‘Minyon Falls and The Boggy Creek Walk with Kids’ by Danielle Wylie for Families Magazine – Gold Coast
If there is one thing that winter is good for where we live, it’s getting out and about with your family. You can plan a great weekend activity with kids literally weeks in advance and pretty much count on good weather. It also means that the Boggy Creek Walk is … well, not boggy.
Getting to Minyon Falls and The Boggy Creek Walk
There are two ways to approach this walk. Travelling from the south you can follow Minyon Drive to Minyon Falls Picnic Area, or you can enter from the North via Northcap Range Road and follow the signs to the Rummery Park Campground.
We chose to start at the Minyon Falls end so that the kids got their “waterfall fix” before we started the walk, and we used the Rummery Park end as a picnic stop before turning around and heading back. It’s about a 45 minute walk each way, but with a three and four year old asking lots of questions, and two babies in carriers it took us an hour each way.
What’s there to see?
Firstly, Minyon Falls is nothing short of spectacular. The lookout stands on the rocky platform directly beside the waterfall, which cascades over the cliff face, plummeting over a hundred meters to the valley below … kids love it!
The Boggy Creek walk follows the water upstream from here – giving you a great opportunity to discuss the geography of the land. As you track the creek, there are plenty of places for you to take a breather, skip some stones on the water, or go for a swim in one of the rock pools along the way if you are there in the warmer months.
The track itself is really easy, and fun for the littlies to negotiate their way over big fallen log steps and learn to find their footing around some big rocks. The tree species are labeled along the way, which provides another great talking point for inquisitive little explorers. Did I mention the proliferation of Blackbutt in the area?
And then there is Rummery Park Campground, which is much more than just a pit-stop picnic area. Our kids loved crossing the little bridge over the creek to discover several different camp areas, and if you are lucky like we were you might encounter the local park ranger who is more than happy to get his “Ranger Stacey on” (his words) and tell you all about the local Bower Bird nest, or Goanna playground! PLUS the site has just had a makeover this year, so the facilities are mostly new – barbeques, pit toilet, hand washing, camp kitchen, and camp fires are permitted – it’s pretty kitted out.
Helpful tips for families:
- Parking is free at both ends of the walk
- Pit toilets do not have a change table, so bring an extra play mat along
- Minyon Falls will be most spectacular after significant rainfall, but if that is your cup of tea you may want to pack your gumboots and insect spray
- There are no shops so take plenty of food and water
- Be prepared for weather changes
- Bring binoculars if you have them
