INDUSTRY ATTRACTIONS CONONDALE

Conondale National Park forms the heart of an extensive area of unspoilt mountain scenery in the Conondale Range. With magnificent forests, deep gorges and spectacular views, this park and the adjacent State forest offer scenic drives, picnic areas and a choice of four grassy camp sites near rainforests and mountain streams. Walks range from a short stroll beside crystal clear streams, to challenging hikes including to Mount Allan fire tower or along the four-day 56 kilometre Conondale Range Great Walk. It is a picturesque and ecologically important area, protecting the habitats of many rare and threatened animals, including several species of frogs and the seldom-seen yellow-bellied glider. Access is via gravel roads suitable for conventional vehicles with care. In wet weather, roads may be closed. The scenic drive starting on Booloumba Creek Road has several creek crossings that are only accessible by high clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles. Allow at least 90 minutes for the scenic drive and extra time for picnics and bushwalks. Birdwatchers will enjoy Little Yabba Creek, while mountain bike and horse riders can explore the park and forest along vehicle tracks....

Conondale, like many rural towns in South East Queensland, is pretty. The town might be a great spot for a chance to catch your breath during what is a very scenic drive but there is something about Conondale that is as subtle as it is magic. When travelling from Maleny, Conondale is the first opportunity to take a close-up and easy look at the river that gives its name to the valley through which it passes - the Mary River. Just near where the Maleny-Kenilworth Road crosses the Mary River, Fritz Park offers the chance for a picnic and time to contemplate exactly why this little village is so special. Conondale is distinctive because of its proximity to the rugged beauty of the range to its west called the Conondale Range. Within the Range a national park called Conondale National Park is an unspoilt and undeveloped park of harsh beauty. Conondale National Park protects important remnants of grassy open Eucalypt forest, tall wet sclerophyll forest and subtropical rainforest that once covered large areas of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The park is the central undisturbed core of an extensive area of forest reserves in the Conondale Range and an important refuge for many rare and threatened animals, including the Mary River Turtle, which, until recently, had not been discovered. It is important to remember that this park is suited to very experienced walkers only. The turn off to the national park is about 15 kilometres north of Conondale at Sunday Creek Road. The turn is marked by a pretty park called Keith and Ivy Boon Memorial Park....

Conondale National Park forms the heart of an extensive area of unspoilt mountain scenery in the Conondale Range. With magnificent forests, deep gorges and spectacular views, this park and the adjacent State forest offer scenic drives, picnic areas and a choice of four grassy camp sites near rainforests and mountain streams. Walks range from a short stroll beside crystal clear streams, to challenging hikes including to Mount Allan fire tower or along the four-day 56 kilometre Conondale Range Great Walk. It is a picturesque and ecologically important area, protecting the habitats of many rare and threatened animals, including several species of frogs and the seldom-seen yellow-bellied glider. Access is via gravel roads suitable for conventional vehicles with care. In wet weather, roads may be closed. The scenic drive starting on Booloumba Creek Road has several creek crossings that are only accessible by high clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles. Allow at least 90 minutes for the scenic drive and extra time for picnics and bushwalks. Birdwatchers will enjoy Little Yabba Creek, while mountain bike and horse riders can explore the park and forest along vehicle tracks. Image credits: Mountains (Qld Govt)...