The Ooline Forest
Billy Tea & Damper Genuine Billy Tea and Damper with lunch are
cooked on site for you in the Ooline Forest with
the Full Bonus Downs
Tour.
Guests can relax and sit
around the fire talking
with friends and hearing
more stories about life
in the outback or hike
further afield while the
billy is boiling.
Delicious locally sourced
food is prepared
outback style.
Where to Find Ooline
Bonus Downs is acclaimed as passionately preserving
some of the last standing Ooline forests. Once
widespread in the bottle tree dominated softwood
scrubs of central Queensland, the Ooline has suffered a
major decline. Clearing for agricultures, grazing as well
as fires are the main reasons for the decline of the
Ooline. Until recently, the only known stands of Ooline
conserved in the national park were at Sundown National
Park in South-Eastern Queensland and the Moolayember
section of the Carnarvon National Park in Central
Queensland. The Tregole National Park in Western
Queensland conserves almost pure stands of the rare
Ooline tree.
A scattering of Ooline tree parks
can be also be found surviving on
private land holdings in
Queensland. The property Bonus
Downs has several impressive
stands of Ooline Trees which have
been passionately. preserved.
Yellow area is an indicative distribution map of the present distribution of Ooline.
Bonus Downs Red Dot
Bonus Downs Farmstay 4566 Mitchell-Bollon Rd. Mitchell, QLD
Phone +61 (0)7 4623 1573
Mobile +61 (0)427 231 537
Email [email protected]
www.bonusdownsfarmstay.com.au
26 Degrees 42 Minutes South
147 Degrees 41 Minutes East
“Lyle & Madonna’s country
hospitality is second to none.
This is a ‘must do’ holiday”
Ooline on Tour Bonus Downs Farmstay offers a personal tour of the Ooline Forest as part of the Full Bonus Downs Experience Tour. Catering includes genuine outback Billy Tea, and Damper and Lunch.
The most popular way to experience the forest is to take the tour with Lyle and Madonna as your personal guides. The Ooline Forest can be accessed by visitors as a bushwalk or cycle (for the enthusiast) by arrangement.
Guests can experience the absolute stillness and quiet of the Ooline Forest whilst exploring on their own or bush walking on the marked trails.
Discover the many different plant species, observe wildlife or simply relax by the fire and listen to Lyle and Maddona’s talks on the historic background of the Ooline and their ongoing vision of preserving the forest.
Characteristics of the Ooline Ooline is a medium to large tree with
bright green leaves and rough tile-
patterned bark. The tree has rainforest
origins dating back 1.6 million years to
the Gondwana days.
EPBC Act legal status—Vulnerable listed
16 July 2000
Cadellia pentastylis
(Ooline) is a tree to 10 m (occasionally
25 m) high with a bushy crown and
dark grey bark which is hard and
fissured (Threatened Species Scientific
Committee. Leaves are alternate,
simple (undivided) on short hairy stalks
(petioles) which are 2 to 7 mm long,
glossy (including when juvenile), green
on top, paler and dull underneath.
The leaf blades are obovate (egg-shaped) to elliptical usually
1 cm to 7 cm long and 1.5 cm to 2 cm wide with broad
rounded tips. Veins are prominent on both sides when dry.
These flowers are single with five petals and approximately
20 mm in diameter. Flowers are usually white in colour, but
may also appear greenish or reddish. The main flowering
period is usually between October to November, but the
timing of flower may vary depending on environmental
factors. Fruit is brownish in colour with a wrinkled surface.
Fruit are presented in a cluster of 3 to 5 balls (drupes) at the
centre of the old flower. Each segment is 3 to 5 mm long and
contains a single, hard-coated seed.
Exploring the Forest Take time out on your tour to go exploring.
Find the little gems in surprising corners of the
forest.
This is a photographers or artists haven with
rewards for those who immerse themselves in
the forest.
Walking tracks are signed and flat and easy to
traverse. Take a leisurely stroll in the shady
forest while lunch is being prepared for you.
The Full Bonus Downs Experience
Personal guided tour of the
Bonus Downs Historic Homestead
Jackaroo’s Cottage
Buffel Paddock
Ooline Forest
Fully catered with
Billy Tea & Damper Morning Tea & Lunch
Adults $60pp Children $30pp
Tuesdays & Thursdays
Bookings essential
Why is the Ooline unique The Ooline tree with its rainforest origins dating back to the Pleistocene Era (1.6 million to 10,000 years ago) has been listed as a ‘vulnerable’ species. This liasting is as a result of the scarcity of the remnant Ooline trees with only several stands of Ooline remaining in South Western and Central Queensland. The relic of the Gondwanan rainforests which once covered inland Australia millions of years ago is an example of a tree once relatively common but now threatened as a result of human activities. The survival of theses trees in theses areas make it even more unique given these are found in a hot dry climate in start contradiction to their rainforest origin.