LOOKOUT, THIS IS A BEAUTY
IF you go calling yourself the Best of All Lookout, you really better deliver.
And with views from the heart of the Hinterland spread out to the Pacific Ocean and down to Byron Bay, this is one sightseeing superstar.
OK, you can get similar views if you hike Mount Warning or Mount Cougal, but that’s what really makes this lookout the Best of All … it’s a cruisy 300m stroll from your car to nature’s jackpot.
From the lookout you can even look down on the twin peaks of the Cougals, with Mount Warning to the right. If you care to make gestures towards those distantly scrabbling up the mountainside and perhaps hear the echoing cries as you call out ‘Suckers!’ to the valley below, that’s entirely your decision.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to enjoy the brief but beautiful walk to the lookout’s climax.
The 600m roundtrip paved walk journeys through ancient Antarctic beech forest; a remnant link to our past cooler climate. This little pocket of Nothofagus moorei is one of our last remaining links with the ancient forests of Gondwana.
Nothofagus forests were once widespread across the continent and provided a home for animals that have long since disappeared from our landscape.
In the wake of damage from ex-Cyclone Debbie, access to Springbrook is via Pine Creek Road. Once you’re on the mountain, Best of All Lookout is on your right after Purling-brook Falls. Turn right onto Repeater Station Road and follow it to the end.