Kondalilla National Park

Kondalilla Tops National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
File:Sunshine Coast, Queensland - Kondalilla falls.jpg Kondalilla Falls
Nearest town or city	Mapleton, Queensland
Coordinates
Established	1945
Area	3.27 km2 (1.26 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Official site	Kondalilla National Park

Kondalilla is a national park in the Blackall Range of South East Queensland, Australia, 91 km north of Brisbane. William Skene founded this area on his property while searching for lost cattle. He named it Bon Accord before giving it to the Queensland Government who, during the fifties, renamed it Kondalilla which is an Aboriginal word for running water. The area was first officially protected in 1906 as a recreational area, becoming a national park in 1945.

Access is easiest by road from Flaxton, east of the park. There is a large picnic area where there are toilet facilities (non potable water). There are two tracks which lead to the upper falls swimming hole. A longer circuit track will take you to the bottom pool which is not suitable for swimming. Allow at least two hours for the circuit trip, which in some places is close to the cliff edge and is not fenced.

Camping in the park is not permitted.

Fauna

The park provides habitat for 107 bird species. It is also home to the rare Pouched Frog. The vulnerable plant species, Macadamia integrifolia, also known as the Bopple Nut, grows in the park.

Flora

Protected within the park is remnant subtropical rainforest. The park contains stands of piccabeen palms, pink ash, hoop pines and casuarinas as well as eucalypt forests and rainforest. The stand of bunya pines is the most easterly in Australia.

See also

• Protected areas of Queensland

External links

• Kondalilla National Park