Today we did a couple of hikes around the Bunya Mountians: a longer 13km walk along the Scenic Circuit and Barker Creek tracks, and a shorter 2.2km hike to the top of Mt Kinagarow, the highest peak in the park at 1135m. THe two hikes were fairly different: the first walk went through a variety of changes, from wet rainforest through dry eucalypt, with waterfalls and lookouts along the way... I'd rate it as a great hike! The second hike to the top of the mountain had striking views off to the southwest over the Darling Downs.
One of the great surprises coming to the Bunya Mountains is that they're 'island mountains'... unlike the dry plains that surround them, they're really rich in plant life, and support a rainforest that's not too dissimilar from the rainforest we saw last week in Lamington NP, inland from the Gold Coast. The most famous inhabitant is the Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwilli), an araucaria conifer that grows here in great stands. There's also one growing on our front porch in San Jose... which is curiously enough reason enough to come here.
We've also discovered that it can get quite cold here, with frosts and even snows from time to time. Brrr! It certianly was cold last night up here, and windy... the nearby town of Kingaroy had a low of -3C.
Ya lucky bastards!!