Wooroonooran National Park (Aboriginal for "Black Rock") is a national park in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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 ...

, 1,367 km northwest of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, between Innisfail and Cairns. The park is one of the

Wet Tropics World Heritage Area The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...

series of national parks, and is a gazetted

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Declared in 1988, the World Heritage area stretches from Townsville in the south to Cooktown in the north, and contains some of the oldest surviving rainforests in the world. The national park covers most of Bellenden Ker Range and includes Queensland's two highest mountains,

Mount Bartle Frere Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and ...

(1622 m) and

Mount Bellenden Ker Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns near Babinda, Queensland, Babinda, it is adj ...

(1592 m). Walshs Pyramid at 922 m in height, is located just south of Gordonvale and is one of the highest free-standing natural pyramids in the world. It also includes the parts of Australia that on average receive the most rainfall each year. The park has two sections: the Palmerston and the Josephine sections. Both the North and South branches of the

Johnstone River The Johnstone River, comprising the North Johnstone River and the South Johnstone River, is a river system located in Far North and North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river system rise in the Atherton Tablelands. The north ...

flow through the Palmerston section.

Waterfalls

The Josephine Falls visitor area was developed and opened to the public in the 1970s. The water in Josephine Creek originates from the slopes of Mount Bartle Frere and flows into the Russell River. A 600 m walking track leads through rainforest to recently constructed platforms which allow safe viewing of the falls. Several people have been injured and killed in the falls as the granite rocks are extremely slippery so access to the top pool beyond the platforms is prohibited. Living around the falls area is the endemic Bartle Frere skink. Thirty kilometres west of the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Na ...

along the

Palmerston Highway The Palmerston Highway (State Route 25), serves as a link between the southern part of the Atherton Tablelands and the Far North Queensland coastal strip, in Australia. Starting just north of Innisfail, from the Bruce Highway it winds through ...

, tracks lead to

Tchupala Falls The Tchupala Falls, a segmented waterfall on the Henrietta Creek, is located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics in the Far North region of Queensland, Australia. Location and features The Tchupala Falls are situated in the Palme ...

and Wallicher Falls. The Tchupala Falls track is approximately 600 metres and the track to Wallicher Falls is approximately 800 metres. Both Falls are part of Henrietta Creek. Nandroya Falls may be accessed from a walking track originating at Henrietta Creek Campground. The walk is 2.2 km by the shortest route. At Nandroya Falls, the Douglas Creek drops in a narrow, uninterrupted, 50 metre fall from a basalt parapet. There is also a second shorter and wider tumble.

Silver Creek Falls Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...

is also visible from the track.

Whites Falls The Whites Falls, a waterfall on Behana Creek, is located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics in the Far North region of Queensland, Australia. The falls are situated above Clamshell Falls in the Wooroonooran National Park Wooro ...

are found on Behana Creek, above

Clamshell Falls The Clamshell Falls is a cascade waterfall on the Behana Creek, located in Wooroonooran, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. Location and features The falls are situated in the Wooroonooran National Park Wooroonooran National Park (Aborig ...

Kearneys Falls The Kearneys Falls is a Waterfall#Types, cascade waterfall on a tributary of the Mulgrave River, in the Wooroonooran National Park, in the Goldsborough Valley of Far North Queensland, Far North region of Queensland, Australia. Location and featu ...

are found in the Goldsborough Valley section of Wooroonooran National Park. Windin Falls was a lesser known waterfall until it became popular on social media because of a natural "infinity pool" at the top of the falls, and sweeping views out over the rainforested valley below. Despite signage warning visitors of the dangers of slippery rocks and fast-flowing water, social media users risk their lives taking photos near and in the infinity pool.

Flora and fauna

Rainforests in the park contain more than 500 different tree species. The high-altitude areas contain Australia's only native species of rhododendron. The park forms part of the

Wooroonooran Important Bird Area The Wooroonooran Important Bird Area comprises some 5125 km2 of mainly forested land in the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site, of Far North Queensland, Australia. Description The site encompasses the largest block of tropical r ...

, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bird species endemic to Queensland's Wet Tropics.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Wooroonooran. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2011-12-02.

History

In 2007 to 2008 the Mamu Rainforest Tropical Skywalk was constructed by the

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is a business division of the Department of Environment and Science within the Government of Queensland. The division’s primary concern is with the management and maintenance of protected areas ...

. The work was contracted to Hutchinson Builders Pty Ltd.

Attractions

The Mamu Rainforest Tropical Skywalk is on the

().

Facilities

Camping is permitted in a campground along Henrietta Creek. Bush camping is allowed along the Mount Bartle Frere Trail but no facilities are provided. Permits are required.

References