Larapinta Falls

This walk is an extension of the hike to Westray's Grave (see https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/lamington/westray-s-grave-from-christmas-creek) along Christmas Creek. The other known walk on this route is to the Stinson crash site.

Without a word of hesitation I would recommend that if you go to Christmas Creek you must check out Larapinta Falls as they are absolutely spectacular and made even more special by the fact that you can swim right under the cascade which is over 30 metres high.

Absolutely worth doing, the falls are spectacular and there is nothing like swimming under such a large waterfall. Beautiful scenery though it is fairly well out in the sticks so be prepared.

Waterfalls

Swimming

Navigation Required

Rainforest

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Getting there:

Follow Christmas Creek Road all the way to the end, just south of Beaudesert which is approximately 1 hour(?) from Brisbane. The end of the road becomes narrow and unsealed so drive carefully, suggest if you have a fancy car, let someone else drive =P

Maps:

Unsure, original route I saw was on this page: https://www.weekendnotes.com/larapinta-falls-lamington-national-park/

Route/Trail notes

The trip to Westray's Grave is a nice walk in itself through some great scrub / rain forest all while accompanied by the sound of a flowing stream which to me is like music. This walk is not too difficult and takes roughly an hour at a good pace. The track is fairly well marked the whole way with some helpful hiking tape. I wrote a review for the Stinson crash site (https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/stinson-crash-site-from-christmas-creek-) which includes this trip so I won't go into much detail on that.

From Westray's Grave the idea is to follow the creek, generally on the left hand side but sometimes crossing back and forth. This route has also been marked with orange tape which makes getting lost fairly difficult. So long as you stick to the creek, you can't really go wrong. The route involves some fun rock and log hopping through some great scenery and it takes approximately 1 - 1.5 hours after Westray's Grave to reach the falls which as described above, are one of the more impressive you are likely to see and to top it all off, you can have a refreshing swim at the same time. An absolute must.

The return journey is simply retracing your steps and you can generally keep your feet dry as the rocks are plentiful. Probably wouldn't be a good idea after heavy rain however as the creek probably swells a fair bit and slippery rocks are never a good idea. Definitely a good walk for spring / summer. Leeches did not seem to be prolific when I did this walk. Allow a good 4-5 hours for the entire trek.

Permits/Costs:

Nil

Other References:

https://www.weekendnotes.com/larapinta-falls-lamington-national-park/

Comments

Enjoyable walk on a perfect spring day to the amazing waterfall. Lost the track a couple of times on the way to the falls, but managed to pick it up by walking back to the creek and hunting for the tape. Was a 6.9km/2.5hr walk in (thanks to off trail parts) and a 4.4km/1.75hr efficient walk back. Still a bit too chilly to swim under the falls, but enjoyed watching the yabbies and eels in the little rock pools surrounding. Wore running shoes rather than hiking boots to help with rock-hopping agility.
Geo Kat on 5 Sep, 2020

The falls are truly spectacular, well worth the walk. We were keeping a good eye out for the Gympie Gympie.
JFoss on 5 Jun, 2020

did this by joining the Swiss Club for a sunday walk. made a new acquitance Gympie-Gympie!
great spot!
Linus Nyqvist on 8 Mar, 2020

Amazing hike to the falls. Lots of rocks and tree roots. Not recommended unless you are an experienced hiker. Complete early to avoid heat in summer. Follow trail markers fluro tape tied to trees along the path as it is easy to loose the trail.
Jimcar on 3 Jan, 2020

Stunning waterfall definitely put this one on your list!
Korina Meagher on 30 Dec, 2019

Super fun hike. You get to do a whole lot of rock hopping. Plenty of waterfalls to swim in along the way if it's a nice day for it. The return hike took me about 3.5hrs.
Kate on 18 Apr, 2019

This was the second time we did this track. All of palm tree leaves vovering the track and extra navigation to find trail markers. Keep close to the creek will always put you back on track
Dino the Explorer on 30 Mar, 2019

Rough afternoon in extra wet conditions, definitely worth it in hindsight, once my legs worked again. Pulled off 9 leeches, judging from the bites about that many again had released by themselves.
heezy on 28 Mar, 2019