Lamington National Park

Lamington sits on the rim of an eroded shield volcano on the border ranges behind the Gold Coast, and its rainforest is part of the Gondwana Rainforests listing, a set of remnant forests whose plant lineages go back to a much older continent. Two road ends give access. Green Mountains has a suspended canopy walkway and the waterfall circuits that most day visitors do, including the track past Elabana Falls. Binna Burra sits on a ridge with drier forest and long views. The Border Track runs about twenty kilometres between them along the caldera rim, through stands of Antarctic beech near the highest ground. Pademelons feed at dusk and the forest is loud with bowerbirds and lyrebirds.

What you actually see

• The canopy walkway - suspension bridges strung through the rainforest crowns at Green Mountains.
• Box Forest Circuit - a waterfall loop passing Elabana Falls and mossy creek crossings.
• Antarctic beech stands - gnarled ancient-lineage trees along the high ridge tracks.
• The Border Track - the long ridge route linking Green Mountains and Binna Burra.

When to go

March to November is the drier and cooler stretch, and winter mornings are clear with mist in the valleys. Summer brings heavy rain, leeches and slippery tracks. The plateau is noticeably colder than the coast at any time of year, so bring a layer even when the Gold Coast is warm. Weekends fill the small car parks.

Honest expectations

The access roads are narrow, winding and slow, and unsuitable for large vehicles or nervous drivers. Rainforest means rain, so views from the lookouts are often closed in by cloud, and after wet weather leeches are constant and tracks are slick. Facilities at both road ends are limited, and mobile coverage is patchy to absent.

Nearby

Springbrook National Park lies east along the same rim, with the Gold Coast beaches an hour away.