Come and discover the historic Southern Downs and Granite Belt.
The first white man known to have explored the region which
we are about to travel was botanist Allan Cunningham in 1827. But for
centuries before his arrival Aborigines occupied the area, hunting for
meat and gathering fruits and seeds for their frugal diet. Since 1840
when the Leslie brothers first arrived here, Europeans have settled
in this beautiful region, the site of the first, free, white settlement
in Queensland. The area is renowned for its magnificent and varied
scenery, from the rainforest of Queen Mary Falls at Main Range National
Park, to the granite boulders of Girraween. There are three national
parks within Queensland’s Southern Downs – Girraween National Park,
Sundown National Park and Main Range National Park, (which includes
Cunningham’s Gap, Spicer’s Gap, Queen Mary Falls, Goomburra and
Mount Roberts). Each of these protected areas is unique, but all provide
scenic opportunities, bushwalking tracks and tranquil settings. Bein