Oreilly's to Binna Burra

[ToeKnee419]

Hey all, I'm planning on an over night walk with 3 of my mates from oreillys to binna burra via border walk. got some questions regarding the gear to be taken and the walk itself. weve been to oreillys number of times before on the shorter day walks but first time doing an overnight walk. how cold does it usually get around at night? we've booked the safari tent for 4 at binna burra lodge so no need to carry a tent with us. I have a 50L bag I got from ebay a couple of weeks ago, and was wondering what your thought on it might be. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111913789687?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=410870034636&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
If anyone has a comment on the lodge, the gear or the walk itself would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[RonK]

That is a travel pack, not a hiking pack.
Travel packs usually have an inferior harness and will not be comfortable over distance.
It will be a couple of degrees cooler at Binna Burra, could drop close to zero. You will need a light sleeping bag.
The walk easy enough but at 20 km is fairly long for first timers.

[cams]

Yeah, as above. Hard to tell about the pack from the ad, but all signs point to it not being great to carry any decent amount of weight. The pack itself looks heavy too with all the compartments and travel/commuter type features. If you can keep the weight right down (which you should be able to if staying in the safari tents and doing the walk with 3 mates, then it should do you fine. At least you might be convinced of what you need for next time.

Walk along the border track is a bit of a slog on good quality track, but without many views. Beautiful rainforest, but if you want to really get bang for buck try and allow some time for a detour on one of the waterfall or lookout tracks.

Share cooking equipment between the 3 of you to keep weight down. No need for everyone to bring a stove and billy. Or just buy dinner at the cafe. Double check, but I think they do pizza's on weekends for dinner.

Have you dealt with leeches before? With all the rain there has been up there lately I would be prepared to be swarmed. Use liberal amounts of high strength bushmans under your socks and gaiters/pants and over the top to try and dissuade them.

Have fun.

[ToeKnee419]

Hey all. Distance doesn't bother me too much since we're all fit individuals. What pack would you recommend for a good price?

EDIT: I measured the backpack at 2kg is that too much? Can I still use the pack for this walk? Getting hit by buyers remorse is the worst!

Thanks

[ToeKnee419]

Oh and yes we had to deal with leeches during the box falls circuit during the rain aha.

[Sammy38]

Yes, after the rain the leaches will be in force, stop at maccas on the way and grab a few sachets of salt and keep them in a cliplock plastic bag in your pocket with some band-aids and a small tube of paw paw cream. You just sprinkle the salt on the leach and they will detach, wipe off any blood and whack on some cream and a band-aid. I find if you just pull them off they leave their nippers in you and the bite is itchy for ages.

[cams]

Hey all. Distance doesn't bother me too much since we're all fit individuals. What pack would you recommend for a good price?

EDIT: I measured the backpack at 2kg is that too much? Can I still use the pack for this walk? Getting hit by buyers remorse is the worst!

Thanks

2kg actually isn't as heavy as I was thinking. Does it have a rigid frame? Chuck 10 - 15kg of books in it and go for a walk. If it works it works.

[n5750547]

Are you walking back to O'Reilly's on day 2 or will you leave a car at Binna Burra?

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[ToeKnee419]

Are you walking back to O'Reilly's on day 2 or will you leave a car at Binna Burra?

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we'll be parking the car at oreilly's and walking back on day 2 from binna burra.

[Jayps68]

Mate, you'll have a ball.
keep warm, keep dry, stay hydrated. Its a fine walk through some beautiful forest. Start early and take your time. Take snacks and Bushman repellent as cams said.
The pack will be ok, and it'll be a great way to figure out what you want, and what feels right, when you go to buy a decent pack.
The return trip will be the fun bit. But once you pass Bithongabel its all downhill from there...

For mine, I'd do it the other way, from Binna Burra to O'Reillys and back

[Jayps68]

HI, Ive posted the elevation profile below if youre interested. That starts at Binna Burra and finishes at O'Reilly's.

[ToeKnee419]

HI, Ive posted the elevation profile below if youre interested. That starts at Binna Burra and finishes at O'Reilly's.

Nice! Thanks, Doesn't look too bad. I've done worse . Is there a particular reason binna burra to oreilly is better?

[Champion_Munch]

Quicker drive...

[Jayps68]

[/quote]
Nice! Thanks, Doesn't look too bad. I've done worse . Is there a particular reason binna burra to oreilly is better?[/quote]
The restaruant at O'Reilly's is better...

I think a few reasons i like to do it that way are that from O'Riellys its about 8km to Bithongabel, which is the high point, so you get the shorter ascent then a plod mostly downhil for the next 15km. You get up to the escarpment faster, so if the weathers crappy, you get the exposed sections out of the way earlier and the cover of the Binna Burra ridge in the afternoon, and if its not, you get up to the views earlier along Bithongabel and Tooloona. The other thing to consider is climbing Tooloona Gorge up to the escarpment rather than the Green Mountains section of the border track, which gives you a whole bunch of really sweet waterfalls in the morning and is reached from the Green Mountains/O'Reilly's end of the park. Youll come to the head of the Tooloona track about 1km from Bithongabel if you're coming from Binna Burra on day one.

grab the map, theres a lot of options.

[Jayps68]

[/quote]
Nice! Thanks, Doesn't look too bad. I've done worse . Is there a particular reason binna burra to oreilly is better?[/quote]
The restaruant at O'Reilly's is better...

I think a few reasons i like to do it that way are that from O'Riellys its about 8km to Bithongabel, which is the high point, so you get the shorter ascent then a plod mostly downhil for the next 15km. You get up to the escarpment faster, so if the weathers crappy, you get the exposed sections out of the way earlier and the cover of the Binna Burra ridge in the afternoon, and if its not, you get up to the views earlier along Bithongabel and Tooloona. The other thing to consider is climbing Tooloona Gorge up to the escarpment rather than the Green Mountains section of the border track, which gives you a whole bunch of really sweet waterfalls in the morning and is reached from the Green Mountains/O'Reilly's end of the park. Youll come to the head of the Tooloona track about 1km from Bithongabel if you're coming from Binna Burra on day one.

grab the map, theres a lot of options.

[Mopoke]

Will be doing this one myself in a few weeks.How much water would anyone recommend to carry? Are there any creeks to fill up along the way?

[ToeKnee419]

Got bqck from the walk on sunday. We brought 3l of water but onlt ended up using half. But to be safe i think 2 l is enough

[Mopoke]

Cheers.

[Champion_Munch]

Just to add to ToeKnee's comment...

If there's been good rain recently (and there has) there will be a couple of points along the border track where you can fill up water. Definitely near the Coomera Circuit junctions, as there is a creek or two that directly crosses the track. You might also find some near the Toolona Creek circuit point, and elsewhere as well depending on how much rain there has been.

[Mopoke]

Well I can scratch that one off the list now.Great training track.Very muddy in some spots.Just curious..do Queensland national parks ever come through and clear the track of fallen trees? Some serious treefall in sections that required a lot of navigation to get around/through.Had a huge stack myself carrying a full pack getting around a fallen tree.Some look like they have been there for a while.Also how bad are the showers at the Green mountains camp ground? Been there twice now and they have been cold every time!

[Champion_Munch]

Treefall along the escarpment (i.e. the middle section of the border track) is very common. There's a warning message on the QLD parks website indicating that recent storms have caused treefall on several tracks, although how 'recent' I'm not sure. Remember that there is a large track network at Lamington for them to cover, it's not just the border track. Obviously the sections closest to the resorts will get higher priority. Not really a big deal unless there's lots of wait-a-while lying in wait to snare unsuspecting walkers (which there usually is). It makes you appreciate how thick the forest really is when you're forced to abandon the major track system and bash through some of it.

Regarding the GM campsite - to me, showers (of any kind) seem to be a bit of a luxury in the bush. If you really want hot water there is the resort just down the road...

[Mopoke]

I just thought with the amount of traffic we passed(or passed us)it would be a bit of a priority.From my observations on some NZ tracks I've been on if there was a tree down DOC would be there clearing it before you could blink! Sure a shower is a luxury but that campground is well used and clearly states on the website the amenities has HOT showers.Who wants a cold shower after a 21km hike? I paid for a campsite to camp not walk to the resort and use there showers.

[Jayps68]

To my mind, treefall in a World Heritage Area should really be left where it is. Isn't it about letting the forest do its thing and us making as little impact as possible? There are however many places in Lamington where the treefall gets cleared, particularly in places where the track is blocked and there is no other concievable way around it and maintain a Class 4 track rating, such as in the Albert River and Tooloona gorges.

As for showers. I've braved the showers at GM once, after a particularly wet day on the border track. Won't do it again, not because of the cold water, (which was actually warm, even at 7pm) but because its too much hassle getting naked, cold, wet, cold, and carting the whole show back to the tent. I'd sooner just wipe down, change my base layer and boil the billy.