Let me tell you about the legend of the Piper Comanche plane wreck… Way back when I was in high school I remember hearing about a light plane that crashed in the forests of Mt Glorious, in Brisbane….
One day while having a beer or two, the story about the crashed plane came up again. Now with the internet being a thing, we were able to google the story with the quickness. Low and behold – the tale that we heard all those years ago was actually true!!.. And there were even some vague directions on how to get there!!
So we got a crew together for a bush walk in search of the Piper Comanche plane wreck
Heading off in the direction of Mt Glorious which is about a 45 min drive out of Brisbane’s CBD. It’s a beautiful windy drive through the forest hills.
Once you get to Mt Glorious there is a Cafe where all the weekend warrior road bike riders stop for a latte and show off their latest gear.
From this cafe it’s about a 10 km drive until you see a fire trail on the right, with carparks.
This is where you park up and begin your hike.
Welcome to Lepidozamia road 😊
Walk along the fire trail for about 49 meters and you will see a path on your right into the bush.
Now this is were the adventure starts!… And these are our vague instructions on how to get to the Piper Comanche plane wreck 😜
You start trekking through beautiful rainforest.
Just remember to keep left at every fork in the path.
And keep an eye out for the pink ties on trees. That way you know you’re on the right track. If you haven’t seen any for a while you have probably gone the wrong way.
So it’s probably best to do some back tracking.
Right in the middle of the hiking path there was a bower birds nest. Equipped with some blue bling to attract some females…. I guess they are just like the human species.
Then we passed an old trailer. Around these parts it used to be a gold mine for logging. Now this old cart is all that remains of memories gone by.
Eventually you will come to a pile of rocks. This is where you go left and start walking down the hill.
On our descent down, we came across this huge goanna in the middle of the path. He stopped and looked at us, then climbed up the closest tree.
We turned a corner and could see some of the wreckage not far away.
This is the resting place of the Piper Comanche and where the pilot lost his life on the 2/3/1977. The plane was flying from Archerfield to Bunderberg in Queensland.
Bad weather conditions made for very bad visibility. Unfortunately the pilot was flying too low and clipped a tree.
As you can see there is not much left of the plane from the crash. I’m assuming the rest of the plane must be scattered around the forest.
In the wreckage there was an accident investigation summary report, with more info from the crash.
Also inside the wreckage was a box with some note pads were people who visit the wreckage can leave their respects.
We chilled out for a bit then decided to head back.
Now the hill we walked down was a different story walking back up. Man it was a mission! Maybe having that sandwich at the plane wasn’t the best idea before the climb back up the hill ha ha.
We came across another huge goanna on our way back.
By the time we got back to the car, the round trip took us about one and a half hours through the forest.
So if you’re ever in Brisbane, Queensland and are looking for a nice forest hike you should add this one to your list.
Happy hiking!
