Bunya Mountains National Park

:contentReference[oaicite:163]{index=163} Bunya Mountains National Park rises out of the Darling Downs, about 200 km northwest of Brisbane. This park protects the Bunya Mountains, an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range reaching 1,135 m at Mount Kiangarow. Declared in 1908, Bunya Mountains is one of Queensland’s oldest national parks, famous for its ancient bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii) forests:contentReference[oaicite:164]{index=164}:contentReference[oaicite:165]{index=165}. These towering trees – some over 45 m tall and centuries old – occur here in greater concentration than anywhere else on Earth. Walking among the bunyas, with their dome-shaped crowns and immense pine cones, is a step back in time to the age of the dinosaurs (bunyas are often called “living fossils”). The park’s cool, moist plateau also supports rainforests draped in ferns and moss as well as unique native grasslands called “balds.” Rolling grassy bald hills dotted with wildflowers provide a startling contrast next to dense rainforest.

Visitors to Bunya Mountains NP enjoy a network of walking tracks totaling 40 km. Popular short walks include the Scenic Circuit (4 km) to Pine Gorge lookout and a majestic stand of bunyas, and the Rainforest Circuit (1.2 km) through strangler fig-dominated jungle. Longer hikes, like the 10 km trek to Mount Kiangarow, reveal panoramic lookouts where on clear days one can see 100+ km across the plains. At dusk, it’s common to see dozens of red-necked wallabies grazing on the grassy bald near the park’s main picnic area (Dandabah). Birdlife is abundant: expect to encounter satin bowerbirds, emerald doves, and the endemic Bunya Mountains scrubwren in the undergrowth. In summer (usually late January), the bunya pines drop heavy cones which were traditionally harvested by Aboriginal people during massive intercultural festivals held here for millennia. Interpretation signs at Dandabah explain some of this rich cultural heritage and the park’s early history of timber-getting and conservation.

Facilities are well developed. There are campgrounds with hot showers at Dandabah (near park headquarters) and more basic camping at Westcott and Burton’s Well, all accessible by road. Dandabah has picnic tables, free electric BBQs, toilets, and even a small privately-run village with cafes, holiday cabins, and a ranger information centre. Despite this, the park retains a tranquil atmosphere – mornings often bring thick mist rolling over the peaks, giving the forests an ethereal quality:contentReference[oaicite:166]{index=166}. The climate is refreshingly cool, with summer highs in the low 20s °C and occasional winter frosts, so many Brisbane residents visit in the hotter months to enjoy the mountain air. Whether for a day trip or an overnight stay under starry skies, Bunya Mountains National Park offers an enchanting escape where one can walk among lofty pines, listen to the chorus of parrots and catbirds, and feel the deep time of an ecosystem virtually unchanged since Gondwana.