Paronella Park

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Paronella Park, but so many people recommended it that we just had to go there. It didn’t disappoint. What a unique place!

Background

A Spanish guy came out to Australia and worked the sugarcane fields. Eventually, he saved up enough money to purchase a piece of land in 1935 right next to a waterfall that was on the main (Bruce) highway that connects northern and southern Queensland. He decided to make a place where people could stop and recover on their travels. He built a hydroelectric plant to power it. He created a picnic area next to the swimming hole, added an ice cream shop and a small museum, then added some tennis courts, an aquarium, a whole bunch of walking paths, and a ballroom that also doubled as a movie theatre. He also built several “castles” dotted along the park. Unfortunately, after about 40-50 years, the Bruce Highway was moved to a different location, Jose died, and the park eventually fell into disrepair.

In the 1980s the local government council built a suspension bridge over the waterfall. Then in the 1990s, a family bought it and started to rebuild the park and clear the land. The “castles” are still crumbling and falling apart. Also, this area of Queensland is prone to cyclones and flooding and the park has been hit by several of these over the years.

Walking Around the Park

It is a very unique place and we really enjoyed walking around. Your ticket is valid for 2 years and also provides for a night of free camping, a day tour, the evening sound and light show and unlimited walking around. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

The Suspension Bridge

One of the two main entrances is over the suspension bridge. I found the suspension bridge to the park very scary – especially at night! It is wooden slats held together with bolted leather straight over the waterfall drop!

The Park at Night

After dark, they light up various buildings in the park and do a sound and light show at one of the main “castle” structures. It was really good and luckily the rain held off for us to really enjoy it. (Our son has put a link to a video of it on his blog.)

All in all, Paronella Park was an amazing place. I highly recommend it for anyone travelling around this area.