Sunshine Coast Hinterland Trail- South East Queensland. 56km, 3 days- 2 nights.

Map sourced from Parks Qld link

Overview.

This trail was a surprise.

Views, a well maintained footpad, sublime forests, peaceful, quiet campsites, ubiquitous native wildlife and very few other walkers.  

I had a blast!

The trail is a lollipop loop in the Northern region of Mapleton National Park and sweeps down to a single lane wiggle through Flaxton locality and Kondalillia National Park, ending at Lake Baroon, necessitating a point to point shuttle or return walk back the same way.

It isn't wilderness and there is always the distant hum of civilisation in the background however the scenery is first rate and accessibility is easy.

What we did.

The day before we slipped out of Toowoomba for a 3 day circuit hike in Conondale National park, a late afternoon phone call from Parks Queensland informed us that our trip wasn't going to happen due to a spontaneous decision to conduct a burn off.

The plan quickly switched to walk the nearby Sunshine Coast Hinterland Trail and we rolled up at the Sam Kelly Road carpark near Kenilworth in the Northern region of the hiking trail located in Mapleton National Park.  

A connector trail lead to a gentle meander alongside Gheerulla Creek.  We stopped in for water at Ubajee walkers camp and pushed on to Flaxton walkers camp for the first night.  

Bit of up and down around Baxter Creek Falls however the track is well graded and maintained.

• Sam Kelly Road carpark to Flaxton campsite: 21km.

• Flaxton campsite to Kondalilla Falls then North to Thilba Thalba campsite via Delicia Road: 29km.

• Thilba Thalba campsite to Sam Kelly Road carpark: 6km.

Day 2; we headed to Kondalilla National Park and the falls area.  We retraced our steps back to Flaxton township and hit up the Barn cafe for a huge breakfast and great coffee.  

Heading North towards Baxter Creek Falls again and through Mapleton Falls day use area, we took unsealed Delicia Road as a shortcut and nudged up the Western half of the lollipop loop to Thilba Thalba campsite for the night.  

Day 3; Lovely ridge walking and terrific views ending at the carpark and an unmolested vehicle.

Getting there/ Parking.

There are many vehicle access points along the trail system; 

• Sam Kelly Road in the North

• Mapleton day use area along Mapleton Forest Road

• Mapleton Falls day use area in the middle

• Flaxton Mill Road close to Flaxton walkers camp

• Kondalillia Falls day use area

• Barron Pocket Dam via Narrows Road

The Sunshine Coast Hinterland Trail is around 90 minutes Heading North from Brisbane.
 

Wildlife.

We sighted loads of fur and feathers:

Dingo, 

King parrots,

Striated pardalotes,

Carpet python,

Monitor lizards,

Inland thornbills,

White eared honeyeater,

White throated tree creeper,

Red winged fairy wren,

Olive backed oriole,

Pheasant coucal,

Bush turkeys,

Golden whistler,

White throated gerygone,

Eastern yellow robins,

Kookaburra.

Water and Campsites.

Every campsite has an outhouse with poo tickets, loads of well spaced out sites and platforms to rest on.

Water tanks are provided and the camps are located in a well thought out locations.  

The tall timbers of Flaxton are bewitching in the sunrise and the views and bush of Thilba Thalba make for excellent star gazing. 

Bookings can be made for each campsite via Parks Qld website 

$7.50 per person.

Navigation and Resources.

I downloaded the free topographical map from the Parks Qld website here and utilised the All Trails app and trail map.

Signs are everywhere, hard to go wrong.

Flaxton campsite.

Thoughts.

We were fortunate to encounter only a handful of other walkers over our 3 day wander during a sunny weekday Winter time slot.

I would guess the hiking trails and campsites fill up on public holidays and long weekends being so close to major population areas.

It is a gorgeous area with alluring forests and easily accessible walking tracks, highly recommended.

Photos by Shiny & Safari.