White Cedar Park

Our family loves spontaneous outdoor picnics.  By keeping things simple, we can pull it together very easily and quickly.

Note: Water capacity is seasonal and it is advised to visit after fresh rains if you want to be able to swim (especially because this is a country river frequented by livestock).

Picnic Food

This is our standard spontaneous picnic menu.

• Orange Juice (bring cups)
• Water
• Bread
• Ham
• Cheese
• Yoghurt (in tubs for ease; bring spoons)
• Fruit
• Esky

That’s it. I don’t even bring butter; I simply put ham and cheese on the bread and the children eat it without plates. By keeping picnics very simple, we do it more often.

Today, we felt like a picnic, so I dashed into the shops and purchased the above ingredients while my husband and children waited in the car. We always keep a picnic mat from Recycled Mats in the car so there was nothing else to do.

We decided to drive up Mt Glorious in the D’Aguilar Ranges, approximately 45 minutes from Brisbane. There are gorgeous views from the top.

There is a nice picnic area on top of Mt Glorious (Maiala Picnic Area) but today, we decided to visit White Cedar Park, on the other side of Mt Glorious. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the top, on the Wivenhoe Dam side of Mt Glorious.

Northbrook Creek at White Cedar Park

I couldn’t say it any better than this sign: “Picnic beneath a canopy of chocolate-scented flowers. Encircled by mountains, this is a wonderful place for a barbecue and a stroll down to the creek.”

The creek is an absolute delight. The water is clear, cool and fresh.

The creek is about 10 metres from one of the picnic shelters and there are many areas for the children to play and paddle, including shallow rocky slow moving rapids and a deeper section my older children loved.

Facilities

Toilets, picnic tables, wood barbecues and water (treat before drinking). There are no rubbish bins in the park, so we recommend bringing a bag to take your rubbish away with you.

Hazard

There are few stinging nettles along the creek so I showed my children and we kept a close eye out for them to ensure we didn’t step or brush past them.  I’m glad to have the opportunity to teach the children about some of the plants to be wary of in nature. I also insisted my children keep their head or mouth out of the water. It’s beautifully clear, but I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to fresh water creeks.

Fun at Northbrook Creek

Did the kids enjoy it? Just take a look at them!

Fun Tips:

• Bring togs so the children can paddle in the creek.
• There are coffee shops on the top of Mt Glorious so we stopped for a take-away coffee on the way home.
• Find a good rock and make a pet rock when you get home. Find more ideas on how to decorate a pet rock on my blog here: How to Make a Pet Rock.

• Bring paper, pencils and scissors and get the children to draw a character to play with. Bushes or small trees make for fun homes for the paper people.

• Try and find the White Cedar

Is this one?

Where

Northbrook Creek can be found at White Cedar Park, off the Northbrook Parkway, near Dundas in Queensland. Find more details on how to get there on this map: D’Aguilar National Park Locality Map.

With Kelly from Be a Fun Mum