Springbrook National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Aboriginal culture
- Natural features
- Native plants
- Wildlife
- NQIS (07) 3227 8185
- Park ranger (07) 5533 5147
- WALK to Purling Brook Falls and go behind the falls
- VISIT the Best of All Lookout for panoramic views
- SEE the tiny green lights of thousands of glow-worms in the late evening at Natural Bridge
Introduction
A winding drive up into the Gold Coast hinterland leads to a pristine landscape of deep valleys, plunging waterfalls and dense rainforest in which ancient Antarctic beech trees shelter. A World Heritage-listed park, Springbrook protects subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate rainforests, open eucalypt forest and heath. Springbrook National Park has three sections: the large Springbrook Plateau in the north; the smaller Mount Cougal section in the south-east; and Natural Bridge in the south-west.
Fact file
Access
From Brisbane via Pacific Hwy, Springbrook Rd and Nerang–Murwillumbah Rd; final sections steep and winding
Best Season
All seasons
Location
96 km south of Brisbane; 29 km west of Mudgeeraba
Park Information
Permits
Camping permit required
Size
3334 ha
Where to Stay
Springbrook 1300 309 440
www.springbrook.info
A look at the past
The Springbrook Plateau proved a barrier to settlers and timber-getters in the 19th century and its forests remained largely intact. However, in 1906 it was opened up for selection and settlers moved in and by the 1920s parts of the plateau had been clear-felled. In the Natural Bridge section, timber-getters arrived in the 1870s and by the 1930s large areas of the Numinbah Valley had been cleared, paving the way for dairy farms. A sawmill was established in the Mount Cougal section in 1943, which specialised in packing-crate timber for local banana growers.From the 1920s, sections of the region became recreation areas, scenic reserves and finally a group of national parks, which were amalgamated to become Springbrook National Park in 1990.
Aboriginal culture
Stone artefacts, rock shelters, rock art, scarred trees and earthen rings found in the park are evidence of occupation by the Yugambeh people. Their stories explain the creation of the ranges, rivers, streams and waterfalls. Dwellings constructed of bark and timber formed permanent camps in good seasons, while simpler leafy shelters were erected when life was more transient. European settlement forced the Yugambeh to move into reserves or to dwell on the fringes of the towns but today they continue to live on their traditional lands.
Natural features
Perched on top of the Springbrook Plateau, which rises from 600 to 1000 metres above sea level, the national park has the second highest rainfall in Queensland, averaging up to 3000 millimetres a year. Of the park’s numerous waterfalls, the Purling Brook Falls are the most spectacular, plunging 100 metres straight down into a gorge filled with palms, tree ferns and spear lilies. Natural Bridge is a rock arch over Cave Creek, where the water plunges through a large hole into a cavern.
Native plants
Springbrook’s rich volcanic soils support rainforests, mountain heaths and open eucalypt forests. Ancient brush box (Lophostemon confertus) overhang some tracks. In the rain-forests there are stands of Antarctic beech (some 3000 years old).
Wildlife
Springbrook’s diverse habitats provide refuge for a wide range of animals, some rare and endangered. Among the park’s amphibious creatures are the great barred frog and the pouched frog, both frequenting the leaf-litter of Antarctic beech and surrounding rainforests. Over 100 species of birds live in the park, including Australian king-parrots, Albert’s lyrebird, regent and satin bowerbirds, yellow-tailed black-cockatoos and rufous fantails. You may also see the rare Richmond birdwing butterfl y flitting about. After dark a colony of tiny glow-worms lights up in the cavern at Natural Bridge.
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
The park’s information centre off Springbrook Road has a 100-metre boardwalk suitable for wheelchairs that leads to a lookout over the Gold Coast.
Bushwalking
The park’s numerous walking tracks range from the 700-metre-return walk to the Best of All Lookout (30 minutes, easy) to the Warrie Circuit (17 km return, 5–6 hours, difficult), which meanders through rainforest, crosses several creeks and gullies and passes orchid-clad cliffs and cascading waterfalls. The most popular walk is the Purling Brook Falls circuit (4 km return, 2–3 hours, medium difficulty), which takes you behind the falls and up the other side of the creek to a lookout above the falls. Natural Bridge circuit (1 km return, 1 hour, sealed track with long sets of steps, graded easy if walked in clockwise direction) descends through tropical rainforest, with hoop pines, to Cave Creek and on to the cavern beneath the natural arch.
Picnicking
There are tables, toilets and barbecues at Gwongorella, Goomoolahra (wheelchair access), Tallanbana and Natural Bridge picnic areas. At Goomoolahra, a 75-metre stroll leads to Goomoolahra Falls lookout, with extensive views over the rainforest valleys and beyond to Moreton Bay. At Gwongorella, a track (300 metres return) leads to lookouts over Purling Brook Falls.
Scenic views
Two of the best lookouts are at Purling Brook Falls, both of which make sure you get a bird’s eye view of the rushing waters and lush rainforest below, and the Best of All Lookout, which lives up to its name by offering spectacular views of northern New South Wales.
Campsites
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