90 km south of Brisbane. This national park 850 m up in the McPherson Range covers over 200 sq km. It straddles the cross-over between two climatic zones, which means that part of it is sub-tropical and part temperate. This makes (for a spectacular range of wildlife and vegetation, with many species and plants which were originally unique to the remoter pockets and isolated gorges where they were first discovered. Amongst these is the rare Albert’s lyrebird, which is still found nowhere else.

More common (in the purely biological sense) are bush turkeys, bowerbirds, possums and sugar gliders. Favourites include the pademelons, a species of baby wallaby.

Expert botanists will doubtless note the presence of Antarctic Beech Trees, some more than 1,000 years old. This is the furthest north that these trees grow. Others will prefer the parrots, of which over a dozen species are native here.

This remote plateau region has a mysterious history. It’s now known that the Aborigines lived here for longer than 6,000 years. However, some time before the Europeans arrived, they suddenly abandoned this entire forested territory. Various reasons have been put forward for the exodus – including mythological omens (such as comets), poisonous plants creeping into their diet, a resurgence of low-level volcanic activity, or the fact that they simply got fed up after a series of prolonged rainy seasons. But the enigma remains unsolved.

Lamington National Park has more than 500 waterfalls. Spread out over the plateau are tracts of open forest, as well as denser rainforest, and there are more than 150 km of well-signposted trails. The two most popular sections of the park are Binna Burra, which is renowned for its caves and pademelons, and the forests of the Green Mountains region, which has the best views in the entire Scenic Rim. Both of these are accessible by sealed roads from Canungra. In 1994 it was listed as a world heritage site for its biodiversity. Always check weather conditions as the park and trails are closed during stormy weather conditions (www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/lamington).