Wahpunga Trail

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I HEADED up to the remote settlement of Kin Kin hidden away in the rolling hills northwest of Noosa. I explored the very quaint town before starting to hike one of the trails. I had to turn back after a few minutes though as Kin Kin Creek was still a bit flooded making the crossing quite dangerous. I retreated back to the town and explored the historic town centre for a bit longer before deciding to head up to Wahpunga and park at the rest area occupying what had once been the Wahpunga School back in the days when the students rode their horses to school.

From the rest area I followed Gympie - Kin-Kin Road back towards Kin Kin for about a kilometre before reaching the start of the Wahpunga Trail - Trail 4 of the Noosa Trail Network. I had hiked the other end of this trail in recent weeks, so my goal today was to hike the northern end of the trail.

The track continued following beside the road until crossing over and heading up Shepperson Lane along the gravel road for about two kilometres to Sheppersons Park. From here the track passed through the small rest area and park to start following a dirt firebreak rising up a ridge. This firebreak was called Simpson's Road but didn't function as a road. I followed it through the bush with farmland on either side. It was quite a long climb up to the top of Wahpunga Range, where the track followed the top of the ridge heading southward.

The somewhat muddy track continued rising along the range to a clearing at the top of Shepperson's Hill with a small shelter and camping ground for people hiking/biking/riding the Noosa Trail Network. There was even an area to tie up your horse while you camp. The view back down the Wahpunga Valley across to the bush covered Mothar Mountain adn the other way towards the Great Sandy National Park were amazing on this perfectly clear and cloudless morning. This hill was used as a lookout for dust storms and fires in the 1930s. The serenity was only broken by the excavation of rock from a quarry at the bottom of the hill.

From the camping ground, I continued following the track along the top of the range quickly entering dense eucalypt forest and climbing a few more hills over a couple of hours before descending steeply to private farmland where Simpson's Road firebreak became a gravel road which the track continued to follow. Out of the bush now I had clear views across to the Cooloola Sandmass and the Noosa Headlands. The road descended along the rolling hills until reaching Cootharaba Road. Here the track ran parallel to the sealed road going up and down gullies continuing through the green farmland. The official track turned off at one point to cross over a farm, but a sign indicated this track was closed due to landslides, so I continued following Cootharaba Road to its end at Louis Bazzo Drive. From here I followed the side of the road for about a kilometre to where I had hiked to (following the other end of the Wahpunga Trail) a couple of weeks ago.

After a brief rest, I returned along Louis Bazzo Drive and followed Cootharaba Road back up the hill to rejoin the track. Once back on the track, I followed it back up to Simpson Road and along the range rising and falling along the summits. I had a good rest back at Shepperson's Hill camping ground. By now the wind was blowing, so was glad I wasn't staying up here the night. The sun was getting low so I headed down the ridge back to Shepperson's Park and followed the tracks and roads back to the old Wahpunga School Site, arriving after sunset as the sky darkened.