An easy two-hour drive south of Brisbane brings travellers to a lush rainforest wilderness filled with ancient trees, extensive walking tracks and some of the most spectacular views in southeast Queensland. Lamington National Park is one of the most pristine natural areas in Australia, a great destination for day-trippers, weekenders and long-term travellers alike.
Lamington National Park is a place of stunning natural beauty. Mountain creeks trickle through dense subtropical rainforest before plummeting from sheerly sculpted cliffs in spectacular fashion. Deep, narrow valleys cut between towering mountains and rolling hills. Vines, ferns and orchids nestle beneath towering canopies, housing all kinds of native bird and animal life. Declared a National Park in 1915, the 20,590-hectare park area is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, and is of great importance to Australian ecological history.
The National Park is divided into two areas: Green Mountains, on the western side of the Lamington Plateau, and Binna Burra. Green Mountains is home to the O’Reilly’s Mountain Resort, where visitors can brave the tree-top walk (including a flying fox through the forest) and handfeed the local flock of lorikeets that come by every afternoon. There’s also a camping area hidden away in the rainforest – permits must be booked online, and well in advance for weekends and holiday periods. Binna Burra is the less-visited part of Lamington National Park, home to a quieter camping area and a charming mountain lodge.
Using private transport is generally the best way to access Lamington National Park, though guided tours do frequently run from the Gold Coast and Brisbane. For those going on their own, information centres are located in both the Green Mountains and Binna Burra sections of the park, near picnic areas with toilets, tables and electric barbeques. However, despite the prevalence of amenities it is an area of extensive natural wilderness, so visitors should come prepared - always take more than enough food and water, and bring warm clothes and wet weather gear no matter the time of year. Definitely don’t leave home without your camera – the stunning vistas, beautiful rainforest and unique wildlife are definitely worth documenting.
