened Purling Brook Falls Circuit complete with a new suspension bridge.

New suspension bridge at the base of Purling Brook Falls

We arrived in the afternoon and quickly set up camp on our favourite site, number 6, so that we could do a quick recon of the falls before it got dark. 

Site 6 at The Settlement Campground

Camp Kitchen at Settlement Campground

It is a pleasant 330m walk from the campground to the Purling Brook Falls Lookout. There is plenty to see even on this short walk.

Walk from the campground to the Purling Brook Falls Lookout

The top of Purling Brook Falls from the lookout.

Looking down to the new suspension bridge from the lookout.

This Meadow Argus Junonia villida has had a hard life.

There were a few small skinks sunning themselves on the steps at the lookout.

Golden Whistlers, female (L) and male (R).

All photos taken in April 2015

Natural Bridge, Springbrook National Park, QLD.

Natural Bridge

The Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park is 28 km from Settlement Campground in Springbrook via a very scenic drive through the Numinbah Valley. If you are looking for somewhere closer to stay, The Log Cabin Camp is a privately owned campground very close to Natural Bridge. We have not been there but we believe the fees are $10 per person per night. 

We arrived at the Natural Bridge carpark at 7.00 in the morning and there were no other people around. We saw several Logrunners, both male and female, Brown Cuckoo-Doves, and pademelons enjoying the quite before the arrival of more tourists. In the evening it can get busy here because people come to view glow worms in the cave beneath Natural Bridge. From the carpark, there is a pleasant 1 km circuit walk that meanders down to Natural Bridge and back around the top where the water flows into the rock cavity. In years gone by it was possible to walk along the creek and swim but now these activities are prohibited.

Natural Bridge, from below.

 Natural Bridge, from above.

There were eels in the water and we saw the biggest worm that we have ever seen on the path.

Eel

On our drive back through the Numinbah Valley we stopped several times to enjoy this beautiful area. Opposite The Natural Arch Cafe there is a surprising vista of dinosaurs in the hills. If you are interested in bridges you might like to stop and peer under the bridge over Cave Creek. The size of the timber used to construct the bridge is amazing.

Dinosaurs roaming around the Numinbah Valley.

Cave Creek

If you don't have time to fully explore Springbrook National Park it is still well worth a drive from the Gold Coast to see Natural Arch.

Springbrook National Park, QLD. Part 1: Purling Brook Falls.

Springbrook National Park is about 100 km south of Brisbane. However, there are four distinct sections to the National Park so ensure that you have directions for the section you wish to visit. This blog will cover Purling Brook Falls in the Springbrook Section. 

Purling Brook Falls. Lookout near Gwongorella Picnic Area.

We have camped at Springbrook National Park twice but we held off writing a blog about it because we were booked in to camp there Christmas 2014 and we thought it would be better to post new photos and give an update on the upgrade to the Purling Brook Falls Circuit. Well things don't always go to plan in life and we ended up cancelling our booking three days out. We have an account with Queensland National Parks and they gave us a full credit so we will be able to use the money when we go camping next time. 

Our tent at Settlement Campground.

At Settlement Campground in Springbrook National Park there are 13 individual sites and you choose the site number when you book.  We saw online that our campsite was quickly rebooked by some lucky last minute campers. There is a map of the sites here which you might like to study before making your booking:

http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/springbrook/pdf/settlement-campground-map.pdf

Sunrise at Settlement Campground

Birds around the campground.

There is an easy walk from the campground through the day use area to the nearest lookout and beyond to link up with the Purling Brook Falls Walk. Along this walk, some of the birds we have seen were Grey Fantails, Crimson Rosellas, Bar-shouldered Doves, White-browed Scrubwrens, Pale-headed Rosellas, Brown Cuckoo-Doves, Eastern Whipbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and a Buff-banded Rail.

Monarchs and a Buff-banded Rail near the campground.

Purling Brook Falls

The Purling Brook Falls Circuit is a Class 3, 4 km walk. The walk does require some fitness as there are lots of steps going down and on the return up again. At the time of writing this blog, the Purling Brook Circuit is closed while a 25 m suspension bridge is being constructed downstream of the falls. If you are in a hurry or not keen on the walk, there is a large carpark at the Gwongorella Picnic Area with easy access to a lookout with stunning views of the falls.

View of the circuit from the lookout nearest to the campground.

Purling Brook Falls drops an impressive 109 m

One of the great things about this walk is that you can walk behind the falls.

We are looking forward to returning to the Purling Brook Falls Circuit when it reopens.

Note: We went back in April after Purling Brook Falls Circuit reopened and the trail has been redesigned so that you can no longer walk behind the falls.