Kondalilla National Park is an invigorating mountain escape nestled in the heart of Queensland’s Blackall Range in the lush Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Renowned for its spectacular waterfalls, Kondalilla Falls is the big dog, particularly during the wet season from November to March. As Skene Creek launches from the top of Kondalilla Falls, it cascades down 90 metres through towering eucalypts and verdant rainforest before disappearing into the valley below. But don’t wait for the wet season – the Kondalilla Falls Circuit has serious rizz all year round.
Kondalilla Falls Circuit is a 4.7 km loop (we clocked 5 km after a couple of side-quests), winding through a mosaic of ecosystems, from subtropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest to dry eucalypt woodland. Around 100 m from the car park, the trailhead drops you straight into soaring eucalypts and dramatic rainforest undergrowth and then slaps you in the face with an elite scenic curtain raiser.
A pretty waterfall tumbles gracefully over slate rocks, framed by a small footbridge surrounded by vibrant foliage and delicate ferns. Water trickles elegantly into a mesmerizing green rockpool, edged by aesthetically pleasing moss-covered boulders. It was giving serious main character energy – a snapshot of what’s to come.
The hike is a Grade 3 with some gradual steep sections, and the 300 stairs they bang on about are not consecutive and are part of a winding trail that meanders up and around and down, so don’t be put off.
Shortly before the falls, you hit the main swimming hole and largest of the rock pools, complete with a pretty tumbling cascade. The pool shimmered enticingly, an iridescent pale jade, luring us towards its emerald depths like a siren. A few succumbed to the mystical temptation, but not us, nah uh. Twelve degrees …. Yeah, we’re not doing that today.
From the upper rockpools, it’s roughly 1 km of descending track to the base of Kondalilla Falls. It’s not a plunge trail, but it is steep in places, well maintained, and the deeper you venture into the lush valley, the more transcendent the walk becomes.
Everywhere you turn on this trail there’s another killer photo op! We did it in winter, and while the waterfall wasn’t raging, it was still flexing. The forest was cool, serene and deeply immersive. Dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy, birdsong in the distance and the earthy scent of rainforest literally rewired our brain chemistry.
Baxter Falls is the lesser-known sib of Kondalilla Falls, more secluded, a hidden 22-metre waterfall and rockpool, tucked inside Kondalilla National Park. There are two main trailheads: the northern approach, which is a 4 km return hike, and the southern approach, starting at Flaxton Mill Road, which is 7 km’s return. We chose this trail because we are stupid.
Baxter Falls trail is out and back, straight down 3.5 km’s, and surprise… straight up 3.5ks (my quads had opinions about that!) Like Kondalilla Falls Circuit, it starts out through towering open eucalypt forest, descending into evergreen lush rainforest before transitioning on the lower slopes near Baxter Creek, to piccabeen palm forest.
The well-marked track is fringed with glossy bracken fern as it winds through open eucalypt forest near the trailhead. As you descend towards the rainforest-filled valley, vegetation becomes increasingly dense, with towering trees draped in imposing epiphytes, including sprawling crow’s nest, staghorn and elkhorn ferns.
The hike from the southern approach to the falls drops around 300 m in elevation, but thankfully, it isn’t 300 metres of sheer vertical misery. It’s a gradual descent into a shady valley, culminating in a cool suspension bridge (only 2 people at a time), rock pools, and an impressive waterfall. You can swim up to the waterfall, and there’s a deeper, upper pool for those rock-hopping enthusiasts. The falls themselves aren’t huge, but tucked away at the bottom of a luxuriant, forested valley, it feels kinda magical.
While the return journey is uphill, it’s a meandering climb through ridiculously beautiful forest, making the ascent feel far less punishing. And when you finally emerge at the top, reward yourself with a pitstop at the Sweet and Flour Bakery for what can only be described as the best pepper pie on the Sunshine Coast! Bon Appetit!
