Ask anyone in Brisbane about Lamington and they will probably mention one of two roads, and both of them will make you work. The national park covers the high plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland side of the border, a huge expanse of rainforest, waterfalls and cliff-edged lookouts at the heart of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area. It was named after Lord Lamington, a governor of Queensland at the end of the nineteenth century, who is said to have been less than thrilled to have a park, and later a cake, named after him.
The road up to the Green Mountains section from Canungra is the famous one: narrow, steep and wildly twisty, climbing through farmland and then forest with tight hairpins, blind crests and stretches where it narrows to barely more than one lane. The surface is mostly sealed but can be wet, mossy or scattered with leaves, and cars coming down tend to cut corners. Take it slowly and treat every bend as if a bus might be coming round it. The Binna Burra side, reached from Nerang and Beechmont, has its own share of curves and some fine ridge-top views.
Canungra is the natural stop at the foot of the climb: a small town with fuel, cafés and pubs, and the home of a well-known army training centre. For a full range of services, Beaudesert is about twenty kilometres away. Up on the plateau you will find visitor facilities and places to eat near the main walking areas, but do not count on fuel.
The forest itself is extraordinary. Ancient Antarctic beech trees grow on the higher ridges, some of them thousands of years old through their regrowing root systems, and the walking tracks lead past waterfalls and lookouts over the border ranges. Crimson rosellas and king parrots are bold enough to land on your helmet. Lamington is also linked to a famous rescue: in 1937, Bernard O'Reilly found survivors of a crashed Stinson airliner in the forest after others had given up the search.
Come in the cooler months, when the air is crisp and the views stretch far, and avoid weekends if you can. Summer storms can be fierce. Either way, expect the ride down to feel even tighter than the ride up.