Newsletter 2, August 2024
Our travels earlier this year took us back to far north Queensland and south through Central Queensland and south through Central Queensland. The early months of the year are not the best time to visit as there is still a lot of rain happening. However, if you don’t mind being a bit of damp, there is a lot to see. The early months of the year are not the best time to visit as there is still a lot of rain happening. However, if you don’t mind being a bit of damp, there is a lot to see. We have a number of favourite places to stay on the Atherton Tableland, one being Bonadios near Yungaburra. This is a privately owned caravan park hidden behind the corn fields, on the banks of the Barron River which is home to a number of platypus. The green ring-tail possum (Pseudochirops archeri) is one of the many critters that love to drop in for a feed of fresh fruit of an evening. There is also a large family of red-legged pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica) which fight the brush turkeys for a snack.
Crater Lakes National Park
Bonadios is close to the Crater Lakes National Park which encompasses Lakes Barrine and Eacham and also the Curtain Fig Tree. The walking tracks around these lakes are home to a number of tropical plants and birds. On this visit I was lucky to briefly spot the musky ratkangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) – but alas not long enough for a decent photo.
The vegetation is regarded as a Complex Mesophyll, vine forest. It has a high representation of plant species from the families Myrtaceae and Lauraceae. In simple terms it is a rainforest with a shady canopy of dense trees, misty dampness and humidity, vines, epiphytes, mosses, liverworts, and a moist layer of leaf litter. Of particular interest are the bumpy satinash and yellow mahogany, which are cauliflorous trees, meaning they bear flowers and fruit directly from the trunk.
Haplopteris elongata tape fern 
Microporus affinis
Mt Hypipamee National Park
Also on the Atherton Tableland and home to Dinner Falls and the Mt Hypipamee Crater, which is a volcanic pipe 61 metres in diameter and 85 metres deep. It is a high altitude rainforest and temperatures can go as low as -10 degrees Celsius in winter. The headwaters of the Barron River form at Dinner Falls. The cauliflorous trees are also found here, namely the bumpy satinash. Also keep a look out for numerous fungi and mosses that grow in the moist forests.
Drynaria rigidula basket fernMt Lewis National Park
Located near Julatten, this park rises 1200 metres and is one of the best places to find the elusive Blue-faced Parrot-Finch. Unfortunately this bird has eluded us to date. We were unable to access the park this visit due to the bridge being out of commission as a result of flooding. However, previous visits have enabled us to observe a number of floral species. There is a great variety of ferns in the area but I particularly like the pouched coral fern and was impressed with the staghorn that was growing beside the path
Paphia meiniana misty bells
Leucobryum aduncum yellow flowered
Girringun National Park
Located near Ingham, it is home of the Wallaman Falls, the tallest permanent waterfall in Australia where Stony Creek (a tributary of the Herbert River) makes a sheer drop of 268m. At times, the mist created by the falls hitting the bottom is so extreme that the falls are unable to be seen. The drive to the falls is very scenic, passing through large areas of cane fields as well as the open eucalypt forest and dense rainforests of the park.
Schelhammera multiflora
Pimelea linifolia subsp linifolia
Platostoma longicorne
Hygrocype miniata
Blackdown Tableland National Park
The Blackdown Tableland lies in Central Queensland near the town of Dingo, 180km west of Rockhampton and 110km east of Emerald. It is a sandstone plateau rising 900 metres, with stunning views. The vegetation is mostly heathlands and dry eucalypt forests with moist pockets of ferns, mosses and orchids. There are a couple of species of bottlebrush and palm, that are endemic to the area and not found anywhere else.
Another great spot in this area is the Sapphire Wetlands (14 hectares) which provide 3.6km of gravel cycling and walking tracks. This freshwater wetlands is home to a range of flora and fauna.
Melaleuca pearsonii Blackdown bottlebrush
Beyeria viscosa pinkwood
Drosera burmanni tropical sundew
Phallus-murulinus
Livistona fulva Blackdown Fan Palm
Cania Gorge National Park
Cania Gorge is in the North Burnett Region near the town of Monto. It falls within a large natural region known as the Brigalow Belt. More than 150 different types of plant communities are found in this region, including brigalow forest, eucalypt woodland, cypress pine woodland, dry rainforest and grassland. Whiptail wallabies graze in mobs of up to fifty during the day or night, particularly in the dam surrounds. There are numerous walking tracks where you will encounter local wildlife. We spotted a number of red-bellied black snakes on our treks. Many of the local wildflowers can be spotted along these tracks. The silver elkhorn can be found on the fern tree pool track. These plants are able to grow on cliff faces as their fronds are covered in fine, silky hairs that help prevent moisture loss. The centres of the plants have spongy leaf nests that form a type of moisture-retaining peat.
Aneilema acuminatum hairy jacket
Pseuderanthemum variabile pastel flower
Platycerium veitchii, silver elkhorn
Pterocaulon redolens pineapple daisy
Cania Gorge escarpment
If you are out there making a mile, happy and safe travels. We are also now on Facebook and Instagram. Always happy to talk about flowers you may have seen, trying to identify or are on the look out for. Looking forward to hearing from you or maybe even encountering you out there as we look around Australia. Don’t forget you can email us at thenomadsbotanist@outlook.com
We hope you have enjoyed this short journey
through Australia’s landscapes. If you have any
comments or questions, we would love to hear
from you at thenomadsbotanist@outlook.com
Newsletter 2, August 2024
We have a number of favourite places to stay on the Atherton Tableland, one being Bonadios near Yungaburra. This is a privately owned caravan park hidden behind the corn fields, on the banks of the Barron River which is home to a number of platypus. The green ring-tail possum (Pseudochirops archeri) is one of the many critters that love to drop in for a feed of fresh fruit of an evening. There is also a large family of red-legged pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica) which fight the brush turkeys for a snack.
Crater Lakes National Park
The vegetation is regarded as a Complex Mesophyll, vine forest. It has a high representation of plant species from the families Myrtaceae and Lauraceae. In simple terms it is a rainforest with a shady canopy of dense trees, misty dampness and humidity, vines, epiphytes, mosses, liverworts, and a moist layer of leaf litter. Of particular interest are the bumpy satinash and yellow mahogany, which are cauliflorous trees, meaning they bear flowers and fruit directly from the trunk
Mt Hypipamee National Park
Mt Lewis National Park
Girringun National Park
Blackdown Tableland National Park
Another great spot in this area is the Sapphire Wetlands (14 hectares) which provide 3.6km of gravel cycling and walking tracks. This freshwater wetlands is home to a range of flora and fauna.
Cania Gorge National Park
