Exploring Ship’s Stern Circuit: Lamington National Park Hike & Stunning Numinbah Valley Views

It has been a while since I have been out on a hike longer than 15km thanks to a knee injury in late 2022. I have been building up my fitness and knee mobility over the last couple of months and are almost back to the same fitness I had around this time last year, which is great! On Saturday morning I headed up to Binna Burra to tackle the Ship’s Stern Circuit, one of my favourite hikes in this section of Lamington National Park.

 

Although I didn’t film this hike, I took my Nikon D750 along with a 50mm prime lens to take some shots along the way.

Starting at the Binna Burra carpark, the trail heads downhill for an hour or so, before crossing Nixon Creek and then heads up through Hidden Valley past Charraboomba Rock to the top of Ships Stern Range.

 

I stopped for lunch at Kooloobano lookout before continuing along the top edge of the Ships Stern range and back to the Boarder Track which eventually winds its way back to the start of the circuit.

 

Nixon Creek is surrounded by a lush rainforest background scattered with Piccabeen Palms (Archontophoenix).

According to the QPWS, the open forest on top of the Ships Stern Range is one of the few places in Lamington National Park where the Scribbly Gum (eucalyptus racemosa) can be seen.

 

The above image shows the views over Numinbah Valley. Mountains as far as Wollumbin (Mt Warning) in NSW can also be seen on this circuit.

The next time I take on this circuit, I will make sure I bring my video camera with me.