Lamington National Park
Lamington National Park Queensland | |
---|---|
Nearest town or city | Canungra |
Coordinates | 28°8′32″S 153°6′55″E / 28.14222°S 153.11528°E |
Established | July 1915 |
Area | 206 km2 (79.5 sq mi) |
Managing authorities | Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service |
Website | Lamington National Park |
See also | Protected areas of Queensland |
The Lamington National Park is a
Protected areas to the east in
In 2009 as part of the
Geography
Most of the park is situated 900 metres (3,000 ft) above sea level only 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the
History
For at least 6,000 years, Aboriginal people lived in and visited these mountains.[5] The Wangerriburras and Nerangballum tribes claimed home to the plateau territory.[4] Bushrangers Cave, which is close to Mount Hobwee and is 60 metres (200 ft) long, was once an aboriginal camp.[3] This site shows Aboriginal occupation going back 10,000 years.[3]
Captain
Founding members of the
In 2019, bushfires burnt holes in the rainforest canopy. Prolific weed growth occurs in these gaps.[10] Weed eradication programs have been funded by the federal government. The Queensland Conservation Council has commissioned research showing significant funding is required to maintain the Gondwana Rainforests of Main Range.[10] Water bombing planes were used to subdue fires in the national park.[11]
Natural heritage
Rugged mountain scenery,
David Attenborough visited and filmed the park while making the 1979 television series Life on Earth in which beech trees and bowerbirds were featured.[13]
Flora
The national park protects one of the most diverse areas of vegetation in the country.
Below 880 metres (2,890 ft) the
Many of Lamington's plants are found nowhere else on earth, such as the Mt Merino
Fauna
The area is one of the most important wildlife refuges in the region.
The beetle
Geology
The Lamington National Park is located on the northern side of the
Waterfalls
The park is claimed to contain more than 500 waterfalls,[14] including popular tourist falls Elabana Falls and Box Log (Tullerigumai) Falls located in the Green Mountains Section. Yarrabilgong Falls and Coomera Falls both flow into Coomera Gorge. Morans Falls is another cascade that is passed on the 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) long Morans Falls Track. Nugurun Falls, Box Log Falls, Upper Ballanjui Falls, Lower Ballanjui Falls, Stairway Falls and Nagarigoon Falls are also located in the national park.
The claim of 500 waterfalls was confirmed by a local explorer in April 2022 when he reached his 500th documented waterfall in the park.[20]
Bushwalking
The park is covered by more than 150 km (93 mi) of clearly marked walks that were constructed during the Great Depression and designed by Romeo Lahey. Lahey studied dairy cow movements on the surrounding hills, noticing that their paths never had a gradient of greater than 1:10. He laid out the parks tracks in a similar manner so that walkers would not be out of breath.[5] Where steep terrain was unavoidable, steps were used instead of a steep track.
Some are short and others are steep and take up to seven hours to complete. The well maintained and signed Border Track, follows the border between New South Wales and Queensland along the top of the McPherson Range. This track links Binna Burra Lodge to the O'Reilly's guesthouse at Green Mountains, a distance of some 23 kilometres (14 mi), which can be completed one way in a day or in 7 to 8 hours.
A number of other well marked and varied walks connect with this Border Track creating a network which can be easily negotiated by relatively inexperienced bushwalkers. These include the Box Forest Circuit, which is 10.9 kilometres (6.8 mi) or 4 hours return from O'Reilly's; Toolona Creek Circuit, which is 17.4 kilometres (10.8 mi) or 6 hours return, and the Albert River Circuit, which is 20.6 kilometres (12.8 mi) or 7 hours return to O'Reilly's—to name some of the best known. While the Border Track remains reasonably level for most of its length, many of the other tracks descend to lower elevations of 750 metres (2,460 ft) or less and provide access to some of the diverse variety of flora, fauna and geography to be found in the park.
Another attraction is the Tree Top Walk, suspended 15 metres (49 ft) above the ground.
For experienced walkers there are also numerous trails traversing the park. These trails do not have clear tracks; in many cases there are only occasional markers in the natural forest and it is inadvisable to use them without the company of an experienced bushwalker who knows the area. The walk to the Stinson wreck is long and steep in places. Map reading and good navigation skills are a necessity and National Park Rangers should be notified before commencing. Camping overnight is not permitted without a permit. There are a number of natural hazards such as leeches, snakes and stinging trees that bushwalkers should be aware of.
Accommodation
In addition to guest houses, there is also a campground available in the Green Mountains section of the park (adjacent to the O'Reilly's guest house), and a privately managed campground adjacent to the Binna Burra section of the park. Both camping areas have facilities. Limited bush camping is available between February and November.[21]
See also
- Elabana Falls
- Lamingtonium
- Protected areas of Queensland
References
- ^ BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Scenic Rim. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org Archived 30 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine on 2011-10-03.
- ^ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-9758275-0-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-909518-07-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-85881-088-3.
- ^ ISBN 1-875992-47-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74117-245-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.
- ISBN 978-0-646-49601-6. Archivedfrom the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ a b Roberts, George (6 September 2021). "Specialist teams target invasive weed taking over Lamington National Park since 2019 bushfires". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Queensland bushfires: Binna Burra lodge destroyed as dozens of blazes rage". 7 News. 9 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ McCutcheon, Peter (2 October 2019). "Extent of fire damage in Gold Coast rainforest revealed". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Phil Brown (29 July 2009). "The Luck of O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ a b c "Agriculture – Statistics – Moreton". Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ "Lamington National Park: Nature, culture and history". Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing. 19 October 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ "Lamington Spiny Crayfish". Waterlife of Lamington National Park. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- .
- ^ Knesel K. M., Cohen B.E., Vasconcelos P. M., and Thiede D.S. (2008) Rapid change in drift of the Australian plate records collision with Ontong Java Plateau, Nature vol 454, pages 754–757.
- ISBN 978-0521767415. Archivedfrom the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ "Dale Mullane - Explorer on Instagram: "This here is my 500th waterfall in Lamington National Park!! From buying my first map of the park in 2009 with blurry novice eyes, to reading about the many grand adventures over the decades and centuries, I knew deep down this was a place I would spend a lot of my time in. A lot of long and difficult days were spent grumbling, swearing, bleeding, sweating, getting bitten and stung but I think I'll look back and say it was worth it 🤣 There has been many, many people join along the way, you all know who you are, thanks for the journey and teamwork! Thanks to the main team for another successful exploration. @aaronbgray and 📸@deantrezise #adventure #exploration #lamingtonnationalpark #lamingtongeographic #nationalgeographic #queenslandparks #queensland #warerfalls #waterfallsofinstagram #mountains #amazing #rainforest #jungle #500 #challenge #goals #yes #done"". Instagram. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Lamington National Park: Camping information". Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing. 19 October 2009. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
External links
- Official site
- History of the Lamington Plateau at the Wayback Machine (archived 19 February 2004)
- Green Mountains Natural History Association at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 24 November 2001)
- "Back-paths of the dark earth" – experiences studying ecology in Lamington National Park