The Palms National Park

Tucked away in the hills east of Cooyar, The Palms National Park is a gem worth making an effort to visit. Small in size, but big in nature, this tiny patch of rainforest is filled with impressive piccabeen palms, towering fig trees and a rich suite of birdlife. At the heart of The Palms is an impressive stand of piccabeen palms clinging to a waterlogged depression and surrounded by a variety of other vegetation types. Wildlife finds refuge in the forest where it is moist, and thrives at the junction between different forest types. The Palms is a great place for a stopover en-route to the Bunya Mountains, or when driving between Cooyar and Yarraman. Enjoy a picnic lunch and then follow the short walk that encircles the palm forest—palms one side, dry vine forest on the other. Admire piccabeen palms, a large strangler fig, bunya and hoop pines, and buttressed trees along the track and boardwalks through the rainforest. Look for grey-headed flying-foxes roosting in the palm trees above the creek in summer, or on the ground for noisy pittas and black-breasted button-quails during winter and spring. Image credits—Karen Smith © Queensland Government