Brisbane Ranges National Park

Little more than an hour's drive from Melbourne takes you to the state's richest wildflower habitat. Set in a low range of mountains dissected by rocky gullies, the unusual geology of Brisbane Ranges National Park has preserved plants that have long since vanished from the region, together with a correspondingly diverse bird population and the greatest density of koalas in Victoria. Flora & FaunaThere are more than 180 bird species, which include the Peregrine Falcon, migratory Rainbow Bird and Powerful Owl. Mallee Fowl were found here but disappeared probably because they were hunted for food by gold-miners. Koalas are particularly abundant around Anakie Gorge. Other mammals include Swamp Wallabies, Eastern Grey Kangaroos and the nocturnal Brush-tailed and Ring-tailed Possum, Sugar Gliders and Tuans.

The diverse plant life is the park's outstanding feature. Its sandy soils support 619 plant species representing nearly a quarter of Victoria's native flora. The ranges are special for their wildflowers. Many of the plants are rare, or remote from their normal localities in East Gippsland and the drier west of the state. The locally common Brisbane Ranges grevillea is found nowhere else in the world.