Ratpack - Blackdown Tablelands - Livistona fulva

[Daryl]

The aussie Ratpack had a great day today travelling to the tablelands...photos to come!

[Tala]

ooh fulva ... am waiting w/ Pavlov's bell on ...

chatted w/ Mike D re: your adventures yrs back, a great read. If you're able to post that here it would make a nice prelude.

[Daryl]

As per Dave's request...

Blackdown Tablelands, Queensland - Latitude 23 Deg south -Dry Tropics

In October '98, I made a quick trip to central Queensland, and up to the Blackdown Tablelands. These tablelands rise to 3000 ft above sea level. Although they are located right on the Tropic of Capricorn, their height and inland location cools the climate down, and the weather is substantially cooler and wetter than the surrounding plains.

There are many unique plants growing on these tablelands, and from a palm perspective, they are the home of Livistona fulva, also known as Livistona sp. "Blackdown". This palm is one of the more attractive members of the genus, with stiff leaves which have a bronze waxy surface under the leaf. On the tablelands they grow to approximately 60ft tall, the trunk smooth and approximately 10-12 inches thick.

This palm is tolerant of a wide range of conditions, from high heat and humidity down to below freezing temperatures. Given suitable water and fertiliser, it grows at a reasonable rate.

With this in mind, central Florida palm collector Mike Dahme contacted an old friend in Cairns, the late Dave Hopkins, as well as myself to embark on a whirlwind tour of the tablelands.

Rockhampton is an eight and a half hour drive from the Gold Coast (seven and a half hour drive north of Brisbane), so I left home at about 4am to meet the guys at lunch time in Rocky. After meeting up, we then headed out to the tablelands, which are a two and a half hour drive west of Rocky. Unfortunately we took Dave's old car, a '78 Ford Fairlane, and it didn't like the gravel road that takes you to the top of the tableland. The entire area is a National park, and unfortunately the 20km road to the top was the most washed out dirt/gravel/lumpy rock road. We had to drive very slowly, even though it was supposed to be suitable for normal cars. It was really only suitable for 4WD (4x4) vehicles at the time due to the erosion from recent rains and lack of regular maintenance (grading). Half way to the top we shuddered around another corrugated corner and the car just stopped dead. Stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

Anyway, luckily I found the fault..a sheered rotor button in the distributor. Fortunately I had mobile phone coverage, even though we were a long way from a major town. Anyway there was a road service mechanic located in the closest town (Blackwater) and he drove up to meet us with a new rotor button. Whilst we were waiting for him to arrive, the park ranger arrived and introduced herself. We all had a good chat for about 30 minutes and she told us the location of the palms and wished us well...

We only had to drive another ten minutes before we found the first stand, right on the side of the main road. We then spent the next hour 'discovering' all of the other easily accessible stands of Livistona fulva. Unfortunately it started getting dark, so we had to head back down the mountain nad back to Rocky. At least we did get to see the palms after all of our dramas.

Daryl

Here are the group...Mike D on the right, the Park ranger, her dad and Dave Hopkins on the left. Dave used to be a regular contributor to the old IPS email list 10 years ago and was known as aussiedave for those of you who used to belong to the group.

[paulgila]

is that it? hurry up!!!!

[Daryl]

OK, fast forward 10 years, and we find the Aussie 'Ratpack' in the same location!

We had decided 6 months ago that the next 'Ratpack adventure tour' would be to Rockhampton and surrounding areas, including Blackdown. We extended our offer to the Brisbane Palm and Cycad Society as other people had expressed a desire to visit the same areas in an organised tour.

So, after a couple of months of organising, we ended up with 8 people in our tour party. The original Ratpack were there, except for Rob, who unfortunately had other commitments. We did have three extras though, Peter, Darren and Phil from BPACS. So we had eight people to transport from Brisbane to Rocky. We had decided on a road trip as it was a reasonably economical way to travel, and the distance wasn't that great - 650km. Colin had to fly up from Kiama International, so we met him in Rockhampton later in the day.

Here is our crew, just before embarking on a fun weekend...5:30am on a cool late winter Friday. L-R Andy, Mike, Phil, Wal, Daryl, Peter and Darren

A lot of Queensland is dry country, and central QLD is no exception. This is the road to Rockhampton, the Bruce highway. However, there are surprises along the way...

The ranges are never too far inland...

The most common palm you see on the side of the highway in central Queensland is Livistona decora

[paulgila]

wait,how can u fast forward 10 years & have a photo of it?

i am confused.you guys are on the wrong side of the planet!!!

p.s.why do you all look so cold except wal who's wearing an aloha shirt? its summertime!

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi All

Well this morning the rest of the rat pack dropped me off at the Rockhampton airport so i could fly to Cairns and visit Mikey, we spent the afternoon at Cairns botannical gardens and tommorrow we go exploring on the tablelands then the next day to mission beach and hopefully catch up with Michael (aussiearoids) The lone rat packer continues the adventure. Wal is going to post the first picture and story (well that was the plan last night).

The pictures and stories are going to be unbelievable, what a 3 days. hard to believe what we saw and did, Daryl did a great plan, everyone is exhausted, we where even visiting gardens last night in the dark! Tonight lots of sleep so an adventure can continue, next aussie adventure, come and join us

regards

colin

[Daryl]

wait,how can u fast forward 10 years & have a photo of it?

i am confused.you guys are on the wrong side of the planet!!!

p.s.why do you all look so cold except wal who's wearing an aloha shirt? its summertime!

Paul, Paul, Paul, Please sit down, take some more of your tablets and then stand on your head. Then you'll get the right perspective.

About Wal? What can I say???

[paulgila]

i am standing on my head & yer STILL upside-down!

[ariscott]

It is always summer time in Queensland....

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

iya tapi semua keliatan dingin skli...

[ariscott]

Paul,

Your Indonesian sounds like Scott's (my other half) . No, it is still quite cool down there, I think... although I bet it is warming up pretty fast now. Wal is like Scott's and his aloha shirt!! No matter what the season is, it is their standard attire.

Regards, Ari

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Sorry Wal

Could not wait for the first picture, maybe yours for starting the travel Log

The picture that starts the story

regards

Colin

[realarch]

Glad you guys made it, looking forward to ALL of the photos. Looked up your destination in the atlas, so the palm flora changes that much from

Brisbane/ Gold Coast north to Rockhampton?

Tim

[BS Man about Palms]

Sorry Wal

Could not wait for the first picture, maybe yours for starting the travel Log

The picture that starts the story

regards

Colin

First Class That is!!!!!

[osideterry]

This thread is taking WAY too long to get started. I'm just hoping this one doesn't involve ANTS!

[palmtreesforpleasure]

It is now 7.40 am. here. THe team got back late last night and would not have had time to post. I had access to the internet last night in Cairns so i did a quick few posts. Daryl did a few early from his mobile (cell) phone and ddi a couple late last night. We had to sleep but would expect Wal and Dary lto cut loose today. Going exploring with Mikey today so may not get to post for awhile

regards

colin

This thread is taking WAY too long to get started. I'm just hoping this one doesn't involve ANTS!

[Daryl]

OK, back to Blackdown Tablelands...

It takes about two and a half hours to drive west from Rocky to the tablelands. There are just a couple of small towns along the way. We stopped at one called Duaringa to cater for the older members of our group Whilst they were using the amenities, we found a small palm garden in the park about 100 metres away. Somebody had created a waterfall garden, and surrounded it with shady trees and palms! We all ran over to check it out and found a few different species of Livistona and an unknown fan palm.

Here is the garden...I think we counted 4 species of Liv plus the mystery...

Livistona lanuginosa

The mystery...any guesses?

Daryl

[Walter John]

On the road to Blackdown we passed many Brachychiton trees (Queensland Bottle) as this is their natural habitat.

Meanwhile, the coal trains did not stop coming.

And here's proof that was Daryl's photo above

[Daryl]

Moving on along the road...we drive past the township of Dingo and turn left into the park. The surrounding plains are very dry and not exactly lush...

As we drive closer, the tablelands impress with their size.

Almost there...

Fortunately the main road into the park has been sealed with bitumen all the way to the top, making for easy driving. Half way to the top of the tablelands we rounded a corner and got our first glimpse of Livistona fulva...

That was just a little taster of what was to come a little further up the road...A lot of the palms were starting to flower.

The population increased and became much more impressive...

[Daryl]

Here's a few more photos of L.fulva...the sandstone cliffs make a nice backdrop

C'mon Wal...time to leave...

[Daryl]

Colin just had to get a closer look...

The palms in this creekbed were taller than most that we saw. One had a trunk height of 17 metres (56 feet)

Colin, getting amongst the canopy...

[bubba]

You Ratpackers have all the fun!

[Daryl]

The view from the top...

I wonder what grows in those other ranges over yonder???

That about covers our day in the tablelands...Col and Wal have more photos I'm sure, not to mention Mike and Andy.

Daryl

[John in Andalucia]

Those last shots are sheer tranquility! Thanks for posting, Daryl.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Great pics gents! Love the PRA paraphenalia...

(This thread needs some ants.)

[Tyrone]

I really enjoyed that guys. Thanks for posting. Don't Livistona's look so much at home with Eucalypts. What an extraordinary area. I would never have guessed that there would be palms 250km inland from Rockie. That area is probably a glimpse into what Australia looked like all across before it totally dried out. It sort of looks like the inland road to Cooktown.

Best regards

Tyrone

[joe_OC]

You Ratpackers really know how to make a case for Livistonas! As a newbie, I am attracted to the pinnate palms, but I now see that I need to incorporate MORE fan palms into the yard. Thanks for opening up my eyes...

Joe

[Cycadcenter]

Blackdown Tablelands is one of the most botanical diverse localities in Australia, I read somewhere it has more species for its area than any other place in Oz.

We have been there several times and it's interesting to read that the access road is now sealed, a bit different from the bone jarring corregations of the old road.

I hope you were able to see some of the other botanical finds of the park including cycads, orchids and tree ferns.

Tyrone, there are more palms further to the west of Rocky, Livistona nitida are further west in the Carnarvon Gorge and Taroom areas.

Great photos,

Bruce

[Jeff in St Pete]

Guys, Thanks for the photos of your awesome trip! I look forward to many more.

[Walter John]

Hello moderators, whenever you're ready to move this to Travel logs , please do, in the meantime.

We stopped at various places on the road for the Blackdown Livistona and this was my fav spot. Darren and I went in for a closer look at the sandstone cliffs and some real up close and personal views of this magnificent palm. To see palms in their natural habitat like this takes your breath away and you feel so humble and little in this world. Oh dear, I'm sounding religious now, shut up Wal and post the pics.

How about this, a group of one leafers popping up, a real healthy sign for the L dot fulva of Blackdown Tableland.

[elHoagie]

Awesome, thanks for the pics! Getting a close-up view of the crowns from those rocks is fantastic...

[Tala]

no close-ups from below??? We need to see the undersides of the fronds fellas, gotta sell this. For me money one of the most beautiful palmate species in all the world, highly adaptable too. Saw some blackened stems via fires I assume. And thanks for the pics. The cliffs/rock make a spectacular backdrop. They reside nowhere else correct?

The mystery palm - no armor on the petioles? Here some Livs grown in total shade will do this. Could be anything at this point.

Edited September 2, 2008 by Tala

[Walter John]

Fulva in flower is a wonderous sight due to the familiarity of the colours in the landscape. All the colours seemed to match as if a hired professional decorator designed it so.

Under the crown

[Walter John]

Four ratpackers (Phil, Pete, Darren and Wal) found a walk trail on top of the tableland and so we took it and it led to another fantastic lookout.

Ratpack strength being shown here by Darren in holding up this rock so the rest of the team could walk past safely, thanks Darren, we owe you one.

It nearly happened again, but this time it was my turn to help and I wasn't going to be as silly as Darren, I went and grabbed a stick and shoved it under to hold the rock so we could get by.

[Walter John]

I think I'll make this my last pics of the Blackdown tablelands exploration. It is very hard to translate the experience into the photos, I hope you readers got some enjoyment just the same. Perhaps Mike and Col have some pics to add.

Blue Sky Fulva

Burnt trunk Fulva

Rump Steak

[aussiearoids]

Col has just hit the road after a pleasant morning drive down to Mission Beach & Heinz , and Bingle Bay and Arenga australasica habitat ... also a quick stroll down the boardwalk in the Licuala National Park ,, a few fresh pics to show El Hoagie whats in store .. Col enjoyed my special road-kill chilli ,,,shhh don't tell him

[Walter John]

This lizard has a story to tell, you can find out all about it in Palmpedia soon under the title "Riding with the Ratpack".

[amazondk]

Thanks for the tour guys. That is a very beautiful part of the world.

dk

[Steve]

Great photo tour guys. I love how the rugged surrounding landscape accentuates the beauty of the palms!