LearnAboutWildlife.com
Title
Wildlife tours and Australian nature tours with Araucaria Ecotours
Contact
- Araucaria Ecotours
-
- Rathdowney QLD
- Australia 4287
-
- +61.738484318
Description
Araucaria is the genus name of the local hoop pines, which are amongst the tallest trees of the rainforests. Bunya pines, native to the forests north of Brisbane, and very important to the Aboriginals, are also Araucaria. So too are the monkey puzzle trees of South America, and several other species from South America, New Guinea, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island - that is, both sides of the South Pacific. They are related by ancestry of trees in the forests of the great supercontinent of Gondwana: the last major pieces to split apart were South America (which still has Araucaria and marsupials, Antarctica (which used to have both before it froze over) and Australia (which still has both, plus various other plant and animal groups related to those of South America
The idea began some years ago. For almost three years before commencing university to study zoology, Ronda had run a holiday farm in the Adelaide Hills, a major aim of which was to encourage an appreciation of nature and a fascination with all aspects of natural history; using nature-based games, nature treks through the bushland and the development of a small natural history museum.
Years later, after completing a PhD in zoology, becoming wife and mother, lecturing and conducting ecological research, she and husband Denis began seeking out a suitable property with the aim of running activities which combined enjoyable ways of learning about Australia's wildlife and other natural history with a holiday in natural surroundings. The land they bought on the banks of Running Creek (South-east Queensland) was ideal: only a 90-minute drive from Brisbane; 87 acres adjacent to a national park (Mt Chinghee NP: a rainforest-clad mountain); a few km from the largest area of subtropical rainforest in the world (Lamington NP and the adjoining Border Ranges NP); a kilometre of creek along the property boundary (well-named "Running Creek": it keeps running through the worst of droughts) with platypus, turtles and native fish; several habitats on the property (rainforest regeneration of various ages, creekside sheoak forest, and eucalypt-studded pasture); and a variety of terrestrial wildlife: possums and gliders, wallabies and kangaroos, bandicoots, antechinuses (small carnivorous marsupials), fruitbats, insectivorous bats and native rodents; bowerbirds, button-quails, fruit-pigeons, cockatoos and parrots, eagles and hawks, ducks, cormorants, brush turkeys and many other birds; freshwater turtles, carpet pythons (harmless to humans), water dragons, goannas and many other lizards; several species of tree-frogs and 'southern' frogs; plus many interesting invertebrates such as the large carnivorous king cricket of the rainforest floor and several species of land snails of Gondwanan ancestry.
