Lamington National Park is a place I feel compelled to return to — not merely in passing, but with the attentiveness it rightly deserves. On my last visit, circumstances allowed only the faintest impression of its grandeur. A series of storms had rendered much of the park inaccessible: roads were closed, trails impassable, and several of its most cherished locations had been entirely shut off to visitors.
Notably, the renowned waterfall — long a favourite among wanderers and naturalists — had also been cordoned off, its path rendered unsafe by flood damage. Thus, what was intended to be a day of exploration and renewal became, in essence, a six-hour round journey for little more than a glimpse beyond the gates.
It was a sobering reminder of nature’s dual aspect — both sanctuary and force. Lamington, after all, is no mere patch of wilderness. Nestled within the ancient remnants of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, it is home to a vast array of flora and fauna, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Giant strangler figs, prehistoric Antarctic beech trees, and elusive species like the Albert’s lyrebird dwell within its misted valleys and forested plateaus.
Established in 1915 and inscribed as a World Heritage site, the park holds not only ecological significance but cultural memory — having been long traversed and cared for by the Yugambeh people, whose deep knowledge of the land predates our maps and boundaries.
That my journey yielded so little, at least in the outward sense, was not a loss entirely. It served as a quiet testament to the park's wild integrity — that it cannot, and should not, be summoned at will. Like all places shaped by ancient time and living weather, Lamington must be approached with patience, humility, and a readiness to wait for its invitation.
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The Roman, Mayan, French, Habsburg, Ottoman, Romanov, Iranian, and Soviet dynasties each met their decline through the folly of decadent rulers who divorced themselves from reality, squandered the wealth of their realms, and withdrew into echo chambers wherein truth and falsehood became indistinguishable.
