Which walk to do: the Cougals or Cream Track?

[dtbaker]

I have a free weekend (finally!) and a few of us would like to do the Cream Track or the Cougals but cannot decide.

If you had to choose one, which would it be?

Cheers!
Dave

[gentlemanbushwalker]

Haven't done the cream track yet but can vouch for the cougals walk - very nice part of the world. Also you should be able to see where the cream track is more or less from up there?

If I am a bit late, which did you end up doing?

[dtbaker]

Hey,

Wow old post, but I ended up doing the Cougals and it was great!

First view of the top, seeing this was exciting:



in the cave




view of west peak:

[tas-man]

Great to see you got to Mt Cougal eventually. Happy to see any more of your photos of the trip added here

[KrazyKeith]

Cream Trackered --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following up on our reconnaissance visit 6 weeks earlier and right bang in a pop up heat wave, on Saturday 15th November, we seamlessly descended the Cream Track from Springbrook down to the very end of Tallebudgera Creek Road. Again, despite the Springbrook Mountain Extraterrestrial Response Force (SMERF) club signs, no aliens or UFO's manifested themselves in the conveniently located Goomoolahra Falls car Park (alt 790 M), which we exited along the graded vehicle track heading NE and continued a gentle climb for several hundred metres until the track reached a padlocked metal gate prominently displaying the all too familiar Private property Warning sign.
Fortunately for our route, a path clearly veers off to the left of this gate and quickly broadens into a distinct (but old)
track. Almost immediately we encountered our most difficult obstacle, just past the large fallen tree (which can be
easily skirted on the top side) someone has erected a gleaming new barbed wire fence right across the track, with another PP Warning sign! This was most certainly not there when we reconnoitred the top of the Cream Track. In fact someone has done a considerable amount of on going work recently to this first section, clearing the ground and installing more fences and gates. There are no clues to indicate Who might be responsible - but probably not the extraterrestrials. This first section from the car park down towards Mudgeeraba Creek is National Park on the left and private property on the right, so presumably it one of these parties. For the avoidance of doubt, the CT is a sort of terra nullius - clearly showing on the Queensland globe land parcel tenures display as a discrete channel wending its way between National Park land and private properties. Nor is it a Council Reserve or a gazetted road - so the default position must, I suppose, be that it is vacant Crown land - if you subscribe to the prevailing legal system.

Either way, the recent track clearing certainly helped us make rapid progress down this top section to the head waters of
the extremely dry (for now) Mudgeeraba Creek. On the other side of this creek the track shrinks to a path which meanders
across a plateau. On our reconnaissance visit we had fluoro taped this path extensively but, disconcertingly, our tape has
vanished (code for 'been removed', perhaps it was those aliens). Nevertheless we soon located the steep down ramp off the right edge of the plateau and commenced the plunge into Tallebudgera Valley far below - with glimpses of both Cougal peaks close ahead on our south East side.
After the initial down ramp, this middle section is quite jiggely, zigzagging ever lower, and definitely more of a path than
a track - but distinct enough to follow and benefiting from some reassuringly welcome fluoro tape, which we enhanced now
and again. Only faint hiccup was at an unnamed creek about half way along this middle section - indeed it was the
only stream we met between Mudgeeraba Creek and Tallebudgera Creek right at the bottom. On crossing this creek we found the choice of a cutting going straight ahead but up or a path to the left along the descending stream - both were fluoro taped. After a little hesitation we took the path (and a leech) which was the correct route, although the cutting might just have gone up to the ridgeline and then turned left to join where the path went anyway. And down the ridgeline we dropped, with some excellent views of Boyds Butte ahead on the right and Mt Tallebudgera ahead on the other side, all the while looking for the start of a banana plantation below and on our left. Suddenly it was there and, just past a last clump of lantana, the path transformed into a graded vehicle track, giving us an easy but bendy final section all the way down to
Tallebudgera Creek, which it crosses twice before reaching the famously mislabelled 'Private property' gate on the Tallebudgera Creek Road tarmac (alt 150 M). As we approached it from the rear, we were unable to read the sign until it was too late ! Elapsed time for this walk was a little less than 2.5 hours and, had the heat been less than stultifying, we might have done it quicker. NB with no public transport at the top or bottom, the drop off-pick up logistics do require some planning.

[Champion_Munch]

Nice story KrazyKeith, any photos from the walk?

[KrazyKeith]

As of July 2015, please see the very excellent new website http://thecreamtrack.com.au/