Harvey's Marbles - Trip Report

Saturday, 29 November 2025
Leader: Luen Warneke
Participants: 13

We met up at 6.00 am to make the most of the cooler part of the day, stepping into a freshly burnt Harvey’s Marbles landscape. The recent fire had cleared the understorey right back, leaving soft green regrowth pushing through the ash and making the entire plateau unusually easy to walk across. Even so, the warmth was building early, and the overcast sky was doing us a favour.

Our circuit began by skirting the familiar Inner Circle, then continuing well beyond The Gallery and The Bus Shelter before dropping into a dry creek gully that Wilfred had been keen to explore. The creek bed turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant detour. From the top of the gully we climbed out onto the Hill of Grace area, where we paused to catch our breath, take in the views, morning tea, and have a chat about geology and what a watershed actually is (turns out some people were expecting a wooden hut).

We followed the ridge east along the edge of the plateau, stopping at a lookout overlooking Hervey Range and the line of the old Page Road. The air was hazy, muting the horizon, but it added a soft atmospheric layer to the landscape. From here, we continued out to the end of the road before turning towards the Andromeda side of Harvey’s. The group enjoyed weaving through the enormous granite blocks scattered along the base of Radar Hill, including the Epitome of a Man boulder - always an impressive lump of stone to wander beneath.

Our farthest point was The Three Brothers, a spectacular trio of colossal boulders perched on the escarpment. The views eastward were worth the effort, with Townsville visible in silhouette only if you squinted - Castle Hill just a faint smudge through the haze. A few of us scrambled onto the middle Brother for a higher vantage point, earning a well-deserved moment of panorama and breeze. We saw some white chalk from the recent boulder's session on Engineered Scare Tactics (V9).

Turning back, we headed towards the radar tower where the heat of the day was starting to bite, and a couple of walkers were getting low on water. Wilfred stepped in with a refill - much appreciated. The return route took us along the other side of The Bus Shelter and The Gallery, tying the loop together nicely and giving us a second chance to appreciate the sheer variety of boulder shapes in this area: house-sized blocks, rounded marbles, sharp arêtes, and enormous slabs stacked like forgotten architecture.

The final stretch through the Castle, Cow Paddock, and Fun Parlour brought us back to the cars just before midday, completing what turned out to be an excellent full-circuit tour of the wider Harvey’s Marbles region. In one loop, we managed to see almost everything: burnt woodland bursting back into life, creek country, high ridges, massive boulders, and that frontier edge at The Three Brothers.

It was hot, yes - but thanks to the overcast sky, good pacing, plenty of water, and a positive group of 13 walkers, the morning was relaxed, social, and full of interest. Harvey’s Marbles never disappoints, and today’s wide-ranging circuit showed just how much there is to explore on this granite plateau. Clean granite slabs, pockets of wildflowers, and just enough contour to keep everyone entertained.

- Luen