5 under appreciated Australian national parks
It’s always the big names like Kakadu, Kosciuszko and Cradle Mountain that get all the attention. But Australia is covered with national parks with more than 500 covering some 28 million hectares. Here are five hidden gems that are well worth visiting.
Karijini National Park, Western Australia
The state’s second largest park is in the Pilbara region of WA, three days drive from Perth. You’ll never find a crowd at Karijini, despite the beautiful landscapes and abundant wildlife. The real highlights here are the gorges, filled with sparkling water and edged by thundering waterfalls. If you want to spend the night (and once you’ve come this far, you will) the Karijini Eco Retreat is an indigenous-run camp with high quality semi-permanent tents and camping facilities.
Murray Sunset National Park, Victoria
Sitting between Mildura and Ouyen, around 550 kilometres from Melbourne, the Murray Sunset park is known as Victoria’s outback. The semi-arid park is divided into four distinct wilderness zones that include billabongs and floodplains near the Murray River, grasslands, native pine woodlands, Mallee covered sand dunes and saltbush flats. Don’t miss the amazing pink lakes. In spring, four lakes turn a vibrant pink from a naturally occurring red pigment secreted from algae.
Booderee National Park, New South Wales
This park really has something for everyone. Booderee is at Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast, around three hours from Sydney, and covers pristine beaches, sandstone cliffs and rugged bushland. It’s ideal for swimming, surfing, hiking, whale watching and camping, plus there are more than 200 species of bird and 30 native mammals to be found. The park was initially earmarked as the site for Australia’s first nuclear power plant, so seeing it as it is now is even more special.
Teerk Rook Ra National Park, Queensland
You’ll need to be creative to get to this one, but it will be worth it. The park covers Peel Island in Moreton Bay, just off the coast of Brisbane. There’s no public transport to the island but you can organise a boat or even kayak the four kilometres across. The island is uninhabited with just an old quarantine station nestled among the wind swept sandstone rocks, but the waters are happily inhabited by turtles, dolphins and dugongs. Paddle round to Horseshoe Bay on the southern shore of the island and you won’t see another soul.
Naracoorte Caves National Park, South Australia
South Australia’s only World Heritage site, the Naracoorte Caves contain fossils dating back half a million years that help interpret and track the evolutionary history of Australia. Four of the 28 caves are open to the public and visitors can take a tour deep under the ground to learn the science behind the caves or go adventure caving for something a little more challenging. Above ground, the park is teeming with kangaroos, echidnas, wombats and more than 120 species of birds.
Related links:
6 of the best Australian mountains to climb
Australian travel to-do list: 2015