Girraween National Park
Joins us as our little family heads off on our first multi-night road trip in our new home on wheels. Recently we have bought a rooftop tent and have been enjoying overnight trips away. With a bit of confidence on our side, we were keen to head off on a little bit of a longer trip. Girraween National Park seemed like the perfect location!
First Stop
With a packed car we headed up and over the Great Dividing Range at Cunninghams Gap, twisting and turning our way up on the long curly road. As we had left home a little later in the day, we broke up our trip to Girraween National Park by finding somewhere along the way to park up for the night, our first night was at Bestbrooke Mountain Farmstay.
With a beautiful Brooke bubbling through the valley, and large grassy fields, Bestbrooke Mountain Farmstay was a very pretty and comfortable stop over for us. We parked up by the stream, popped our tent up and got dinner going. There were beautiful purple flowers throughout the fields, and the sunset was all sorts of beautiful purple and pinks. We had such a wonderful evening playing and relaxing, and our campsite was private and secluded from other visitors.
We woke the next day to hear the creek bubbling, and the birdsong in the crisp morning air. Excited to get our day on the way, we jumped straight into breakfast and coffee, joined with horses galloping nearby, before packing up and heading off to see the cow milking and animal feeding. There are many free activities that are organised by the farm, that are splendid if you have little ones that want to get a hands on experience.
Once all of the farm animals were fed and watered, we jumped in the car to finish our journey to Girraween National Park. Stopping only to collect bakery treats from country towns on the way - we had the best lamington from Steele’s Bakery Cafe - well worth the stop to collect some snacks for the road!
Arriving at Girraween National Park Camping Ground
We arrived at Girraween National Park in the early afternoon, setting up camp with a beautiful view of The Pyramid in the background. We camped at the Girraween National Park Camp Ground, the sites are all newly set out, with flat gravely sites for rooftop tents, camper trailers, caravans and seperate designated tent sites. All of the facilities are beautifully maintained and also new, with flushing toilets, and BYO shower facilities. The shower facilities require you to bring your own camping shower to hang on the hoist that National Parks provide.
Once all set up, it was time to stretch our legs after a bit of time sitting in the car. We picked the Bald Rock Creek Circuit as our toddler friendly stretch of the legs, with 2.2 kms of distance to cover. We stopped by the creek to enjoy some tasty bakery treats that we had picked up earlier that day.
After a beautiful afternoon walk, we headed back for camp to make dinner. We enjoyed another beautiful sunset, with purples and pinks popping from the sky above us. We headed off for bed, to rest our legs for a morning hike up The Pyramid.
Climbing The Pyramid
We woke early, packed our bags, and headed off from camp in eager anticipation of the adventure ahead of us. Hugo had the best seat in the house, tucked up in the backpack carrier safely on the shoulders of his surefooted Dad. The Pyramid is a steep climb up to the top of a granite dome, sitting about 1000m above sea level. It is not a hike that I would recommend doing with a toddler, and we had firm rules in place that didn’t allow Hugo his usual “turn” in having a hike himself.
The hike is short and sharp, offering expansive views from the top. Whilst it is sheer and steep, the ground is quite grippy underfoot providing a bit of confidence with some good trail or hiking shoes on. I found myself feeling a little anxious about turning around and coming back down, though surprised myself with how comfortable I felt, with good route taking on the way back down.
Back at camp we enjoyed a chilled afternoon. We went for a swim in the creek to cool down post hike, and then spent the time in the shade enjoying the view of The Pyramid from our camp site with some cool beverages.
Our Trip Home
On our final morning, we woke feeling a little tired from a restless night. The weather had turned, and the wind had picked up, shaking the tent for most of the night. We packed up our campsite, and headed for on more stroll around the day use area of the National Park, looking at the river and spotting turtles swimming in her waters. We were stalling, waiting for a special shop to open up down the road before heading off.
We made one final stop at Heavenly Chocolate for some special Hot Chocolates before jumping in the car for our long journey home. I highly recommend stopping by here, stocking up on some treats and thank you for puppy sitting presents for those loved ones back home.