Wildlife, Walks and Drives in Border Ranges National Park, NSW. Part 1.

Sheepstation Creek

There is so much to do in Border Ranges National Park. We had a good look around in wet conditions but will definitely be back to explore some more. This blog covers the highlights from Sheepstation Creek Campground then heading north-east along Brindle Creek Road to Antarctic Beech Picnic Area. The roads in the national park are unsealed and east of Sheepstation Creek are signposted as unsuitable for caravans and buses.

Booyong Walking Track: 9 km one way, 5-6 hours. Grade 3.
The Booyong Walk runs between Sheepstation Creek Campground and Forest Tops Campground. While camping at Sheepstation Creek we took the easy option and did the Palm Valley Walk which is a short section of the Booyang Track.

Booyong Track

Palm Valley Walk: 1 km one way. 30 minutes to 1 hour. Grade 3:
From Sheepstation Creek Campground we did the Palm Valley Walk and added on
Brushbox Falls Lookout before returning. This may seem like a short walk but we were there in the rain which made for slippery tree roots and mossy rocks, requiring some care with foot placement. The upside was that we saw lots of Shadeskinks, a group of skinks that relish wet rainforest habitat.

Palm Valley Walk

The walk follows an historic logging track to a sandstone rockface just north of Sheepstation Creek where you can see the carved names of cedar foresters preserved behind a fence.

Cedar forestry history.

Shadeskink

Due to the drought, we have become quite used to seeing dried up waterfalls and were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Brushbox Falls Lookout to see Brushbox Falls with good flows.

Brushbox Falls

Heading east from Sheepstation Creek Campground along Tweed Range Scenic Drive is Forest Tops Campground; a tent only campground. From there we turned north into Brindle Creek Road, which is one way, parked at  Brindle Creek Picnic Area and went walking.

Brindle Creek Picnic Area

Red Cedar Loop: 750m loop, 20-40 minutes, Grade 2:
The entry for this walk is across the road from the picnic area. (Note that on Googgle Maps the Red Cedar Loop is incorrectly labeled Helmholtzia Loop.) 

Brindle Creek

Red Cedar

The Red Cedar above is over 48 meters tall and is estimated to be about 1000 years old.

Helmholtzia Walk: 1 km loop, 20-30 minutes, Grade 3:
A shorter section of the Brindle Creek Walking Track can be done by returning via the Helmholtzia Walk. We did this walk as part of the longer walk.

Brindle Creek Walking Track: 6 km one way, 3-4 hours, Grade 3:
This walk runs between Brindle Creek Picnic Area and Antarctic Beech Picnic Area. A shorter section can be done by returning via the Helmholtzia Walk. We set our sights on reaching Evans Falls and Selva Falls at a distance of about 3.3 km one way and then making a decision on how much further we would walk. Unfortunately, we encountered trees down over the track. We were able to get around the first blockage but were unable to negotiate the tree trunk over the path about 2.5 km in. It was very frustrating to have to turn back so close to Evans Falls because I had my heart set on photographing my namesake and we had gallantly pushed on through a continuous assault from leeches.

Brindle Creek Walking Track

Brindle Creek

Fungus, Brindle Creek Walking Track.

However, all was not lost as we came across the distinctive northern New South Wales freshwater crayfish, both alongside the path and in Brindle Creek. 

Red Spiny Freshwater Crayfish.

Antarctic Beech Picnic Area
Antarctic Beech Picnic Area is a pleasant stop on Brindle Creek Road. There are toilets, tables and wood barbecues; BYO wood. There is a limited view out over the NSW/QLD border from the northern end of the picnic area. The eastern trail-head for the Brindle Creek Walking Track is opposite the picnic area on Brindle Creek Road.

Antarctic Beech Picnic Area.