GO ON, GORGE YOURSELF
THIS is the grand canyon of the Gold Coast.
Okay, the Coomera Gorge may be a mere 160m deep compared to the real Grand Canyon’s 1857m, but just go with me here.
Considering how ancient and well-worn our landscape is, this is still a pretty awesome drop – especially as you watch the Coomera Falls cascading down the cliffside.
You don’t get that at the Grand Canyon. Just sayin’.
Binna Burra’s Coomera Circuit track, which followed the edge of the gorge, is an 18km roundtrip rainforest walk. It’s long but fairly flat, making it suitable for hikers of most ages.
This circuit offers views that provide dramatic evidence of the power of erosion, which has cut through a thick resistant rhyolite lava flow.
Starting at the upper car park near the Binna Burra Mountain Lodge Cafe and Restaurant, you head off into the rainforest down the Border Track, one of Australia’s last wilderness hikes, where you can view Mount Warning and Byron Bay on a clear day.
About 1.9km after the trailhead, turn off onto the Coomera Falls Track – and then return (much later) via the Border Track.
Although you can go the opposite way, this route ensures that you won’t miss the turn-off from the Border Track onto the Coomera Falls section and end up walking off to New South Wales instead.
The circuit will see you cross over creeks by boulders, navigate ancient volcanic streams, walk along cascades, pass through thick dense rainforest and marvel at more than 15 waterfalls plunging over cliffs and down into the gorge.
This hike was rated by the Australian Geographic Outdoor magazine as the second best day walk in Australia.
Sounds pretty grand to me.