Sunshine Great Walk

I’m interested in doing this walk. On the topography map near Gheerulla falls there is apparently 5 creek crossings. Are these take off your boots and walk through water crossings or something that has like stepping stones etc?
Also- is it feasible to do an overnighter in and out from the “leafy lane trail head” staying at the Thilba walkers camp? We are two slow older hikers with yours truly carrying the 18 kg pack and the trouble with the day pack.

Hey. They are not so much creek crossing as walking through parts of the creek bed, some of them rocky. And yes it is possible and within your limits to do an overnighter to Thilba Thalba walker camp from Leafy Lane Trail Head. It is a walk along the mountain ridge mostly. But what you are talking about are approaches from two different directions. One is from Leafy Lane Trail Head to Thilba Thalba and back. If you want to do the multiple creek crossing you should walk from Sam Kelly Rd following Gheerulla Creek to the falls and back. That one down in the valley and best accessible from the western side. DO NOT try and drive from Mapelton to Gheerulla. Some of it is a dirt road down the side of a very steep mountain range. You have to go the long way round.

Gday there Smartywishbone.There is a couple of ways to do the 22km Gheerulla circuit. Yes you can go in from the Sam Kelly road end. However it is only 7 km to Thilba Thalba from there and even for slow walkers it will only take you about 2 1/2 hrs tops. However this involves walking up the bluff which is steep. But not heartbreaking. However your day will be very short. Dont forget to stop at the small rock outcrop 3/4 the way up. Great veiws of the Mary Valley. My suggestion would be to start from the Gheerulla falls car park. Unlike the previous responder`s suggestion “NOT” to take this road. It is a perfectly safe residential road. Yes it is dirt, but is not hazardous or tricky to maneuver in any way.
To get there Go to Mapleton and drive down Delicia rd til you basically get to the bottom of Delicia rd and you will see a small car park on the right. Leave your car there and you can either do the 7.5km to Thilba Thalba going in a clockwise direction. This however is basically up hill most of the way in this direction. And then do 15km the next day down the other side on the Gheerulla bluff. Following the trail in a clockwise fashion. Then over the creek crossings that should not have you feet wet unless we are in the middle of a torrential downpour. Then on to Gheerulla falls. There is a crossing here that may take some rock hoping depending on how much water is coming over the falls. Then its just 1.6km back to the car.
However my recommendation would be to go counter clockwise from the Gheerulla Falls carpark. This way it is a nice gentle down hill 7.5km stroll from Thilba Thalba the next day back to the car. Be sure to check out the stunning lookouts along the way. Especially the look out at Thilba Thalba first thing in the morning if theres a bit of cloud about. Makes for some stunning photos.
I hope this has helped. Ive done this walk about 7 times in both directions and is a favourite of mine. Hope you and your walking partner enjoy it.
Cheers
Craig
ps if it has been raining (and it has) just watch the leeches.

Thanks very much for your kind response. I probably won’t be doing this walk for awhile but already looking forward to it. We are coming up from NSW.

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I just walked Leafy Lane to Sam Kelly Rd along the creek earlier this week with my 8 year old. We stretched it out and camped at Ubajee and Gheerulla Campground to let little legs rest.

The creek crossings were a mixture a couple had concrete crossing but most were creek bed. Easily kept our feet dry rock hopping.

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Excellent work. How did your 8 year old go with it? I’ve got a 7 year old I’d love to get out amongst it, but I’m concerned she wouldn’t cope too well.

Hi! Is there a way to get to the bottom of Mapleton Falls?

I found a reference to getting to the bottom on Wikiloc, which includes a GPS track and the following description:
‘Follow the steep ridgeline down. Keep to the ridgeline and to the left as much as possible. If you hit lantana, backtrack and find the clear forest. This track is a bit of a mess, so don’t follow the trace to the left of the map. This is where I got scraped to hell in lantana. Objective is to get to the creek and from there it is easy going to the bottom of the falls.’
I downloaded the track onto my software and it looks pretty scary and would certainly not try it solo. The guy went wrong and had to backtrack so many times and came out a different route over 3 hours and 5.6km.
Looks like a better option is go to Pencil Creek Road and work back up the creek (Pencil Creek) to the base of the falls, however it looks like this is private farm land and you would need to ask permission.