Freeranger

1 walks ticked

This Year

0
Number of Walks Ticked
0.0m
Total Distance Ticked

All Time

1
Number of Walks Ticked
58.0km
Total Distance Ticked
Name Date Difficulty Distance/Duration
Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk (Kondalilla National Park)
18 Jun, 2020
Hard
58km
4 days
Done a few of the Qld Great Walks and not a big fan of their minimalist camp sites so planned this as a 2 day hike using Leafy Lane trailhead as the entry/exit point for Day1 , entry point for Day2 with Baroon Dam finish. Did a deal with my wife whereby we stayed at an excellent cottage in Mapleton for 3 nights and she did pickup and dropoffs. The benefits of this were a comfortable bed at night (this was mid winter it was dark just after 5), spa bath each night, log fire, coffee and pastry before heading off both days. Worth considering.
As to the hike itself, I didnt have to carry a great deal, really just a day pack which always makes it easier. I am writing this 6 months later so bit dodgy on detail. I found Day1 had a bit of a challenging climb up to the lunch spot which provided an excellent place to have a break (its the picture on the cover of the brochure). Other than that I found the day not that interesting. It took 9 hours to do that circuit, but then I'm not as young as I once was.
I found Day 2 to be a lot more interesting as walked through streets and past farms, the odd waterfall. I met my wife for lunch at a restaurant not far from Kondalilla Falls and that was a delight. The Falls track itself was quite interesting and mercifully downhill most of the way. This day took about 8 hours but we did linger over lunch.
I did this hike immediately after Brisbane came out of lockdown so it was great to be able to hike again.
Its not a difficult hike, if you want to get one under your belt it serves a purpose. There were some viewing highlights, some very pleasant creek and forestry elements but I am glad I was able to do it in 2 days because I am not sure it is worth 4.
Doubling it up with a few days in the Montville/ Mapleton/ Maleny area certainly made it worthwhile, its a pretty part of the world.