Cania Gorge National Park
PARK INFORMATION
NPRSR 13 7468
SIZE
3000 ha
VISITOR INFORMATION
Biloela (07) 4992 2405
LOCATION AND ACCESS
12 km north of Monto via Burnett Hwy; 77 km south of Biloela then 8 km past Moonford
CAMPING
No camping
Cania Gorge, a dramatic landscape of gullies, caves and spectacular 70-metre-high sandstone cliffs, is the centrepiece of this national park in the Bundaberg hinterland. Rock art on the cliff walls is a legacy of at least 19 000 years of Aboriginal occupation of the area. Giant's Chair Lookout offers views over the park. Castle Mountain and the cliffs of Cania Gorge can be seen from Lake Cania in the north.
Gullies leading down into the gorge provide a moist, sheltered environment for dry rainforest plants such as ferns, mosses, orchids, figs and vines. Dry open eucalypt forest is found on the escarpment and along the banks of Three Moon Creek, which runs through the gorge. This diverse vegetation nurtures a wide variety of wildlife: watch for brush-tailed rock-wallabies, brush-turkeys, bettongs, frogs, geckos, common bent-wing bats, and platypus in Three Moon Creek. More than 90 bird species have been recorded, including dollarbirds, Australian kingparrots, wompoo pigeons and regent bowerbirds.
Walking trails range from a short 300-metre circuit around the picnic area at Three Moon Creek, to a 5.6-kilometre circuit (3 hours, medium difficulty) that takes in Fern Tree Pool and Giant's Chair. The tracks have wonderfully evocative names: Dripping Rock (2.2 km return, 1.5 hours), The Overhang (3.2 km return, 2.5 hours), Dragon Cave (1.8 km return, 1 hour) and Bloodwood Cave (2.6 km return, 1 hour).The Shamrock Mine Walk (1.2 km return, 30 minutes) leads to a former mine site. Lake Cania, well stocked with Australian bass, yellow-belly, silver perch and saratoga, offers recreational fishing. Two private campgrounds on the outskirts of the park provide accommodation.