An overcast, foggy and slightly wet afternoon was probably not the best choice of day for the bushwalk to the top Mount Cougal East, which is said to offer “sweeping views”. But hoping for a break in the weather, I set off on the short but steep bushwalk, which is in MacPherson Range (in the southern section of Springbrook National Park). The hike starts from the least friendly trailhead I’ve encountered in a long time, but after an elegant slither under the locked gate I’m on my way up the narrow trail.
The first third of the Cougals ascent is somewhat unpleasant, as it follows the edge of private property along the NSW/QLD border fence. There are frequent ribbons marking the way, which are mildly helpful near the top, but completely superfluous here: if you can’t follow an obvious trail, which follows a fence-line, you should probably re-think your choice of outdoor recreation!
The trail soon passes through a patch of sugar cane, which clearly has no regard for the border fence and cross-border biosecurity rules.
After the initial ascent, the trail flattens out a little and the vegetation clears, offering some views to the south over the Dungay and Upper Dungay valley in NSW.
A little further along the trail and you can see Mount Tallebudgera to the north, and the two Cougal peaks – Mount Cougal East and Mount Cougal West.
The bushwalk starts to get a little more pleasant from here, as the vegetation becomes more rainforest-like. The border fence is a constant sight, and even though it has seen better days, most of it is still intact. I was surprised how far the fence line goes – all the way to the cliffs at the base of Mount Cougal.
The Mount Cougal trail enters Springbook National Park after about 2.2km, and flattens out as it follows a saddle to the base of Mount Cougal East.
Despite the light drizzle (or perhaps because of it), this section of the walk through dense rainforest is incredibly scenic.
The trail descends slighty as it gets closer to the base of the first peak, past a tree with a surveyor’s mark blazed on it.
The start of the ascent is reached at about the 3.5km mark, where the track gets fairly steep and a little slippery as it takes a direct line up to the base of the eastern summit.
The last few hundred metres involves an easy scramble, with lots of tree roots to hold onto, as the trail winds around and up the northern side rocky summit.
Unfortunately, while it stops raining as I reach the Mount Cougal East peak (694m), I only have a panoramic view of grey mist.
(Here’s what I was looking forward to seeing, courtesy of We Are Explorers: Mount Cougal West and the Springbook escarpment behind it.)
It’s a relatively easy walk to the Mount Cougal East peak, with just a bit of scrambing at the very end. Allow at least an extra hour for the more challenging traverse to the (slightly higher) Mount Cougal West peak – which I’ll attempt next time, on a day with better weather.
Getting to Mount Cougal
The trailhead is at the end of Garden of Eden Road, which is off Tomewin Road. It’s about a 40km (50min) drive from the Gold Coast or 110km (1:30min) from Brisbane. The last three kilometres is unsealed, but suitable for all vehicles.
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