After a few months at home we are doing a few short trips to get the vehicle and camping setup back into order.

We have spent a few days in the beautiful upper Brisbane Valley travelling the back roads and doing some reconnaissance of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. This trail caters for walkers but chiefly bikes and at times horses.

We set the camper up at the Linville Campground which is adjacent to the old Linville Railway Station that celebrated its first train in 1910. The town is keen on looking after travellers, conveniences for campers are free but a donation is appreciated. Linville Store and Cafe is a good place for a meal. While walking around town we put together a good list of native birds that we sighted.

Time was also spent enjoying dinner at the Linville Hotel with old friends, the hotel has a great atmosphere, friendly staff and it provides tasty meals, it was wonderful to spend time with old mates. A fire under starry night. 🙂 rain on the roof of the tent in the middle of the night but we are warm and dry.

For those friends who enjoy geology as I do I put some information at the bottom of the blog. There is plenty of interesting vegetarian too, the tall eucalypt forests and vine scrub/dry rainforest are our favourites.

Around Linville, the landscape is defined by the Esk Rift Valley (or Esk Trough), a major geological structure formed during the Triassic period (around 200–250 million years ago). The area contains fascinating sedimentary layers, structural folds, and volcanic remnants that you can explore through the region’s natural parks and trails.

The following geological features and sites are highly worth exploring around the Linville region:

The Esk Rift Valley Sediments and Fault Lines

The town of Linville sits directly within the dissected ridges of the Triassic Esk Beds. This geological formation is roughly 10,000 feet thick and features rapidly alternating layers of quartz pebble conglomerates, shales, and dark green sandstones (fresh-water greywackes).

• What to look for: If you explore the old railway cuttings along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail heading towards Benarkin, you can view exposed rock walls displaying extensive evidence of ancient faulting and tectonic compression.
• Linville Tuff: Roughly halfway through this sedimentary sequence sits the unique Linville Tuff, a distinct layer of white lithic tuff formed by ancient volcanic ash of trachytic composition.

Emu Creek Camping and Day-Use Area

Located just a short drive southwest of Linville within the Benarkin State Forest, this recreation area provides an excellent window into the rugged transition between the valley floor and the surrounding highlands.

• Geological Context: The creek cuts directly through complex Mesozoic strata and alluvial deposits. Along the creek bed and its small tributaries, you can observe massive, rounded boulders of dark grey andesite embedded in volcanic matrices, showcasing the region’s intense volcanic history.
• Erosion and Textures: Keep an eye out for weather-pitted conglomerates where softer volcanic fragments have washed away over millennia, leaving a distinct honeycombed or dimpled pattern on the rock faces.

The Colinton Complex Anticline and Local Formations

Just east and south of Linville lies a massive, elongated structural uplift known as the Colinton Complex Anticline.

• Landscape Controls: The dramatic, jagged topography directly mirrors the underlying rock durability. The broad synclines create softer, rolling ridges, while the steeply dipping, highly disturbed strata of the anticline form the dominant, rugged hills framing the horizon between Moore and Harlin.
• Entrenched Meanders: As you explore the nearby Brisbane River tributaries, the waterways cut sharply across the geological strike of the hills rather than following them—a sign of ancient, entrenched river meanders carving through rising rock over millions of years,