With prime bike riding weather soon coming to a close for 2026, I thought I’d better make the most of it while I can and what better way than to do some more bikepacking. This time, I chose something a little more rugged and remote with a trip through one of the tougher sections of the D’Aguilar National Park and some fully self-supported bush camping.
Augies Loop on its own is a sixteen kilometre route through some of the steeper, more remote and stunning sections of the D’Aguilar National Park in the Mt Nebo area. But when I linked it up as a car-free weekend bikepacking adventure from Brisbane, it turned into a ninety plus kilometre epic. This is definitely one to try only if you have a reasonable level of fitness and skill to get along unaided carrying all the water and other supplies you need to get through to the other side of the national park because, really, the only other way out is by SES vehicle if things go wrong. There’s no safe drinking water and several steep, long hike-a-bike sections deep inside the park.
Having said that, this was one of the most satisfying, rewarding and immersive trips I’ve done for a while and it has left me with a lot of great memories looping through my mind since. The landscapes and other natural features along the way are next level and this is a place where you can feel like you have truly gotten away from the rat race.
My first day started in Brisbane where I rolled right out of my driveway on my loaded Bombtrack Beyond+ completely car free. I changed my set-up on the bike since the last trip but it was still by no means lightweight and, to be honest, I really just shuffled the same stuff into differently configured bags. I’m still struggling to work out what else to leave behind because I seem to be down to the bare essentials though I’m guessing that may be subjective. On this trip, I was carrying close to five litres of water with me for drinking and cooking because, as I said, this is not a place where you’d want to be caught short and I don’t have a filtration system right now. Additionally, I’m not convinced that I’d want to drink filtered water from the creeks and tanks along the way because although they mostly look clear, it can get quite dry out here which slows the flow down and I’m simply not enough of an expert to say confidently that this or that source is okay to drink after filtering. The corollary of all that is my bike felt a bit like a tank but at least I knew I didn’t have to worry about supplies. I’ll keep working on it.
Anyway, I rolled through some of my familiar haunts up to Ironbark Gully and then through the Ferny Grove Rail Trail into Samford where I stopped for a snack before allowing the Samford Pony Trails guide me towards Mt Nebo while avoiding most of the nastier sections of Mt Glorious Rd. I emerged at the Samford Showgrounds where the last section of Mt Glorious Rd to the base of the Goat Track was actually largely car free perhaps due to the few spits of rain I experience along the way which may have scared off many tourists. All signs of rain cleared away by the time I started climbing the Goat Track. I selected some of the largest cogs on my cluster as I spun my way to the top having no delusions whatsoever of completing the climb in record time. I stopped in all the usual spots on the way up to get photos and still had a short amount of daylight left as I got to the top to meet Mt Nebo Rd.
I wanted to minimise my contact with Mt Nebo Rd as much as possible in getting to Light Line Rd Bush Camp so before I left, I consulted a popular online mapping application which allowed me to discover a way in along Darcy Kelly Rd which was very pleasant to ride along and was a straight forward run to Light Line Rd Bush Camp. Like all the other bush camps in the D’Aguilar National Park, there are zero amenities at Light Line except for a small shelter and a rain water tank full of undrinkable water. This situation suited the theme of the trip to a tee and is, in my opinion, an excellent trade-off for having the entire campsite to oneself (or one’s own group) without another person anywhere to be seen or heard.
It was just on dusk when I finished setting up my tent for the night (which was a small effort anyway) and then it was time for a well earned meal. My compatriots for the night who hiked in and met me at the campsite were also kind enough to buy and carry in a healthy supply of firewood to camp which made the evening extra pleasant (please don’t burn the bush wood if you go to one of these campsites). The night was quite cold and we got through all the firewood quite quickly which was just as well because lots of loaded bike riding made for lots of deep sleep quickly.
In the morning, after breakfast the real adventure to tackle Augies Loop would begin. After bidding farewell to my compatriots, I headed West down Light Line Rd deeper into the national park. Initially a descent from the campsite, the climbing started a short time later as I crested onto a ridge line overlooking a pristine valley. Cockatoos could be heard and I felt a cool breeze blow in from the West. There were no other sounds and no other people.
The weight of my bike on the climbs was manageable but now starting to become noticeable on my tiring body even though I was minus quite a bit of the water and food that I originally started out with. Relief was close though as the road began to kick downwards into the valley. The descent was gentle at first but the sections of road grew steeper and rougher as I went on. Bags that were strapped to my bike started to rattle and move around and I had to stop a couple of times to tighten straps and reposition things. Small rocks were replaced by larger baby head sized stones on the road and a couple of short sections were too steep and loose to risk riding down with my loaded rig and I decided to walk them.
The rapid descent went for a while but then began to flatten out and I soon found myself on the valley floor. The glass became longer and greener, the trees thicker and healthier looking and I began to cross several bush creeks that were all flowing. This was a fairly magical looking place. Virtually unspoilt wilderness with the vibes of the set of The Lord Of The Rings. A large open field and many more creek crossing followed while the ground under my tyres was a browny-red soil quite wet from the nearby waterways.
It would all end abruptly though. What goes down must come up again and the climb out of the valley was about to start. At first it was still rideable but soon the road pitched straight up and I knew it would be foolish to burn extra energy trying to ride up when walking would be more efficient albeit slightly slower. Coming to each corner teased me with the possibility that this might be the top but each time my dreams were shattered as another huge ramp presented itself, then another and another and another. It became a very mental game getting up that climb as I set myself small goals and rewards to achieve along the way up. “Next water bar, you can rest”, “next corner you can drink”, “up to that tree and you can eat” I kept telling myself. Other motivators were that I still had enough water and still plenty of daylight even though my food was almost finished and I was well overdue for lunch. I didn’t time that climb but it felt like hours and I was very depleted when I reached South Boundary Rd. This was definitely one of the toughest rides I’d done for a while.
I made my way slowly down South Boundary Rd towards The Gap and then finally the trail spat me out of the national park on Payne Rd next to the Enoggera Reservoir. From there, bikeways and back streets carried me over to The Gap Village where, to my delight, the Bahn Mi House was open and I would finally be able to re-fuel. It’s funny sometimes the people you bump into on these trips – as I sat on the ground outside the Bahn Mi House eating, a guy walked up and asked if he could take a photo of my loaded bike because his mate was about to tackle the Munda Biddi trail in Western Australia and had a bike he thought might not be adequate so he thought my set-up would be a good example for him. He may have thought differently if he’d felt the weight of it. Anyway, I told him it was no problem and chatted a bit while a finished eating.
It’s amazing how quickly the body recovers with the right amount of fuel and I was feeling much better after the food I ate making the remaining handful of kilometres back home seem comparatively breezy. Memories and replays of the weekend’s adventure were already starting play through my mind even before I rolled up the driveway at home. Another good feed, a proper stretch and a good night’s sleep was in order now. Cleaning the bike and the gear would be the morning’s problem.
Ride safe and see out the sometime.