SEQ Walks by Season?

[phenomenomenom]

In February I walked the Bunna Burra to O'Reilly's and return section of the gold coast great walk, and being honest, we didn't have that great a time. This was just after a heatwave and the leeches were out in full force. We're not a particularly squeamish bunch, but pulling the wrigglers off by the dozen was a bit off putting. Every other report I've read has people raving about the walks in the area. This got me thinking that maybe we were just there at the wrong time.

So, what are your 'top' walks (especially overnight, or multi night) in South East Queensland and/or Northern NSW, and which season would you recommend for that walk?

[ofuros]

Generally speaking...now is the best time.
Cool Autumn, Winter & early Spring days are the prime time for walking arduous mountain peaks, ridges & spurs.

While in the height of summer I tend start before dawn & camp early. Choosing shady canopy walks, waterfall circuits or explore a creek to beat the heat...rocks and boulders are usually dry, non slippery for rockhopping & I can take a dip & dry off if I get too hot.
Low flow creeks are more likely to have algae blooms at this time of year.

Just before or after xmas we tend to get unsettled weather, tropical monsoons bring hot & humid conditions & lots of rain. Check the local weather reports for the area you have in mind. You don't want to get caught in gorge section or cut off after driving over many shallow creek crossings to access an area
when the creek rises quickly or a flash flood come through.

All that info goes straight out the window if you just need
a bushwalking fix come hell or highwater...just choose your walk wisely.

Rainforests will have leeches...
Drier areas will have ticks...
Mossies love the shade & still water.
They're all part of our great outdoors experience.
Just spray your gaiters with Bushman's, permithrin or something similar to deter them.

[Champion_Munch]

As ofuros says... Winter is definitely "peak" walking season for SEQ.

In Summer I usually wouldn't be looking to do long walks, it's simply too hot/muggy. It's too hot on open tracks, and (as you discovered) the rainforest is littered with leeches and is usually very humid and horrible - unless you can time it well. I would be looking to do short walks around sunset time (e.g. climb some smaller peaks with easy trails like Glasshouse Mountains or Mt Cordeaux/Mitchell etc). You could certainly do walks around sunrise, but you'll have to be up pretty damn early!

Autumn is often very good for rainforest walks, as it's now cooler but still wet so the waterfalls tend to be nice at this time and you get a good display of Fungi. Springbrook, Lamington and Border Ranges are about as good as it gets. Don't get too disheartened by the Border Track, it's pretty uninteresting unless you do you some of the side trips. Make a trip back to the area and do Toolona Creek Circuit, Coomera Circuit and Ships Stern. There are plenty more but these are the best. You won't be disappointed.

Winter and Spring are the best time for tackling the exposed, rocky routes further west - Mount Barney and Main Range. If you're a competent bushwalker and enjoy scrambling and route-finding there are endless options out this way. Further west Girraween NP is a pretty special place with plenty of big granite rocks to climb on.

Of course the weather plays a big role in choosing a walk. I usually plan to tackle one of the drier, exposed climbs on a given day and if it turns out to be wet, head to Lamington NP instead. For some reason people seem to think rain = stay at home, but of course the rainforest is at it's best when it's wet and misty (but not hot and muggy, which you will get when it rains in Summer). Very rarely will I plan a trip to the rainforest on a dry day, it really just doesn't make sense to me.

You'll get plenty of ideas for trips both dry and wet on my blog. Haven't done a lot of overnight walks but here are a couple that I enjoyed a lot: http://sirkingchampionmunch.blogspot.co ... day-1.html and http://sirkingchampionmunch.blogspot.co ... -walk.html.

Cheers,
Munch