Fifty-five hectares of intact subtropical rainforest on the Blackall Range, donated to public protection in 1941 by the Cairncross sisters in memory of their mother — one of the earliest examples of community conservation in Queensland, and today one of the largest remaining stands of rainforest of its kind in south-east Queensland. The Cooee dedicated tour gives you two and a half hours inside the reserve — substantially more than the brief stop included on our combination tours — with a guided rainforest walk, full visitor centre interpretation, the Rainforest Cafe, and unhurried time on the 240-metre wheelchair-accessible boardwalk. Three packages: half-day from the Sunshine Coast with the reserve immersion ($89pp); full-day adding Kondalilla Falls and Maleny lunch ($135pp); full-day from Brisbane CBD with the complete hinterland circuit ($169pp). Operated under our Cooee Nature thread in partnership with Sunshine Coast Bus Lines (SCBL).
In 1941, three sisters — Mary, Jessie, and Doris Cairncross — donated fifty-five hectares of subtropical rainforest on the Blackall Range to Caloundra Shire Council in memory of their mother, Mary Cairncross. The donation came at a time when most Australian rainforest was being cleared for grazing or sleeper-cutting; the sisters' gift preserved one of the largest remaining stands of intact subtropical rainforest in south-east Queensland, and one of the earliest community-driven conservation reserves in the country. Their decision predates the establishment of the modern Australian conservation movement by decades.
The reserve survives today because of two further community efforts. In the 1980s, the Maleny community successfully campaigned to protect the reserve from proposed dam flooding (a story we cover in detail on our Maleny tour). And since transferring to Sunshine Coast Council management, the reserve has been steadily improved with the construction of the wheelchair-accessible 240-metre boardwalk, the visitor centre with rainforest interpretation displays, the Glass House Mountains lookout, and the on-site Rainforest Cafe — all designed to make the rainforest experience accessible to as many visitors as possible without compromising the protected ecology.
Cooee Tours' dedicated Mary Cairncross Tour exists because the reserve deserves more than the forty-five minutes our combination tours can give it. The half-day Reserve Immersion from the Sunshine Coast delivers two and a half hours inside the reserve — a guided rainforest walk with wildlife and plant identification, full time in the visitor centre, the Rainforest Cafe, and unhurried boardwalk photography. The full-day Rainforest and Hinterland adds Kondalilla Falls (a 90-metre waterfall fifteen minutes north) and a Maleny lunch. The full-day Brisbane Rainforest Day extends the reserve experience into a complete Sunshine Coast hinterland day with Maleny and a Glass House Mountains lookout on the return.
An honest framing. Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is owned and managed by Sunshine Coast Council, not Cooee Tours. Reserve entry is free to the grounds with a small fee for the boardwalk/visitor centre experience; Cooee includes both the entry and a guided rainforest walk as part of the tour package. Our guides provide natural history commentary, wildlife identification, plant identification (including warnings about the stinging tree), and Jinibara cultural context. Cooee Tours is Brisbane-based since 1974; partner brand Sunshine Coast Bus Lines (SCBL) handles coach transport from Kunda Park. Family-owned. The reserve sits on Jinibara Country, with the Bunya pine stand part of a living cultural landscape connecting the Blackall Range to broader Aboriginal seasonal ceremonies.
A 240-metre wheelchair-accessible boardwalk taking you through old-growth subtropical rainforest at ground level. Paved pathways, rest seating, ramped access throughout. One of the most accessible subtropical rainforest experiences in Queensland — equally suited to wheelchair users, families with prams, and seniors who prefer level ground.
Pademelons (small rainforest wallabies, often visible browsing along the boardwalk edges), brush turkeys, eastern yellow robins, lewin's honeyeaters, eastern whipbirds, rufous fantails, catbirds (their distinctive cat-like call is the soundtrack of the reserve), land mullets, eastern water dragons. Possums and gliders at dawn and dusk.
Ancient Bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii, central to Jinibara cultural ceremonies), hoop pines, giant strangler figs (some specimens metres in diameter), lawyer vines (wait-a-while), tree ferns, mosses, lichens, fungi. Our guides identify the major species and point out the famous stinging trees (Dendrocnide moroides — never touch).
Rainforest ecology displays, the Cairncross sisters donation story, the 1980s dam-flooding campaign, the Jinibara cultural context. Child-friendly interpretation throughout. Wheelchair-accessible. Includes the Glass House Mountains panoramic lookout terrace.
The filtered rainforest light is exceptional for photography — dappled sun on the boardwalk, deep canopy verticals, macro opportunities on fungi and leaf litter, wildlife portraits with pademelons. The dedicated tour pace gives photographers time without rushing.
On-site cafe with rainforest outlook, family menu, coffee, light meals, scones, and an outdoor seating area overlooking the boardwalk entry. Wheelchair accessible. A relaxed wind-down stop after the guided walk.
Three packages, three depths. All include 2.5+ hours inside the reserve (substantially longer than our combination tours' 45-minute stops). Pick by your pickup location and how much hinterland context you want around the reserve experience.
All packages include reserve entry, guided rainforest walk, pickup, coach, and return drop-off. Max 12 guests per coach. Child pricing applies for ages 3-15. Wheelchair access available on all coaches and throughout the reserve — advise at booking. Family discounts available — email for quote.
Private group, school group, photography group, and accessibility-focused bookings available — email for tailored quote. 13-49 seater coach options. Cooee/SCBL coaches with wheelchair lift access available on all packages with advance notice.
The dedicated Mary Cairncross Tour exists because the reserve deserves more than a quick stop. If any of these descriptions sound like you, this is the tour to book.
The 240m boardwalk is fully wheelchair-accessible — one of the most accessible subtropical rainforest experiences in Queensland. Cooee/SCBL coaches with wheelchair lift access available on all packages with advance notice. Visitor centre, Rainforest Cafe, and Glass House Mountains lookout all accessible.
Filtered rainforest light, macro opportunities, pademelon wildlife portraits, ancient strangler figs, fungi and leaf litter detail. Birdwatchers love the catbirds, eastern yellow robins, and eastern whipbirds. The dedicated tour pace gives photographers the time to wait for the shot rather than rush through.
Mary Cairncross has a strong school education program with interpretation displays calibrated to Queensland curriculum strands (ecology, conservation, Indigenous studies). Cooee's guided commentary supports curriculum links. Group bookings welcome — email for tailored programs.
If shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) appeals — the practice of slow, mindful immersion in forest environments — Mary Cairncross is one of the best subtropical rainforest sites in Queensland for it. The boardwalk's gentle pace, the canopy density, and the absence of traffic noise create the conditions for the slower nature experience that the combination tours can't deliver.
"My mother uses a wheelchair and we'd struggled to find a rainforest experience that worked for her. The Mary Cairncross dedicated tour was perfect — wheelchair lift on the coach, ramp at the reserve, 240 metres of boardwalk through old-growth canopy that she could navigate independently. Our guide quietly adjusted the walking pace and made sure we saw the pademelons. Genuinely moving."
"I'm a wildlife photographer and the dedicated tour pace was exactly what I needed. Two and a half hours in the reserve instead of forty minutes — enough time to wait for the catbird to come out of cover, to set up macro on the fungi, to actually photograph the rainforest rather than rush through it. Our guide knew the wildlife hotspots without rushing the rest of the group."
"Brisbane-based, took my year 5 class on a curriculum-linked rainforest excursion. The Cooee guide pitched the natural history to their level, the visitor centre interpretation supported our ecology topic, and Maleny lunch + Glass House lookout on the way back gave them context for the broader hinterland. Will book again next year."
Our fortnightly Cooee Local column publishes insider tips on Mary Cairncross — seasonal wildlife highlights, best light for rainforest photography, when the catbirds are most vocal, accessibility tips for first-time wheelchair visitors, and the smaller Blackall Range stops worth knowing about. Written by our Sunshine Coast guides.
Read Cooee Local →The 1941 donation that became one of Queensland's earliest community conservation reserves — what the Cairncross sisters did, why it matters, and how the reserve survives today.
Read article →Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve sits at the southern end of the Blackall Range, five minutes south of Maleny and adjacent to the Glass House Mountains region. The 55 hectares of rainforest protected by the reserve are part of what was once a much larger subtropical rainforest belt covering most of the Blackall Range — almost all of which was cleared for grazing and timber from the 1880s onwards. What survives at Mary Cairncross is a glimpse of what the Blackall Range looked like before European settlement, and one of the largest remaining intact stands of subtropical rainforest in south-east Queensland.
The reserve's location in the broader hinterland — adjacent to Maleny working village, near Montville heritage village, within the Glass House Mountains cultural landscape, twenty minutes from Kondalilla Falls — makes it the anchor point for any serious exploration of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Our full-day packages combine the reserve with these surrounding locations to give you a complete hinterland day with the rainforest as the focal experience rather than a brief stop.
Acknowledgement of Country. Cooee Tours acknowledges the Jinibara people as the traditional custodians of the Blackall Range hinterland on which Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve sits. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and acknowledge their continuing connection to country, waters, and culture. The reserve's stand of Bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii) is part of a living cultural landscape connecting the Blackall Range to broader Aboriginal seasonal ceremonies and trade gatherings.
