Australian Hiker

Nearest Town

Gold Coast

Best Time of the Year to Travel

Year round

Starting Location

Binna Burra car park, Queensland

Finish Location

Binna Burra car park, Queensland

What's special

A great view down into the valley below and then there’s the rock overhang and walk through arch

Caves Circuit Walking Track Review

For me this was walk number two in Lamington National Park and the main reason for choosing Binna Burra is the ability do longer walks or combine a couple of smaller walks to make a 1/2 day/day of it. Combined with excellent facilities this really is a good option if you are looking for walks in the Gold Coast area.

Being new to this area I programmed in Binna Burra into my phone and sure enough about an hour later I successfully arrived at my destination. When it was just under 2 km away I passed the visitor information centre and toilet blocks. At this stage I would suggest stopping in and picking up a trail brochure as well as looking to see if any trails are closed. I had parked at the upper Binna Burra car park so chose to do this walk as a circuit and proceeded to head downhill along a green tunnel of a walk similar to the BellBird Lookout Walk. This all was a bit steep and initially all I could think was that at some point I was going to have to start heading up again. I soon remembered that the visiter centre was downhill of the car park and in passing a number of hikers doing the walk in the opposite direction (uphill to the caves) and from their comments they weren’t happy at what for them was a steep uphill hike.

The trail tread was in good condition, easy to follow and well sheltered and about half way into the downhill section of the walk I came across the first of a string of open caves on the side of the cliff facing that I was walking along. These open caves are interesting on the whole consist of rock as well as open soil and as such there are warning signs not to linger in case of slippage on the walls. I think that this is only likely to be an issue during heavy rains but could understand the concern. Once past the first large open cave (Kweebani Cave) a series of smaller caves came into view including a tunnel through rock. From here the trail flattens out a bit and you are looking across the valley as the view opens up. At this time there is a lovely little timber seat to sit at and take in the view. From this seating area its up a not to steep hill where you come out on the carpark at the the visitor centre. There are toilet facilities here and I also took the opportunity to look around the visitor centre before making the 1.8km walk back along the road edge to my car. While the trip back to the upper car park is all uphill it’s a gradual incline and would be easier than walking from the cvisitor centre up to the caves then up the upper car park.

As a circuit I would suggest starting at the Binna Burru car park walking down the track to the caves and the  return via the visitor centre up the road for a walk of 4.3km. Doing the walk this way means that you will have a road walk for the last 1.8km but its not a difficult walk and gives you an easier walk to the caves. If you don’t have the time or the energy you can park at the visitor centre and walk to the caves and back on reasonably easy terrain for a walk totalling around 2km. Your choice but either way it’s well worth a visit in either direction.

Please note that this track may look different due to the 2019-20 fires

Binna Burra carp park sign. The trail head to the Caves Circuit walk is just to the right when looking straight on at this sign

To the trail head

Trail head

Trail head information sign

Split tree on the trail

Cave warning sign

Part of Kweebani Cave

Walking past Kweebani Cave

On the trail

Short rock tunnel on Caves Circuit

Great spot for a seat to take in the views

Views from the seating area

Coming out at the visitor centre

Toilets at the visitor centre

Visitor centre

Signage at the visitor centre. If you only want a short walk visit the caves from the visitor centre without doing the circuit

Up the hill we go. About 1.8km of walking on the road edge

Road walk

Back to the starting car park

Getting There

The trail head is just around 45 km from the Gold Coast and located in Lamington National Park – it will take you about an hour to drive

Visitor centre

Toilets at the visitor centre

Binna Burra car park

Binna Burra carp park signage

Things to Know

• Phone: There is excellent phone signal on this track
• Water: You should bring your own water
• Toilets: There are toilet facilities at the information centre a short drive away
• Trail: This trail consists of formed track
• Dogs: Dogs allowed on a leash
• Other: 
  • The trail has the potential to be a bit greasy after heavy rains so wear footwear with good tread on wet days
  • This trail is walkable year round
  • Keep a close eye on the kids when you’re at the lookout as you can easily get very close to the cliff edge

Disclaimer

This walk was undertaken by the team from Australian Hiker

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