It’s drizzling lightly as I set off down the Ships Stern Circuit trail – not overly surprising as the Gold Coast hinterland experiences much higher rainfall than the coast, which was sunny when I left (there’s an average 2,100mm annual rainfall in Binna Burra versus 1,250mm on the coast).
While the Ships Stern Circuit is one of the longest Lamington National Parks day walks, it’s all on a very good track with the occasional muddy patch the only “obstacle”. Along the start of the track are a series of numbers… but I can’t find any information on what they refer to…
Despite – or perhaps because of – the light rain, it’s very enjoyable walking through the typical Lamington plateau, under towering trees with their enormous buttress roots.
A gap in the trees offers a glimpse of the rugged ridges and valleys of Lamington National Park.
The first signposted lookout is reached after 1.7km: Koolanbilba Lookout, which despite the rain and mist offers a great view of Egg Rock and Turtle Rock in the Numinbah Valley.
The Ships Stern Circuit track continues to descend from from the lookout, passing more enormous strangler figs.
The trail zig-zag downs to the base of the cliffs below the lookout, offering another view of the distinctive Egg Rock between the trees.
It’s not much further to Yangahla Lookout, which has a similar outlook to the Koolanbilba Lookout – but with the rain starting to clear, it offers a better view of the surrounding landmarks.
The trail continues to descend into the valley, as it roughly follows Wojigumai Creek towards the bottom of Nixon’s Creek Valley.
A short (1.2km return) side-trip goes to the bottom of Ballunjui Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in Lamington National Park (if you count its multiple tiers).
Once back on the Ships Stern Circuit, the trail continues to descend gently along Nixons Creek, crossing Chiminya Creek (whcih doesn’t have much water in it).
The trail crosses the shallow Nixons Creek, where I spot about the only marker on the entire trail… although every junction has a sign, kudos to the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for avoiding the temptation of sticking these incongruous arrows on every second tree!
The trail now starts to ascend, having reached the lowest point of the entire Ships Stern Circuit, and follows Gooramala Creek (a tributary of Nixon Creek).
After a few zig and zags, it reaches the junction with another side-track to Charraboomba Rock, which offers views down into the Nixon Valley and out over Numinbah Valley (yep, it’s friendly Egg Rock making another appearance)!
There are a few eucalyptus trees along the trail – this is one of the few places in Lamington National Park where scribbly gum Eucalyptus racemosa can be seen.
The trail passes another informal vantage point over the Nixon Valley as it follows the top of the cliff line.
Along this section there is evidence of a recent bushfire, with most trees blackened – but the many green shoots are also a reminder of how quickly the bush regenerates.
Kooloobano Point is about the halfway point of the Ships Stern Circuit, and offers more sweeping views over the Numinbah Valley.
Although the bush is still a little blackened, there’s plenty of green re-growth sprouting along the trail…
…and some great views to the east over the southern part of the Numinbah Valley. There aer three sigposted lookouts along the trail – Milleribah Lookout, Nyoongai Lookout and Goorooburra Lookout – although one of them has lost it’s sign, possibly in the fires.
The trail splits after a kilometre; both options are about the same distance, but one stays closer to the edge of the cliffs and passes Burrawong Lookout. There aren’t any great views along the “eastern Lookouts” route, and the signposted lookourt is no more!
Once the two trails re-join, the Shi’s Stern Circuit descend for a short distamce, before re-entering rainforest and beginning a gradual ascent.
Upper Ballunjui Track
The next junction is the Upper Ballunjui Track, one of the longer side-trips that passes a number of waterfalls and a lookout-which-isn’t. The last part of the Ships Stern Circuit can also be done as a much shorter, out-and-back walk. First stop is the Ballunjui Cascades, a pleasant but somewhat underwhelming waterfall along Nixon Creek.
Next is Guraigumai Rock (meaning “very large”), which AI describes as offering “panoramic views of the surrounding valleys and mountains”. The QPWS describes it as a little overgrown”, which is a far superior description. Maybe one day it offered a nice view. But not today. Glimpses of the valley, at best, if you squint through the trees.
The Upper Ballunjui Track continues to descend, and I make a short, off-track detour to a small cascade that drops into a small pool (which is far more photogenic that anything else along the trail) before reaching Booboora Falls.
You can continue a bit further to the end of the Upper Ballunjui Track, which end at the top of the biggest drop off the Ballunjui Falls (also called Yabbraboola Falls).
Once back on the Ships Stern Circuit it’s easy walking on a good track, which ascends very gently.
The penultimate side-trip is to Ballunjui Cascade (the previous one was “Ballunjui Cascades” while this is the “Ballunjui Cascade”, yet they both have multiple cascades… it’s all very confusing!).
Once back on the Ships Stern Circuit I spot another small waterfall below the track requiring a small off-track detour – it’s another unnamed waterfall that is much more picturesque than the previous two named cacsades.
I almst step on a large red-bellied black snake, which slithers out of my way; Lamington National Park is home to 22 snake species, which are most commonly seen in in the warmer spring and summer months.
The very last and very short side-trip (it’s about 50m from the main track) is to Ngarigoon Falls, which I fnd the most impressive of all the waterfalls along the Ships Stern Circuit.
Just after Ngarigoon Falls, the Ships Stern Circuit joins the Daves Creek Circuit, which is a separate 12km loop – or a 5.5km loop if you start here.
It’s just over a kilometre before the Daves Creek Circuit track meets the Border Track. The last stretch of the Border Track passes the 18km Coomera Circuit (which is one of the best bushwalks in Lamington National Park) and the short Tullawallal Circuit walk before finishing at Binna Burra. The official length of the Ships Stern Circuit walk is 19km which seems pretty accurate (unlike some of the other bushwalks in the area) – but if you do all the side-trips it’s about 23km (you could also include the Dave Creek Circuit which brings the total distance to 29km).
Getting to the Ships Stern Circuit walk
The signposted trailhead for Ships Stern Circuit is near the end of Binna Burra Road, near the Lamington National Park Information Centre. It’s about a 45km (50min drive) from the Gold Coast or a 105km (1:30min drive) from Brisbane, via Beechmont.
Accommodation in Lamington National Park
There are two guesthouses that are within the Lamington National Park: Binna Burra Lodge and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. Although they are about 22km by foot via the “Border Track”, by car it’s a 64km (1.5 hour) drive between them. Both offer a range of rainforest walks – but if you are doing walks around Binna Burra (including the Ships Stern Circuit and Coomera Circuit) and want to get an early start, you’ll want to stay or camp at Binna Burra Lodge – or there’s some accommodation options around Beechmont, which is about a 15min drive.
More information
- QLD Parks – Ships Stern circuit
- QLD Parks – Lamington National Park’s history
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