Parks Connect is proudly supported through funding from the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
Discover. Connect. Protect. Enjoy
Park of the Month is a key initiative of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and NPAQ’s Parks Connect program. We’re passionate about parks, and by sharing decades of knowledge from committed volunteers, conservationists and National Park Rangers with local communities and visitors, we hope Queenslanders from all walks of life will fall in love with our amazing wild places.
PARK OF THE MONTH
We had a wild time at Main Range Conservation Park (Glen Rock) on 27 June.
We started at 1 pm and finished at 8:30 pm to facilitate both a walk up Mt Machar and an evening spotlighting – and although, sadly, we didn’t spot any gliders, we enjoyed a lovely moonlight stroll followed by a camp over in the chill winter air surrounded by dramatic Great Dividing Range scenery.
This camping ground must be one of Queensland’s best-kept secrets!
Check out all the fun we had for our June Park of the Month.
QPWS Ranger Mick gave the Acknowledgement of Country and regaled us with facts about the management of the park (and to look out for phascogales – we did, but sadly, these little dasyurids eluded us, too).
NPAQ’s little legend Amelia demonstrated how to pack a day pack and use a retractable walking pole, LifeStraw and other cool kit, with the help of our Volunteer Rangers.
Then it was time to test out our hiking poles as we set off up Mt Machar to see the stunning scenery of this park, led by interpretative guide Jack from Friends of Plunkett Conservation Park.
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Creativity was the main focus of the afternoon as Trish and Paul from ImmersionArts taught us how to reveal the beauty of the range at sunset. We learned some great landscape painting techniques – check out the amazing artwork! We’d worked up an appetite for a bite of freshly made damper and syrup before scooting off to set up camp before nightfall.
After dinner, we embarked on our last session – spotlighting with Josh Bowell from Wildlife Queensland’s Yellow-bellied Glider Project. Josh determined that the habitat blend wasn’t quite right for these noisy, nocturnal petaurids, but we gave it our best shot as we basked in the moonlight, stargazed at the Southern Cross, and enjoyed great company on this fun nighttime excursion.
Sign up for our FREE Park of the Month BioBlitz project on iNaturalist HERE.
Remember to SAVE THE DATE for our next Park of the Month, too!
In July, we’ll be exploring some of Brisbane’s maritime and military history at Fort Lytton National Park on Friday 31 July from 10 am to 1 pm– our first Friday Park of the Month.
Bookings will open on Eventbrite in early July, but in the meantime, sign the kids up for some interactive school holiday fun next week on Tues 7, Wed 8 and Thur 9 July with the Carry On Fort Lytton show. It’s a go-back-in-time, hands-on experience, using drama to engage kids in real learning while having lots of fun.
Ring the QPWS Fort Lytton team on (07) 3393 4647 to book.
Image: Tatters on Flickr CC
