Exploring the Conondales
Bundaroo Creek. Image John Burrows
Not too far inland from the coast is a lush green wonderland of mountains, forest and crystal-clear streams flowing through hidden gorges – the Conondales. It’s the largest area of sub-tropical rainforest on the Sunshine Coast and a must for exploring.
Access is most convenient from Maleny, but it’s good to approach from the north following the Mary River Valley. It’s a pleasant journey, and you’ll admire the very visible efforts by locals to stop the proposed dam. Do visit the Information Centre at Kandanga to learn more about the proposal and how you can help prevent it.
Where to go in the Conondales? If time is limited, the Kenilworth Forest Drive provides a good overview and a sampling of the range’s many delights.
The Drive is a circuit which links camping areas at Charlie Moreland Park and Booloumba Creek (both reached from the Maleny-Kenilworth Road) and basically circumnavigates Mount Allan, at 593 metres one of the higher peaks in the area. It’s 37 kilometres of narrow gravel road, winding beautifully through forest, very steep in parts and unsuitable for driving in wet weather.
No need to drive along the Drive though. It’s a quiet shady road running through rainforest and sclerophyll forest, a wonderful two day walk. That said, other walking options in the Conondales may be more satisfying. Rock hopping up creeks is especially sublime. Formed walking trails are available, with a major one on the way - the state government has begun work on a 60 kilometre “Great Walk in the Conondales”, traversing the most spectacular parts of the range. It should be complete in 2010, with some sections (notably the Mt Allan trail) ready much sooner.
Cycling the Forest Drive is very feasible - recommended in fact. It’s not extreme by mountain-biking standards, but because of the steep terrain it is unsuitable for inexperienced cyclists. You will need a mountain bike or sturdy hybrid. Good brakes are essential and have them checked!
Starting from Charlie Moreland Park – a popular family spot with rock pools excellent for swimming – the Drive begins a long and steep ascent to reach a lookout with views of Mt Allan, hoop pine plantations and the Blackall Range in the distance.
Forestry’s impact is very apparent from this viewpoint. Plantations cover hills and valleys once cloaked with natural forest which was decimated by logging then obliterated by monoculture. Conservationists struggled for decades to prevent more of the same before the Conondales were finally protected with National Park or Forest Reserve status. Only plantation timber is logged now and the native forest is secure.
It was a long campaign to save the Conondales, and it gained national prominence with the discovery of the Platypus Frog or the Southern Gastric Brooding Frog, unique in that the young are raised in the stomach and born through the mouth of the mother.
“Don’t Log the Frog” was the irresistible slogan that captured the nation’s imagination. Too late however – once found nowhere except in the mountain streams of the Conondales and nearby ranges, the frog is now almost certainly extinct.
Frog populations worldwide have been devastated by the chytrid fungus, and this may have played a part in the demise of the Platypus Frog, but from the lookout on the Kenilworth Forest Drive, with its vast view of plantation, you can’t help but think that destruction of habitat was the reason for the loss of this unusual creature.
Happily, now largely protected, the Conondales provide safe habitat and a fighting chance at survival for other species in trouble – among them the Plumed Frogmouth, the Black Breasted Button Quail and Coxen’s Fig-Parrot.
Continuing along the Drive – if motoring, stop often to properly appreciate the ambience - the road keeps ascending until reaching the top of the range, then continues up and down in a roller-coaster fashion. There’s a turnoff to Jimna well worth following if there’s time to explore the western part of the range.
Further on, the road drops to cross Peters Creek. A short walking trail leads to an area downstream where the creek cascades over rocks and into lovely pools.
After ascending from Peters Creek, the Drive drops again to cross Bundaroo Creek, another ascent, then another drop to Booloumba Creek. These ups and downs can be quite steep.
All three creeks offer rock hopping opportunities. Bundaroo, with the only catchment untouched by logging, is especially attractive. There’s a walking trail to Booloumba Falls, where you’ll find an attractive rock pool for swimming, and the Breadknife, a serrated rocky outcrop well worth a closer look if you’re able to scramble a bit.
Climbing out of Booloumba Creek, you’ll soon reach the Booloumba View Lookout, with a fine view of the valley far below and Mt Allan far above. A little further along, the Drive begins descending to the Booloumba Creek camping area, just a few kilometres from your starting point.
The book “Walking on the Wilder Side... in the Conondales” published by the Conondale Range Committee, is a comprehensive guide and can be ordered via the website: exploreconondales.com. EPA’s “Upper Mary Valley” brochure is good for basic information. Part of the Forest Drive is closed to motor vehicles at the time of writing because of an unsafe bridge, contact EPA’s Kenilworth office for details – 5446 0925. For camping permits visit the EPA website or phone 131304.
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