About us
Please read in full:
We welcome you to our Mid Week Walking Group. Join us for one or more of our 3-4 hour walks/hikes in and around the Gold Coast/Northern NSW with good company and good conversation.
To attend walks, walkers must have appropriate footwear, either walking boots or recognised sports walking footwear. Boots are best because they help to prevent slipping or tripping on tree roots that protrude from the pathways or other obstacles on the track which can cause you to break, twist or badly sprain your ankle. This may sound dictatorial but in reality is just friendly advice, as walking in bushland has many obstacles. Please bring your own water supply and carry a small amount of first aid for example, elastoplasts, bandages, tape and anything else you feel appropriate. For those completely new to bush walking we advise you carry a light rain jacket/poncho and some warm clothing as the mountain regions can become very cool/wet compared to the coast. Start times will vary from 9am to 11am start, depending on location.
We have a $2 weekly fee which pays for the membership of our Meetup website and out of pocket group expenses, maps, compasses and the like. Any money over is put towards group events - the occasional social event including barbecues, cheese & wine walks, evening theatre trips and more. This $2 walk fee will be collected in cash at the start of the walks, (please note: DO NOT offer a $50, $20, $10 note and expect change).
From time to time we offer trips away. In the past we have visited The Blue Mountains. Girraween National Park, The Bunya National Park, the Sunshine Coast, New Zealand and Mt Barney. The costs of these trips are payable in advance and usually non-refundable.
All other payments to the group, apart from the weekly $2 walk fee, are payable to Sally and Warwick, BSB 944600, account number 001802845, ME Bank.
Occasionally we may hold other events outside of walking for example kayaking/paddle boarding/BBq’s so it is imperative you read and agree with our conditions of joining which can be found here; Please click and read in full:
Please note: It Is Your Own Personal Responsibility! Please be aware and accept by walking with us, that The Gold Coast Mid Week Walking and Hiking Group is not a registered association or official club. We are just a group of people walking together. As such, we cannot be held responsible for any accidents or injuries that may happen at, or occur as a result of, our walks. We also cannot provide any guidance on fitness levels required. It's up to individual members to decide if they want to participate in the walks and as such, must be responsible for themselves at all times.
Upcoming events
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Mt Gravatt Outlook & Toohey Forest
Toohey Forest Park BBQ Area, Toohey Rd, Tarragindi, AUTHIS WALK IS ACCESSIBLE FROM THE GOLD COAST VIA PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Location: Toohey Forest Park
Distance: 12 - 14k’s
Difficulty: Moderate Grade 3
Meet-up time 9.20am
Start Time: 9.30am
Carry your lunch in your back-pack
Cost: $2
Mt Gravatt Outlook & Toohey ForestPLEASE CHECK ALL WALKS AT 7.30AM ON THE MORNING OF ALL WALKS TO SEE IF THEY HAVE BEEN CANCELLED OR AMENDED.
Please read the Conditions of Group Membership and event participation at the end of the walk description.
Walk leader Robyn F
Car Pooling:
Meet up 8.00am leave 8.15am outside pool shop Helensvale Homeworld car park off Hope Island road. Give driver $5. Map location link click here (http://goo.gl/maps/n570M)
For Southern residence meet Nerang Fair 7.45am leave 8am please shout out in the comments to alert others.Today we return to Mt Gravatt outlook and Toohey Forest. We meet up in the car parking off Toohey Rd click map link here (http://goo.gl/maps/5uNBK). From the car park we will walk down to the pedestrian road crossing to safely negotiate this busy road to make our way to Peggs Lookout and complete the first short part of this forest, which has been split into two parts due to this main road passing though it.
After morning tea we cross back into the main part of the forest and follow various trails to pass underneath of the motorway and onto our steady climb to the Mt Gravatt Lookout and the café, where we will pinch their seats and take our lunch. Of course here we will spend longer than normal to take in the superb views and take coffee before we head back down the hill and into our cars for the journey back to the coast.
About the area: The forest is named after James Toohey, an Irishman made wealthy in the California gold rush. He selected these lands in 1872 and his family held the forests until Brisbane City Council gradually acquired them after 1945.
Mt Gravatt is named after Lt. George Gravatt who was in charge of the Moreton Bay Penal settlement at Brisbane Town in 1842.
Toohey Mountain and Mt Gravatt are made of tough, very old quartzite formed 380 million years ago when the coastline was far to the west and the region was deep under ocean. Within the cutting along Outlook Drive at Mt Gravatt, you can see the tightly folded bands of quartzite – an indication of the enormous forces that shaped the ancient ocean floor sediments, and resulting mountains.Conditions of Group Membership and event participation
1 GCMWWG is not an incorporated association or organisation and is composed of individuals who join with each other in an informal manner to engage in the pleasurable activity of bushwalking and accordingly each individual member is required to take personal responsibility for his or her own safety and to comply with the recommendations published on the Group’s meet up website and with directions given from time to time by any walk leader of a Bushwalk undertaken by the Group.
2 Participants are recommended:
(i) to wear walking boots which provide ankle support;
(ii) carry his or her own rucksack which will contain at least 1 litre of fresh water in watertight containers and personal first aid items including band-aids (or similar), bandages, antiseptic, insect repellents and sunscreen and foodstuffs appropriate to the length and timing of the bushwalk;
(iii) to make a realistic assessment prior to participating in a bushwalk as to whether the participants’ physical condition will allow the participant to enjoyably and safely engage in the bushwalking activity without endangering the safety and enjoyment of other participants;
(iv) to wear or carry clothing suitable for each walk including clothing (such as a waterproof jacket or poncho) that is appropriate for unexpected changes in the weather.
3 Each bushwalk undertaken by the Group shall have a nominated leader who will walk at the front of the Group (“walk leader”) and a nominated person who will walk at the rear of the group (“back marker”). The walk leader will set the pace of the walk and will halt the walk at appropriate times in his or her discretion for rests and drink breaks and meal breaks. The back marker will endeavour to keep the group together at all times and to notify the walk leader if any untoward accident or injury is sustained by any participant. The walk leader and the back marker for each bushwalk will be nominated by the Group Leader.
4 Each participant will be required to observe any directions or instructions given by the walk leader including any instruction to shorten the walk, change the route of the walk or abandon the walk due to any unexpected change of circumstances such as track closure or obstruction, inclement weather and/or injury or illness suffered by any member.
5 Any one of the Group Leader, walk leader or back marker for each bushwalk undertaken by the group shall carry with him or her a mobile phone and a first aid kit.
6 There shall be published in each event's description a degree of difficulty by the Group a statement as to the degree of difficulty of the proposed bushwalk so that members may realistically assess whether they (or their guests) have the requisite degree of physical fitness required to pleasurably and safely undertake the proposed bushwalk.
7 Details of each proposed bushwalk including the walk route, the commencement time and the anticipated time required to complete the walk will be published on the Group’s meet up website.2 attendees
Past events
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