Springbrook National Park

Visited: summer

Recommendation: This beautiful national park is so full of wildlife that you will not know which way to turn. Stay at the campground in the middle to get the best out of your visit.

Springbrook National Park is up in the McPherson Range west of the Gold Coast. It is an incredibly diverse area with lush rainforests, waterfalls and lots of interesting wildlife. There are several campsites in different areas and we chose The Settlement campground which was in a small rainforest clearing. Whipbirds, robins and parrots were all around, calling and dashing about.

My first success was to find a male Australian Logrunner. They have a white breast, while the female's are orange. I found a pair of them squawking noisily as they scratched around in the undergrowth. They are related to the Chowchilla found in Far North Queensland and you can see and hear why!

Australian Logrunner (Orthonyx temminckii)

There were lots of reptiles around the campsite and trails. My favourite sighting was of this Easter Water Dragon. They are semi-aquatic lizards native to eastern Australia and their range is from Victoria to Queensland. Known for their distinctive appearance, they have rough scales, sharp spines, and a crest of spines running from their head to their tail.

You can find Eastern Water Dragons near healthy waterways, such as creeks and rivers, where they bask on rocks or branches overhanging the water. They are excellent swimmers and often retreat to the water when threatened.

Eastern Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii )

One of the most attractive birds in the rainforest is always the Forest Kingfisher. While this bird has a very dark blue back, they can have many shades between this and a pale turquoise colour.

Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii)

As well as birds, there were lots of butterflies and moths around and I was particularly taken with this vivid blue butterfly that was sucking something (moisture?) up from between the stones on the tracks.

Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon)

Adjacent to the campground was a more open field with lots of grass and shrubs. Fairywren, firetails and parrots were all feeding here and my favourite sighting was the Crimson Rosella. They were comically teetering on grass stalks to get to the seeds.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)

All around the area were groups of pademelon. They were reasonably tame if approached quietly as they fed on the grass in the clearings.

Red-Necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis)

Spotlighting was difficult as it drizzled a lot after dark and it was on a mad dash back to the campervan when I spotted this frogmouth sitting, rather forlornly on a post. Trying to protect my camera, I walked slowly towards it and to my surprise, I got within touching distance of this remarkable creature. I didn't attempt to touch it, fearing the loss of a finger in that huge bill.

Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)