Gold Coast National Parks
Gold Coast Walks
Acknowledged as Australia's favourite regional tourism destination, the Gold Coast boasts more than 300 days of sunshine each year and offers an eclectic mix of natural and themed attractions.
The 'Green behind the Gold' is the term given to the lush hinterland that sweeps up from the golden beaches to mountains, plateaus, gorges and valleys that remain at peace with nature. They contain a storehouse of environmental treasures now fully protected in vast swathes of pristine country under the banner of World Heritage Listing as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves).
This is where the protection of precious natural environment began in Queensland. In 1907, 324 acres in and around Witches Falls on Tamborine Mountain was gazetted as the first national park in Queensland. The lack of commitment to conservation by the bureaucracy at the time is evidenced by it being officially described as '...unfit for any other purpose...'
Fortunately, the idea of preserving treasure troves of natural environment was embraced by the people and successive governments so that today, Queensland has a large and varied natural estate, which is held in trust for future generations.
It is not just the flora in this region's network of national parks that is outstanding. The bird and animal species is a veritable Noah's Ark. Spotted quolls are still to be found. The parks are well serviced with graded walking tracks with Lamington National Park alone boasting more than 160km of scenic walks.
Lamington National Park features 15,000 year-old Antarctic beech trees amongst the other 170 species of rare or threatened plants. There are exceptional examples of the evolution of sub-tropical rainforests and these contain the major portion of the habitats of two rare bird species, Albert's lyrebird and the rufus scrub-bird.
There are well-maintained walking tracks especially in the more accessible parks such as Lamington and close encounters of a natural kind can be expected. Freshwater crayfish like nothing better than to wander from the waterways to forage for food, but only when it is raining or the humidity is high. For as long as their membranes - which they use for breathing - stay moist, the crayfish are able to get on the beaten track with two-legged visitors to the park.
