Burrum Point Camping Area, Burrum Coast National Park, QLD.

Beach in front of Burrum Point Camping Area

Burrum Point Camping Area is only a short drive from Woodgate. The road in is sandy and has some narrow sections. 

The sandy drive in to Burrum Point Camping Area

The campground has a remote and peaceful atmosphere but has surprisingly good facilities. There are flush toilets and water available. 

Our campsite at Burrum Point Camping Area

Campers are asked not to erect there own individual showers on their sites so as to protect the environment. Indoor and outdoor showers have been installed so that the disposal of soapy water can be controlled.

Indoor showers at Burrum  Point Camping Area

Before the entry to the campground there is a 4WD access point to the beach. Other campers used this access to drive down to the beach to fish. The campers next to us got quite a surprise to catch a large mud crab on their fishing line.

4WD access to the beach in front of Burrum Point Camping Area

Resident goannas and brush turkeys patrol the campground so particular care needs to be taken with the storage of rubbish.

Sand Monitor 

Australian Brush Turkey

We spotted some Grandmothers Cloak moths in the amenities block.

Grandmother's Cloak Moths (flash photography).

We really enjoyed watching a couple of families of White-bellied Sea-Eagles cruise up and down the beach. Every time these huge birds flew past a section of the beach a smaller bird bravely came out and tried to chase them away. We couldn't tell with the naked eye what kind of bird it was but when we examined our photos we realised that it was a peregrine falcon.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

Peregrine Falcon

Details for Burrum Point Camping Area:
Where: Burrum Coast National Park. 356 km north of Brisbane via Gympie, Maryborough and Woodgate. Follow signs from Woodgate. From Walkers Point Road turn left onto Campground Road. 
Access: Campground Road is sandy. Hema lists it as medium 4WD and National Parks QLD signposts the road as "high clearance 4WD, not suitable for caravans". The campground is listed as " high clearance 4WD's and trailers only. Caravans and buses are not recommended." Wet weather can restrict access due to flooding.
Booking & Fees: Book online. $6.35 per adult per night. Specific site number allocated when booking.
Sites: There are 13 individually numbered sites. Sandy surface. The sites are mostly small. There are bollards defining the sites but you can park on the site next to your tent or camper trailer.
Facilities: Drinking water taps, cold showers (inside and outside), flush toilets. The indoor showers are plumbed but there is also provision for BYO canvas shower bags in the shower cubicles. We had Telstra phone reception. There is excellent WiFi reception at the seat at the end of the beach access.
Prohibitions: You must use the showers provided; don't erect your own eternal shower or use soap on your site. Domestic animals are not permitted anywhere in Burrum Coast National Park. Domestic animals are not even allowed in vehicles in the national park. No generators. No open fires.

Wildlife we saw in Burrum Coast National Park: Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Burton's Snake Lizard, Copper tailed Skink, Lively Skink, Bats, Feral pig tracks. Butterflies: Large Grass Yellow, Varied Eggfly, Swamp Tiger, Purple Crow, Brown Ringlet, Evening Brown, Skippers. Moths: Grandmothers Cloak, Magpie Moth. Birds: White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Red Goshawk, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Whistling Kite, Australian Brush Turkey, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Shinning Bronze Cuckoo, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Radjah Shelduck, Bar-shouldered Dove, Spangled Drongo, Little Egret, Grey Fantail, Little Friarbird, Noisy Friarbird, White-faced Heron, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Masked Lapwing, Noisy Miner, Mistletoebird, Rainbow Bee-eater, Silver Gull, Grey Shrike-thrush, Silvereye, Black-necked Stork, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail, White-breasted Woodswallow.

Banksia Walking Track, Burrum Coast National Park, Woodgate, QLD.

Banksia Walking Track, Burrum Coast National Park

The small seaside town of Woodgate is on the way to Burrum Point Campground in Burrum Coast National Park. The Banksia Walking Track is behind the caravan park in Woodgate.

Banksia Walking Track: 5.4 km circuit, Grade 2.
The car park for the trail head of the walk is off Acacia Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. As the walk is in a section of Burrum Coast National Park, pets are not allowed. 

At the beginning of the walk, there is a 400 m boardwalk through a paperbark forest.

Boardwalk, Banksia Walking Track

At the end of the boardwalk we continued along the Banksia Circuit and really enjoyed this easy walk through wallum heath and coastal woodland.  

There were a number of lizards beside the sandy track. 

Lively Skink

Copper-tailed Skink

We were pleased to see a Burton's Snake Lizard. Burton's Snake Lizards are a type of legless lizard and are non-venomous. This one was only about thirty centimetres long and I walked very close to it before noticing it.

Burton's Snake Lizard

Burton's Snake Lizard

The wallum plants, banksia trees and eucalypts make this a great birding area.  

Brahminy Kite

Scarlet Honeyeater

Rainbow Lorikeet on a Banksia.

Laughing Kookaburra

Mapleton Falls National Park, QLD.

Mapleton Falls

Adjacent to the car park, there is a large lookout platform that is wheelchair accessible. The lookout has great views over Obi Obi Valley. However, the view of Mapleton Falls is limited.

Lookout Platform 

View over Obi Obi Valley

The picnic area is a short walk from the car park. Fortunately, we were able to take cover under a shelter shed as it poured with rain while we were there. 

Mapleton Falls Picnic Area

Several Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos were active in the trees behind our picnic shelter.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Wompoo Circuit; Grade 2, 1.3 km.
Despite the rain we decided to walk the Woompoo Circuit.

Strangler Fig

At the Peregrine Lookout there are good views but it was raining too heavy for me to risk my camera gear.

We did manage to photograph a few birds and we saw three types of robin.

Dusky Honeyeater

Pale-yellow Robin

New Holland Honeyeater

Details for Mapleton Falls National Park, QLD:
Where: Sunshine Coast hinterland. 120 km, 1 hour 40 minutes, north of Brisbane.
Access:  Sealed Roads. The car park is quite small and tight. We had difficulty parking our ute as the car parks were short. Caution: Don't drive the Obi Obi Road from Kenilworth to Maleny if towing or in a large vehicle as on the section of Obi Obi Road south-west of Mapleton Falls Road caravans and large vehicles are not permitted.
Facilities: Wheelchair accessible lookout and toilets from car park. Information shelter. Picnic area 50 meters from the car park: Tables, Shelter Shed.
No Camping.
Prohibitions: No domestic animals.

Bird List: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Grey Fantail, Rufous Fantail, Dusky Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Eastern Yellow Robin, Pale-yellow Robin, Rose Robin.

Kondalilla Falls, Kondalilla National Park, QLD.

As there had been some heavy rain in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland we decided to go to Kondalilla National Park to see Kondalilla Falls. 

Kondalilla Picnic Area:
The walks start from the picnic area which is fifty meters downhill from the car park.

Part of the Kondalilla Picnic Area

Brown Cuckoo Dove

The Kondalilla Falls walk includes the Picnic Creek Circuit and passes the Rock Pools.

Picnic Creek Circuit: 1.7 km, Grade 2.

Picnic Creek Falls

Lookout on the Picnic Creek Circuit

Rock Pools: 2.4 km return. Grade 3.

Rock Pools is a popular swimming area.

Kondalilla Falls Circuit: 4.7 km. Grade 3:

The walk loops around the top of the falls before descending steeply to the bottom of the falls via more than 300 stairs.

Top of Kondalilla Falls

View from the top of Kondalilla Falls

As it was wet, we had to take care on the steep muddy descent but it was great to see so much water flowing over the falls.

Kondalilla Falls

Sunshine Coast Hinterland Walk: 58 km. Grade 4.
Over the years we have done most of the walk by breaking it up into small sections. There are quite a few steep sections and a number of links walking on sealed paths through hinterland village areas but it is a beautiful area well worth exploring.

Details for Kondillia National Park:

Where: In the Sunshine Coast hinterland. 100 km, 1 and a half hours, north of Brisbane.
Access: Sealed Roads.
Facilities: Large car park at the end of Kondililla Falls Road. The picnic area is 50 m downhill from the car park. Tables, shelter sheds, toilets, BBQ's, information, walks.
Prohibitions: No pets.
Camping: Flaxton Walkers Camp, in the northern section, is provided for walkers doing the 58 km Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk. Not accessible by vehicle.


Bird List: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Pied Currawong, Lewin's Honeyeater, Australian Magpie, Noisy Miner, White-browed Scrubwren. Butterflies: Blue Tigers.

Cunningham Highway, Main Range National Park, QLD.

Picnic area on the Cunningham Highway.

We often stop at rest area on the western end of Cunningham's Gap. We haven't been able to find out the name of this rest area so we refer to it as Bellbird Park. (Update: almost a year later I found out that this park is called West Gap Creek Picnic Area). When driving south, the turn into the rest area is immediately after the end of a passing bay and is a sharp narrow entry. We feel it is quite a dangerous turnoff so we only decide to go in if there are no vehicles immediately behind us. I wouldn't recommend the access at any time for a caravan. 

Even the national park map doesn't name the rest area.

We love the rest area because it is such a beautiful green space alive with the ping ping call of bellbirds.

Bell Minor (Bellbird)

Other birds we typically see there are Satin Bowerbirds and Eastern Yellow Robins. This trip the Bowerbirds were looking very scruffy.

Satin Bowerbird

Satin Bowerbird

The Box Forest Walking Track runs between here and the Crest Car Park further to the east along Cunningham Highway. It is a pleasant green rainforest walk; 5 km return. On this trip, we just crossed the pretty creek near the rest area and came back again. Later we noticed that on that short walk a leech managed to hitch a ride.

The Box Forest Walk

Fungi on the Box Forest Walk

The rest area has two areas. There is a toilet block and an undercover picnic shelter in the second area.

Second car park area with toilets and information shelter.

Sheltered picnic area.

The Rockface Walk and the Little Bald Rock Walk, Bald Rock National Park, NSW.

The Rockface Walk:

The Rockface Walk

When we were here a few weeks ago we decided not to climb Bald Rock via The Rockface Walk due to wet conditions. We came back for a short stay in the campground and the first thing we did after putting up the tent was head up the rock face. It is a simple matter of walking up the granite rock by following the white dots. This route is a much shorter trip to the top than the alternative Bungoona Walk and is not overly difficult, other than requiring some fitness and a head for heights.

At the top of The Rockface Walk

Little Bald Rock Walk: Grade 3, 7.6 km return.
The next morning we set of from the Bald Rock Picnic Area to Little Bald Rock. I often see this walk listed as 6.5 km return but the sign in the picnic area states it is 3.8 km one way and it did feel like an eight kilometer walk to us. Much of the walk is part of the Carroll's Creek Walk and the Border Walk. The walking track is quite pleasant and easy although a bit of scrambling up granite rocks is required to reach the top of Little Bald Rock.

There were flannel flowers and a few different types of fungi alongside the track. 

There were tiny skinks everywhere in the leaf litter.

On our previous trip we saw a lot of male Common Brown Butterflies and on this walk we saw lots of female butterflies including Bank's Brown and Black Jezebel as well as Common Browns.

Common Brown Butterfly, female.

Bank's Brown Butterfly, female.

At first we walked right past Little Bald Rock and continued on Carroll's Creek Walk before we realised our mistake and back tracked. 

Approaching Little Bald Rock. It's hidden behind the trees.

The entry to climbing Little Bald Rock is not very obvious but we managed to find a way and clambered to the top where we were met with beautiful views of Bald Rock in one direction and vast views over Girraween National Park in Queensland in the other direction.

Standing on Little Bald Rock looking at Bald Rock.

Back at the campsite, a Red-necked Wallaby came for a visit and White-faced Scrubwrens foraged in the gravel. Thankfully, the Kookaburras kept their distance this time but we were very careful to cover our food at all times.

Red-necked Wallaby in the campground.

White-browed Scrubwren.

Wildlife List: Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby. Botany Bay Weevil. Black Jezebel Butterfly. Bank's Brown Butterfly, Lots of Common Brown Butterflies. Very small brown skinks. Birds: Satin Bowerbird, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Common Bronzewing, Eastern Yellow Robin, Crimson Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Striated Thornbill, White-throated Treecreeper, Weebill, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail. Heard: Southern Boobook, Tawny Frogmouth.