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 bonusdowns@bigpond.com

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.