Unravelling the mystery of ancient unspoilt rainforests (on formed tracks) and discovering timeless waterfalls, if that's you, then this is a walk that I would highly recommend. If you would like to camp and hike, there are two camping area that you can choose which are close by this walk. Conventional vehicle access with care is fine during dry seasons or after a long period of no rain, otherwise taking a 4WD is recommended as the roads can be badly washed.
First, let's talk about camping! As I mentioned at the beginning, there are two campsites that you can choose, the one closer to this walk is Forest Top Campground and the other one is Sheepstation Creek Campground. Please be aware that national park entry fee of $8 per day applies in this national park as well as camping fee. Campsites cannot be pre-booked. Forest Top campground has 10 tent sites with picnic tables and toilet, it is nice and quiet, however you have take a short walk from where you parked the car to the tent site. Sheepstation Creek campground has 40 sites including sites for caravan and camper trailer, and you can camp next to your car most of the time, and of course you loose the quietness. These camping grounds have no shower facilities, so either bring wipes or have your own camping shower if needed. We camped here during a long weekend in May, because we planned to do the walks which starts right at this campsite the next day, though it was busy on the first day, we all managed to find a place (a group of 15 people).
At last, let's talk about Brindle Creek Walk. It is incredible the pre-historic vibe that this place brings as you walk through the lushness, given the increasing amount of human presence in the surrounding suburbs/towns. Even the signage fits right in with the place. With the sunlight becoming sneaky through the tree leaves, the passing of time can be a truly lost concept.
As you move through the forest, you will reach two waterfalls, the Selva Fall and Evans Fall. They are both worth the slight extra detour about a couple hundred meteres. We also found a blue/red coloured Spinny Crayfish (Yabby) amongst the rocky creek bed at Selva Fall, and from what I heard of friends and people who had been there, it seems to be a local "permanent resident".
As the moister level is high, this place is great for people who are into fungi, moss and micro-environments. It also has a large presence of Antarctic Beech Trees, which is very scarce as our continent moved north and became drier and hotter. The life cycle of these giant trees is really fascinating. Essentially it starts of with one tree, and after a long period of growth, the original tree will die and decay away, while a new stem grows on the trunk of the original tree using its nutrients and the life will go on in similar cycles, until their trunks and roots would intertwine forming a ginormous base with several stems sitting on top of it. It can be quite an intriguing sight if you ever come across one.
It is a roughly 12km return walk on winding tracks through the dense rainforest. As most part of the track is narrow with slippery entangled tree roots, it would take longer than normal to complete it. If you plan to do the full 12km, I would recommend starting no later than 8am during winter considering rainforest gets dark early. We did the track one way starting at the Forest Top Campsite car park and had car parked on the other end of the track to retrieve our vehicles. We started the track at around 12.30pm and finished walking around 4.30pm. If you follow what we did, then the track will be mostly downhill for you, which leaves more energy for you to enjoy and take-in your surrounding environment.
If you have the time and energy, and return back to the campground (Sheepstation Creek) early enough, go back along the road and you can watch the sunset with the last roaming castles at the Y junction where the road joins. As the darkness falls, can't help but feel life's wonderfulness relaxing around the camp fire after a day of hiking, hearing the laughter flow while the forest grows quiet into the night. We all had our dinners sitting around the picnic table under the shelter with our tent not far away, which are great! It is also a great place to watch the stars in the night sky, while the bright city lights remain distant.
Enjoy nature and the outdoors in your own way! I sure hope you enjoy the Border Ranges.
