South Bald Rock remote campsite- Girraween National Park, Queensland. 16km return.

 

A quick trip down to the Queensland/ New South Wales border region on Christmas Day.

I hadn't visited beautiful Girraween National Park for over 20 years.  Fun fact: I camped in the park for around 5 months at one point in 2003 while working for a nearby winery.  The tent came down every morning and I played a little game of dodge the park rangers (who am I kidding, they knew I was there and they could have kicked me out any time they chose to) and learnt to exist and subsist on canned food and muesli bars.

Kinda like an average day on a long trail.

The easy, undulating wander into South Bald Rock remote campsite is accessed by a tiny sloping car park you will see on the right hand side a few hundred metres before arriving at the Mt Norman day use area.  

Wherever you are coming from, head for Wallangara, Queensland and then jump onto Mt Norman Road.

A few kilometres before the day use area is reached, there is a farm gate that requires opening and shutting as you drive through. However it was bent as all hell and busted up and smashed off it's post -presumably by drunk bogans on Christmas day- when I headed back home the next day.  

Otherwise the Google directions are solid and the trail starting point is easy to locate.

I chose to park in the day use area overnight, (I really don't know why) and walk down the road to the stone arch where the sloping car park and the walk begins.  

My Suunto measured 8km each way from the day use carpark, a relaxing 2 hours point to point.

Map sourced from Google maps.

Mapping sourced from AllTrails.

I found the temperature quite a bit cooler and far less humid than where I currently reside 200 kilometres north of Girraween.  There's a bit of elevation gain and whopping huge granite boulders and cypress pines and stringybarks and wattles sprinkled about the landscape.  

Kick off under the stone arch and push past the stone cottage that appears on your left, follow the fire trail, hop a few creeks and you will skirt some sloping granite and bump into a flat cleared area with a 'no fires' sign and you are there.

I left my pack at the campsite and hiked up the granite to the top.  

There is no formed path, just follow the line of least resistance and wear footwear with solid lugs, you'll be right.

Stupendous views and as the campsite has to be booked (more information below) and it was Christmas day and only one booking can be made per day, I was the only person up there and I had the blue skies and the sunshine and entire place to myself.  Weirdly though, I was constantly picking tiny spiders off my arms and legs.  And no I wasn't off my guts on mushies either.  

Campsite bookings can be made via the Queensland Parks website here.

Water was collected from a trickling stream just behind the 'no fires' sign.

I utilised the AllTrails online, downloadable mapping on my phone for directions.

I chucked my tent up and got baked and snoozed and dozed and read and eventually slept 12 hours straight through to the next morning.  Wallabies thudded about and black cockatoos ripped up the tops of tall gum trees.

Next morning: a no brainer retrace back along the same path (mind you I still managed to head off in the wrong direction for 30 minutes, dumbass) and back to the hectic world of post Christmas Australia.

Fuckin awesome to be back in Girraween, love this protected area!  Go get it.

End of year wrap December 2024

I've had a grim year, it's been a bit dark. 

There has been loss and uncertainty for sure however hope and optimism won out in the end.  

It was all about putting on my big boy pants and pushing through the shit stain, yeehaw and all that. 

I don't usually take life so seriously and I don't plan on doing so in 2025 but it was what it was this year.

Just throwing it out there for anyone who is horribly stressed at their wits end or stuck on a hamster wheel in the grey dumb dumb land of numbness and mediocrity.  

Hang in there.  

Flick me a message.  

Do not give up. 

 

I did however have a blast smashing dusty trails and road tripping around the massive continent of Australia.  

Hiking and travel, well hell yeah right!

I noticed our prolific, vocal birdlife in every corner of the country.  

Australia is chock full of interesting birds, I just opened my eyes and ears for the first time -probably chasing a distraction- and realised how incredible Australian birdlife is. 

Brolgas, Apostlebirds, King parrots and Willy Wagtails.  This shit gets me excited now.  I am proof that when you hit 50 trips around the sun turning into a bird enthusiast is a very real and terrifying possibility.  

You are warned. 

Bush stone curlew cruising around central Cairns.

I experienced some very sad wildlife encounters (such as a kangaroo with broken bones and many emus and goats stuck in fences, I'll keep how I dealt with these issues to myself)) and also a few soul stirring ones like when I found an abandoned but very plucky new born lamb right at the end of a hike.  

She wouldn't stop bunting into me and baaing and insisting on some much needed help.  Fair enough.  

I scooped her up, all skinny, woolly and noisy as all hell and I hunted down a local carer to take her in.  

Latest update is Sadie the lamb is loving life on a hobby farm!  Win.  

Much respect to any and all animal rescue carers, you beautiful fuckin legends. 

I've relocated to South East Queensland where it's warmer and I can grow food throughout most of the year compared to the brief summer growing season in Tasmania.  

I yearned for a change of scene for years and now I am single and without pets and can pack most of my possessions into a small Suzuki I just wandered around Australia until I found a job I liked doing and a house to live in.  

Here's the good stuff:

Fav brew was this collaboration between Stone & Wood and Mountain Culture.

I spent a month driving around the Snowy Mountains and then hiking the Hume and Hovell Trail from Yass to Albury again.  There was a wild brumby aerial cull in this area at the time but I sighted dozens of horses afterwards while walking and driving around. 

I visited Mt Buffalo for the first time.  Fantastic views and easy walking trails, but so many people packed into a small area.  Popular.

The Hume and Hovell was a smidgen busier than my thru hike a few years previously but I still managed to snag lovely, serene campsites all to myself every night
.

I spied this sign all over Australia, the fun police are out and about!

Crossing the windy Nullarbor Plain from Adelaide to Western Australia.

I played relief Cattle Station Cook again for a few months in various locations and enjoyed utilising the Yellowstone cookbook to knock up some delish Tex Mex nosh.
Saying that, I reckon I'm done with FIFO mining work and living on remote cattle stations now.  

I re-hiked the Northern portion of the Heysen Trail from Quorn to the Flinders Ranges and back again (yo-yo).  Absolutely stunning landscapes, loads of native wildlife and a seriously under rated walking track.  The Heysen is my top Aussie long trail.

I ran an Ultramarathon in Brisbane and journeyed up to Far North Queensland and visited Townsville (above), Cairns and Magnetic Island.  First time up in that part of the world in 20 years.

This is an easy to read, old school memoir of the first non stop walk from Florida to Canada on the Eastern Continental Trail.  Badass.

This Spotify wrap up of my listening habits surprised me; I thought there would be Colby Acuff and Flatland Cavalry in the top 5 but there you go.

Little Desert Discovery Walk- Little Desert National Park, Victoria. Part route- 56km, 3 days. June 2024.

 

Little Desert Discovery Walk.

There is a really groovy 75 kilometre walking track chugging around the sandy heathlands of Little Desert National Park in Western Victoria. 

 

Loads of wildlife such as emus and parrots kicking about, occasional stands of tall stringybarks and genuine dark skies at night, allowing an untold amount of stars to be viewed.

Designed as a 4 day excursion with 2 dedicated walkers camps, rainwater tanks and good signage, the LDDW can also be shortened in length if you are on a time crunch or just feeling lazy like I was.

GETTING TO THE TRAILHEAD:

Little Desert National Park is situated along the Wimmera River, 330 kilometres North west from Melbourne.  

There are a handful of vehicle accessible points you can jump on the LDDT from, which can be seen on the Parks map here.  The easiest to access is Horseshoe Bend Campground where I kicked off my walk from.  

Horseshoe Bend Campground is 6.5 kilometres from the friendly town of Dimboola.  There is a rainwater tank, picnic tables, and the Wimmera River squiggling around, lined with enormous River Gums.

I arrived in Dimboola via public train and bus transportation (thank you Vline; $10.60 return from Melbourne) and just walked the 6.5 kilometres of lightly trafficked Horseshoe Bend Road to the campground and accessed the LDDW from there.

RESUPPLY:

There is an IGA supermarket in town.  Take everything you will need with you when you head for the park, no kiosks, no shops.  

The rainwater tanks probably cannot be guaranteed as a water source in summer but they were chockers when I spun through in June (winter).

Map sourced from Google Maps.

WHAT I DID:

I headed out from Horseshoe, South then West to Mallee Walkers Camp.  About 20 kilometres from Dimboola all up.

Next day, had a short wander cutting through South on the Wallaby Track to Yellow Gums Walkers Camp, 8 kilometres.

Day 3: 21 kilometres East to Horseshoe Bend Campground and the 6.5 kilometres back to Dimboola.

56 kilometres all up.

I didn't see a single person in those 3 days.

By the look of the journals located in the floorless shelters at the camps, I was the first walker through in 3 weeks.

Sourced from:  parks.vic

NAVIGATION AND RESOURCES:

All you need is the free Parks Victoria map and notes found here.

All Trails and Gaia can be utilised as well.

The path is simple to follow, a bit beat up in parts where errant dirt bikers have unfortunately churned the trail but the intersections are sign posted and the going is flat and easy.

THOUGHTS:

The good- 

I loved the isolation and diversity of flora; banksia and gums and native grasses.

If clear skies are the go then lying with your head out your tent taking in the twinkling lights of the universe is a compulsory activity

Mt Arapiles peeking up on the horizon every now and then lends some context to the landscape.

Possums, tall roo's and cheeky kookaburras abound.

The not so good-

The illegal use of walking only trails by weekend dirt bikers to have big fun has degraded some of the track but don't let that put you off.