Bunya Mountains National Park, QLD. Part 2.

Camping at Bunya Mountains National Park, QLD. Part 2.

We enjoyed camping at Burtons Well Campground in Bunya Mountains National Park last September so much that we returned in the Christmas holidays and again in September 2014.

Burtons Well Campground at Christmas:
We set up our tent in the same beautiful spot.This time the Superb Fairy-wrens were enjoying the hardened grass tree (Xanthorrhoea) spikes and foraging in the grass.

Superb Fairy-wrens, male and female

Superb Fairy-wren, male

The Crimson Rosellas foraged in the grass around the campground and retired to a nearby tree in the evening.

Crimson Rosella

As they did last September,Topknot Pigeons came for a visit in the fading light of the afternoon.

Topknot Pigeon

It was colder at night on this trip than it had been in September so remember to pack warm clothes no matter the time of year if you are going to Bunya Mountains. Some of the other campers were not prepared for the cold so they drove all the way to Kingaroy and back just to buy nice thick jackets.

Burtons Well Campground September 2014:

We have just returned from out third camping trip at Burtons Well Campground. This time we didn’t set up in the same spot because it was very windy. The sheltered area, closer to the amenities was already taken so we tried to tuck in a little further up the slope. Every morning the campground was covered in mist.

Camping at Burtons Well, Bunya National Park

Morning Mist at Burtons Well Campground

A Golden Whistler greeted us with its beautiful song as we set up our tent.

Golden Whistler

White-browed Scrubwrens, Red-browed Finches, Eastern Yellow Robins, Lewin's Honeyeaters, Grey Shrike-thrush and Satin Bowerbirds are frequent visitors to the campground.

White-browed Scrubwren

Red-browed Finch

Eastern Yellow Robin

Lewin's Honeyeater

Grey Shrike-thrush, immature

Satin Bowerbird, male

Satin Bowerbird, female

We moved our tent to the sheltered area when it became available as the wind was relentless.

Sheltered Camping Spot at Burtons Well

We were thrilled to see an immature male Regent Bowerbird feeding on a grass tree spike and eating berries alongside our new camping spot. Male Regent Bowerbirds eyes and beak become yellow in the second year and they molt into mature plumage when they are four years old.

Regent Bowerbird, immature male

We cut our camping trip short by a day because TOH (The Other Half) had an allergic reaction when he was bitten on the face by a tick. The swelling was so bad that his eyes were closing over so we decided to pack up and seek medical assistance in Yarraman. Ticks are bad at Bunya Mountains so take repellent and check for them regularly. On the bright side, we packed up before severe storms came through the next day.

There are a number of excellent walks in and around Bunya Mountains National Park which we will cover in our next blog.