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Mt Tamborine BushBash Adventure - Sandy Creek, Beacon Rd, Knoll Track

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Trail stats

Distance
9.61 mi
Elevation gain
1,660 ft
Technical difficulty
Experts only
Elevation loss
1,660 ft
Max elevation
1,785 ft
TrailRank 
32
Min elevation
427 ft
Trail type
Loop
Time
4 hours one minute
Coordinates
4345
Uploaded
October 10, 2020
Recorded
October 2020
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near North Tamborine, Queensland (Australia)

Viewed 280 times, downloaded 1 times

Trail photos

Photo ofMt Tamborine BushBash Adventure - Sandy Creek, Beacon Rd, Knoll Track Photo ofMt Tamborine BushBash Adventure - Sandy Creek, Beacon Rd, Knoll Track Photo ofMt Tamborine BushBash Adventure - Sandy Creek, Beacon Rd, Knoll Track

Itinerary description

YouTube video of this crazy route: https://youtu.be/jS0nBa4REwg

"WARNING!!! DON'T DO THE FIRST PART OF THIS TRAIL." There... caveat finished and all obligations discharged.
_____________________________________________
Ok, so I've always wanted to see if there was some kind of track that might lead from the base to the top of Henderson's Knob (end of Beacon Rd). You know.... that distinctive profile that everyone on the western side always sees and recognises as "Mount Tamborine". Yes, that is where I wanted to scale up, if possible, somehow.

I have come across NO online record of anyone doing this yet, so with nothing to go off, I thought 'let me see if there is a way up'. Let me officially spoil it for everyone reading this blurb... THERE IS NO HUMAN TRACK GOING UP.

However, this is the way I decided to go. I parked my vehicle at the Knoll Rd Track on the main Tamborine Mountain Rd. I walked about 1km downhill to the start of Sandy Creek Reserve track and began rock-hopping upstream. This segment is a beautiful, serene and very typical 'Mt Tamborine-ish' creek. Actually very, very pleasant. I rock-hopped up around 500m and then deviated off some goat track toward the right which is where the end of Beacon Rd lookout (aka Henderson's Knob) is.

The terrain goes up and up past some amazing and massive boulder formations, up slippery rocky slabs, to where I gained plenty elevation. I could see Sandy Creek way down on my left-hand side now as I went higher, and higher and toward the western side.

Things now began to get interesting. What lay ahead of me is best described as "Lantana Heaven" and "Pollinating White Flower Weed City" as my next segment had the whole steep mountainside covered in this stuff that is evidence of a cursed earth. The lantana was towering over my head, was thick and strong, and was shouting at me to turn back and go home. Me being a persistent fellow (and unfortunately not bringing my machete with me) chose to face my challenge face on and pushed through the unrelenting growth. Despite scratches galore and white pollinating weed flowers releasing their spores everywhere with each push, and my lungs struggling with breath it in, I continued up and up, not seeing where I could position my feet, and due to the steepness of the hillside, I was grasping and reaching and holding whatever branch, tree root, grass bush patch I could that would allow me to pull myself upwards and through the thicket.

This was extremely slow going but eventually I made it absolutely covered in weed filth. I eventually came to a sheer rocky cliff face somewhere in between Sandy Creek and Henderson's Knob. Too steep to climb up, I pushed onwards toward the right in the direction I was trying to get to. Even up against this sheer cliff face, the lantana grew and pushed hard and I struggled and battled up and over treacherous boulders where I had to be cautious of every step. I finally made it to a segment that allowed me to scramble upwards to higher ground leaving the lantana behind me (still extremely steep and high and treacherous), until I was able to pull myself up by tree roots and rest up against some strong trees to catch a breath. I pushed upwards until I could see a grassy slope, a timber sitting bench came into view, a fence line, some houses.... however I could see Henderson's knob still around 800m off to my right in the West.

I had emerged from the cliffs to some houses at the end of Sierra Dr. The terrain was too impossible to continue on the cliff edge due to sheer in-navigable and impassable drops at the back of these properties. Managed to get from the rear of the properties to Sierra Drive, and traversed through Dickson Park.

Ran up to Henderson's Knob through the MTCC grounds and took in the great view. Ran down Beacon Rd, up Main St, and then took the Knoll Rd all the way up to Knoll National Park Lookout. Took in that view too.

I then backtracked and went down Knoll Rd down to the Mt Tamborine Refuse Station (aka Rubbish Dump), navigate around the lefthandside of the facility and located a trail that is the start of the Knoll Rd Trail. Followed this trail about 2-3kms which lead me back to my start location.

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