Green Mountain Campground, Lamington National Park, QLD.

Green Mountain Campground

We have camped at Green Mountain Campground several times but always in the winter. We decided to head up during some very hot February weather in the hope that it would be a bit cooler in the mountains. We had heard that is was easy to see Regent Bowerbirds in the summer. We did see plenty of Regent Bowerbirds but it was still very hot. The tent area in the campground is out in the open and has very little shade. We chose Site 14 because there is a shady area next to it but our tent was in the sun and our ute was parked in full sun all day.

Tent area at Green Mountain Campground.

Since our last camping trip, the Centenary Walking Track has been completed. The walking track makes it much safer to walk to the trail-heads for Morans Falls and Python Rock tracks. The down side for the campground is that the two biggest camping sites for campervans were removed to make the track. Now campervan sites 1 and 2 are smaller and campervan site 1 is next to the industrial bin and a huge pile of rubble. Hopefully, landscaping and flora plantings might improve the site over time.

Entrance to the Centenary Track from the day use car park.

Campervan Site 10, next to the exit road.

Green Mountain Campground has an amenities block with non-flushing toilets and best of all there is a shower block which has gas heated showers. Unfortunately, there is no camp kitchen or camp shelter in the campground which is a nuisance in wet weather.

Amenities Block, Green Mountain Campground.

Shower block, Green Mountain Campground.

Just past the campground, there is a huge car park for day visitors. Past the car park there is a QPWS Visitor Centre which has track information and free brochures covering Lamington National Park. In all my visits, I have never seen the Visitor Centre staffed which is a shame because I would love to talk to a ranger about the longer walks. There is now an inviting WiFi hub next to the visitor centre with free QldParks-WiFi which is handy for making bookings or checking the weather.

QPWS Information Centre.

Inside the Information Centre.

QPWS WiFi Hub at Green Mountain.

One of the reasons we come back to Green Mountain Campground time and again is because there is so much wildlife right in the campground. Red-necked Pademelons can be seen beside the tents day and night and Bandicoots graze in the evening. It is easy to spot Eastern Water Skinks sunning themselves on the tent pads.

Red-necked Pademelon.

Eastern Water Skink

There is a great variety of birds in the campground too. We had Regent and Satin Bowerbirds in the trees near our tent. Eastern Whipbirds wander around right in the open which is a surprise as Whipbirds usually like to skulk in low bushes and it is can be very hard to get a descent photo of them elsewhere. Likewise, it is easy to see Bassian Thrush. Eastern Yellow Robins are a common sight on the campsite posts and Logrunners are easy to find scratching around in the leaf litter. Previously, we have always seen Albert's Lyrebirds in the campground but unfortunately they weren't out and about this trip. We made friends with a couple of Welsh tourists who really wanted to see an Albert's Lyrebird and they checked the campground out several times with no luck. There were lots of Black Jezebel butterflies around and the Welsh guys were fascinated to find that they were so striking on the outside: as they told us that British butterflies are only colourful on the inside.

Regent Bowerbird.

Eastern Whipbird.

Bassian Thrush.

There are plenty of wonderful walks in the Green Mountain section of Lamington National Park; all accessible from the campground. There is a good selection of walks for all fitness levels and we saw several families pushing strollers around the easier walks. We were planning to walk the Toolona Creek Circuit: Grade 4, 17.5 km but we ended up leaving Green Mountains a day early due to Cyclone Oma. We did get the opportunity to walk to Morans Falls and Python Rock which I will cover in my next blog. For more information, a couple of blogs I wrote about the Green Mountain section of Lamington National Park in 2015 can be found here and here.

Details for Green Mountain Campground:
Where: 2 hours,114 km south of Brisbane via Canungra and Lamington National Park Road.
Access: Sealed roads. (Campground loop is gravel). Lamington National Park Road is not suitable for caravans, it is narrow, windy and has many one lane sections.
Fees & Bookings: $6.65 per adult per night. Bookings can be made online or by phone. I had 4 bar Telstra phone reception in the campground. There is a free QPWS WiFi hub next to the QPWS Visitor Information Centre opposite O'Reilly's Rainforest Resort. Book in advance for weekends and holidays. Maximum 21 nights.
Camping Type: Tents, campervans and small motorhomes. There are no sites for camper trailers, caravans, medium-large motorhomes, big rigs or camping beside your vehicle. No powered sites. Bush camping available from February to November.
Sites: 20 defined and numbered tent sites with hardened surface platforms, limited shade, car parking a short distance away, maximum 4 people per tent site. 10 small defined and numbered campervan sites, one vehicle only. Some campervan sites are suitable for roof-top tents. 10 Great Walk sites with maximum 2 tents per site.
Facilities: Several water taps, non-flush toilets, 1 disability toilet, gas heated hot showers, 1 table, industrial bin at top of campground next to campervan site 1. No camp shelter, camp kitchen or barbecues in campground. Access to walks. Telstra phone reception.
Picnic Area: Opposite O'Reilly's Rainforest Resort with hybrid toilets, electric barbecues and tables, some with shelter.
QPWS Information Centre and Free WiFi Hub: Just past the main carpark which is past the campground. Has free brochures and walking track information.
Prohibited: No open fires. No generators. No pets. 
Note: Tent site and campervan site numbers overlap. If you have booked a campervan site look for the campervan symbol on the marker post.
O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat: At the end of the road, past the campground. Cafe. Activities. Accommodation.

Wildlife: Red-legged Pademelon, Red-necked Pademelon, Eastern Water Skink. Butterflies: Black Jezebel, Blue Triangle, Monarch, Orchard Swallowtail. Birds: Regent Bowerbird, Satin Bowerbird, Australian Brush Turkey, Green Catbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pied Currawong, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Superb Fairy-wren, Rufous Fantail, Red-browed Finch, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Brown Gerygone, Lewin's Honeyeater, Logrunner, Black-faced Monarch, White-throated Needletail, Striated Pardalote, Australian King Parrot, Paradise Riflebird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Rose Robin, Crimson Rosella, Large-billed Scrubwren, White-browed Scrubwren, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Grey Shrike-thrush, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Brown Thornbill, Bassian Thrush, White-throated Treecreeper, Eastern Whipbird, Golden Whistler. Heard a colony of Bell Miners on Lamington National Park Road in Eucalypt Forest.

Lamington National Park, QLD. Walks and Wildlife: Revisit.

On our recent camping trip to the Green Mountains section of Lamington National Park there had been heavy rain in the days prior to our arrival. We had intended doing half of the Border Track (10.7 km return from the halfway point) but we found the muddy conditions very heavy and slow going so we changed tactics, deciding to do shorter forays while keeping an eye out for local birds and wildlife. 

As always there were plenty of birds to be seen in the trees around the O'Reilly's birdfeeding area. Here we saw King Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Red-browed Finch and White-throated Scrubwren. There were Yellow-throated Scrubwrens, Lewins and Satin Bowerbirds in the Day Use Area. The Rainforest Walk starts near here and is a pleasant short walk, 1.4 km return.

Crimson Rosella and King Parrot, female

The Rainforest Walk.

We had excellent views of Logrunner, Bassian Thrush and Large-billed Scrubwrens along the first section of the Border Track.

Logrunner, female

Bassian Thrush

Large-billed Scrubwren

Albert's Lyrebird were present and we enjoyed watching them scratching and feeding in the undergrowth. We stood very still and one pair came closer and closer to us until they were right in front of us seemingly oblivious to our presence looming over them.

Albert's Lyrebirds

Red-necked Pademelons are common in the campground but along the track it is possible to spot Red-legged Pademelons in the forest undergrowth. They can be hard to get a full photo of as they seem shyer than the Red-necked Pademelons and they tend to move away when they notice you looking at them. We are pretty chuffed to have managed one photo of a Red-legged Pademelon out in the open.

Red-legged Pademelon

On another morning we walked to Picnic Rock to have a picnic breakfast. We love picnics and just can't resist such an enticingly named spot.

Picnic Rock

We have walked the Moran's Falls track before (4.4 km return, Class 3). One afternoon as the sun was setting we did it again even though the trail goes down to the lookout and what goes down must go up on the return.

Moran's Fall Lookout

View from Moran's Fall Lookout at Sunset

Moran's Falls

Last time we were here the Python Rock Track (3.1 km return, Class 3) was closed for maintenance so it was one of our goals for this trip. This trail has a gentle decent which is easier on the return than the Moran's Fall Track. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the forest to the beautiful vistas from the lookout. Here we discovered why the track was closed on our last visit when we arrived at the newly constructed lookout platform. The helpful sign at the lookout named all the mountains and rock formations that could be viewed from here but strangely none of them was named Python Rock. No doubt one of these natural landforms is locally known as Python Rock and we had fun guessing which one. Moran's Falls can also be seen in the distance from the Python Rock track.

Strangler Fig on Python Rock Track

Fungi on Python Rock Track

Grass trees, Zanthorrhoea, on the Python Rock Track

Python Rock Lookout

Python Rock Lookout

Which one is Python Rock?

Moran's Falls

We walked from the campground to the trailhead for the Moran's Falls and Python Rock tracks. This involves carefully sharing the narrow road with traffic. However, while we were there a walking path was being constructed from O'Reilly's, through the top of the campground, all the way to the trailhead. It is expected to be completed in late September 2015 and will make this a safer and more pleasant walk.

The road from the trailhead back to the campground.

We also walked along part of Duck Creek Road while we were here. Duck Creek Road is a popular 4WD road with beautiful views and has areas of interest for birders. Unfortunately my camera stopped working a couple of hundred meters in as the SD card was full.

Our last post covered the campground and our previous post contains more information about Lamington National Park.

Lamington National Park, QLD. Camping and Accomadation. Green Mountains/ O'Reilly's Section: Revisit.

While we are waiting for the delivery of our new Kimberley Karavan we decided to go winter camping again in the Green Mountain section of Lamington National Park. Lamington National Park has beautiful rainforest walking trails with numerous waterfalls and is a top birding spot where it is common to see Albert's Lyrebirds, stunning black and gold Regent Bowerbirds, Satin Bowerbirds, Logrunners, King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas. Red-necked Pademelons graze on any available grass and the shyer Red-legged Pademelons can be seen foraging in the rainforest.

Albert's Lyrebird

Red-necked Pademelon

Camping
We camped in our tent at the Green Mountains campground. National Park fees apply and it is necessary to book online or by phone. We had good Telstra phone reception at the campground. Tent sites are numbered gravel platforms in a grassy area enclosed by bollards; with parking on the perimeter. There are a few sites designated for small motorhomes. There is also a walk-in section for those doing the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk. Unfortunately, there are no sites for caravans or camper trailers. Previously it was possible to put a trailer or large motorhome on Site 1 or 2 but there is currently work in progress to construct a walking path between O'Reilly's and the trail-head for Moran's Falls and Python Rock and this path is being constructed right through the top of Sites 1 and 2. Many people drive up the long, steep, narrow and windy road to the campground from Canungra only to discover that there is no site suitable for their rig. Sharp Park and the Canungra Showgrounds are popular alternatives.

Our tent at Green Mountain Campground

Glamping

The campsites are quite close together which gets a little cosy in peak times. There are several taps scattered through the campground and large industrial bins for rubbish. There are no BBQ's or camp kitchen and dogs and fires are not allowed. There are toilets and hot gas showers. The day use area, a short distance away, has toilets, BBQ's and picnic tables. The campground is centrally located for the various hiking trails. 

Satin Bowerbird nest in the Day Use Area

Wildlife frequent the grounds both day and night. Every afternoon we saw Topknot Pigeons flying overhead. Early in the morning we saw Wonga Pigeons wandering around. Satin Bowerbirds, Eastern Yellow Robins, Yellow-throated Scrubwrens and Bush Turkeys were common visitors. Other birds we saw in the campground were Crimson Rosellas, Grey Shrike-thrush, White-browed Scrubwrens,Variegated Fairy-wrens, Large-billed Scrubwrens, Lewins and Currawongs. Regent Bowerbirds are not sighted as often in the winter but we did see one juvenile.

Satin Bowerbird, male

Yellow-throated and White-browed Scrubwrens

Large-billed Scrubwren and Eastern Yellow Robin

Grey Shrike-thrush and Crimson Rosella

One afternoon we were walking back to the campground from O'Reilly's when we were treated to an interesting display by a male Logrunner who appeared to be preoccupied with impressing a lady friend. 

Logrunner (spine-tailed), male

One night we were sitting in front of our tent in the dark when something scurried right up to us. It was a Long-nosed Bandicoot which was so close that we barely managed to photograph it. Unfortunately we startled it because the flash went off (usually we have the flash turned off and use a red torch to view wildlife at night).

Long-nosed Bandicoot

O'Reilly's
It is a short walk from the campground to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat which attracts people from all around the world. Luxury accommodation is also available at the Lost World Spa. The Tree Top walk and heritage garden are open to campers from the campground for free but a donation for upkeep is appreciated. Other activities at O'Reilly's include bird feeding, flying fox, glow worm tour, bird guides, various guided tours, Segway hire and a Birds of Prey Show. O'Reilly's Canungra Valley Winery is on the road from Canungra to O'Reilly's and offers wine tastings, Devonshire teas, dining and functions.

Stinson Memorial at O'Reilly's

Luke O'Reilly's Farm
Perhaps less well known is Luke O'Reilly's Farm which offers more rustic accommodation in the form of a house for 8 people, a house for 6 people and a hut for 2 people; all at modest prices. Guests get to enjoy extensive views, birdlife and private walking trails. A 4WD is recommended to access the 500m driveway. 

Luke O'Reilly's Farm

The farm adjoins Duck Creek Road which is a popular 4WD route through Kerry when conditions permit.

Duck Creek Road

We will cover the walking trails in the next blog. More details about Lamington National Park can be found on our previous blog :http://nationalparkodyssey.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/lamington-national-park-green-mountains.html

Lamington National Park, Green Mountain Section, QLD.

In June, we camped for two nights at Green Mountain Campground in Lamington National Park. The Green Mountains section of Lamington National Park is often referred to as O'Reilly's because of the history surrounding the O'Reilly family, the Stinson crash and the famous O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. Two nights was definitely not enough for such a wonderful destination but the opportunity came up so we grabbed it. We drove up through Canungra where we stopped at the information office and the lady there was very helpful. The road from Canungra to Green Mountains camp ground is only 35 kms but it takes 45 minutes to an hour to drive because it is steep, narrow and windy and contains several short one way sections.

Green Mountain Campground

The campground has hot showers and good pit toilets but fires are not allowed and there is no cooking shelter which seems an oversight for an area that has high rainfall. There are BBQs and tables in the picnic area opposite O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat but they are not lit at night. The campground is on a slope and has small gravel pads provided for tent camping. The camping area is separated from vehicle parking by bollards. There are also a few motorhome sites, however, only sites 1 and 2 are suitable for motorhomes of any size and they back onto the fairly busy road to O’Reilly’s. The road from Cunungra is not suitable for caravans and big rigs so I guess the camping sites reflect that.

Edit July 2020: Green Mountains Camping Area is currently closed for redevelopment and is expected to reopen sometime in 2020. O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat will be managing the site and bookings will be through them, not through the Queensland National Park website.

View from Morans Falls Track

After setting up our tent we drove down to the start of the Morans Falls track but the small car park was full so we drove back to camp and walked about 700 m down the hill to the trailhead. The Morans Falls track is a 4.4 km return, Class 3 track. Python Rock track leaves from here as well, but it was closed when we were there. There is an excellent constructed lookout at the end of the trail with views of the Morans Falls. It was only about 4.30 pm when we got to the Morans Falls but up in the forest on the mountain it was rapidly getting dark so we had to hightail it back to camp.

Morans Falls

Red-necked pademelons are common around the camp ground. 

Red-necked Pademelons

That night we noticed that there were a couple of bandicoots making their tell-tale conical holes in the campground grass.

Long-nosed Bandicoot

The next morning we got up early and walked to the trail head opposite O’Reilly’s. The West Canungra Creek Circuit was closed so we walked the Box Forest Circuit, a Class 4, 10.9 km walk that branches off the Border Track after an easy 1.7 km walk.  We took the recommended clockwise direction. We hadn’t walked very far down the Border Track section when we saw a Logrunner.

Logrunner

Then we saw a male Albert’s Lyrebird displaying. Or to be more accurate, the bird was behind a large mossy log and we could see the tail display. A first for us.

Albert's Lyrebird Tail Display.

We turned left into the Box Forest Circuit and entered an amazing wet rainforest wonderland. The track is narrow and wet, with some quite long drops off the path. It zig zags down and down past amazing ancient trees and ferns. This area is known as the Giants Garden.

As we approached the Yanbacoochie Falls we encountered a Lamington Blue Spiny Crayfish walking towards us on the track. It was about 11 cm long but it reared up, waved its claws at us and hissed quite loudly so we thought it prudent to give it right of way.

One of several Waterfalls on the Box Forest Circuit

We crossed the creek by jumping from boulder to boulder and on the other side we encountered a second Spiny Crayfish emerging from a hole in the mud bank. 

Lamington Spiny Blue Crayfish  Euastacus sulcatus  

We took the short detour to Box Log Falls where the creek thunders through a narrow rock gorge. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

Box Log Falls

We decided we weren’t game to negotiate the rock scramble to the Elebana Falls as it was quite wet and made our way to Picnic Rock where we naturally stopped for a well earned picnic.

Picnic Rock

As we made our way back to the Border Track we were overtaken by some hikers who had been behind us doing the same walk and they were very disappointed to have not seen any Spiny Crayfish.

Back at camp we had afternoon tea and made our way to the Tree Top Walk which is in the O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat grounds but is free and open to the public. There were hordes of very noisy tourists on the Tree Top Walk and we saw no birds at all. We had a quick look at the Botanical Gardens on our way out.

Tree Top Walk, O'Reilly's

Tree Top Walk, O'Reilly's

In 1937, Bernard O'Reilly found the wreck of a Stinson and two surviviors ten days after it crashed. Today there is a Stinson and a memorial at O'Reilly's commemorating his remarkable achievement. The book "Green Mountains" by Bernard O"Reilly is an excellent read about the early history of O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat and the Stinson rescue.

Stinson at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat

Stinson Memorial at O'Reilly's

In the O’Reilly's Rainforest Retreat grounds there is a bird feeding area, for paying customers, and on the other side of the road there are National Park signs asking people not to feed the birds. We have seen this conflict between National Parks and commercial interests at Bunya National Park as well. This area is usually good for viewing birds. Although we didn't feed the birds we couldn't resist taking a photo of a King Parrot that was being fed when we walked past.

Australian King Parrot, male

We were amused to see a Crimson Rosella walking along a small branch on the ground. 

Crimson Rosella

There was an easy to find Satin Bowerbird bower in the picnic area, opposite the bird feeding area.

Satin Bowerbird Bower

Around the campground, Yellow-throated Scrubwrens and Eastern Yellow Robins were common. There were plenty of Satin Bower Birds and a male was keeping his eye on a bower in a garden near the path to the main car park. Wonga pigeons walked around the campground road edges in the afternoons. They bob their heads so much that we had trouble getting a photo of one without a blurry head.

Eastern Yellow Robin

Wonga Pigeons

Next morning we got up early and did the Tree Top Walk again; still no birds. Then we did a short walk along the Border Track where we saw another male Logrunner and two Albert’s Lyrebirds wandering along the track and I believe a Hastings River Mouse, all outstanding sightings which will entice us back again. 

Logrunner, male