March Activity Details - Rosalie Heights, Mt. Storey and Mt. Kingsthorpe

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 6 March 2026 

Mt Kingsthorpe hovea

Speaker: Dr Jen Silcock is a Research Fellow at the School of the Environment, University of Queensland. She spent her first 20 years on the Darling Downs before heading into the drier country further west in search of cryptic species, lost oases, ecological mysteries, obscure local history and the elusive perfect swimming spot. She has worked for various Government Departments and, for the past decade, at the University of Queensland, on projects relating to rangeland ecology, grazing land management, threatened species, wetland ecology and ethnobotany.

Title: Ecology and conservation of two cryptic and threatened outback mammals: the yellow-footed rock wallaby and greater bilby.

Venue: St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 8 March 2026   

Vine Scrub at Mount Kingsthorpe

Meeting Time: 8.30 am

Where: Gowrie Junction opposite the Convenience Store

Description: Vine scrub hilltops.

Activities: After a short walk along the edge of a patch of vine scrub at Hilltop Drive, we will continue to a private garden where a small patch of remnant vegetation was saved by the owners from clearing when the Rosalie Heights estate was built.

After morning tea we will continue to the Terry Egan Park, Mt Storey area just south of Glencoe Mountain for a walk where there is a picnic table and views to the west.

Then on to Settlers Park at Kingsthorpe. In Kingsthorpe there are two options:  (i) a short drive to the base of Mt. Kingsthorpe and a 450m walk from there through vine scrub along a well-formed path with some steps to the top. This lookout has expansive views and a glimpse of some of the original rainforest vegetation that once covered the area, or (ii) 700m  ‘Rosalie Walk’ – part of the Kingsthorpe Linear Corridor. All return to Settlers Park for lunch.

Level of Fitness: Scale of difficulty – level 3. 

Facilities: The nearest toilets are in Kingsthorpe. Settlers Park has an electric BBQ, seating and toilets.

What to Bring: suitable clothing and closed footwear for walking in the bush, sunscreen, insect repellent, water, morning tea and lunch, chair, and the usual naturalist stuff of your choice; binoculars, camera, field guides, notebook, etc.