Springbrook national park

View from the Canyon lookout

Twin falls section of the Springbrook national park is one of the best options to see Australian rainforest in Brisbane / Gold Coast area. The track is just about 5 km, and it has a small cave, several impressive overhangs, big waterfalls, a small pool near Twin falls, and several lookouts with spectacular views over Springbrook plateau. There are two entry points for this track, Tallanbana picnic area and parking area near cafe at Canyon lookout. Circular track starts in dry vegetation / bush at the top of the Springbrook plateau and descends into rainforest. Big shiny black lizards, land mullets, are common around Canyon lookout. Blue crayfish can be seen in creeks during a wet season.

Twin falls circuit

Bushwalking in Lamington: Caves track

View from Kweebani Cave. Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm

Fairly easy Caves circuit at Binna Burra, Lamington national park. The track starts at Binna Burra information centre and goes to Binna Burra lodge. Two caves, essentially just big overhangs, are located somewhere in the middle of this walk.

From Binna Burra lodge I took Possum track, turned left to the bitumen road that goes down to the information center. After walking about 100 meters on the road I spotted a sign for a track towards the information centre. 

Bushwalking in Springbrook NP

Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm

Twin Falls track,  Spingbrook national park. South-East Queensland got some rains recently. Creeks were full and the track was dirty.

Side view of the Twin Falls

Close-up pictures with Fuji XF10-24mm

Ravine Orchid. Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm.

Occasionally I take close-up pictures of plants on my bushwalking trips, and I was curious to see how Fujinon XF10-24mm will perform in such situations. The photos were taken on Albert river track, Binna Burra section of Lamington national park.  

Drymophila moorei. Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm.

Fujinon XF10-24mm in Australian rainforest

Albert river circuit, Lamington national park. Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm

Santa was kind to me this year (but not very kind to my credit card), so I've got an opportunity to take Fujinon XF10-24mm F4 lens for couple walks in Lamington national park (click on Labels below to see other photos from this wonderful place). Fujifilm rebate on lenses and good pricing policy of a local camera store, CameraPro, here in Brisbane also played an important role in the acquisition of a new toy.   

The widest lens I've used in the past gave me field of view equal to 28mm (full frame). XF10-24mm (15-36mm eqv.) is a new experience for me.

I found the lens extremely useful in rainforest environment, where "zooming by feet" is not always possible. The only  thing I miss at the moment is a polarizing filter.  

Albert river circuit, Lamington national park. Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm

Reality and Tranquility

Echo falls. Fuji X-E1 & XF10-24mm

The car behaves wrongly and needs an extra service, share market crashed, consultant service does bring any money. And all this happen in time when I need 72 mm polarizing filter. The future for the next year is bleak: the rent is going up, the salary is going down.

Wake up at 4 am, grab toasted bread with cheese and bottle of water, jump into car, drive for two and half hours to rainforest, walk 10 km, and watch sun glares on rocks  accompanying by sound of the waterfall. 

Yin and yang of sociophobic life.

Bushrangers cave

Bushrangers cave is a massive overhang located at the edge of Lamington national park, near the NSW border. The name came after bushrangers who apparently used this place as hideout in XIX century. People lived in this cave for at least 6,000 years.

The overhand is very impressive, plus there are several interesting rocky formations. 

There is no maintained / official track to the cave. It can be reached from Binna Burra via Wagawn followed by a steep off-track walk. The 20+ km return walk requires a certain level of fitness and ability to withstand numerous spiky and stingy plants. Alternative route starts at New South Wales near the border gate.

links for Fujinon XF10-24mm f4 OIS lens

Track to Mt Hobwee circuit / Mt Wagawn at Binna Burra, Lamington national park

Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm; F5.6, iso 1600, 1/30 sec

I did some math today on lenses and cameras. It turned out that two Fuji X-E1 equipped with Fujinon XF10-24mm and XF55-200mm lenses have the same weight as Olympus E-30 with ZUIKO 50-200mm SWD. ZUIKO 50-200mm was my favorite lens for a very long time. In addition to the lens and E-30 I usually carried a sturdy tripod. With Fuji I can use a small "digital" tripod.

I did the math because of my last trip to a national park. It was cloudy, and it was fairly dark in the rainforest. Most of pictures during this trip were taken at high ISO and open aperture. Very often I hit 18mm (~28mm eqv) limit on XF18-55mm lens. In this situation XF10-24mm lens will be very useful.

I have not read much about XF10-24mm because of the price. The $200 cashback offer from Fuji changes the situation.

Links to XF10-24mm reviews:
LensTip
Admiring Light (by Jordan Steele)
Bjorn Moerman (with astonishing pictures)

Brisbane state forest

Red Ash picnic area at Brisbane state forest. Fuji X10, panorama mode.

The Brisbane State Forest covers a big area near Brisbane, with main entrance point through the Gap / Waterworks road. The park headquarters / information center has a small but very interesting collection of local animals including platypus and number of snakes such as black red bellied snake. 

The dominant vegetation is a dry eucalypt forest. The state forest and D’Aguilar national park host several picnic areas, with a number of tracks. The main road is quite windy and it is popular with bikers and cyclists. There are several nice lookouts along the main road.  

Remnants of a few old gold mines are scattered in the forest. The signage state that the amount of mined gold was not huge, but digging in this area was continued for nearly 30 years.

Remnants of an old gold mine at the Brisbane State Forest. Fuji X10

Another walk at Mt Coot-tha

Rusty car. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

Mt Coot-tha is an amazing place if you know where to go and don't mind some off track hiking. I am still puzzled how this car made into the middle of the forest. No roads nearby, and the slope is very steep. Cannot find any info about this rusty thingy.

The picture below was taken on a separate walk around the Simpson falls. Usually there is no water in the creak bed during dry season but this picture was taken shortly after a strong rain.

The Simpson falls. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

Walking around Simpson falls

Storm over Mt Coot-tha, Brisbane. Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Mt Coot-tha dominates over Brisbane. The area is cover with a dry eucalypt forest with a number of tracks, picnic areas and some local attractions such as an abandoned gold mine. The area is a very popular destination for Brisbanites during weekends. Most tracks are fairly easy can can be accessed through numerous entry points at different locations.

Austral Sarsaparilla. Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Glasshouse Mountains

Parsley Bush, Glasshouse Mountains NP. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

It turned out that I have not visited the Glasshouse Mountains national park for very long time. This area near Brisbane / Sunshine Coast is famous for several picturesque peaks, remnants of ancient volcanoes. Vegetation is mainly represented by dry eucalyptus forest, and fires are very common in such plant communities. Area around Mt Tibrogargan was burned out recently, and there were many Lomatia silaifolia with flowers. As many other Proteaceae, this species got used to bush fires (fires stimulate flowering).

The park was full of visitors. I never met so much people there. We even changed our plan (climb to Mt Ngungun) because we were unable to park at that section of the park. 

Another day, another walk in Lamington national park

Antarctic beech, Lamington national park. Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

I cannot convey the feeling of being inside of the relict Gondwana rainforest. I also cannot imagine  dinosaurs walking around such forest. It just does not sum up for me. Dinosaurs were big, and forest is very dense. Granted, Lamington national park is more subtropical (warm), and Northern NSW has the best Nothofagus forests in Australia. I mean places such as New England national park. 

Another walk in the Lamington nation park

Border track near Binna Burra, Lamington national park. Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Another walk at the Lamington national park. I went to Binna Burra last Sunday, and did the Coomera circuit. It was misty, and the place got some rains in previous days. It was wet and muddy, but leaches appeared only after the Coomera falls. The famous Blue Lamington crayfish  walked in grass along the creeks. Notable change happen on the track: the park rangers cleared a new lookout at the edge of the Coomera gorge, with nice view towards Yarrabilgong falls.

Surprisingly, I got bitten by a tick, a very rare event for this track. Another unexpected and unpleasant finding: a small patch of Creeping Gloxinia, Lophospermum erubescens, growing somewhere in the middle of the rainforest. I saw the same species growing upstream of Elabana falls at Green Mountains / O'Reilly's section, but it seems Creeping Gloxinia is common across the park.

Autofocus accuracy on Fuji X-E1

Goanna | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Just an opportunistic snapshot of a fairly big goanna on the picnic ground in dry eucalypt forest, either in a State forest or Springbrook national park, along the road leading to the Natural Bridge national park. Goannas are frequent visitors to picnic ground where they can steal some food or just get some leftovers. The image was cropped and the JPEG quality was reduced in GIPM. The image is available at the original resolution on my flickr page. 

Bushwalking in Girraween

Round rocks of Girraween | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Girraween national park is one of the most strangest places I've ever visited. The park is located in so called Granite Belt region at the NSW/Queensland border, in about three hours drive from Brisbane. The park is famous for several rocks and granite monoliths: Pyramids,  Sphinx, Turtle, Castle as well as  waterholes and numerous huge round boulders as on the photo above. The mountains are not high enough to cause rains, so the area is covered by the dry rigid bush. It can be very hot during summer and very cold (by Queensland standards) in winter, especially at night.

Some walks in park are easy and suitable for kids, other require certain fitness and climbing skills, e.g. walk to Mt. Norman. The First Pyramid is a very popular destination in dry weather.

The park is also famous for its diverse floral display, especially around a spring time. Eastern grey kangaroos are common in the park and can be seen at very close distance. It is also a home to big red crayfish but I have not seen it so far.

The park has two big campgrounds but early booking is essential during school holidays or long weekends, especially around the spring time. Private accommodation is available is several places near the park for people not interested in camping, and tours might be arranged to the private observatory located in this area.

Australian landscape. Girraween | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm  

Walk in Natural Bridge national park

Waterfall in cave at Natural Bridge national park | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Natural Bridge national park was created around a single major local attraction, a cave with the waterfall in it. The park is sitting in the Gold Coast Hinterland, not far from the Queensland / NSW border. The walking track is very short, about 1 km or slightly more. The park is very popular with families and kids, especially on weekends. The vegetation is a typical rainforest, and the park provides an attractive alternative of the summer heat in the Brisbane city or Gold Coast.

Short drive south will bring you to the lookout at the border between Queensland and New South Wales. Drive a few more kms into New South Wales, and you will end up in Chillingham, a small and beautiful community, with several shops selling local products, coffee and bananas in chocolate.

Bushwalking in Noosa Heads national park

Alexandria bay, Noosa Heads national park | Olympus E-30

Today was a rainy day in Brisbane, with grey skies and persistent drizzling. It is cold, by Brisbane standards, of course. It meant to be a start of a subtropical "winter". At day like this it is nice to go through photos taken on a nice sunny day in a nice place.

These pictures are from the Noosa Heads national park located north of Brisbane, in about two hours drive from the city. The park covers rocky hills near the Pacific ocean / Coral sea and it is a popular destination for tourists visiting Noosa or the Sunshine coast. Park is relatively small, but it has a diverse vegetation including Paperbark / Melaleuca forest, small patches of a coastal rainforest, big chunks of a coastal heathland and Banksia forest. Pandanus trees are common near the coastal line. The park is famous for beautiful beaches and koalas. The walking tracks go along the coast and inland, and it is possible to see the whole park in one day. It is very popular park with probably hundreds people walking on the popular track to the Hell's Gates, where turtles and dolphins can be seen on a good day. The inland tracks are more secluded.

I used to go there by train and Trainlink bus, but one way trip takes about 3 hours. Keep in mind that on weekends the car park fills up very early, especially during the high season, but generally plenty of parking spots are available in Noosa along the coast, one or two km north of the park.

Sea turtle at Hell's Gates | Olympus E-30 & ZUIKO 50-200mm SWD

Bushwalking at Mt Greville - 2

View from Mt Greville | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

(check the previous post)

Mt Greville has several rocky patches without any trees, with pleasant view of Fassifern Valley and the Scenic Rim. The valley is widely used for agriculture but mountains belong to national parks or state forests. The vegetation is quite diverse. The track starts in dry eucalypt forest, or bush. The rocky spots are covered by shrubs and grass trees (the picture on the top). Upper part of the mount is covered by trees and shrubs, including some interesting grevilleas as on the picture below (note the small red flowers).

Identified as Grevillea linsmithii, Proteaceae | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Bushwalking at Mt Greville

Palm Gorge, Mt Greville, May 19, 2013 | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Mt Greville is one of my favourite national parks around Brisbane for bushwalking. It is a tiny park within one hour drive from Brisbane, with short but rewarding tracks. The tracks require certain level of fitness. It is a good place for stretching legs and hands :) The mount has couple "gorges", big narrow cracks with tall vertical walls. The Palm Gorge is very popular and the most straightforward route to the summit. The gorge has an interesting microclimate, and, as a result, a distinct vegetation. It is so narrow that the sun does not heat it much, so it is always cool there during the day time. While the surrounding aria is covered by bush or mountain (heath) vegetation, the gorge has species common in wetter places: Piccabeen palms, Strangler figs, and even tree ferns.

The tracks are essentially unmarked and not signed, so it is good to walk with someone who knows the place. This time we missed Logan's lookout, a rocky outcrop below the summit, with a wonderful view towards lake Moogerah and the Fassifern valley. Eventually we made to the top and went back through the Palm gorge. I was surprised with number of plants in bloom at time: it is dry and cold now.

More photos from this marvellous place are available on flickr.

Palm Gorge, Mt Greville, May 19, 2013 | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm