MOUNT GREVILLE

On my last full day in Australia, I had the chance to do some collecting.  After some very good discussions with Christine Lambkin (CSIRO Entomology) about nearby hilltop collection sites, Mount Greville in the Moogerah Peaks National Park emerged as the most promising site to visit.  Thomas Pape (Swedish Museum of Natural History), Ashley Kirk-Spriggs (National Museum of Namibia) and I headed out for a wonderful trip to the Australian countryside.  Mount Greville is about an hour and a half drive from Brisbane. The "South East Ridge" trail is the most direct route to the top, but it is a rigorous climb.

We saw wild kangaroos on the side road from the highway as we approached the mountain

The climb to the top showed rather dry vegetation and spectacular views of the surrounding country.

Plan on an hour and a half to climb to the top, and be sure to bring plenty of water.  Collecting on the summit was fantastic!  I would suggest bringing a long-handled tropical net to anyone who wants to collect flies here, as the vegetation at the summit is a bit higher than can be reached with a normal net.

We took the "Palm Gorge" trail on the way down.  While the views were spectacular on this trail, it was very steep and much harder than the trail up.  It runs down a crack in the mountain and the plants here look like tropical rainforest, as compared to the dry vegetation on the rest of the mountain.  It really made you think about "lost world" habitats in this wild country.  Not only was this trail harder on the legs, it also took much more time. 

(can't tell you how much I hurt when we took this photo on the way down)