Bunya Mountains National Park, QLD. Part 5: Riflebird Park and Russell Park.

Riflebird Park and Russell Park are both just outside the boundary of the national park but we visited them while we were there.

Riflebird Park:
Riflebird Park is on Bunya Mountains Road, just east of the entrance to Bunya Avenue. We didn't see any Riflebirds but there were lots of White-browed Scrubwrens flitting around the undergrowth. The base of a Bunya tree looks a lot like the foot of an elephant. 

The "elephant foot" of a Bunya Tree

Russell Park and Fisher's Lookout:
Russell Park on Bunya Mountains Road is worth visiting when you are at Bunya Mountains National Park. There is a nice long area to pull off the road and park between Fisher’s Lookout and Mount Mowbellum.

Fisher's Lookout

View from Fisher's Lookout

The Russell Park Walking Tracks start just below the lookout. As this isn't a national park walk it doesn't have a class designation but we feel it falls somewhere between a Class 4 and a Class 5. There are quite a few steps and the track goes down and then up several times. Some fitness is required but we really enjoyed this walk. Distance: 5.55 km.

Trailhead

Fisher’s Lookout to Cunjevoi Falls, 1290 m.
From the trailhead the track descended fairly steeply through rainforest, then we went through a quaint turnstyle to the top of the falls. There wasn't much water flowing but it must have been clean because we noticed watercress growing in the creek.

Cunjevoy Falls to Little Mowbullan, 470 m. 

Here the landscape changed as we walked out of the forest, past balds and into dry open country dotted with huge prickly pear cacti and climbed up Little Mowbullan. We saw large numbers of Brown Cuckoo-Doves feeding on the berries of a soft plant.

View from Little Mowbullan

Little Mowbullan to Chute No. 3, 1550 m.

As we descended from Little Mowbullan back into the forest we startled some cattle.

Chute No. 3 to the Picnic Area on Bunya Mountains Road, 1520 m.
We took the sidetrack through dry forest to Chute No. 3 where the foresters used to send timber over the side of the mountain for a quick trip down.

                 There is a pleasant place to rest near the Chute with great views.

After a steady climb we arrived at the Picnic Area on Bunya Mountains Road. 

Picnic Area to Fisher’s Lookout, 720 m.
We walked uphill on the road until we returned to Fisher's Lookout in the late afternoon.