This is view of Glass House mountains, so called because Cook thought they looked like the glass furnaces in the UK, and they do at ground level from a distance.  There are 16 of them in all, and they are all volcanic plugs formed as this part of Australia went over a hot spot.  Originally they were covered in sandstone, just imagine the volume of material that has been eroded to reveal what we see today.  Shame it wasn’t a clearer day.

 

 

Climbing vines and a view through the rain forest.

 

 

LHS Blue quandong (Elaeocarpus grandis).  Trees with buttress roots are common feature in tropical rain forests.  Soils are usually poor so they help get water and nutrients to the plant and give additional support.  RHS lots of epiphytic plants in rainforests including  stag horn fern. 

 

 

You get lots of different eucalyptus, or ‘gum’, or eucalypts, trees.   This is the rose or flooded gum tree (Eucalyptus grandis) which isn't normally found in rain forests but in the area between true rain forest and drier eucalyptus forest (called the wet sclerophyll forest – you gotta love those signs!).  How come they are in a rain forest now? you ask.  Well these are thought to have germinated during a drier climatic period. Since then conditions have become a bit more wetter and so they have gradually become surrounded by rain forest.  When these die others won’t grow unless the climate becomes drier again.  Just goes to show what great indicators of past climates, plants and their seeds are.

 

 

We were told, when we arrived at the reserve, that there were a few pademelons around (this one is the red legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) or the small rainforest wallaby).  We came across this one right next to the path.  It really spooked me (easily done – I look everywhere for snakes.  Of course the boys don’t help with their ‘look over there’s and beating sticks routines).  I digress, anyway something disturbed tis one and it bounded past me and away.  Spot the wallaby... sorry about the quality a bit dark. Annie where were you and your camera?