Gordon Country and Browns Falls — Big & Little Adventures

GORDON COUNTRY is a little piece of privately owned bush paradise just over 2 hours drive west of Brisbane. It borders onto the Great Dividing Range & is a gateway to the lush, tropical rainforests of Main Range National Park. It’s a great place to go if you’re looking for a little peace & quiet & some fresh, country air!

When we arrived we checked in at the office & were given a map of the property. We were ultimately wanting to find somewhere to camp along the river, of which these spots are plentiful, but it was very dry when we were there (mid February) & not enough water for swimming unfortunately. This was quite ok though, as it was a lot cooler in Gordon Country after the heat we had been experiencing in Brisbane!

There are many, many camping areas to choose from & they all have different names. We chose to camp in Banshee Valley which has acres of space & offered us the remote camping feel we were looking for on this particular weekend. It runs alongside quite a large creek and although it was bone dry, you can imagine how beautiful it would be after some decent rain. There is an amenities block with flushing toilets & although it is old (think very tired demountable toilet block) it was clean & more than adequate for our expectations. There are no showers here, but you will find showers in other camping areas on the property.

Camping creekside. These little creeks are perfect to swim in after decent rain!

Dogs are welcome too for a small fee of $3

Gordon Country is beautiful. It is teeming with bird life & cows & horses roam freely.
There are a number of 4wd tracks you can do & one of them takes you to a lookout over Gatton Valley. Fires are allowed & you can also bring your dogs which was another drawcard for us. Some might say the camping fees are on the high side for bush camping, but it is private property, the grounds are beautifully kept & decent amenities provided, so we do feel the cost is justified.
We’ll definitely be back!

Lots of exploring to be had for the kids!

How much fun would this be after rain! Lots of creeks to swim in all over the property

We took the long way home from Gordon Country to Brisbane & cut across to Killarney to take the Falls Drive tourist route (approx 1 hour 10 mins from Gordon Country). Here we checked out Brown’s Falls.

It’s an enjoyable walk into the falls & although there wasn’t a lot of water pouring down, there was plenty of water for paddling. We’d love to go back & check it out after lots of rain! The walk is a bit rock-hoppy in places but nothing our seasoned little adventurers couldn’t handle & it’s also dog-friendly!

A great little swimming hole for a paddle.

Next in the Falls Drive is Daggs Falls, followed by Queen Mary Falls (dogs not allowed as National Park), Teviot Falls & Carrs Lookout.

WARNING!! We had planned to drive back to Brisbane via the Gold Coast, however when we arrived at Carrs Lookout, we were greeted with a sign that read that the road beyond Carrs Lookout is steep & not suitable for trucks & CARAVANS!! We had no idea! While we were considering our options, we were met by a concerned onlooker who urged us that under no circumstances should we attempt the road as it is just too dangerous. So, we backtracked to the start of the Falls Drive & went out through Legume (& into NSW briefly 😜) before heading towards the Gold Coast via Beaudesert.

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