| Activity Type | Date |
Activity Name |
Description of Activity | Site Information |
| Meeting |
Monday 20/3/23 |
Club Meeting Speaker: Julian Uribe-Palomino |
 |
Toowong Uniting
Church 82 Sherwood Road, Toowong Arrive: 7pm for a 730pm start Suppers at the end of meetings have returned. Hot beverages supplied but bring food to share if possible. |
| Day Excursion |
Saturday 25/3/23 |
Mt Mitchell,
Main Range NP Leader: Barney Hines |
Mount Mitchell
is one of the
two peaks that
guards
Cunningham’s Gap
and forms part
of the Main
Range National
Park. It is an
interesting
mountain of
diverse
communities
ranging from
rainforest to
wet sclerophyll
forest (grey gum
with a heavy
grassy
understorey) to
mountain top
communities.
Much of the wet
sclerophyll
forest and some
rainforest on
the northern
slopes were
badly cooked in
the 2019 fires,
and it is
interesting to
see the
communities
recovering. The
peak itself
often has lots
of insects hill
topping. There
might also be
some good fungi
about if we have
had some summer
rains. The trail up to the top of the mountain is 10 kms return and involves a 400-metre rise in elevation. Participants will be encouraged to make it to the summit for lunch and can do so at their own pace (hint, 10 kms over 4.5 hours is a bit less than 2.5 km hour – faster than normal for the Nats, but still an amble). Any stragglers who don’t make the summit will be collected on the return. The lower slopes of the walk are also muddy (depth 2cm to 3cm), so boots would be a good idea. Some care is needed after one reaches the saddle, as there are steps built from basalt stones that can be slippery in wet weather. The walk ends at a razor back, with dramatic sheer cliffs, especially to the east and west, so care here and supervision of children is especially warranted. The views from the top make an excellent reward for the journey. Further details of the walk can be found on the QPWS website: https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/main-range/journeys/mount-mitchell-track Sections of the walk have little shade, so sun protection is advised. There are toilets at the carpark area on the Cunningham Highway, but no facilities beyond this point. Please register in case of possible cancellation due to bush fires, cyclones, Elton John concerts or some other natural disaster. Walkers will need to carry at least two litres of water, morning tea and lunch. QNC last visited Mt Mitchell in 2016 and so it will be nice to go back. On the previous visit, a large spectacular jewel beetle Calodema regalis was observed and photographed by Dr Peter Woodall. The sighting, posted on iNaturalist, is one of only 3 jeweled beetle records on the iNaturalist site. To see the beetle and many other images from that previous outing, head to the iNaturalist website and look for ‘QNC Mt Mitchell 2016’ in ‘projects’. https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/qnc-2016-mar-mt-mitchell |
Directions:
From Brisbane,
head out on the
Ipswich
motorway, before
turning off onto
the Cunningham
Highway. Follow
this until
Cunningham’s Gap
(the nearest
town is Aratula).
The start of the
trail is on the
left hand
(southern) side
as you come up
to the crest of
the range. Allow 1 hour 35 minutes from Brisbane. Please arrive around 7:45 am for an 8:00 am start. Note that parking at the summit area is limited and as such car pooling is encouraged amongst members. |
| Extended Weekend Excursion |
Wednesday 5/4 to
Tuesday 11/4 2023 |
Excursion to
"Maybe" property
owned by Club
members Neil and
Janet White &
Neil Fordyce Leaders: Harry Hines, Neil Fordyce and Janet White |
The Easter camp is now fully subscribed and further bookings will only be accepted if present registrations are withdrawn. Email: excursion@qnc.org.au if you wish to be put on the waiting list for an opportunity to attend this camp.“Maybe” is a 118-hectare former grazing property owned by club members Janet White and Neil Fordyce. It is 17km west of the town of Tenterfield, NSW, on the western edge of the Tenterfield plateau at an average elevation of about 900m above sea-level. The property was partly cleared but still contains more than 40 hectares of forest. The western side of the property contains Caley’s Ironbark, Eucalyptus caleyi, Orange Gum, E. prava and Black Cypress Pine, Callitris endlicheri, whilst the wetter eastern side is dominated by stringybarks with scattered Forest Oak, Allocasuarina torulosa. In between there is a mix of stringybarks plus E. melliodora, E. bridgesiana, E. andrewsii, E. blakelyi and E. dealbata. (Need help identifying the stringybarks please!) The underlying geology is all granite and part of the property is dissected by a 700m long gorge on Gipsies Creek. More than 260 species of native plants have been recorded including two endangered in NSW. At the time of print 117 bird species have been noted. The property hosts a healthy population of four species of macropods and the Spotted-tailed Quoll is commonly recorded on cameras. Four fauna surveys have also noted 33 species of reptiles and 13 species of frogs. The camp site is about 200m off the Gunyah road adjacent to a woolshed which supplies the rainwater tank. The club will erect pit toilet facilities. The woolshed may be used for evening meetings if needed as long as you don’t mind the smell of sheep! A short walk from the campsite, Reedy creek flows across granite slabs and provides a pleasant spot to sit and enjoy fauna. It can get cold here and campers should be prepared for frost. At least a day will be spent on an off-site visit. |
Note:
Registrations
for this
excursion are
now open. Please register by email to excursions@qnc.org.au and list all attendees and a contact phone number. Participants are welcome to arrive anytime from late morning on Wednesday 5 April and are requested to depart before lunch time on Tuesday 11 April Total numbers staying on site will have to be restricted to 30 due to the size of the camping area. A limited number of larger caravans will be allowed to park by the woolshed. For those who do not wish to camp it is a 30-minute drive from Tenterfield which has a good range of accommodation. Directions: Allow approximately 4 hours travel time from the Brisbane CBD to Tenterfield. Turn right (west) off the New England Highway onto Douglas Street then left onto Western Street and then right onto Mount Mackenzie Road. Gunyah Road is off Mount Mackenzie Road and the entrance to Maybe is 4.66km along Gunyah Road. |
| Long Excursion |
Monday 4/9 to
Sunday 10/9 2023 |
Bimblebox Nature
Refuge, Central
Qld Leaders: TBA |
Bimblebox Nature
Refuge (BNR) is
an 8,000-hectare
property
situated 50km
north-west of
Alpha, central
Queensland. It
is composed of
remnant
semi-arid
woodlands with
an understorey
largely made up
of native
shrubs, herbs
and grasses, and
has a rich
diversity of
birds, reptiles
and other
animals. There are seven ecosystems on BNR; broad leaf silver ironbark woodland, poplar box (Bimblebox) woodland and heathland being the most prominent. In May 2011 a flock of endangered black throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta) was sighted on BNR. 287 species of plants and 290 species of animals, excluding insects, have been recorded at BNR; there is a paucity of insect records. Bimblebox is a genuine example of how production and biodiversity conservation can coexist. A small herd of beef cattle assist in the control of exotic pasture grasses, and a number of long-term research projects are aimed at generating knowledge and management practices to improve outcomes for biodiversity across the region. The property was purchased in 2000 by several concerned individuals, using part funding from the Australian National Reserve System program. In 2003, the Bimblebox Nature Refuge Agreement (category IV IUCN protected area) was signed with the Queensland state government to permanently protect the conservation values of the property. In 2011, Warratah Coal, owned by Clive Palmer, released a plan to develop a massive coal mine in the Galilee Basin, including BNR. |
Note:
Registrations
will open 1
July, 2023 QNC has secured permission to spend 7 days at BNR, arriving on the 4th September and departing on the 10th. Numbers are limited to 20 people and access is restricted to high clearance four-wheel drives. There is a camp kitchen, outdoor bush shower, tables and benches, and a long drop toilet. A slow combustion stove is available for cooking or heating water for showers. Limited drinking water will be supplied so bring as much as you can. Limited beds and mattresses may be available at the dongas. Donation/cost: The owners would prefer that you volunteer if you can, putting in some time to preserve Bimblebox biodiversity by helping with weeding or maintenance of the place. The caretaker has suggested one hour of weeding per person per day. |
| Mid-week, extended Excursion | Monday 23/10 to Friday 27/10 2023 | Mt Kaputar NP, NSW |
Updated details will be provided closer to the time. The details for this trip will be similar to those found in QNC News #363, P13 and News #364 P14. |
NSW Parks policy is to only take bookings 6 months in advance, so registrations are not yet open. |