NATIONAL PARK SPLENDOUR WHETHER YOU SEEK REST AND REPOSE OR WANT TO BE ACTIVE, THERE IS NOTHING QUITE LIKE TIME SPENT OUT-OF-DOORS IN OUR EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENT – IT’S ANCIENT, BEAUTIFUL AND BOUNTIFUL. SUNRISE AT GIRRAWEEN NATIONAL PARK
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ejuvenate your body, mind and soul with a yoga session in a vineyard, stargaze under stunning night skies, or sit beside a rocky cascade to listen to the sound of rushing water and watch the birds flit amongst the trees. You may even see some of the animals that make our national parks their home. This is a place to enjoy nature at its best, especially if you love the seasonal changes – the soft sunshine and wildflowers of springtime, the cold, crisp days of winter that make those rocky summits that much more reachable. Noticeably absent is that high humidity that often makes bushwalking in summer in lower climes, sticky and uncomfortable.
GIRRAWEEN NATIONAL PARK Girraween National Park is renowned for its massive 200-million-yearold Triassic granite boulders. Climb the Pyramid, Castle Rock or take the hike to Mount Norman. A gentle stroll to the Granite Arch is a less strenuous adventure. 4
Girraween’s almost 12,000 hectares of eucalypt forests are teeming with wildlife and rare and lovely plants. Girraween is an Aboriginal name for ‘place of flowers’ and in spring and summer it really does live up to its name. At Girraween there are excellent facilities for camping and picnicking and 17km of well-defined walking tracks – from a gentle 1.4km ramble to more than 10km hikes. The summit tracks have steep slopes. The winding 9km bitumen road to Girraween National Park can be entered 26km south of Stanthorpe or 11km north of Wallangarra at the turn-off to Wyberba. For a shorter hike to Mount Norman, enter from the south via Wallangarra. Follow Mount Norman Road across a couple of grids and gain entrance through a gateway into the park. A few kilometres further is a parking and picnic area and the signposted track to Mount Norman.
SUNDOWN NATIONAL PARK South-west of Stanthorpe is the wild and beautiful Sundown National
STANTHORPE & THE GRANITE BELT VISITOR GUIDE
Park – a contrast to the rounded giant ‘marbles’ of Girraween, Sundown is a wilderness park hidden in the Severn Valley to the west of the New England Highway. Over millennia, the Severn River has cleaved through the park’s ancient rock, forming spectacular sharp ridges and steep-sided gorges. It is popular with birdwatchers as many uncommon birds find a haven in its remote gorges. About 5km from Sundown’s 4WD entrance via Ballandean, a side track leads to the spectacular Red Rock Gorge where 50m high falls tumble over cliffs stained red with lichen. At the southern end the Broadwater camping area is a family camping spot (great fun when the river is running). The ranger station is located here and this is the starting point for visitors wishing to experience the true Sundown wilderness. Access to this park is via three directions – the access via Ballandean is suitable for 4WD vehicles only, but there are two all-vehicle entrances that can be found south from Nundubbermere