Another Day of exploring: GlenRock SF & Wallers Rd-Murphys Ck

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Well, after getting inchy feet again I decided to go for another midweek explore after my night shift. I've had in the back of my mind for a years now to visit a place called GlenRock NP, so since the missus had the Prado (as usual), I was left with my D22 Navara Dualcab... so after finishing my night shift, I jumped in the Nav and headed out to Gatton and then turned south to Mt Sylvia and onto Glen Rock NP. It was amazing to see how the floods back in 2010 are still getting repaired with the road now in some places actually in the dry creek bed.... will be interesting to see what happens if we get another flood like we did in 2010.

Reached Glen Rock NP and was pleasantly surprised at the amenities but didn't see anyone and could not see any walking trails and certainly no water in the creek, so I don't think it would be a place I'd be in a hurry to head back to......unless u like your solitude

After I finished my smoko, it was off to Wallers Rd as I hadn't really done any 4wdriving in the Navara & I really wanted to see how it performs offroad and whether I would keep it longer than I had initially planned. The Ute still has road tyres so it was going to be interesting to see how it went......

Arrived at the start of the track and locked the hubs in but couldn't be bothered to air down. There's a little steep, loose rocky section at the start and the Nav went up w/o any issues.... except for the mystery clunking that came from the front suspension. Stopped for a look but couldn't see any rubbing or anything... all looked good, so I just put it down to the crappy Torsion Bar suspension up front.... Pushed on and got to the good section of wallers rd where it was play time for the Navara.... After taking the usual pics, etc came across the Army doing some driver training, etc.


From Wallers Rd it was onto Murphy's Creek Campgrounds to see whether it's a place to take the family to..... On arrival, I had a quick look around and a chat to the managers. It looked like it would be a nice place, but I did hear a passing freight train go past in the distance.... Nice creek with a great swimming hole to. From here, it was back in the car and homewards..... to a waiting bed.





Pics located here: GlenRockSF-WallersRd-MurphysCk


Travelled some 430kms in the 8hrs from start to finish.....

Glen Rock NP Info centre

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Was surprised to come across these healthy looking animals:

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Start of the interesting part of the trip - Wallers Road

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Playtime in the D22 ..... as u can see, the flex is not the greatest:

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Some more:

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Then onto Murphy's Creek:

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[Rogerthatv2 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Rogerthatv2]

Thanks for sharing Rob, would like to do both wallers road and Murphy's Creek camping one day. Cheers Dan

[geograzza Member Find all posts View Profile Close geograzza]

Reached Glen Rock NP and was pleasantly surprised at the amenities but didn't see anyone and could not see any walking trails and certainly no water in the creek, so I don't think it would be a place I'd be in a hurry to head back to......unless u like your solitude

It's been a couple of years since I was at Glen Rock, but I used to go there quite frequently. If there's no water in the creek, it's just an indication of how dry things are now - I've never known it to be dry there.

Unfortunately there's no tracks to keep the Prado amused, but there's plenty to keep your feet busy. For some reason the start of the tracks tend to be overgrown, but they are usually ok once you find the track. Just near the entrance to the park there is a short track that leads to some sandstone "caves" - they are more like a slight overhang in the cliff than caves, but it is a reasonably interesting spot. There is also a track that goes up and around Mt Philp which is the conical peak to your left as you face the entrance to the information hut.

Quite a few years ago, after a few trips and a few hikes around Mt Philp etc, one of my mates & I decided we would hike to the summit of Glen Rock itself. We purchased a topographical map, and after a bit of studying we decided the best route was to head up the valley between Mt Philp & Glen Rock to the base of the cliff-line, then follow that around to the ridge linking Glen Rock to the Mistake Mountains, and then out to the summit of Glen Rock. So early one fine winter's morning we headed out there, and started the ascent as planned. After a while our course was blocked by an impenetrable wall of lantana, so we turned up one of the gullies sooner than we had planned, and started to ascend direct to the glen rock ridge line rather than to the cliff line. The way here was much steeper than our original plan, and it was very tough going. Frequently we had to take off our packs, scramble up very steep rock-faces then pull our packs up. Some spots were quite difficult, as we were ascending on loose dirt without rock-holds. Where possible we tried to skirt around for a gentler ascent, but there just didn't seem to be one. We passed some very nice scenery though including a forest of black-boys. We ate lunch braced against a couple of trees on a slope that was so steep you couldn't stand on it. Eventually by late afternoon we made it to the top of the ridge and followed it out to Glen Rock. By the time we reached Glen Rock, the sun was just above the western horizon, and we had resigned ourselves to the idea of spending a winter's night on the summit. We had prepared for the possibility that we may get trapped and have to spend the night, but the thought still wasn't appealing, as we had packed light, and we were at 800m in the dead of winter. The views from the summit were nothing short of spectacular though. We spent a bit of time taking in the scenery, then decided we better find a spot where we could bunker down and get a bit of protection from the wind. As we looked around, I spotted what looked like a track just below us. A short scramble down from where we were had us on what was most definitely a track. About an hour later, just as the last light of twilight was fading, we climbed in our car! The track disappeared into long grass a few hundred metres from the information hut, which is why we never realised that there was a track to the summit. Of course, these days one could look on Google Earth and clearly see the track!

I've since gone back, and once you pick up the track, the hike to the top only takes a couple of hours. It is moderately hard going because it is quite steep, but it is far less strenuous than our back way was.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

That explains as I didn't really see any tracks..... but then again, I wasn't looking too hard. Sounds like there is some good hiking tracks there..... I'd like to get back into hiking but my fitness currently is non-existing & our kids are probably a little too young atm for those sort of walks.....

Do u know where the road/track beyond the locked gate goes ??

[geograzza Member Find all posts View Profile Close geograzza]

Do u know where the road/track beyond the locked gate goes ??

I've walked a fair way along the track, it basically follows the creek upstream. Ultimately I believe it gets to some waterfalls at the cliff-line of the ridge that links Goomburra to the Mistake Mountains. I believe it is also possible to link up with the Winder Trail which runs from the castle lookout at Goomburra. There are also some tracks up Mt Machar (opposite side of the valley to Glen Rock). I haven't taken the trail all the way up, but even from part-way up there are some spectacular views. There is a lot of space to explore around there, and I've only explored a fraction of it.

[Richoson Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Richoson]

I have stayed at Murphy's Ck for a weekend nd it was quite nice, it does get very hot in summer there though. It is also pet friendly.

See ya on the tracks, Richo.