Beyond the broken bloodwoods, o'er the timbered rise,
And past the range and river the ghost of Koombit lies;
And when the bush winds whisper it seems as though one hears
The echoing of hoofbeats and the songs of vanished years.

From The Kroombit Boys by Lex McLennan.


Jouncing along the rugged forest tracks 'over the timbered rise' of Kroombit Tops National Park, near Biloela in Central Queensland, I not only heard those 'echoing hoofbeats', but saw a beautiful fat bay brumby streaking along through the trees and across the road right in front of us.

And while I know that feral animals are technically pests, this wild creature was a reminder of those glory days when the bush was truly wild and this particular piece of country was one of the wildest bits, with its thick forests, deep gorges and magnificent escarpments.

The spirit and strength of Australian bush tradition celebrated in McLennan's poem have certainly not vanished out here; indeed they are being kept alive by folks like Alan Sandilands who runs Kroombit Park and who is our guide out here 'beyond the broken bloodwoods'.

Alan is a bushie and a cattleman, but in difficult times has decided to use his 10,000 acres and his bush skills for more than simply grazing his Brahman cross heifers. He and his wife Carol have set up the Kroombit Park for a variety of travellers from Aussies on a caravan holiday to busloads of overseas tourists eager for a taste of the real Australian country.

This place is the real thing, not a sanitised simulacrum of the bush. We arrived in the pitch dark, after following another vehicle for the last 18km along a winding, dipping, gravel road out of Biloela, in a nightmarish pall of dust. The light of a glowing campfire and two enormous, friendly dogs greeted us along with a welcoming handshake from Alan and dinner simmering in a couple of big cast-iron camp ovens.

We collapsed gratefully at one of the giant tables made of massive logs with huge slabs of timber as tops, and the big dogs retired to the perimeter to watch us eat. We'd only been in 'the bush' for a few minutes but ate like stockmen who've been mustering cattle all day. Roast lamb, boiled potatoes, and three veg, with lots of gravy, were followed by hot chocolate pudding and endless cups of billy tea with that special smoky flavour, as we listened to the story of Kroombit and plans for the next day's trek into the wilderness.

Alan is a typical taciturn country bloke, but his love of the land shines through his quiet voice and dignified demeanor. The area was first named and leased by the famous Archer brothers, who came from Norway and opened up much of the surrounding country, and later was owned by the appropriately named Rideout family. The eldest, Billy, a well-known horseman, settled the Lochenbar Station at a time when the legends were born about 'the Kroombit boys', who could ride horses that no one else could attempt and who were reputed to be able to smoke a quiet cigar as they rode the unruly beasts.

Eventually, the land came to the Sandilands, including the spectacular gorge country of Kroombit Tops, with its dramatic sandstone escarpment and amazing variety of landform. These two most rugged portions later reverted to national Park, but Alan has a special lease to be able to take visitors in to experience their special beauty.

Through wide open grazing land with huge grey gum trees, thick vine forest, old fossicking country and finally the Tops themselves, the day tour takes two and a half hours of sometimes breathholding 4WD journey just to get to the Tops .

Miners once honeycombed this country with diggings and Alan showed us a creek bed which looks at first as if it was created by rushing water, but which was, amazingly, dug out by Chinese miners and carefully lined with rock to serve as a sluiceway for extracting gold. The drystone walls are as neat as you'd find in a suburban garden, but quite startling in this remote creekbed.

We visited the eerie spot where a B24 Liberator Bomber crashed into the mountainside one wet, stormy night in 1945, in country so rugged that the wreckage wasn't found for nearly 50 years. Alan remembers the discovery and feels that the young airmen who perished there deserve a memorial.

Later we were treated to a visit to a prehistoric-looking patch of thick rainforest where very little light penetrates into an atmosphere of lush green stillness where massive tree ferns are reflected in big still black pools of water thick with fallen palm fronds and the air is vibrant with startling bird calls.

But the real piece de resistance are the Kroombit Falls, even in the dry weather. Hidden behind a locked gate followed by the steepest gravel track I've seen, and a 100 metre scramble through thickets of lantana, the falls come as a stunning surprise.

A tumble of massive sandstone boulders erupts from the bush and then drops 100 metres into even wilder country. We sat for a long time at the top of the falls trying to take it all in, then scrambled through lantana scrub and over more rocks to the almost hidden Little Falls, further up the creek, where the creek flowed deep and dark through a steep-sided chasm of sandstone. The only way to actually see these falls is to plunge in and swim another 50m up the chasm and around a bend in the gorge. We were just as happy to explore the caves and rock pools, admiring tiny wildflowers, elkhorn ferns, orchids and tiny, tenacious fig trees that cling the rock faces of the gorge.

As Alan showed us 'his' Kroombit, and told us its history, we sensed his deep pride in this magnificent spot. He feels responsible, along with the National Parks, for protecting it from irresponsible use and exploitation. On the two and a half hour drive home in the deepening dusk, we stopped for a stunning sunset that lit the sky like celestial wildfire and then faded until it resembles an ancient Chinese painting.

By the time we'd opened and shut the 22 gates between the Tops and the campfire that was already cooking our dinner, we felt we'd met 'the ghost of Kroombit' and heard that 'bush wind whisper'. Instead of 'the songs of vanished years' we heard country music on a guitar around the fire along with the happy chatter of the latest mob of travellers who'd arrived by bus for their taste of bush living. They'd been exploring the countryside on horseback.

Sixty horses are on hand for trail rides, and besides camping and caravan sites, there is accomodation for up to 160 visitors, ranging from bunkhouses to a couple of very comfortable cabins for up to four people each, with verandahs and ensuites. A swimming pool has been added for the lazy summer days, but the day long tour to Kroombit Tops or the more adventurous camp-out under the stars is really why you are here.

Kroombit Park has now added EcoCertification to its offerings, but like most country people, the Sandilands have always observed the time-honoured practices of avoiding waste, using the produce of the land and natural materials as often as possible, conserving water, using reusable containers instead of disposables, and the myriad other commonsense bush ways that have been around for years.

They are also equipped for parties of children and have wheelchair access, so you don't have to be as rugged as the 'Kroombit Boys' those, 'Kings of the rope and saddle, lean princes of the reins' to enjoy this genuine outback experience.