Page 246 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Australia

244  QUEENSLAND

1Lamington Warrego Hwy is The Woolshed Festival in even-numbered years.
National Park at Jondaryan. Built in 1859 to The town is at the heart of the
handle 200,000 sheep in one Granite Belt, one of Queensland’s
@ Canungra. n Park Ranger season, it has now been restored few wine regions (see p41).
Office (07) 5544 0634 or 13 74 68. as a working memorial to the Near Warwick, Queen Mary Falls
Open daily. ∑ npsr.qld.gov.au/ early pioneers of the district. National Park is a 78-ha (193-acre)
parks/lamington South of Toowoomba is rainforest park with picnic areas
Warwick, the oldest town in and a 40-m (130-ft) waterfall.
Lamington National Park, set Queensland after Brisbane and
within the McPherson Mountain known for its roses and its 19th- E The Woolshed at Jondaryan
Range, is one of Queensland’s century sandstone buildings. Evanslea Rd, Jondaryan. Tel (07) 4692
most popular parks. Declared It also claims one of the 2229. Open 8:30am–4:30pm daily.
in 1915, it contains 200 sq oldest rodeos in Australia, Closed 24–26 Dec. & 7
km (78 sq miles) of thick dating from 1857 when ∑ jondaryanwoolshed.com
wooded country, with £50 (a year’s pay) was
more than 160 km wagered on the outcome 3Sunshine Coast
(100 miles) of walking of the riding contest. Today
tracks through subtropical the rodeo follows the Rose Hinterland
rainforests of hoop pine, and Rodeo Festival in @ Glasshouse Country Coaches (07)
black booyongs and strangler October (see p45). 5496 9249. n Cnr 6th Ave & Melrose
figs. The highest ridges About 60 km (40 miles) Pde, Maroochydore (07) 5458 8842.
in the park reach more south of Warwick and ∑ glasshousecoaches.com.au
than 1,000 m (3,280 ft) Stunning 915 m (3,000 ft) above
and are lined with king parrot sea level, Stanthorpe To the west of the Sunshine Coast
Antarctic beech trees – celebrates its freezing is the Blackall Range. The area
the most northerly in winters with Brass has become a centre for artists
Australia. Some 150 species of Monkey Season (see p47) and and artisans, with numerous
birds, such as the Albert’s lyrebird, holds its Apple & Grape Harvest guesthouses and some fine
make bird-watching a popular
pastime. The global importance
of the area was recognized in
1994, when Lamington was
declared a World Heritage Area.
Nearby Macrozamia National
Park has macrozamia palms
(cycads) – one of the oldest
forms of vegetation still
growing in the world.

2Darling Downs
@ Toowoomba. n Toowoomba
(07) 4639 3797 or 1800 331 155.
Only 90 minutes’ drive from
Brisbane, stretching west of the
Great Dividing Range, is the
fertile country of the Darling
Downs. The first area to be
settled after Brisbane, the region
encompasses some of the most
productive agricultural land in
Australia, as well as one of the
most historic areas in Queensland.
Toowoomba is the main
centre of the Downs and is also
one of Queensland’s biggest
cities. Early settlers transformed
this one-time swamp into the
present “Garden City”, famous
for its jacarandas and Carnival
of Flowers (see p44).
About 45 km (28 miles) north-
west of Toowoomba along the Waterfall in Queen Mary Falls National Park, Darling Downs
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp486–8 and pp514–15