Girraween National Park

Girraween National Park sits on the Granite Belt in the Southern Downs region of south-east Queensland, straddling the Great Dividing Range about 260 kilometres south-west of Brisbane and just north of the New South Wales border. The park takes its name from the Githabul word for 'place of flowers', and its spring wildflower displays from September to November are among the most colourful in inland Queensland.

The landscape is defined by massive granite formations - domes, tors, balancing rocks and exposed slabs - that emerged from the earth's crust around 250 million years ago and have been sculpted by weathering into their current dramatic shapes. The Pyramid, a 200 metre high granite dome, is the park's most popular walk. The track to the summit involves scrambling up the final section on bare rock and rewards with 360 degree views of the surrounding bushland and the Granite Belt wine country to the north.

The Balancing Rock, perched on a narrow granite pedestal, is the park's most photographed feature and is reached by a short track near the visitor centre. The Granite Arch, a natural stone bridge formed by weathering along a fracture line, is another highlight and is accessible on a moderate walk through open eucalypt forest.

The park supports a wide variety of native wildlife, including platypus in Bald Rock Creek, powerful owls, turquoise parrots and several species of glider. The night sky above Girraween is excellent for stargazing because the park is far from major light sources, and the campground often runs astronomy events through the cooler months.

Girraween is adjacent to the Granite Belt wine region, one of Queensland's premier cool-climate wine areas, producing excellent alternative-variety wines from grapes suited to the high altitude and cool nights. The nearby town of Stanthorpe (30 minutes north) is the centre of the wine district and also the heart of Queensland's stone fruit and apple growing region. The park has two campgrounds (Bald Rock Creek and Castle Rock) that should be booked in advance during the spring wildflower season and school holidays.