Post Code: 4061 Distance to CBD: 9 km
The Gap is a Brisbane suburb about 9 kilometers from the Central Business District. It is a largely residential area set in a green and hilly environment. The suburb also has a golf course called The Gap Golf Course and a shopping centre called The Gap Village Shopping Centre.
The Gap derived its name from its geographical location. It is “a gap” or a valley between the Mount Coot-tha, the Enoggera Hill and Mount Nebo
The Gap’s Main Attraction
o Brisbane Forest Park
Though most of the forest parks are outside the suburb, the entrance of the forest park is within The Gap. The park is a subtropical rainforest that teems with wildlife and lush vegetation, about 800 plant species, in a delicate ecosystem. The forest park has sixteen recreation areas for public use which are perfect for outdoor activities like picnics, hiking, orienteering, camping, horseback riding and mountain or dirt road cycling.
o Morelia Track
The Morelia Track is also a part of the Brisbane Forest Park. It is the famous lookout for the Moreton Island for it offers a scenic view of the island with its pristine white sand hills. The track walks through picnic areas all the way to peak of Mount Nebo like the Boombana Picnic Area. There is also the Camp Mountain Lookout that offers a scenic view of Moreton Bay and the Glass House Mountains.
o Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre
The wildlife centre is located at the entrance of the Brisbane Forest Park. It showcases the wildlife in the forest park. The wildlife centre functions as the information and education centre of Australian wildlife. It has a walk-through to a large aviary and preserves set into the natural habitat of the Australian indigenous wildlife. The wildlife center features species of marsupials like the wallabies, wombats, pademelons, spotted quolls, and brush-tailed phascogales. It also includes the platypus and species of flying squirrels like the sugar glider and the yellow-bellied glider. The wildlife center also has a collection of reptiles like snakes, turtles, lizards; amphibians like frogs; birds and fishes. The wildlife centre is also children-friendly.
o Maiala Track
The entire track has five track segments. The Westside Track segment starts at Lawton Road and forks into two paths, one goes to Joyner’s Ridge Road and the other path is the Western Window Track segment which ends up at the Maiala Picnic Area.
The Western Window provides a spectacular view of Mount Barney and the Cunninghams Gap. At the center of the trail is the Maiala Picnic Area which is famous for its Sydney blue gum tree, the only species that survived in a once-thriving eucalypt forest. The Maiala Circuit Track segment starts at Maiala Picnic Area and joins with the other two track segments, the Greene’s Falls Walking Track and the Cypress Grove Walking Track. The Maiala Circuit Track is where you will likely see a variety species of birds. The Cypress Grove Walking Track also allows you to have a glimpse of some rare species of birds like the white-browed scrub wrens which frequents the area. The Greene’s Falls Walking Track takes you to the top of Greene’s Falls, which a scenic waterfall that flows into the Cedar Creek.