Big Sky National Parks 8 Day Loop from Brisbane Or Toowoomba

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Big Sky National Parks 8 Day Loop from Brisbane Or Toowoomba Big Sky National Parks 8 day loop from Brisbane or Toowoomba Girraween National Park CARNARVON GORGE Outback HIGHLIGHTS: ueensland QUEENSLAND Southern Ravensborne National Park ueensland LD Country Bunya Mountains National Park Roma Miles BUNYA MOUNTAINS NP BRISBANE Rainforests & Ancient Bunya Pines NSWNSW Chinchilla Maidenwell Carnarvon Gorge National Park Surat Dalby Ravensbourne NP BRISBANE Towering Sandstone Cliffs TOOWOOMBA Aboriginal Rock Art Sites ST GEORGE Inglewood Warwick Riversands Vineyards & Winery Stanthorpe Sunset River Cruise GIRRAWEEN NP Historic Nindigully Pub NEW SOUTH WALES Goondiwindi’s Cotton Farm Tour Coolmunda Organic Olive Farm 8 day itinerary includes stunning National Parks, Girraween National Park Aboriginal rock art, native wildlife and local produce Balancing Boulders & Waterfalls DAY 1-2: BRISBANE TO BUNYA DAY 3-4: BUNYA MOUNTAINS TO MOUNTAINS (230KM) OR CARNARVON GORGE (570KM) TOOWOOMBA TO BUNYA Drive west to Chinchilla, Australia’s MOUNTAINS (104KM) melon capital and Roma, home of the Drive from Brisbane to Toowoomba via Big Rig, before arriving at Carnarvon the Warrego Highway. Take a scenic drive Gorge National Park - an oasis in the from Toowoomba to Gus Beutel Lookout semi-arid heart of Central Queensland. for stunning views over Ravensbourne See spectacular sandstone gorge vistas, National Park. Travel through the old ancient rainforests and well-preserved timber town of Crows Nest to Maidenwell Aboriginal rock art on tracks that have Trading Post for some welcome been classified to match your bushwalking Bunya Mountains National Park refreshments. Drive beneath stunning experience and fitness. Explore Carnarvon rainforest canopies and ancient bunya Gorge’s beautiful Moss Garden walk with pines to Bunya Mountains National its splendid waterfall backdrop, ferns and Park. Relax in the privacy of your Bunya mosses. Follow the short walk to Baloon Mountains Chalet with stunning views of the surrounding rainforest. Book in for a Cave to see stencilled Aboriginal rock art. luxurious in-chalet healing massage or Wake up to a symphony of birdsong and follow a selection of walking tracks to witness colourful sunrises as the light explore nine kinds of rainforests, ancient meets the gorge’s sandstone cliffs. By day, plant species and an abundance of native see kangaroos and wallabies around the wildlife. Join in the daily wild bird feeding picnic area. At night, spot night echidnas activities – 4 sessions daily and watch the and listen to the call of yellow-bellied Chocolate Wattled Bat emerge at dusk. gliders, owls and the bush stone curlew. Stay 2 nights at Bunya Mountains Stay 2 nights at Carnarvon Gorge Accommodation Centre Wilderness Lodge Carnarvon Gorge National Park Carnarvon Gorge National Park DAY 5: CARNARVON GORGE TO DAY 8: WYBERBA TO TOOWOOMBA ST GEORGE (436KM) (179KM) OR WYBERBA TO Travel south along the Carnarvon Highway BRISBANE (265KM) to Injune, a thriving country town with Travel north to Stanthorpe and explore some 450 residents. Continue south to Queensland’s premier food and wine St George, Queensland’s inland fishing region. Sample cider and apple pie at capital, then visit Riversands Winery for Suttons Apple Farm and visit Stanthorpe a personalised wine tasting and meal at Cheese for hand-made farmhouse their onsite café. Call in to the Unique cheese. Call in to the Rose and Rodeo city Egg to see a world-class collection of of Warwick with its beautiful sandstone Suttons Farm Apple Pie hand-crafted emu eggs, then join a sunset buildings. Return to Toowoomba via cruise on the Balonne River with its 230 Glengallan Homestead and Allora, the species of birdlife. childhood home of Mary Poppins creator P.L. Travers. Alternatively, follow the Overnight Riverland Motor Inn, St George Cunningham Highway through Main DAY 6-7: ST GEORGE TO WYBERBA Range National Park back to Brisbane. (432KM) Take a break at the historic Nindigully Pub, Queensland's oldest hotel, on the banks of the Moonie River. If time permits, join a cotton farm tour in Goondiwindi. Visit Coolmunda Organic Olives near Inglewood, walk through the olive grove and taste organic olives. Follow a selection of bushwalks from your private bush chalet surrounded by Girraween National Park with its intriguing balancing boulders, cascading waterfalls and cool rock pools. See quiet kangaroos grazing Carnarvon Gorge Wildlife in open fields, brilliant turquoise parrots, yellow-tufted honeyeaters and red-necked wallabies as you explore over 17km of walking tracks to suit all levels of fitness. Visit nearby award-winning wineries, restaurants and local producers just a short drive from the National Park. Stay 2 nights at Girraween Environmental Local birdlife Bunya Mountains Lodge www.queenslandsbigskycountry.com.
Recommended publications
  • Johnathon Davis Thesis
    Durithunga – Growing, nurturing, challenging and supporting urban Indigenous leadership in education John Davis-Warra Bachelor of Arts (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies & English) Post Graduate Diploma of Education Supervisors: Associate Professor Beryl Exley Associate Professor Karen Dooley Emeritus Professor Alan Luke Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology 2017 Keywords Durithunga, education, Indigenous, leadership. Durithunga – Growing, nurturing, challenging and supporting urban Indigenous leadership in education i Language Weaves As highlighted in the following thesis, there are a number of key words and phrases that are typographically different from the rest of the thesis writing. Shifts in font and style are used to accent Indigenous world view and give clear signification to the higher order thought and conceptual processing of words and their deeper meaning within the context of this thesis (Martin, 2008). For ease of transition into this thesis, I have created the “Language Weaves” list of key words and phrases that flow through the following chapters. The list below has been woven in Migloo alphabetical order. The challenge, as I explore in detail in Chapter 5 of this thesis, is for next generations of Indigenous Australian writers to relay textual information in the languages of our people from our unique tumba tjinas. Dissecting my language usage in this way and creating a Language Weaves list has been very challenging, but is part of sharing the unique messages of this Indigenous Education field research to a broader, non- Indigenous and international audience. The following weaves list consists of words taken directly from the thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • State of the Park 2016
    Magazine of National Parks Association of Queensland state of the park 2016 why advocacy matters bunya mountains national park warrie circuit walk lamington spiny crayfish the national park experience Issue 7 February-March 2016 1 Welcome to Contents the February/ Welcome to Protected 2 March edition of State of the park 2016 3 Protected Why advocacy matters 6 Bunya Mountains National Park 8 Michelle Prior, NPAQ President Warrie Circuit walk, Springbrook 10 As this edition of Protected goes to Lamington spiny crayfish 12 press, NPAQ is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Nature Conservation The National Park Experience 13 and Other Legislation Amendment Bill What’s On 14 2015, which if passed, will reinstate Letters to the Editor 15 the nature as the sole goal of the NC Act (which governs the creation and management of national parks Council President Michelle Prior in Queensland), and undo some Vice Presidents Tony O’Brien retrograde amendments made during Athol Lester the Newman term of government. Hon Secretary Debra Marwedel Asst Hon Secret Yvonne Parsons Another important issue currently Hon Treasurer Graham Riddell in the pipeline is the opportunity to Councillors Julie Hainsworth phase out sand mining on North Peter Ogilvie Stradbroke Island by 2019, supported Richard Proudfoot by an economic transition package. Des Whybird The Bill which proposes this end Mike Wilke date also serves to respect the rights Staff of the native title holders of North Conservation Principal: Stradbroke Island. The government Kirsty Leckie has a responsibility to protect and Business Development Officer: preserve what remains of the island’s Anna Tran remarkable natural environment and Project & Office Administrator: stem the tide of irreversible damage.
    [Show full text]
  • The Vegetation of Granitic Outcrop Communities on the New England Batholith of Eastern Australia
    547 The vegetation of granitic outcrop communities on the New England Batholith of eastern Australia John T. Hunter and Peter J. Clarke Hunter, John T. and Clarke, Peter J. (Division of Botany, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350) 1998. The vegetation of granitic outcrop communities on the New England Batholith of eastern Australia. Cunninghamia 5 (3): 547–618. The vegetation of 22 areas of granitic outcrops on the New England Batholith has been surveyed using semi-quantitative quadrat sampling. In total 399 0.1 ha quadrats were placed on 216 outcrops. Twenty-eight plant communities in nine major groups and an additional unsurveyed community are circumscribed. A high number of nationally rare or threatened taxa, many of which are restricted to outcrop areas, have been found in these communities along with many taxa of special note. Previous studies have over-emphasised structure which can vary considerably with negligible floristic change. Suggestions are made on potential areas for reservation. Introduction Studies concentrating on the vegetation of granitic outcrops have been undertaken throughout the world (e.g. Whitehouse 1933; Oosting & Anderson 1937; McVaugh 1943; Keever et al. 1951; Keever 1957; Hambler 1964; Murdy et al. 1970; Sharitz & McCormick 1973; Rundel 1975; Shure & Fagsdale 1977; Wyatt 1977; Phillips 1981; Phillips 1982; Wyatt 1981; Baskin & Baskin 1982; Walters 1982; Burbanck & Phillips 1983; Wyatt 1984a, b; Uno & Collins 1987; Baskin & Baskin 1988; Houle & Phillips 1988; Houle & Phillips 1989a, b; Houle 1990; Porembski et al. 1994; Ibisch et al. 1995; Porembski 1995; Porembski et al. 1996). Research into outcrops, and in particular granitic outcrops, has culminated in the formation of the ‘Inselberg-Projeckt’ supported by the Deutsche Forschungsge-meinschaft (Porembski et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Border Rivers and Moonie River Basins Healthy Waters
    Healthy Waters Management Plan Queensland Border Rivers and Moonie River Basins Prepared to meet accreditation requirements under the Water Act 2007- Basin Plan 2012 Healthy Waters Management Plan: Queensland Border Rivers and Moonie River Basins Acknowledgement of the Traditional Owners of the Queensland Border Rivers and Moonie region The Department of Environment and Science (the department) would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the past and present Traditional Owners of the region and their Nations, and thank the representatives of the Aboriginal communities, including the Elders, who provided their knowledge of natural resource management throughout the consultation process. The department acknowledges that the Traditional Owners of the Queensland Border Rivers and Moonie basins have a deep cultural connection to their lands and waters. The department understands the need for recognition of Traditional Owner knowledge and cultural values in water quality planning. Prepared by: Department of Environment and Science. © State of Queensland, 2019. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. For more information on this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en Disclaimer This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care, based on the best available information at the time of publication.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern Inland Queensland Visitor Guide
    Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing Visitor guide Featuring Bunya Mountains National Park Yarraman State Forest The Palms National Park Benarkin State Forest Ravensbourne National Park Crows Nest National Park Lake Broadwater Conservation Park Main Range National Park Girraween National Park Sundown National Park Balancing boulders and rugged gorges, rainforest-clad mountains and grassy plains, waterfalls and wetlands await discovery just a few hours inland from the beaches and busy cities of southern Queensland. Great state. Great opportunity. Secluded McAllisters Creek, Sundown National Park. Photo: Robert Ashdown Robert Photo: Welcome to Southern Inland Indigenous Australians have a long and ongoing relationship with many Queensland areas that are now national park or State forest. We acknowledge their important connection with country and ask that you treat the places you visit with care and respect. Whether for a short stroll or longer hike, a day trip or overnight stay, Queensland’s southern inland parks and forests are easy to get to and outstanding places to visit. Photo: Ken Chapman Ken Photo: Use this guide to help plan your trip. Each park or forest is different from the others, but all offer something special—from scenic views or distinctive features and wildlife, to glimpses into the past. Visitor facilities Camping Caravan/ Campervan Lookout and opportunities Dogs allowed allowed Dogs (on leash) Park office Park Toilets On-site information water Drinking shed Shelter table Picnic barbecueElectric barbecue/
    [Show full text]
  • Sundown National Park Via Glenlyon Dam Road from Tenterfield, Travel North MS312 5Km Then West Along the Via STANTHORPE QLD Bruxner Highway 52Km to 4380 Mingoola
    Visitor information Sundown Listen for scarlet and rose robins, satin bowerbirds and superb lyrebirds National Park (left) in northern parts. High ‘traprock’ country along the A rugged Queensland/New South Wales border landscape has been carved by the Severn River and Most of Sundown is numerous creeks into sharp ridges and 600–800m above sea spectacular steep-sided gorges. This level, with peaks rising to Animals landscape contrasts dramatically with more than 1000m. It is More than 130 exposed granite hilltops and open valleys known locally as ‘traprock’ species of birds of nearby Girraween National Park and country. the Granite Belt. live at Sundown — some throughout the park and others ‘Traprock’ is a hard, dense rock only in specific habitats. Spotted The wilderness atmosphere of Sundown formed from ancient marine bowerbirds, red-capped robins, spiny- National Park and Sundown Resources sediments modified by heat and cheeked and striped honeyeaters, Reserve (16 000ha in total) is maintained pressure. Intense minor faulting, whitefaces and red-winged parrots by keeping development to a minimum. folding and weathering resulted in live in drier southern areas. Look for layered rocks which formed steep black ducks, wood ducks, herons, Pastoral and mining heritage ridges and gorges dropping to the cormorants and tiny azure kingfishers Sundown was once part of Glenlyon, Severn River. Nundubbermere and Ballandean along the river. stations. These were subdivided into Jibbinbar Mountain in the park’s Wallaroos are common in steep rocky smaller leasehold blocks in the late north-west and deeply-eroded Red country but grey kangaroos prefer 1800s. Although much of Sundown was Rock Gorge are intrusions of granite less sloping habitats.
    [Show full text]
  • Visitor Information Bunya Mountains National Park
    Visitor information National Park Bunya Mountains National Park Mountains Bunya was declared in 1908 and is Queensland's second oldest national park. For generations, people have gathered at the Bunya Mountains (Booburrgan Ngmmun) — where rainforest-clad peaks rising 500m above the plains shelter the world's largest stand of ancient bunya pines. Traditional Custodians from south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales gathered together for celebrations coinciding with heavy crops of bunya nuts. Today visitors picnic, camp, walk or relax in the cool climate of this isolated section of the Great Diving Range. Wildlife refuge Brilliantly coloured king parrots and crimson rosellas are sure to be seen on in the mountains your visit, as are red-necked wallabies With peaks reaching 1135m, moist feeding in grassy areas. Look carefully gullies and a variety of vegetation and you might also see satin bowerbirds, types, the Bunya Mountains has green catbirds and the huge tadpoles of sheltered and geographically isolated great barred-frogs. habitats in which a diversity of plants and animals thrive — including over Of the many animals that become active 30 rare and threatened species. at night, the Bunya Mountains ringtail possum is the only one you will not see Bunya pines Araucaria bidwillii anywhere else in the world. tower over tall moist rainforest along the range crest, while hoop pines Places to picnic and camp Araucaria cunninghamii dominate dry The park has three visitor areas — rainforest on lower slopes. Natural Dandabah, Westcott and Burton's Well. grassland "balds" containing rare All have toilets and picnic tables. Tracks across the mountains grass species are scattered across Enjoy weaving in and out of grasslands, the mountains.
    [Show full text]
  • National Parks and Sand Mining
    Paul Stephen Sattler OAM M.Nat.Res.; B.App.Sc.(Rur.Tech.) Paul has a lifetime of professional experience in nature conservation. He was the principal architect in doubling Queensland’s National Park estate in the 1990s whilst working with the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service (QNPWS). Paul initiated and guided the comprehensive description of Queensland’s bioregional ecosystems and the assessment of their status, a vital planning tool for conservation and natural resource management. He was directly involved in the development of a range of State and national conservation policies and has a particular interest in rangeland conservation and sustainable management. After leaving the QNPWS, Paul formed his own specialised eco-consultancy business and was principal author of the National Land and Water Resources Audit’s terrestrial biodiversity assessment of Australia, the first detailed assessment of biodiversity at a range of scales nationally. He grew up in a beekeeping family and learnt a practical appreciation of nature and is now once again, an apiarist. Having completed a degree in Applied Science (Rural Technology) in 1971 at the University of Queensland, Gatton College, he went on to gain a Masters degree in Natural Resources at the University of New England, Armidale. Paul has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to biodiversity conservation. Dedication To my daughters, Seola Anne and Melita Louise. Cover photos Front: Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park in North-West Queensland – an old landscape of timeless residual rocks, sites of incredible beauty, fossil record and Aboriginal history (DEHP photo.). Back: Albinia National Park in central Queensland with its rolling Blue grass downs.
    [Show full text]
  • RGSQ Bulletin July 2018 ISSN 1832-8830 Vol 53 No 6
    RGSQ Bulletin July 2018 ISSN 1832-8830 Vol 53 no 6 Published by The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland Inc., a not-for-profit organisation established in 1885 that promotes the study of geography and encourages a greater understanding and enjoyment of the world around us. Patron: H.E. Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland President: Dr Iraphne Childs From the President with drying of the climate and shallowness of soils. The balds Dear Members, welcome to Brisbane’s winter! With days in the are monitored closely as an endangered ecosystem threatened low-mid 20deg.C and nights usually 8-10 deg.C, we are, by invasion by woody plants (Willmott, 2004). indeed, spared from really cold winters. To give our winter woollies an airing, my family recently had a brief sojourn in the Bunya Mts National Park is Queensland’s second oldest Bunya Mountains, 200km or three hours’ drive north-west of national park. In 1842, Governor Gipps had decreed that no Brisbane. We passed the impressive construction of the logging licences be granted in lands bearing Bunya Pines, in Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, a 41km-long toll recognition of their importance to Aboriginal people. In 1881, bypass route, due for completion in late 2018. It will run from however, a timber reserve was declared for logging red cedar in the Warrego Highway at Helidon in the east to the Gore the mountains. When the cedar was depleted loggers moved Highway at Athol in the west. The final ascent to the Bunya into the Hoop pine and Bunya stands.
    [Show full text]
  • Report on the Administration of the Nature Conservation Act 1992
    Report on the administration of the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (reporting period 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015) Prepared by: Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing and Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. © State of Queensland, 2015. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. For more information on this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en If you need to access this document in a language other than English, please call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 and ask them to telephone Library Services on +61 7 3170 5470. This publication can be made available in an alternative format (e.g. large print or audiotape) on request for people with vision impairment; phone +61 7 3170 5470 or email <[email protected]>. October 2015 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Nature Conservation Act 1992 —departmental administrative responsibilities ............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 331 the Discovery, Exploration and Early
    331 THE DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE UPPER BURNETT (A paper prepared by Mr. H. S. Bloxsome, Delubra, Mundubbera, and read at a meeting of the Historical Society of Queensland, Inc., on Tuesday evening, August 25th, 1942.) Henry Stuart Russell, after having accompanied Andrew Petrie on his exploration of the Wide Bay River in May 1842, decided to explore west from Tiaro and to search for some country suitable for a sheep station, as at that time his property Cecil Plains on the Darling Downs was not looked upon as suitable for sheep. This seems strange as now it is first class sheep country; but, being virgin land at that time, it probably was covered with a very heavy body of grass through which the sheep had trouble to travel. On November 24th, 1842, Russell and his party left his station, Cecil Plains, and made his way to Tiaro some twenty-one miles south of where Maryborough stands to-day. He had with him William Orton whom he had met on the Severn River in 1840 and a black boy named Jemmy, who was a New England aboriginal. His object was to follow the track which JoUiffe and Last had left by their drays and sheep on the way to the Wide Bay country where they had formed a station for Eales, of Duckenfield Park, Hunter River, N.S.W. Stuart Russell's party crossed the range near Too­ woomba by what was known as the Springs road. They went past Bigge's camp and then on to Kilcoy.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern Downs Regional Council Recovery Plan
    Southern Downs Regional Council LOCAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN Southern Downs Regional Council LOCAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN Recovery Narrative About our community Council values The Southern Downs Regional Council area is located in South East Queensland, about 160 kilometres • Success south-west of the Brisbane CBD. The Southern Downs Regional Council area is bounded by the • Determination Toowoomba Regional Council area and the Lockyer Valley Regional Council area in the north, the Scenic • Resilience Rim Regional Council in the north-east, the New South Wales border in the south-east and south, and the • Commitment Goondiwindi Regional Council area in the west. The Southern Downs region has a land area of 7122km2, a population of 35,601 (2018) and a density of 0.05 persons per hectare. It was created in 2008 from a Recovery and Resilience Group merger of the Shire of Warwick and the Shire of Stanthorpe. The original inhabitants of the Southern Downs area are the Githabul and Kambuwal people. Established: Monday 9 September 2019 Chaired by: Cr Jo McNally, Deputy Mayor Southern Downs Regional Council The Southern Downs Regional Council area is predominantly rural, with numerous small townships. The largest townships are Warwick and Stanthorpe, with smaller townships at Allora, Killarney, Wallangarra Recovery and Resilience Taskforces and Yangan. The Council area encompasses a total land area of about 7100km2. Rural land is used largely • Human and Social for agriculture, particularly sheep and cattle grazing, orcharding, and
    [Show full text]