BEAT THE HEAT AT PORTALS
ON a stinking hot day you may feel like you’re passing through the portals of hell, but once you reach Mount Barney’s Lower Portals pools, it’s your own piece of heaven.
It’s a 7.4km round trip from the car park off Upper Logan Rd to the Lower Portals – a series of tranquil rock pools filled with pristine mountain water – but some of that is made of fairly rugged and exposed terrain.
The track begins from a small carpark at the end of a dirt road. From here it winds through open bushland filled with grasstree and eucalypts.
Many of the inclines have the helpful addition of some stone stairs – but perhaps not as many as the sweaty hiker might appreciate.
After walking for about 90 minutes, you enter the lush gully that is home to the Lower Portals.
Walk along the creek bank and take a dip in the multiple rock pools.
Just be warned that this is seriously chilled water. As in, people have actually died taking a dip during the winter months, drowning due to muscle cramps.
But don’t worry, it’s summer – you’ll be fine.
If you’re after a true bush experience, bring your gear in with you on the hike and camp at the shady campsite just a few hundred metres from the main pools.
There’s only space for a maximum of three tents and 18 people – so bookings and permits are mandatory.
But imagine the sunset as you float in the privacy of the Lower Portals. Heavenly.