In this month’s square’s challenge I started at home and spiraled farther and farther from home to share different tree species in my travels. . These trees represent furthest distance from my home.
#Australia Trip #7 Bunya Mountains, Queensland, AU
The Bunya Mountain National Park, established in 1908, is the state’s second oldest National Park. The park, located in the wilderness area of the Great Dividing Range, contains the largest stand of ancient Bunya pines.
To thoroughly enjoy the best hiking trails in the Bunya Mountains, you should wear stable hiking shoes and take a camera or at least your smart phone. Be ready to be amazed.
We chose the 4 km scenic trail which we estimated correctly to be 2.5 miles as the best of the hiking trails for us. The path was wide and covered with crunchy plant material like Bunya needles. Even though I had on my stabilization shoes, the group in front of us hiked along with nothing more than thongs, as my Australian friend calls flip-flops.
“Wearing thongs on this path is not wise!” Carol said. “Some of the plants are poisonous to the touch.”
These leaves and branches seemed much more dangerous than touching poison ivy in the United States.
The sign states that even after being dead 100 years the stingers on the leaves can still cause pain if you touch them. They can become airborne and cause damage to lungs.
Holes Carved on Purpose or a Natural Occurrence?
Controversy as well as holes pockmarked this bunya pine. Some historians believe that the Aboriginal people axed the pines to climb up to the top and harvest the pine cones.
The other conjecture is that the bunya pine lost its branches as it grew. They broke off and left holes. I think the first guess is more interesting. What do you think?
Though we did not experience this, the guidebook warns that 10 kg/22 lb cones drop on the trail under the bunya pines between December and March. The bunya nuts are quite soft and juicy when immature and great for roasting when they mature. Large groups of Aboriginal people gathered for festivals until Europeans logged the pines and began farming.
Eventually, after passing many strangler vines, we arrived at the top of Festoon Falls.
On the way back up we noticed that the strangler figs got more aggressive with the bunya pines. In some instances, they took over.
Hiding in trees brings out the kid in everyone. Who doesn’t want to have a special hide away?
Our 2.5-mile hike, though easy, took us over an hour. The hiking guide said to allow 20 minutes per kilometer for this Class 3 hike, so we were not far off from one hour and twenty minutes complete with photography. According to the guide, a reasonable level of fitness is required as are stabilization shoes to offset the uneven ground. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this tell-tale trail. I never dreamed I would be hiking in the Queensland Mountains, but I did because of blogging. You never know what wonderful things will happen to you because of blogging.
Regular Always Write Features
- Story Chat – Monthly Contact me if you would like to submit a short story
- Writer’s Quote’s Wednesdays
- Photographing Public Art – Fridays co-hosted with Cee Neuner
- Challenge Interview Series – Contact me if you would like an interview
Thank you, Becky for hosting this wonderful blogging event. Thanks to all my blogging friends for visiting my #TreeSquares.
Have a happy and healthy August and September if I don’t see you again until the next Square event.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
51 responses to “#TreeSquare #31: Trees in the Bunya National Park”
[…] the sun. Here at the visitor’s center, you feel the power of the sunshine, but deep in the Bunya forest, very little sunshine reaches the forest […]
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We certainly do have some amazing trees here in Australia. The Bunya Mountain National Park is a favourite of ours and we are hoping to visit again soon (when we can get some accommodation) and I’ll make sure I share some photos when we do.
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Your pictures will bring back some wonderful memories for me. 🙂 What an impressive place.
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[…] was amazed how far some of you travelled with your final trees, and also how many fabulous places and beautiful continents you have […]
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[…] #TreeSquare #31: Trees in the Bunya National Park […]
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Wow! Those trees are amazing Carol and how much fun to hike in and hang out in the trees being a kid at heart… I love Australia. lovely!💖💖
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Thanks, Cindy!
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🌷🥰
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The Bunya Mountains are quite close to me here, but believe it or not, I’ve never been there. My sister and her husband used to camp there a lot. You also taught me something new – I’ve never heard of the stinging tree.
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You have Carol to thank for any teaching that goes on my blog about Australia. She is a walking encyclopedia. If you don’t know her, she’s the Eternal Traveller. She recently retired from teaching. You’d love her.
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Sounds like it! 🙂
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🙂
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Wow Marsha ! Such am amazing photo of this tree.Happy Sunday Anita
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Thanks, Anita. It is a huge tree. Coming from the Sequoia National Park area, I didn’t think that Australia could match the size and grandeur of the Giant Sequoia, and it did not, but it didn’t really have to. It had so many interesting characteristics that I loved being there and seeing it. 🙂
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It is so amazing..none like we have here.
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No, it’s quite different.
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So cool Marsha, I am enjoying your tree posts immensely!
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Thanks, Deb. It was a magical day.
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It is always good to take time to walk a bout as you see not just look. I love Bunya pines 🙂 🙂
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It’s also nice to have a place, like a blog to share about it to friends world-wide. How cool is that, Brian? My dad was an amateur photographer. He and his buddy got together about once a month and projected photos on the walls at each other’s houses. I thought it was rather boring and embarrassing, especially if it was me in the photo. But I guess I inherited some of his desire to take and share photos.
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All I can say is “go Dad” what a great way to have a slide night. When parents friends had a slide night of their holidays I used to hate having to go. I wish I paid more attention now.
I am glad that the photographic DNA was shared with you Marsha 🙂 🙂
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Thanks, Brian. I am glad, too. I get a lot of pleasure from taking and sharing my photos, amateur as they are. They tell the story of me just as everyone’s photos tell the story of themselves and where they have been and the artistry in their vision and the skill in their processing. You have the same DNA. It crosses continents, races, creeds and brings us together to share what we are.
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So true Marsha 🙂
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Yes, those stinging trees are not pleasant. Lauren got stung once when she was quite little. It was very painful for her. That’s why we always wear closed in shoes at the Bunya Mountains, because the leaves can get you even when they’re lying on the ground.
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We were both very sensible me in my stabilization shoes and you in your trainers. No thongs on our feet. 🙂 It didn’t seem as fearful as I made it seem in my post. I think you just have to be careful and knowledge is power.
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It’s certainly a lovely place. We visited last year. It’s also culturally really significant to our First Nations people. And no, thongs aren’t the best footwear for hiking lol.
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Amazing trees to visit them is on my bucket list ☺️
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Let me know when you go. I’ll tag along in your suitcase. 🙂
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Yes indeed that would he great 💜💜
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What a great walk – lovely trees along the way and a waterfall at the end! Like you I prefer the first theory about the holes 🙂 But there do seem to be rather too many dangerous things in Australia for my liking – fancy a tree that can harm you 100 years after its own death?!!
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That is pretty amazing, isn’t it to think of the power to harm 100 years after it’s dead. That is an exponential amount of destructive ability.
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those are impressive trees, and I would not want to be bopped on the head with one of those falling cones!
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We were cautious of the cones, as I remember. They are super impressive, though.
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I would havebeen quite caurious as well. Seems like a hard hat should be worn…
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LOL, what a sense of humor you have. It’s raining so I’m sending you a drop or two.
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and maybe you should send me a typing manual as well…
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I’m lost in the woods or maybe the words (which is what I started to type.) Why do you need a typing manual, Jim. I type by spell check. 🙂
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no space between “havebeen” and misstyped cautious as caurious… 🙂
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Yours or mine? LOL
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mine,of course… 🙂
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🙂
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What a wonderful trail, and makes me so happy to think that you take your time too when out hiking,. I hate to rush as there is always so much to see, and photograph!
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and thank you so much for being a daily squarer this month. Truly awesome!
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Whew! Thanks, I’m panting.
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not surprised, especially after learning about what happened last week. Cee mentioned it today in a chat. Do hope you are on the mend
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I’m doing okay. I look awful. I’m taking it easy.
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Oh bless you. Sending hugs, and hope you’re being pampered xx
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Well I was with Carol, the Eternal Traveller, and she helps me put things in perspective.
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Thanks for sharing this marvelous trip with us. What an amazing place.
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It really was amazing. The most amazing thing about it was that I was there visiting a blogger friend so many thousands of miles away.
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Yes, that’s so wonderful.
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