Curtis Falls, Tamborine National Park
PARK INFORMATION
NPRSR 13 7468
SIZE
620 ha
VISITOR INFORMATION
Tamborine Mountain (07) 5545 3200 | www.tamborinemtncc.org.au
LOCATION AND ACCESS
80 km south of Brisbane via Pacific Hwy and Tamborine–Oxenford Rd
CAMPING
No camping
The scenic Tamborine Mountain plateau and its surrounding foothills is the setting for this national park in the Gold Coast hinterland. Made up of 13 different areas, it contains Queensland's first national park, known as Witches Falls, which was gazetted in 1908. Over the years an additional 12 sections of land have been added, in an effort to preserve remnants of the area's original rainforests and eucalypt forests. Tamborine plays a significant role in an increasingly urbanised region, containing 85 per cent of all fauna species and 65 per cent of all flora species in the Gold Coast City area.
Plant life is varied, with distinctive piccabeen palms growing in the rainforest and tall flooded gums dominating the wet eucalypt forest. There is also open forest with an understorey of bracken fern. This diverse vegetation provides essential habitat for wildlife such as the rare Albert's lyrebird, platypus, brush-turkey, and one of the world's largest skinks, the land mullet. Birdlife in the rainforest includes crimson rosellas, eastern whipbirds, Lewin's honeyeaters and satin bowerbirds, while the dry eucalypt forest is home to black-faced cuckooshrikes, kingfishers and magpies.
The main areas to visit in the park are Witches Falls, The Knoll, Cedar Creek, MacDonald Park, Palm Grove and Joalah. Tamborine Mountain Visitor Centre has detailed maps for the numerous walking trails. One of the most delightful walks is Cedar Creek Circuit (1.4 km return, 45 minutes, easy), which explores the creek's cascades and rock pools – the track is wheelchair-accessible as far as the lookout (500 metres return). There is a wide range of holiday accommodation on Tamborine Mountain, including hotels, motels, B&Bs and cabins.