We headed back to the Scenic Rim again over the Christmas holidays and while there, we decided to hike another one of the many peaks that the rim has to offer, Mount Greville.
Mount Greville was a peak that I had on my hiking bucket list for two reasons. Firstly, every time we’ve visited the Moogerah Dam in the past, Mount Greville always looked so impressive, rising high above the lake. Secondly, we’d heard it wasn’t an easy hike. I do love a difficult hike, one that other people find challenging. It’s not fun if it’s too easy!
After conquering Mount Maroon’s summit on our last trip to the Scenic Rim, I just couldn’t wait to tick Mount Greville off the list too. We were not disappointed; it was an amazing hike. Challenging? It certainly was no walk in the park, but it was so worth it.
Where is Mount Greville?
The ancient volcanic peak of Mount Greville is in the Moogerah Peaks National Park on the Scenic Rim. It is approximately an hour and a half from Brisbane, just under two hours from the Gold Coast. If like us you live on the Sunshine Coast, then it’s a three-hour drive.
Where to start your Mount Greville hike?
The car park for the trailhead is on Mount Greville Road. If you enter Mount Greville carpark into your Google maps, it will take you there. The carpark is very well sign posted (unlike the track itself!), you can’t miss it!
The three ways to hike up
When I researched the hike, I discovered that there are three ways to reach the peak of Mount Greville:
1- Via Palm Gorge
2- Via the Southeast Ridge
3- Via the Waterfall Gorge
The easiest way to do it is by using the Southeast Ridge. But as we said earlier, we don’t like easy. After reading many other hikers’ reviews, we decided to go up the Waterfall Gorge, then down the Palm Gorge.
Going up the Waterfall Gorge
Hiking up the Waterfall Gorge is the hardest way up. However, the views once you get to the Slab Rock lookout are by far the best of the hike. They are better than the views from the summit itself!
What makes it hard is that the path is not marked at all. There were times when we had no idea where to go and if we hadn’t downloaded the AllTrails map earlier, we would probably not have found our way.
I would not recommend doing this hike without a GPS and without having the map on your phone. It is truly a life saver having it, even if we still managed to get confused in a couple of places. We only had to backtrack once, and we quickly realised we were on the wrong path.
The walk up the Waterfall Gorge is certainly an interesting one, with Piccabeen palms and beautiful vegetation all around. The tip for going up the Waterfall Gorge is to stick as close to the waterbed as you can and follow it up the gorge until the top.
When you reach the waterfall, you will feel a little confused as to where to go. That’s where we backtracked. When at the waterfall, take the very poorly formed track to the left of the waterfall, not the one to the right.
There is some rock scrambling involved going up this track.
The Slab Rock
Once you emerge from the Waterfall Gorge, there is a track to your right which will lead you to the Slab Rock lookout point. Slab Rock for us was the highlight of the hike. The view over Lake Moogerah and the surrounding countryside was breathtaking and so worth the effort. We were lucky to have the entire place to ourselves. We took some time to enjoy the beauty and to have a small rest with some water and snacks. What a place!
From Slab Rock you can also see the peak of Mount Greville right behind you. As you look at it, it looks a little daunting. How are we ever going to get there, I thought. Getting to Slab Rock took us two hours and we were already starting to feel a little tired. Thankfully a little break did us some good and we could keep on going!
The Summit
Getting to the summit from Slab Rock was no walk in the park either. Once again there were absolutely no markers, so we mostly relied on the GPS and our All-Trails map. The path wrapped around the side of the rock and eventually up to the summit. The summit rises 720m above sea level.
When you reach the summit, you will find a big pile of cairn rocks. I was a bit worried as I couldn’t see any views near the rocks but if you follow another small track to the left of where you arrive, you will find a lovely view of the southern Fassifern Valley and the southern mountains of the Main Range National Park like Mt Ballow, Mt Maroon and the big guy, Mt Barney.
The Palm Gorge
On the way down we followed the Palm Gorge track. The Palm Gorge track had one marker at the top to show us the way to go; it was the first marker we’d seen since the start!
Palm Gorge was a totally different environment to Waterfall Gorge, some say they felt like they were in Jurassic Park, and I get why. There is lots of vegetation with tall palm trees and fig trees. Some tree roots reached all the way from the top of the gorge to the bottom. It was impressive to see.
The hike down wasn’t easy though. It is very rocky and quite tricky for someone like me with a bad ankle. We had to go extremely slow. It didn’t help that I’d left my hiking poles in the car by mistake!
The path down is easy to follow until you get closer to the bottom. As with the Waterfall Gorge, you basically can’t go wrong as there are two massive gorge walls on either side.
There were a lot of fallen trees over the path which we had to climb over at times. This slowed us down a bit too.
After 5 ½ hours of hiking we made it back to the car. We were exhausted but so glad we’d done it and so proud of ourselves.
What to know before you start?
- It’s not an easy hike and if you haven’t hiked much before I wouldn’t choose this path. Maybe consider the Southeast Ridge if you are not a very experienced hiker.
- Download the AllTrails map for reference as the trail is basically not marked and it is hard to always know whether you’re on the right track or not. We only met people on way down so we couldn’t rely on anyone else leading the way. An AllTrails map will give you the peace of mind that you’re going the right way.
- Bring a lot of water and snacks. We took over 5 hours and some people take even longer. You need to keep hydrated especially since it can get very hot in Queensland!
- Wear hiking boots. This is not a joke of a hike.
- Hiking poles would be a good idea for the way down at least. I forgot mine, the idiot that I am, but I managed to use a fallen tree branch instead … improvisation!
- Start early. Not only will you get peace and quiet like we did but if you take a while to do the hike it’s best to finish before dark.
- Bring sunscreen lotion, a hat, sunglasses, and a waterproof jacket. You never know when the weather will change!
- Don’t hike alone. It’s always best to bring a hiking buddy. It’s safer and a lot less boring.
- I wouldn’t attempt this hike in the rain or after heavy rain as it would be way too slippery.
- Always be mindful and keep a lookout for snakes. It’s Queensland! It’s a good idea to carry a first aid kit and compression bandage just in case.
Where to stay near Mount Greville?
We stayed at Mt Maroon Farmhouse Stay which is situated in Maroon about 20 minutes from the trail head. This holiday home has 1 bedroom, a kitchen with a microwave and a fridge, a flat-screen TV, a seating area and 1 bathroom fitted with a shower. It offers spectacular views of Mt Maroon and Mt May from any rooms in the house.
There are four outdoor seating areas which perfect to relax at after a long hike, admiring the view of the mountain. The property also has a BBQ, a pizza oven and a firepit. We highly recommend staying there.
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