Little Gin Creek Falls - Trip Report

Date: Saturday 2 March 2024
Leader: Luen Warneke
Participants: 2 (Jo and Luen)

With only two of us for this one and big ambitions, it turned into a proper jungle mission in Paluma Range National Park.

Starting from Paluma Dam, Luen rode his mountain bike along the Jourama Falls track while Jo powered along on foot at a cracking pace to keep up. Along the way, we spotted cassowary droppings on the track - always a nice reminder that you are travelling through proper rainforest country. Near the point where we planned to head off-track, Luen stashed the bike in the bush and the real adventure began.

Once off the track, the scrub quickly turned thick and unforgiving. The rainforest around Little Gin Creek is dense, tangled, and full of wait-a-while, which seemed to be lurking everywhere with its usual enthusiasm for grabbing legs, packs, and anything else within reach. After a solid push through the vegetation over and under fallen trees, we finally dropped into the headwaters of the creek - earlier than planned, as we were sick of the thick rainforest.

Although the original goal had been to reach the main drops further downstream, the wet, slippery rocks and slow progress had other ideas. Even so, the headwaters were beautiful, with a series of impressive little cascades, a duck under a rock cave, and the mossy creek scenery that made the effort worthwhile. It was the sort of place that feels properly hidden away, wild, wet, and hemmed in by thick rainforest.

After stopping for lunch, Jo realised that she no longer had her new Apple Watch on her wrist anymore. Oopsy, that's an expensive mistake.

Finally, we made the call to turn around rather than push on. We chose a different exit route and headed straight up a ridgeline, which turned into another tough bash through very thick rainforest. It was slow, steep, and fatiguing work, but eventually we regained the track.

From there, Luen retrieved the bike and rode back out, while Jo continued on foot after already covering a lot more ground for the day. We had a brief stop at Johnstone's Clearing, Station Creek. By the end of the day, it had been a big outing, and Jo was understandably shattered after a solid effort in very rough country.

Although we did not make it to the main falls this time, the trip still delivered everything you would expect from a Grade 5 Paluma adventure: thick rainforest, off-track navigation, slippery creek scrambling, and a rewarding look into a remote and rarely visited corner of the range.

- Luen