Australia’s second largest state has many very special features spread across its vast confines and two-thirds of Queensland lies above the Tropic of Capricorn resulting in  warm to hot tropical conditions.

The Cape York Peninsula at the very north of the state, is a vast underdeveloped area known as one of the country’s last frontiers. The national parks are wild and rugged, but the intrepid hiker/adventurer will be richly rewarded by some amazing landscapes and spectacular wildlife.

Lakefield Nation Park (537 000 hectares) is the state’s second largest park and the most accessible on the Cape York Peninsula. It is located 7-8 hours north of Cairns and has a rich and varied landscape of river estuaries, mangroves, grasslands and woodlands of eucalypts and paperbark trees. Sandstone hills and stunning escarpments are found to the south. The park is a wildlife refuge to several rare and threatened species such as the star finch, red goshawk and spectacled hare-wallaby.

The Gulf of Carpentaria to the south-west finds the Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park about 200 kms from Burketown. The Lawn Hill Gorge’s main activities include canoeing, swimming and marvellous bush walks. Aboriginal art sites are accessible at two locations. Contained within the park is the Riversleigh fossil site, recording the evolution of mammals over 20 million years, as the vegetation changed from rainforest to semi-arid grassland.  Guided tours are available as well as a self-guided interpretive trail.

Queensland’s highest mountain, Mt. Bartle Fere (1 622 metres) located within the Wooroonooran National Park 50 kms south of Cairns, offers a number of popular walks. Beginning at the Josephine Falls car park, climbing to the top and returning the same way takes one entire day. There is a side track to a low ridge called Broken Nose providing stunning views and a through track also exists from the summit west to Lamins Hill. This the wettest region of Australia and tropical showers and drizzle can be experienced most times of the year.

Probably the most famous national park in this area is the Daintree.  The Mossman Gorge section of this park takes hikers through stunning rainforests to the Mossman River via a 2.7 km walk.

The Atherton Tablelands is an excellent bush walking and hiking area for many reasons. The climate is mild and comfortable and there is a vast diversity of forests from dry scrub to wet rainforest. Many of these hikes do require a permit however there are also many day trails such as the Tinaroo Dam Hike (2.5 hours); the Lake Barrine Walk (6 kms); the Lake Eacham Walk (4 kms) and the Kauri Creek Walk (5.5 kms).

Moving about three-quarters of the way down the state’s coast, spanning the Tropic of Capricorn is the region known as Capricorn featuring most famously the Carnarvon National Park. This 298 000 hectare park contains some magnificent Aboriginal rock art, a treasure trove of delicate ferns and mosses and accommodation is available in two nearby lodges. The Blackdown Tableland National Park sits on an undulating 800 metre sandstone plateau of open forest, heath, waterfalls and gorges. There are a number of scenic trails, camping at Mimosa Creek and a gorge with swimming holes at Rainbow Falls.

The countless islands lying off the coast contained within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park offer superb bush walking experiences.  To name just a few of these islands – Lizard, Dunk, Fitzroy, Hinchinbrook, South Molle, Whitsunday, Brampton, Heron, Lady Musgrave and Great Keppel.

Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, offers short walks to extended treks across the island taking in stunning freshwater lakes, forests and of course the sand dunes.

Cooloola, reserved within the Great Sandy National Park, is located just south of Fraser Island and like the island, much of the landscape is formed of sand. The best known walk is the 46 km long Cooloola Wilderness Trail created in 1986 taking from a harder two days to a relaxed five days. It is advisable to avoid the wet season (December to March) as long sections of the track flood and it is very humid.  For more experienced walkers, there is Rainbow Beach to Freshwater Creek walk which is a three day circuit. Other walks range from short 2 day circuits to a grand tour of the entire park taking about 7 days.

Part of a World Heritage area is the Lamington National Park located on the NSW border in the hinterland of Queensland’s Gold Coast. The rainforests and volcanic ridges are criss-crossed by 160 kms of walking tracks. For an easy 2-3 days hike, the established track system on the north-eastern end, provide excellent walks.  For the more intrepid and experienced off-track hikers, there is The Stinson Wreck, Lost World, Point Lookout, Fountain Falls, Running Creek Falls and Black Canyon.

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