Australia: The Land Where Time Began
Kilkivan Forest Reserve
What's special?
Just north of Kilkivan on the Mudlo Range, Kilkivan Forest Reserve protects one of the area’s few remaining stands of native hoop pine rainforest. Rainforest once covered many of the coastal ranges in the Lower Burnett Valley. Little remains today.Rainforest covers most of the park. Large hoop pines and occasional bunya pines tower over the rainforest canopy. Many plants are close to the limit of their normal range here and the rare large-leaf chainfruit grows in the park. Open eucalypt woodlands with ironbarks and forest red gums grow on more exposed slopes and foothills.
Mudlo is believed to mean “men’s magic stone” but little is known about the Aboriginal people who lived here. Mudlo was a once a timber-getting area and later attracted copper and gold miners to the Kilkivan area.
Exploring Kilkivan
Go for a short scenic drive from Kilkivan to Mudlo Gap. Stop for a picnic or bushwalk beside Scrubby Creek. Only picnic tables are provided.Walk through the rainforest or uphill to a lookout over Kilkivan and the surrounding countryside. See strangling figs, staghorns and buttressed trees along the track.
Continue your scenic drive to Mudlo Gap for a great view over the surrounding grazing land and forests. Picnic tables, a shelter shed, toilets and a barbecue are provided at the Gap.
Enjoy the local wildlife. See whiptail wallabies, brush-turkeys and wonga pigeons.
Camping is not allowed in the park but you can stay nearby at Kilkivan.
Walking
Explore the hoop pine rainforest along two walking tracks. The Mudlo Gap track is quite steep with many steps, but the view at the top is your reward for the strenuous climb. Try to arrange to be dropped off at the Gap and walk downhill.Accessibility
The Scrubby Creek picnic table is wheelchair-accessible.Getting there
Kilkivan is 8·5km north of Kilkivan. Head north from Kilkivan along James and Bridge Streets towards the Showgrounds. Continue along the Mudlo Road to Scrubby Creek and another 400m to Mudlo Gap.
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