Wadbilliga National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

that is located in high country spanning the Monaro and

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

regions of south-eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Location and features

Wadbilliga National Park is located southwest of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

via

Cobargo Cobargo is a village in the south-east area of the state of New South Wales in Australia in Bega Valley Shire. At the , Cobargo had a population of 776 people. It is 386 km south of Sydney on the Princes Highway between Narooma and Bega ...

, and south east of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. The nearest towns are

Narooma Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...

and Cobargo in the east, and

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a po ...

on the plateau in the west. Wadbilliga is a wilderness area, and much of its protected area is in a near pristine state. Featuring rugged gorges and gullies. Suited to overnight camping and wilderness walking (only for the most experienced and well prepared). Areas of interest include the Tuross Falls, the

Tuross River The Tuross River, an open semi-mature wave dominated barrier estuary or perennial stream, is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Tuross River rises of the eastern slopes of the Kybeyan Range, p ...

Gorge and Brogo Wilderness Area. The Wadbilliga Track is a scenic four wheel drive road which travels up the escarpment from east to west. Wadbilliga is in a remote part of Australia, and has had little influence from mankind in the history of European settlement. In recent decades, it has become protected, and has intentionally been left in a natural state. The average summer temperature is between 8 ° C and 23 ° C, and the winter temperature is -3 ° C and 10 ° C. The minimum elevation of the terrain is 15 m, and the maximum elevation is 1335 m.

Flora

The undulating plateaux and steep gullies provide a variety of different habitats.

Pinkwood ''Eucryphia moorei'', commonly known as pinkwood, plumwood, or eastern leatherwood is a tree found in southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It also occurs just over the border at the Howe Range in Victoria. Pinkwood is the dominant tree speci ...

rainforests occur in the sheltered fire free gullies.

Black Ash Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Acer negundo'', native to North America * ''Fraxinus nigra'', native to North America * ''Eucalyptus sieberi ''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or bl ...

Monkey Gum ''Eucalyptus cypellocarpa'', commonly known as mountain grey gum, mountain gum, monkey gum or spotted mountain grey gum, is a species of straight, smooth-barked forest tree that is endemic to southeastern Australia. It has relatively large, lanc ...

, Messmate, White Ash and Snow Gums occur at higher altitudes.

Yellow Box ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part o ...

Manna Gum ''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to c ...

and

Forest Red Gum ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', commonly known as forest red gum, blue gum or red irongum, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...

forests are found at lower altitudes. Other habitats include bogs, dry exposed

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

woodland, riverside forest, swamps and heaths. Rare plants occurring in Wadbilliga National Park include the Deua Gum and the small shrub, ''

Kunzea badjaensis ''Kunzea badjaensis'' is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a shrub with egg-shaped leaves and clusters of white flowers near the end of the branches. It grows at high altitu ...

''.

Fauna

The bird and animal life is relatively undisturbed in this area. Over 122 native species of birds have been recorded here. Common animals include

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

, possums of various types,

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

and many more.

Gallery

File:Wadbilliga2 heathland.JPG, Wadbilliga Track &

Heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

File:Wadbilliga4.JPG, Wadbilliga Track and the

File:Wadbilliga3.JPG, Wadbilliga National Park File:Wadbilliga5.JPG, camping ground at Wadbilliga National Park File:Wadbilliga River downstream.JPG,

Wadbilliga River The Wadbilliga River is a perennial stream of the Tuross River catchment that is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The Wadbilliga River rises on the western slopes of Mount Wadbilliga, located ...

References

External links