PLEASE REGISTER BEFORE ATTENDING. EXCURSIONS: excursion@qnc.org.au and MEETINGS: meetings@qnc.org.au
| Activity Type | Date |
Activity Name |
Description of Activity | Site Information |
|
Day Excursion
and Christmas Party Breakup |
Saturday 10/12/22 at 3pm - to about 8pm |
Maiala,
D’Aguilar
National Park Leader: John Sampson |
Details:
The QNC
Christmas party
will be held at
Maiala picnic
area, which is
located at Mt
Glorious. The
picnic area is a
cool change from
Brisbane, being
at an elevation
of 650 metres
above sea level.
It is surrounded
by lush
rainforest with
plenty of
naturalizing
close at hand.
This includes
some excellent
graded walks
through the
forest. As part of the outing, the club has been very fortunate to receive an invitation from Tony and Katie Hiller to visit their property which is just a short walk from the picnic area. Tony and Katie are renowned naturalists with a particular interest in insects. They have lived on the mountain since 1980, where they have run a facility to breed butterflies and stick insects for live and static displays in Australia and overseas. Tony has an extensive collection of insects, particularly beetles, and includes some type specimens, all of which will one day be bequeathed to the Queensland Museum. The couple also has a garden that is planted with butterfly host plants. The club has visited the property previously, at least in the early 1980s, and it is great to be able to visit again. Tony and Katie’s house is only small and so only small groups can tour at a time. The suggestion is to visit the property in groups of 12, with six people in the house at any one time and the remainder in the garden. Each group of 12 will be given approximately 45 minutes, so that all club members who are interested should be able to visit. The plan for the day will be for people to assemble at the picnic area, whereby they can elect to either visit the Hillers’ property first up, or to go for a walk in the forest. The suggested walk is the track to the Western Windows lookout, which is an easy 1.2 km return walk through rainforest. People who elect to walk can then return in time to be part of the second group to visit the Hillers. Sounds good on paper…. If people want to do further walking, there are also other tracks in the park, such as the 2 km Rainforest Circuit; and longer walks to Greenes Falls and/or the Cypress Grove Track. As evening approaches, attendees are then encouraged to return to the picnic ground for a BYO supper. As darkness sets in, we will then venture back into the forest looking for night fauna including insects, amphibians, possums etc. The picnic area has shelter sheds, picnic tables, electric barbeques, and toilets. There is plenty of open space for kids to run around. The location can be popular but tends to empty out during the afternoon. More information on Maiala, including the facilities available and the surrounding walking tracks can be found here: https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/daguilar/attractions/maiala And more information on the Hillers can be found here: http://www.mountgloriousbutterflies.com For those on Council there will be a (very) brief meeting of Council at 2.30 pm mainly to deal with some end of year matters. |
Directions: It takes about an hour to get to Maiala from the Brisbane CBD. To get there, head out on Samford Road to Samford. From there, take the Mount Glorious Road to your destination. The drive from Samford takes about 20 minutes, much of which is steep and winding, particularly as you climb the mountain. Note that the last petrol may be at Samford, so if you need to fill up, do so there. There is also another road up the mountain from the Gap via Mt Nebo. It is a slower and windier drive. |
| Note: There is no club meeting for December or January. The next meeting is 20th February 2023, which will include the Annual General Meeting. |