BLACKALL RANGE

Kondalilla ; Mapleton Falls; Obi Obi Gorge

Three small parks featuring rainforest and a wet open forest on the Blackall Range

Access

Kondalilla and Mapleton Falls can be reached by road. Obi Obi Gorge is only accessible on foot. To reach Mapleton Falls travel from Brisbane to Nambour. Then travel from Nambour towards Kenilworth. The park is 24 kilometres west of Nambour and a short distance off the Mapleton-Obi Obi Gorge road. Kondalilla Falls can be reached by travelling from Nambour towards Maleny. The park is located 13 kilometres south-west of Nambour off the Maleny-Mapleton road.

Activities

The Blackall Range National Parks provide an interesting contrast to the coastal and agricultural scenery of the plains below. Most of these parks have streams and cascades in them and swimming is often undertaken during the summer months. There are several kilometres of walking track in both Kondalilla and Mapleton Falls National Parks which lead to lookouts over various falls and valleys. There is also a large variety of birds found in these parks and nature study is another popular activity.

History

In 1893 while inspecting crown land in this area, a man by the name of William Skene discovered a waterfall. Several years later, the government of the day decided to open up the land near the falls for selection. Mr Skene approached the government at that time and asked that they declare the area and waterfall a reserve. In 1945 the reserve was gazetted as Bon Accord Waterfalls. Unfortunately there was much confusion over the actual name of this particular national park and it was variously known as Maleny National Park, Montville National Park and Bon Accord National Park. So in 1951 the park was re-named Kondalilla National Park. Kondalilla means ‘rushing water’ in the local Aboriginal Kabi language and so has special historical significance.

Features

The forest of these parks features many different plants and animals. Some of the trees to be found include the tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys), blackbutt (E. pilulans), hoop pine (Araucaria ciinninghamii) and the flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis). In the undergrowth of the forest you may sec a little brown bird with a white line above its eye. This is the white-browed scrub wren (Sericormsfrontalis). It spends a lot of its time hopping over the leaf litter chasing insects.

At night the boobook owl (Ninox novaeseelandiae) may be heard calling, its short and rapidly repeated ‘mopokc’ echoing around the forest. This is a large bird approximately 30-35 cm in size. It has brown plumage that is streaked with white. The boobook owl feeds on small mammals and insects. It plays an important part in the ecology of the forest, keeping the numbers of small animals down so they don’t become pests. Many rainforest birds are surprisingly brightly coloured. The rainbow bird (Mcrops ornatus), may be seen hovering and darting over the rocky pools in the park catching insects. It belongs to a family of birds called bee-eaters which are found from Africa to Australia. This group mainly eat bees and wasps. If you’re lucky enough to see one, take particular note of the rainbow birds peculiar tail. It’s a feature and a distinctive characteristic of this bird.