Blackdown Tableland National Park

He had his piece on the van, so she wants to wax lyrical about this particular Park in central Queensland. It ticks every box - for spectacular scenery, walks, special plants, cooler weather, few people on well maintained camp sites (carpeted with wood mulch!)

Blackdown Tableland is a sandstone plateau where three ranges converge; it rises above the surrounding plains where coal mining occurs, for example at Blackwater. After climbing for over 800 metres in six kilometres the air is soft and cool, and often misty. It was heavenly to pull on a sweater once more in the evening after the heat of outback Queensland. Ian was seriously impressed by the careful attention to architectural detail in the eco toilets, but not the over-abundance of bollards to negotiate while backing into campsites. There is no water available so campers must be self-sufficient.

Here is my account of our perfect last day of August.

We woke to the sound of Currawongs and the beady yellow eye of one staring through the van window as it checked out last night’s saucepans. Breakfast was followed by a lovely 2.5km walk called Goon Goon Din, a Cultural Circuit. It demonstrated a bit of stockmen history with post and rail fence and cattle yard remains – a short-lived industry as apparently the lush-looking grassland is deficient in phosphorous and cattle developed chalky bones; kangaroos and wallabies are therefore absent too. Signs along Mimosa Creek pointed out plants and the uses made of them by the indigenous Ghungalu people whose traditional home the Tableland was and still is – they jointly manage the national park. Their art site under a long rock ledge shows stencils, mainly of hands.

Because of the Tableland’s isolation and elevation the plant communities are very varied and include heathlands, dry eucalyptus forests and moist pockets of ferns, mosses and orchids. Many of the plants and animals are found nowhere else, for example the Blackdown Stringybark, 2 Acacias, a Banksia, and this Blackdown monster – Grevillea longistyla.

After morning tea with Mr Currawong in attendance, we headed off for a 19km 4WD loop drive with a detour via the Ghudda Gamoo (Rainbow Waters) lookout and a totter down 240 steps to the waterfall below. As there was no-one about it was irresistible to strip off and have a reviver in the pool underneath the Cabbage tree palms and ferns.

Back in the Prado for some serious 4WD track work past spectacular sandstone outcrops and picnic lunch at Mutha Boongulla (Charlevue) lookout far above the surrounding plains. On to another lookout called Yaddemen Dhina and a very firm refusal from the spouse to walk a further 3km along another creek. However back at camp while he wrote more blog and read his book I headed off for what I thought would be gentle stroll along Mimosa Creek in the opposite direction to the morning one. Of course every bend led to another more irresistible one with dramatic waterholes, new plants and birds to be seen. I finished up at the edge of a cliff with “Achtung”and “Danger” signs and magnificent views, and had to move pretty smartly to retrace my path before dark.

A pot roast in the camp oven, a bottle of red and choral music under the Casuarinas topped off this perfect day - Oh, plus the last episode of Katie’s DVD series of Rome (Caesar being murdered) on the laptop before lights out!