Minerva Hills National Park

Spectacular jagged peaks provide a scenic backdrop to this Central Queensland national park. Formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago, Mount Boorambool and cliff-fringed Mount Zamia dominate the landscape today. Visit the iconic Virgin Rock situated on Mount Zamia. Its name is derived from the figure appearing in the town-facing side of the rock that looks like the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus. See if you can spot these figures at night time when Virgin Rock is floodlit for all to see. In the grassy open woodlands mountain coolibahs, silver-leaved ironbarks and gum-topped bloodwoods tower over macrozamias and grasstrees. Dry rainforest featuring figs, stinging trees, pittosporums and vines flourishes in sheltered gorges and at the base of the sheer cliffs. Spinifex grasslands dotted with wattles grow on the mountain summits. The park also supports spotted gum forests and low-lying heath. Stone scatters and rock art are historical evidence of the Kariai people who lived in the surrounding area, which included the site of Springsure, at the time Europeans settled the area. Image credits: Lookout and track—Robert Ashdown © Queensland Government Mountains—Brendan Moodie © Queensland Government