During my second week in Australia, I noticed a strange
dessert shaped like a cube in the case at a bakery. It did not have a label on it, but when I
described it to my CVA team leader at the time, he knew it immediately. Lamington.
An Aussie dessert. It is a sponge
cake, coated with chocolate and then sprinkled with coconut flakes. Sometimes, it is served with jam, cream, or
custard between two cubes or slices. I
have seen gluten-free lamingtons but no vegan ones yet. I am keeping my eyes open.
However, this post is not about desserts; it is about my
visit to Lamington National Park.
Located in south-eastern Queensland, this park is mainly a forested
plateau on the rim of an ancient volcano that borders New South Wales. I drove the lovely, scenic, winding road to the
Green Mountains section. In the middle
of this section is private property owned by the O’Reilly family for
generations. They run a retreat, which
takes advantage of the surrounding park.
I chose the cheaper lodging option of camping next door in the park, but
I could still take advantage of many O’Reilly offerings like guided walks and
talks (though I would not pick the Segway “hiking” tour). I think the free tree-top canopy walk might
be on their property. It is a series of
suspension bridges in the rainforest canopy reaching 15 meters above the forest
floor. I believe that in its original
construction, folks could sponsor the wooden planks to have their names on it,
similar to the boards on the Sandwich boardwalk.
Along the walk, there is an opportunity to climb up even
higher (another 15 meters) to platforms on a strangler fig tree. Here’s a view from up top:
The park boasts several bushwalking trails that run through
the rainforest, bringing hikers to creeks, waterfalls, and gorges (i.e., lots
of great views). It seems easy to add to
your overall hiking time if you stop to spend time at many of these sites.
Part of the day trail I did joins the Border Track, which
runs along the QLD/NSW border. From a
lookout point, I had my first glimpse of NSW.
It was amusing to realize that with all the distance I have covered so
far, NSW became only the 3rd state/territory in Australia that I
have laid eyes on.
It is easy to see (or hear) lots of wildlife in
Lamington. In fact, you could just stay
in the campsite, and many animals will come to you, such as the very colorful Crimson
Rosellas (below) and Australian King Parrots (they do feed them at O’Reilly’s). Or perhaps you will spot some Red-Necked
Pademelons munching on the grass. Pademelons
are the smallest of the macropods (includes kangaroos and wallabies), but they are
the largest animal in these rainforests.
The red-necked species is more common in this part of QLD than the
red-legged species I saw in Possum Valley at the Atherton Tablelands, but both
like lawn grass.
Along the walks, I saw and heard many other birds. The catbird makes a whining cat sound, but I
still think the whipbird with its cracking whip sound is one of my
favorites. I spotted heaps of lizards
too, all different sizes. Check out this
one:
One evening, I joined an O’Reilly guided tour to view the
glow worms. They are actually the larvae
of fungus gnat. They build traps with
sticky mucus-covered silk threads. They
use blue-green bioluminescence to attract insects to their traps. The majority (several months) of their lives is
spent in this larval state with only a few days as adults. They prefer places that are steep, moist, and
dark, which is why they are often found in caves. However, in this case, a steep creek bank
suited hundreds of glow worms just fine.
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