Tamborine National Park

Tamborine National Park is made up of 14 separate reserves scattered across Tamborine Mountain, a plateau rising to about 525 metres in the hinterland behind the northern Gold Coast. Its oldest part, Witches Falls, was declared in 1908 and is regarded as Queensland's first national park, while the park as a whole was formed in 1993. Together the reserves protect pockets of rainforest, open eucalypt forest and creeks between the villages and farms on the mountain.

Because the reserves are small, most walks are short and can be combined into a day. In the Joalah section, the Curtis Falls walk is a return track of about 1.5 kilometres through rainforest to a rock pool at the foot of the falls. The Palm Grove circuit passes stands of tall piccabeen palms, and the Witches Falls circuit, around 3 kilometres, winds through rainforest with cycads and strangler figs. Cedar Creek has a circuit past cascades and rock pools, and the Niches Lookout circuit gives wide views towards the coast.

The forests support a good range of birds, including lyrebirds, eastern whipbirds, satin bowerbirds and brush-turkeys, and platypus live in some of the creeks, although seeing one takes patience and luck. December to April is the wettest period, when the falls are fullest; winter is drier and cooler, which many walkers prefer.

The park suits families, casual walkers and anyone wanting to pair a little exercise with the mountain's cafes, galleries and wineries. Allow a full day if you want to do several walks, and bring water and good shoes, as tracks can be muddy after rain. Camping is not permitted anywhere in the park, so most visitors come on a day trip or stay in private accommodation on the mountain. Check the Queensland Parks website for any track closures before you go.

The park lies about 67 kilometres by road south of Brisbane, straddling the City of Gold Coast and the Scenic Rim, and most visitors from the coast arrive by car. In the MacDonald Park section, a 2.6-kilometre rainforest circuit with labelled plants sits next to the Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens, an easy pairing for a shorter visit, and the Knoll section has the 3-kilometre Cameron Falls circuit.