Yesterday as we were getting to the end of the Border Trail hike we both thought that hiking today would be off the cards and replaced by a short stroll! We were both shattered and the prospect of morning thunderstorms was also off putting.
As it happened the thunderstorms took place overnight, and the morning although misty at first rapidly improved. We planned to get out between 10 and 11, however, impetuous Jax decided that given the trouble we have being having with our Olympus Tough camera that it was time for a new one so we wouldn’t have any issues on our diving holiday in NZ. Kit gets old we have already had to replace our dive watches for this trip- let’s just hope we enjoy the diving. So that delayed us a tad.
Our hike all told was about 14km with 400m of ascent, not not a stroll by any means. We had also wondered yesterday whether 5 days in the rainforest was worth it and should we have opted for the shorter 3 day option. So glad we didn’t and today was really special and once again totally different.
We backtracked for a couple of km along the Border track and decided to experiment with some macro photography of fungi, checking out whether to keep our old Tough or not. Also thought to focus on photos of individual plants rather than the rainforest in general. Managed to get some photos of different types of fungi and ferns.
Didn’t take long before we split from the Border track heading left down Nixon Creek valley which features a number of cascades and waterfalls. We decided to hike this rather than the Daves Creek circuit recommended by Aus Walks given the latest recent rain which we thought should make the waterfalls worth visiting.
Shortly after our trail junction we came across a gap between 2 large buttressed trees, on the left was a Black Booyong (with great example of a strangler fig with its intricate maze of aerial roots) and on the left a White Booyong. The photo of Mike in the gap shows the sheer scale of these enormous trees.
Our next stunning tree was a towering New England Blackbutt, an Eucalyptus varietal. A bench blow has been placed below it, with a couple of plaques commemorating the collaboration between Lamington Natural History Assocn. and Queenslands Parks for the Park’s centenary in 2015. We had a brief rest on our return journey with a welcome cup of mint tea.
Mike picked up a tick here, fortunately I saw it crawling up it leg and was able to whip it off and kill it before it got its fangs into him! Ticks are more problematic than leaches due to the risk of disease so we keep our eyes peeled for them. Mike found one other on his sock the next day but again got rid of it before it bit him
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The trees changed as we wended our way down the valley. We saw more tree ferns, apparently only 2 new fronds grow a year and the trunks show where the old fronds have fallen off. To put it into perspective a tree fern of about 3- 4 m (of which we saw many ) will be several hundred years old. It was interesting to observe how slender their trunks given their height also how many survived the bush fires of 2019 which devestated this area.
The next interesting tree we saw at our tea and nut break was a Casuarina. It has corky bark and ‘needles’ which form a soft layer of matting on the path. The leaves reduced to small scales arranged in whorls around the small green branchlets. I remember as a kid finding these trees and trying to separate the scales where they were segmented! Messy looking plants and difficult to photograph.
As we followed the creek down stream we came across various cascades and waterfalls. Glad for the recent rain as we vent with the storms over the last couple of weeks the flow was less than we expected. A reminder of how dry it has been this winter.
Our hike down to Ballunjui Falls was fairly slow as we kept looking to admire the scenery/ forest. Glad we made it to this point as we had a lovely view over the valley. We both made an effort to keep the pace up on our return and even with some photos ops made it in 2 hours a pace of 4km an hour uphill, carrying a pack. We both feel fit.
Lovely evening in our apartment looking at the view from the balcony and enjoying the sunset.
See below for a video of our photos and experiences on our hike as well as a map which you can click on to learn more and get the GPX track (i only started the GPX track where we turned off from the Border trail). Note to see the full controls on the video click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.
