A timber boardwalk takes visitors from Heathwood Park through shaded dry rainforest up the hill to a lookout near the water reservoir, offering views of the surrounding district.

Visitors can listen for the calls of a wide range of birdlife including Figbirds, Silvereyes and Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes.

During summer visitors might hear the distinctive Common or Eastern Koel, also known as the Stormbird which advertises its presence by a loud ascending and repetitive 'koo-el'.

Around 4000 hectares of Woongarra Scrub once grew on the rich red and brown soils formed from the basalt flow of the ancient volcano now known as The Hummock.

Woongarra Scrub was very dense rainforest known as microphyll vineforest which was heavily logged as Bundaberg developed.

By the late 1870s, most of the scrub was gone, with the 4 hectares of Woongarra Scrub on The Hummock the largest remaining example.

Hummock Reserve contains over 120 native plant species and is vitally important as a seed bank for replanting efforts in other locations.

The trees on Hummock Reserve are stunted due to the windy location and the very thin layer of soil over volcanic rock.

Of particular interest to botanists are several species in the reserve including the Wedge-leaf Tuckeroo, and an unusual form of Rose Mahogany, Dysoxylum fraserianumis, found near one of the water reservoirs.

The plant, Balanophora fungosa, commonly known as fungus root, lives under the leaf litter and flowers after heavy rainfall.

The flowering structure looks like fungi and consists of a globe covered with thousands of tiny female flowers surrounded at its base by a much smaller number of male flowers.

Nearby Maureen Schmitt Park is an area of regenerating rainforest with short walking tracks throughout.

The Hummock Lookout can be accessed on Turners Way, providing visitors outstanding panoramic views of the ocean, city and the patchwork of sugarcane fields.

Toilets, picnic tables and water taps are located at Bowden Street, with water taps also located at the entrance to Maureen Schmitt Park.

All plants and animals in the Reserve are protected, and dogs and domestic animals are not permitted.

Visitors are advised to stay on the walking tracks to help prevent soil erosion and protect the regeneration efforts.

 

Where: Bowden St, Qunaba.

Find out more about The Hummock Reserve, and other parks around the region, through Bundaberg Regional Council's park finder.