Sandy Creek from Merlin Street
Access verdict · Lawful, with caveats · weakest evidence in the chain: statutory inference
A lawful approach from Merlin Street, with caveats.
The chain below runs entirely across land the public has an established right to be on. It is a legal line, not a path: nothing here has been surveyed on the ground.
On-ground signage and temporary closures override this page. Always.
Getting to the start The trailhead coordinate, not the feature
The start is at -27.52460, 153.00065
That is Merlin Street, where the walk below begins — 3.9 km of it. Every link here goes to that coordinate and never to the feature itself, because a driving route to a waterfall is a driving route into the country above one.
- Google Maps one link for a desktop browser, Android or iPhone
- Apple Maps the default on iPhone and Mac
- Your own map app hands the coordinate to an installed app, offline ones included
-27.52460, 153.00065
An ordinary car reaches the start The roads layer marks the road reaching this point as trafficable by an ordinary vehicle.
The coordinate is where the recorded way begins, read off the same layers as the walk. What the record says about a vehicle is above, and it describes this point rather than the drive to it. Whether the road is sealed, gated, or open today, and where a car may lawfully be left, are none of them things these records say — so treat the last few kilometres as unresearched, and the mapping service's route to them as its own work, not ours.
The chain, leg by leg Computed from cadastral geometry; never walked
| # | Runs along | Parcel / reference | Mapped along it | Distance | Bearing | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Road reserve | 2803266 | nothing mapped | 82.3 m | 163.3° SSE | Official spatial — evidence class |
| 2 | Road reserve | 2805204 | nothing mapped | 367.2 m | 267.4° W | Official spatial — evidence class |
| 3 | Road reserve | 2808624 | nothing mapped | 112.0 m | 325.7° NW | Official spatial — evidence class |
| 4 | Road reserve | 2805888 | nothing mapped | 105.9 m | 280.5° W | Official spatial — evidence class |
| 5 | Watercourse bed | 2807180 | nothing mapped | 115.3 m | 314.6° NW | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 6 | Watercourse bed | 2807256 | nothing mapped | 429.3 m | 86.6° E | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 7 | Watercourse bed | 2792740 | nothing mapped | 124.8 m | 69.5° ENE | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 8 | Watercourse bed | 2656092 | nothing mapped | 216.9 m | 78.5° ENE | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 9 | Watercourse bed | 2655826 | nothing mapped | 765.5 m | 30.9° NNE | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 10 | Watercourse bed | 2655750 | nothing mapped | 162.2 m | 291.3° WNW | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 11 | Watercourse bed | 2705454 | nothing mapped | 205.0 m | 287.2° WNW | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 12 | Watercourse bed | 2704770 | nothing mapped | 445.4 m | 308.6° NW | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 13 | Watercourse bed | 2677334 | nothing mapped | 332.5 m | 7.3° N | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 14 | Watercourse bed | 2651684 | nothing mapped | 186.7 m | 8.1° N | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 15 | Watercourse bed | 2603348 | nothing mapped | 183.6 m | 22.9° NNE | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| 16 | Watercourse bed | 2586552 | nothing mapped | 55.7 m | 313.2° NW | Statutory inference — evidence class |
| Total | no way mapped | 3890.3 m | Chain confidence Statutory inference — evidence class | |||
Every leg above is computed from cadastral geometry. Nobody has walked it, and no part of it is a path on the ground: it is the line along which the public record establishes a right to be. Where a leg names a way, that is what a managing authority has mapped down the same ground — it says nothing more about your right to be there, which the parcel already settled.
Caveats — what has to be said before walking this
- Corner-point junction. Two parcels in the chain meet at a single survey point. They are legally continuous public land, but the junction has no width on the ground.
- Watercourse crossing. The chain crosses a watercourse bed. The bed is State land by statutory inference, there is no structure, and the crossing is off in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2805888 and 2807256 is 55.09 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2807180 and 2792740 is 329.63 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2807256 and 2656092 is 0.00 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2792740 and 2655826 is 82.84 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2656092 and 2655750 is 578.62 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2655826 and 2705454 is 45.38 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2655750 and 2704770 is 0.00 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2705454 and 2677334 is 402.08 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2704770 and 2651684 is 105.38 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2677334 and 2603348 is 121.70 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The narrowest gap between 2651684 and 2586552 is 156.47 m. There is no structure. Do not cross in high flow.
- Measured crossing. The gap between the parcels either side of this crossing could not be measured from the geometry, which is a reason for more caution, not less.
Following it on the ground No published way to follow
at least 1½ hours out and back
at least three quarters of an hour there at least three quarters of an hour back
5 m up and 10 m down on the way out — so the return leg climbs 10 m.
Walking only — nothing is counted for rest, water, photographs, navigation, or the state of the track.
No directions are published for this approach. The chain above is a statement about permission, not a path, and turning a run of parcels into "walk north-east for 380 m" would tell you where to walk on evidence nobody holds — including where a way is mapped along it, because what was measured is the chain and not the way. Steps appear here only for a route that follows a surveyed way end to end.
How much climbing Read off the published contour layer
- Total climb
- 5.0 m
- Total descent
- 10.0 m
- Steepest sustained
- 4.0% over 124.3 m
- Contour interval
- 5.0 m
Every height the contours record along this route
| Distance along | Height |
|---|---|
| 368.8 m | 10.0 m |
| 468.7 m | 10.0 m |
| 528.2 m | 10.0 m |
| 652.4 m | 5.0 m |
| 1621.6 m | 5.0 m |
| 1629.3 m | 5.0 m |
| 1633.3 m | 5.0 m |
| 1645.6 m | 5.0 m |
| 1672.7 m | 5.0 m |
| 1681.5 m | 5.0 m |
| 1816.0 m | 5.0 m |
| 1828.7 m | 10.0 m |
| 2124.2 m | 10.0 m |
| 2251.2 m | 5.0 m |
| 2877.6 m | 5.0 m |
| 2881.7 m | 5.0 m |
| 2902.8 m | 5.0 m |
| 2935.0 m | 5.0 m |
The profile is the height the contour layer already records, read along the same line the legs above describe. It is not a survey of a path: nothing here says the ground between two contours is even, and a layer of 5.0 m contours cannot evidence a step smaller than the gap between them.
The line on the ground
Map
Route map: 16 legs from Merlin Street, 3890.3 m in total.
What the colours mean
- Land — the council area the region is published under
- Water beyond the council boundary
- Freehold or leasehold — no public access
- National park / protected estate — public land
- Road reserve
- Watercourse
- Track recorded by the managing authority
- Contour, every 10 m of height — nothing is implied about the ground between two of them
- Tenure unresolved — treated as no access
- Where your device says you are, shown only if you press the locate button — read as a rough fix, not a position, and never sent anywhere
- A place with a published approach — the pin is a link to it
- A place with none — every one is listed under the map with its verdict in words
- Where a published approach starts — each one has a page of its own below
- The walk — the line the legs below describe, not a surveyed path
- The parcels it crosses — the evidence the walk is lawful
- Watercourse crossing — no structure, off in high flow
Names on the map come from the same official records as the rest of the page — road and track names from the cadastre and the access layer, watercourses and estates from their own layers. A feature the record does not name is left unlabelled rather than guessed at.
Sources, licences and dataset versions for everything this map draws.
Every figure the map would draw — parcel references, distances, bearings and the crossing gap — is written out in full on this page, so nothing is only visible on the map. If the map does not load, nothing has been lost.
What this verdict rests on Grades compose to the weakest link
-
The destination sits on the parcel below Official spatial — evidence class
Parcel 2586552, recorded tenure "Watercourse". Being at the destination and reaching it are separate questions, and this page answers only the second.
Cadastre and protected-area estate layers Attribution licensed
-
Leg 1: 2803266 carries a right of passage Official spatial — evidence class
82.3 m at 163.3°. Read from the mapped parcel geometry in the official layer, with no inference beyond what the record states.
Leg reference 2803266 Grade official_spatial
-
Leg 2: 2805204 carries a right of passage Official spatial — evidence class
367.2 m at 267.4°. Read from the mapped parcel geometry in the official layer, with no inference beyond what the record states.
Leg reference 2805204 Grade official_spatial
-
Leg 3: 2808624 carries a right of passage Official spatial — evidence class
112.0 m at 325.7°. Read from the mapped parcel geometry in the official layer, with no inference beyond what the record states.
Leg reference 2808624 Grade official_spatial
-
Leg 4: 2805888 carries a right of passage Official spatial — evidence class
105.9 m at 280.5°. Read from the mapped parcel geometry in the official layer, with no inference beyond what the record states.
Leg reference 2805888 Grade official_spatial
-
Leg 5: 2807180 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
115.3 m at 314.6°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2807180 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 6: 2807256 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
429.3 m at 86.6°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2807256 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 7: 2792740 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
124.8 m at 69.5°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2792740 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 8: 2656092 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
216.9 m at 78.5°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2656092 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 9: 2655826 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
765.5 m at 30.9°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2655826 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 10: 2655750 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
162.2 m at 291.3°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2655750 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 11: 2705454 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
205.0 m at 287.2°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2705454 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 12: 2704770 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
445.4 m at 308.6°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2704770 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 13: 2677334 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
332.5 m at 7.3°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2677334 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 14: 2651684 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
186.7 m at 8.1°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2651684 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 15: 2603348 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
183.6 m at 22.9°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2603348 Grade statutory_inference
-
Leg 16: 2586552 carries a right of passage Statutory inference — evidence class
55.7 m at 313.2°. The bed is State land by statutory inference from the Water Act 2000 (Qld) s.21 — law applied to a mapped parcel, not a finding by any authority.
Leg reference 2586552 Grade statutory_inference
-
The chain is only as strong as its weakest link Statutory inference — evidence class
Confidence is not an average. It is the weakest class in the chain above, which is why a single inferred leg holds the whole route at statutory inference.
Composition rule: weakest grade wins Applied at build time
If something goes wrong
Emergency reference — read this to 000
- Location
- Sandy Creek
- Lot on plan
- 2586552
- Coordinates
- -27.50667, 153.00028 (WGS84 / GDA2020)
- Feature
- watercourse
What this approach was read from
- Cadastral data Queensland (DCDB), incl. easement layer — © State of Queensland (Department of Resources) CC-BY-4.0 · snapshot 2026-08-22
- Queensland LiDAR-derived contours (5 m) — © State of Queensland CC-BY-4.0 · snapshot 2026-08-22
- Queensland local government area boundaries — © State of Queensland CC-BY-4.0 · snapshot 2026-08-27
- Queensland place names gazetteer — © State of Queensland CC-BY-4.0 · snapshot 2026-08-16