About Araucaria Ecotours Queensland Australia

All ages are welcome on most tours

For information on the background to our tour company, Araucaria Ecotours, see:

Our name

‘Araucaria‘ is the genus name of the native hoop ‘pines’ (Araucaria cunninghamii) which grow on our property and local forests, and bunya ‘pines’ (Araucaria bidwillii) native to Queensland north of Brisbane. The South American monkey puzzle tree is in the same genus, connected through ancestry from when Australia, Antarctica and South America were a continuous landmass. While Pinus species are the main conifers of the northern hemisphere, Araucaria species were the main conifers of the southern hemisphere and were prolific in the days of the great southern continent Gondwana, but nowadays confined to Australia and neighbouring islands (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island) and the southern half of South America (Chile, Argentina, southern Brazil)

‘Ecotours’ refers to tours that uphold the ideals of ecotourism: visiting native habitats, environmentally sound, educational and contributing to the local community. We hold advanced eco-accreditation for each tour so far applied for.

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Our goals

Our goal is to provide highly enjoyable, quality tours, camps and other activities which will enhance enjoyment and understanding of wildlife and of nature generally
We also contribute to conservation through donation, research, habitat restoration and public education
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Awards won by Araucaria Ecotours

Hidden Jewel Award 2008

1.Joint winner (with O’Reilly’s Guest House) of Ecotourism Award, Beaudesert Shire Tourism Awards 2002 [note: Beaudesert Shire since then been amalgamamted into the Scenic Rim Shire]

2. Winner of Queensland branch of OM4 Tourism’s Hidden Jewel Awards 2008

3. Winner of the Rainforest Way Nature Tourism Award, Scenic Rim Shire Tourism Awards 2008 (picture shows Ronda receiving the award from Robyn Rae of Rainforest Way: photo in Beaudesert Times)

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Memberships

Araucaria Ecotours is a member of:

Other memberships our family members belong to include:

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Our people

Araucaria Ecotours is a small family-run business, as has conducted tours since May 1997. Family members involved in the business are:

  • Ronda J Green, BSc(Hons), PhD
  • Denis S. Green, B. App. Sc.
  • Darren A. S. Green

Ronda holds a PhD in zoology and has conducted much ecological and behavioural research over the years, especially seed dispersal by fruit-eating animals and the effects of habitat alteration.

She has also had extensive experience in nature interpretation for all ages, having run a holiday farm, worked as ranger in charge of interpretive activities, lectured at university and adult education classes, conduced research into recreational and educational activities for children and into birdwatching in Australia, and has over the years led many voluntary activities, day excursions and camps for all ages from pre-school to adult

Ronda has travelled in wilderness areas of all nonpolar continents, and speaks a little Spanish and a few phrases of various other languages

photos of Ronda Green

Denis holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, and has worked as a science teacher and an industrial chemist.

He has written various computer programs, including a bird call quiz and other interpretive programs (in association with Ronda) for the Lamington Natural History Association’s Information Centre at Binna Burra.

He used to be a keen SCUBA diver until asthma prevented this, but still enjoys snorkelling whenever he gets a chance.

Denis works mainly ‘behind the scenes’ at home but also drives some tours. He has traveled in most Australian states, Europe, South America and Bali.

Darren has lived on the Araucaria property all his life, and grown up with a deep love of the local forests and wildlife. He has helped his zoologist mother with fauna surveys and research projects from an early age.

He is a keen nature photographer and talented musician, composing and performing mostly on the piano.

Darren leads or assists with many of the tours.

photos of Darren Green

Jason Taylor, a local resident with an interest in nature, is frequently hired on a casual basis for landscape work and also accompanies some of our tours

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Our property

Most real estate agents told us we were crazy when we looked for a property within our budget which was less than two hours’ drive from Brisbane, with rainforest and a permanent creek, adjacent to a National Park or similar protected area and at least 50 acres. After some intensive searching however, we found it: 87 acres at the foot of Mt Chinghee near the Queensland-NSW border, about a third covered in fairly mature rainforest regrowth, adjacent to Mt Chinghee NP (covered in seasonally-dry rainforest) and with views to Border Ranges NP and Lamington NP, one kilometre of Running Creek (which has never stopped running in even the worst of droughts), and just a 90 minute drive to either Brisbane or the Gold Coast. Steep slopes that were covered largely in weeds and land-slips are now on their way back to being rainforest.


Scenes from the Araucaria home property

Scenes from the Araucaria home property

Much of the rest of the property is grassy (mostly the native kangaroo grass Themeda australis with scattered forest red gum (also called Queensland blue gum) Eucalyptus tereticornis. The riparian section along the river is dominated by sheoaks and melaleucas, with many bottlebrush and a few rainforest species such as figs and lillypillies. The massive flood of January 2008 took out more than 90% of these trees, but there are now many young ones coming up.

Wildlife on the property

freshwater turtle

shortnecked turtle

Wildlife on the property includes platypus, koala, red-necked wallaby, brushtail possum, squirrel glider, northern brown bandicoot, brushtailed phascogale, yellow-footed antechinus, water-rat and other native rats, fruitbats, microbats, regent bowerbird, lewin’s honeyeater, eastern whipbird, sulphur-crested cockatoo, azure kingfisher, black-breasted button-quail, tawny frogmouth, little pied cormorant and many other birds, lace monitor (goannas), bearded dragon, eastern water dragon, eastern water skink, major skink, carpet python, short-necked turtle and other reptiles, green tree frog, stony creek frogs, broad-palmed rocket frogs, ornate burrowing frogs and other frogs, eels, catfish and other fish plus many butterflies and other invertebrates. These creatures are all truly wild, so we cannot guarantee seeing any particular species, but there is always something to see.

Ecological and behavioural research on the Araucaria property and beyond

Ronda Green has a PhD in zoology and has been conducting ecological fieldwork for many years, including frugivory and seed dispersal research in southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. She has also conducted research on habitat alteration and its effects on wildlife in southeast Queensland as well as Victoria. See ‘conservation work’ below, and details of research by Ronda Green

Conservation on the property and environmental sustainability of our tours

Habitat conservation and restoration

We received a grant in 2007 from the former Beacudesert Shire Council to separate our horse-grazing area from our rainforest regeneration area and set up experimental plot to monitor the restoration and changes in wildlife and plants within. This study will continue for many years, as will clearing of weeds from part of the area.

We are conserving existing native vegetation on the property and restoring damaged habitat (in addition to the regeneration area mentioned abiove) by removing weeds and planting local species, with continued monitoring of fauna and flora.

Alternative energy use

The wildlife Information Centre and our house both run on solar electricty via photovoltaic cells. We are not connecting to mains electricity at all.

Portable appliances such as our laptops and torches (flashlights) are charged also by solar power.

We use a misture of unleaded and ethanol in our main tour vehicle (we realize there are still some environmental problems connected with ethanol, but hope that these will be more easily solved than the problem of using up our fossil fuels) and are espcerimentiong with biodeisel for the 4WD.

Minimizing disturbance to wildlife

We always try to leave aniomals doing whatever their activity was when we firstg sighted them.

We don’t allow flashlight photos of animals that have to fly or glide, or close-up flashlight photos of any animal looking towards the camera

We explain to our guests how to approach and observe animals with minimal distrubance

Ronda has conducted an extensive survey of impacts of wildlife tourism on wildlife for the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Reserach Centre, has implemented the findings in our own tours, given advice to others and presented papers on the topic at conferences.

Wer hold advanced eco-accreditation for all tours so far applied for.

Work experience and wwoofing with Araucaria Ecotours

We welcome wwoofas and students with a serious interest in wildlife, ecology, conservation or ecotourism. Please do not come if you cannot abide being away from public transport and city life for several days at a time, or feel the need for unlimited television or internet use. If you do not have a constant need for these things and enjoy being in natural surroundings away from the crowds, and learning about fauna and flora and  ecotourism, and would like to have some experience here with us, then please contact us (well in advance of the dates you would like to come).