Geographically, the ‘Scenic Rim’ refers to an arc of mountainous regions just over 100km south and west of Brisbane, adjoining the NSW border to the south and meeting the Gold Coast to the east.

Formed by three ancient volcanoes, it has rich soils and varied topography, supporting several kinds of rainforest, open forest and mountain heaths, and is one of the most species-rich regions of Australia, harbouring famous creatures such as kangaroos, koalas, lyrebirds, carpet pythons, wedge-tailed eagles and goannas, five of Australia’s six gliding possum species, both monotreme species, all Australian snake and lizard families, and a vast number of invertebrates including glow worms, birdwing butterflies and one of the highest diversities of Gondwanan-related land snails.

The Scenic Rim Regional Council encompasses much of this region, including Lamington National Park, Tamborine Mountain, Mount Barney, Beaudesert and Boonah, (but not the more northerly areas of Ipswich and Toowoomba).