Day Excursion – Mt Elimbah (Saddleback) Glasshouse Mountains National Park, 4 August 2024 at 8:00am

Day Excursion – Mt Elimbah (Saddleback)

Glasshouse Mountains National Park

4 August 2024 at 8:00am

Details: Mt Elimbah offers the opportunity for some interesting naturalising not too far from Brisbane. It is the lowest (109m) and most southern of the Glasshouse Mountains and, though small in extent, it contains a variety of landscapes and a wide variety of plants, many of which ought to be in flower when we visit. Of special note is the rare Glasshouse Mountains tea-tree, Leptospermum luehmannii. There is also abundant birdlife, the occasional kangaroo and the chance of fungi in the wetter spots. The paths are not maintained by National Parks as they do not want to encourage large groups into fragile areas of the ecosystem. They are as the topography naturally allows – flat in the low areas and then a slight gradual but uneven climb to the rocky pavement. They should offer no difficulty to our group. The climb to the top of the mountain is an optional challenge but it’s worth going up even a little of the way for a view encompassing the other peaks. The Club visited Mt Elimbah previously in August 2016 soon after the publication of the Ranger Field Guide for the Glasshouse Mountains National Park and in company with one of the authors, Rowena Thomas. On that occasion 89 species (excluding birds) were recorded by Peter Woodall who had also recorded 13 bird species previously. Details at: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/qnc-2016-august-mt-elimbah

Registration: It is important to register for this excursion as numbers will be limited to 15 as requested by the National Parks Service. Please use the QNC website to register. Alternatively, you can send an email to the Excursion Secretary at excursion@qnc.org.au with Mt Elimbah in the subject line. Include names, mobile phone numbers and email addresses of all persons attending as well as their emergency contact details.

Directions: The Park is about 60km from the Brisbane CBD. It takes about one to 1¼ hours travel time with normal traffic. Take the Kilcoy exit, then after about 4km follow signs to Old Gympie Rd and Beerburrum till you pass under the D’Aguilar Highway overpass, then turn left onto Old Gympie Rd. The entrance is located on the right in Old Gympie Road about 1.2km from its junction with Smith St. It is very easy to overshoot the park entrance.

Amenities: There is only a small car park and some of it can be boggy if there has been rain. It is not advisable to park on the side of the road adjacent, as it is narrow. Extra parking can be found in the two side streets about 200m further on. Car pooling may be helpful depending on the number of attendees. There are no facilities. Nearest toilets are in Elimbah township.

Bring: Morning tea, lunch, drinking water and anything else you might want. Some people might find a walking pole useful to climb up the lower rocks. Useful References: Ranger Field Guide to the Glasshouse Mountains National Park and Mangroves to Mountains: Ranger Field Guide to the Glasshouse Mountains National Park and Mangroves to Mountains