--

The Kondalilla Falls Circuit descends from the escarpment into dense subtropical rainforest near Montville on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. This 61-minute walking video follows the natural track through tall forest and rainforest gullies, with exposed roots, rocks and long sections of stairs making up much of the route.

The scenery changes quite noticeably as the track drops towards Skene Creek. The lower sections become darker and more enclosed, with piccabeen palms, bunya pines, ferns and moss-covered rocks filling the forest around the creek. Higher up, the vegetation opens out again into taller eucalypt forest, giving the walk a good contrast between the two environments.

Kondalilla Falls is the main attraction, with Skene Creek dropping around 90 metres into the valley below. The track passes through the rainforest around the falls, with creek sections and rock pools below, while lookouts higher up on the escarpment provide views across the surrounding Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The full circuit is around 4.7 kilometres and includes more than 300 stairs. It's a Grade 3 track, and the actual walk is considerably more demanding than the treadmill settings suggest. The trail drops quite steeply into the valley before climbing back out, with the stairs and uneven surfaces adding plenty of extra effort along the way.

The video itself is set at around 5 km/h with a 0% treadmill incline, making for a much easier indoor walk than the real circuit. Keeping the treadmill flat matches the recorded session, while adding a gentle incline would give you a little more of the uphill effort without trying to recreate all of the stairs and changes in gradient.

At 61 minutes, there's plenty of time to settle into the walk and watch the scenery change from open eucalypt forest to dense rainforest and back again. The waterfall, Skene Creek, palms and mossy forest floor are what really give this walk its character.