Aracaria Track, Walkabout Creek, Brisbane Forest Park, D’Aguilar National Park

The walk is approximately 10km around sections of Enoggera Reservoir.  We will follow part of the Aracaria Trail, along a well established track which is a gently sloping, well defined path  with a few steps and some loose gravel.   The name Aracaria or Aracaria cunninghami is a species of hoop pine known as the Moreton Bay Pine.  It was named to honour the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham who collected the first species in the 1820’s.  The Aracaria tree can live up to 450 years and grow 60 metres and we will pass a number of these trees along the route.

The first European colonists of Moreton Bay drew their water from waterholes in a creek that ran past the present King George Square to Creek Street and then to the Brisbane River.  In 1830, a small dam had enlarged the main waterhole, and this became Brisbane’s first manipulated water storage, with pipes of hollow ironbark bearing the water in a small reticulated system, pumped by convict labour on a treadmill.  By 1859, the Brisbane Council took over responsibility for the town’s water supply, erecting a tank near the waterhole (giving Tank Street its name) and selling water to Brisbane’s inhabitants.  Within a couple of years, this method of providing water became inadequate for the rapidly growing population  and by 1866 Enoggera Reservoir and its waterworks were completed providing water to the town of Brisbane.

Enoggera Reservoir has a free designated swimming area.  There is also an opportunity to hire a canoe, kayak or paddle board to further explore the reservoir.

Bring:  Hat, 2 litres water, sunscreen, Morning tea, first aid kit

Address:  60 Mount Nebo Road, Enoggera Reservoir, Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre